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!^ROM THE CELEBRATED PORTRAIT PA I NTED BY STUART, 



\a^ 



r WASSflOf^ 



^^SmiSHISTdJF 





THE WASHINGTON MONUMENT. RICHMOND, VA 

THOMAS CHAWFOED. SCUli'TOB 



"From al^olo^raph <S;Urawnifi made for Tj-vm^'s Wasbiigtoai. by J. W. Khiilngftr. -N.J- 



PREFACE 

TO THE FIRST VOLUME. 



The following work was commenced several years ago, but the prosecution 
of it has been repeatedly interrupted by other occupations, by a long absence 
in Europe, and by occasional derangement of health. It is only within the last 
two or three years that I have been able to apply myself to it steadily. This 
is stated to account for the delay in its publication. 

The present volume treats of the earlier part of Washington's life previous 
to the war of the Revolution, giving his expeditions into the wilderness, his 
campaigns on the frontier in the old French war ; and the other " experiences," 
by which his character was formed, and he was gradually trained up and pre- 
pared for his great destiny. 

Though a biography, and of course admitting of familiar anecdote, excur- 
sive digressions, and a flexible texture of narrative, yet, for the most part, it is 
essentially historic. Washington, in fact, had very little private life, but was 
eminently a public character. All his actions and concerns almost from boy- 
hood were connected with the history of his country. In writing his biogra- 
phy, therefore, I am obliged to take glances over collateral history, as seen 
from his point of view and influencing his plans, and to narrate distant trans- 
actions apparently disconnected with his concerns, but eventually bearing upon 
the great drama in which he was the principal actor. 

I have endeavored to execute my task with candor and fidelity ; stating 
facts on what appeared to be good authority, and avoiding as much as possible 
all false coloring and exaggeration. My work is founded on the correspondence 
of Washington, which, in fact, affords the amplest and surest groundwork for 
his biography. This I have consulted as it exists in manuscript in the archives 
of the Department of State, to which I have had full and frequent access. I 
have also made frecpient use of " Washington's Writings," as published by Mr. 
Sparks ; a careful collation of many of them with the originals having con- 
vinced me of the general correctness of the collection, and the safety with which 
it may be relied upon for historical purposes ; and I am happy to bear this tes- 
timony to the essential accuracy of one whom I consider among the greatest 
benefactors to our national literature ; and to whose writings and researches I 
acknowledge myself largely indebted throughout my work. 

W. I. 



PREFACE 



TO T H K I- A S T V O T, U M K 



Thk present volume completes a work to wliicli the author had loug looked 
ibrward as the crowning effort of his literary career. 

The idea of writing a life of Washington entered at an early day into his 
mind. It was especially pressed upon his attention nearly tliirty years ago 
while he was in Europe, by a proposition of the late Mr. Archibald Constable, 
the eminent publisher of Edinburgh, and he resolved to undertake it as soon as 
lie should return to the United States, and be within reach of the necessary 
documents. Various circumstances occurred to prevent him from carrying this 
resolution into prompt effect. It remained, however, a cherished purpose of 
his heart, which he has at length, though somewhat tardily, accomplished: 

The manuscript for the present volume was nearly ready for the press some 
months since, but the author, by applying himself too closely in his eagerness 
to finish it, brought on a nervous indisposition, which unfitted him for a time 
for the irksome but indispensable task of revision. In this he has been kindly 
assisted by his nephew, Pierre Munro Irving, who had previously aided him in 
the course of his necessary researches, and who now carefully collated the 
manuscript with the works, letters, and inedited documents from which the 
facts had been derived. He has likewise had the kindness to superintend the 
printing of the volume, and the correction of the proof sheets. Tlius aided, the 
author is enabled to lay the volume before the public. 

How far this, the last labor of his pen,iaiiay meet with general acceptation 
is with him a matter of hope rather than of confidence. He is conscious of his 
own short-comings and of the splendid achievements of oratory of which the 
character of "Washington has recently been made the theme. Grateful, how- 
ever, for the kindly disposition wliich has greeted each successive volume, and 
with a i)rolbund sense of the indulgence he has experienced from the public 
through a long literary career, now extending through more than half a cen- 
tury, he resigns his Jast volume to its fate, with a feeling of satisfaction that he 
has at lengtli reached' tlie close of his task, and with the comforting assurance 
that it has been with him a labor of love, and as such has to a certain degree 
carried with it its own reward. 

Washington Irving. 




1011. 



"Washington's fame will go on increasing until the brightest constella- 
tion in yonder lieavens is called by his name." 

Thomas Jefferson. 

" The chai-acter of Washington, in war, in peace, and in private life, 
the most sublime on record.'''' Wm. H. Prescott. 

" A Character, of virtues so happily tempered by one another, and so 
wholly xnialloyed by any vices, is hardly to he found in the pages of 
history.''^ Chas. Jas. Fox. 

(letter to WASHINGTON.) 

" 1 liave a large acquaintance among the most valuable and exalted 
classes of men ; but you are the only human being for whom I ever felt 
an awful reverence, I sincerely pray God to grant a long and serene 
evening to a life so gloi'iously devoted to the universal happiness of the 
world." Lord Erskine. 

" It will be the duty of the Historian and the Sage, in all ages, to 
omit no occasion of commemorating this illustrious man ; and until time 
s/icdl be no more will a test of the progress which our race lias made in 
wisdom and virtue he derived from the veneration paid to the immortal 
name q/" Washington." Lord Brougham, 



Ci|3ccinicns of \Xritirisms of ^vtiing's Ulasljington. 

" His Life of Washington is a marvel." 

George Bancroft. 

" The Ijife of Washington is a noble consummation of a literary career 
of half a century." H. T. Tuokerman. 

"The Biographer has well merited the gratitude of his countrymen." 

S. Austin Allibone. 

" What a noble capital yoiir Life of Washington makes to your literary 
column ! " . Wm. C. Preston. 

" I have read it as I would read a romance. To me it is history alive. 

Chas. L. Brace. 



d ^are 



ITS ORIGIN AE"D EARLY HISTORY. 



Ml 



The Life and Times 




Washington 



J 

By WASHINGTON IRVING. 

WITH APPENDIX AND INDEX. 



ILLUSTRATED EDITION, 

WITH FINE ENGRAVINGS ON STEEL, FROM DRAWINGS BY DARLEY, TRUMBUEL, 

AND OTHERS. 



€om^]letc in (Dnc ilolumc. 



'' Hia LIFE OF WAHHIAG TON IS A J/.li? T^i."— GEO. BANCROFT. 



NEW YORK: 

G. P. PUTNAM & SONS. 

J. B. HOLLAND. 

ASSOCIATION BUILDING, 308 FOURTH AVENUE. 
1872. 






Ktitereil according to Aot of CoiiKress, in the year 1871, 

By PIERRE Jr. IRVINO, 

In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 



CONTENTS. 



VOL. I. 

Chapter I. Genealogy of the "Washington Family, . 5 

Chap. II. The Home of Washington's boyhood— His 
Early Education— Lawrence Washington and his Cam- 
pal^ in the West Indies— Death of Washington's 
Kather—The widowed Mother and her Children— School 
Exercises, 11 

Chap. III. Paternal Conduct of an Elder Brother— The 
Fairfax Familj- — Washington's Code of Morals and Man- 
ners — Soldiers' Tales— Thfir Influence— Washington 
prepares for the Navy— A Mother's Olijections— Return 
to School— Studies and Exercises— A Schuol-lioy Passion 
— The Lowland Beauty— Love Uitties at Mount 'Vernon 
—Visit to Belvoir— Lord Fairfax— His Character— Fox- 
hunting a Kemcdy for Love— Proposition for a Surveying 
Expedition, 13 

Chap. IV. Expedition beyond the Blue Ridge— The Val- 
ley of the Shenandoah — Lord Halifax— Lodge in the 
Wilderness— Surveying — Life in the Backwoods— In- 
dians— War Dance— German Settlers — Return Home- 
Washington as Public Surveyor— Sojourn at Grecnway 
Court— Horses, Hounds, and Books— Rugged Experience 
among the Mountains, . .... 16 

Chap. V. English and French Claime to the Ohio Valley 
—Wild State of the Country— Projects of Settlements 
— The Ohio Company— Enlightened Views of Lawrence 
Washington — French Rivalry— Celeron de Bienville — 
His Signs of Occupation— Hugh Crawford — George Cro- 
ghan, a veteran trader, and Montour, his interpreter — 
Their Mission from Pennsylvania to the Ohio Tribes — 
Christopher Gist, the Pioneer of the Yadkin — Agent of 
the Ohio Companj' — His Expedition to the Frontier — 
Reprobate Traders at Logstown — Negotialions with the 
Indians— Scenes in the Ohio Country — Diplomacy at 
Piqua — Kegs of Brandy and RuUs of Tol)apco — Gist's 
return across Kentucky — A Deserted Home — French 
Scheme — Captain Jonoaire, a Diplomat of the Wilder- 
nens — His Speech at Logstown — The Indians' Land — 
"Where?" 19 

Chap. VI. Preparations for Hostilities — Washington ap- 
pointed District Adjutant-general- Mount Vernon a 
School of Armri — Adjutant Muse a veteran Campaigner 
— Jacob Van Braam a Master of Fence — 111 health of 
Washington's brother Lawrence— Voyage with him to 
the West Indies— Scenes at Barbadoes— Tropical Fruits 
—Beef-steak and Tripe Club— Return homo of Wash- 
ington—Death of Lawrence, 24 

Chap. VII. Council of the Ohio Tribes at Loestown— 
Treaty with the English— Gist's Settlement— Speeches 
of the Half-king and the French Commandant — 
French Aggressions — The Ruins of Piqua — W-isliington 
sent on a Mission to the French Commander — Jacob 
Van Braam, his Interpreter — Christopher Gist, his Guide 
— Halt at the Confluence of the Monongahela and Alle- 
gany — Projected Fort — Shingiss, a Delaware Sachem — 
— Logstown — The Half-king — Indian Councils — Indian 
Diplomacy — Rumors concerning Joncairo — Indian Es- 
corts- The Half-king, Jeskakake, and White Thun- 
der, ......... 27 

Chap. , VIII. Arrival at Venango— Capt.ain Joncaire— 
Frohtier Revelry— Discussions over tlie Bottle — The Old 
Diplomatist and the Young — The Half-king, Jeskakake, 
and White Thunder staggered— The Speech-belt— Depar- 
ture— La Force, the wily Commissary— Fort at French 
Creek — The Chevalier Legardeur de St. Pierre, Knight 
of St. Louie— Captain Reparti— Transactions at the Fort 



—Attempts to seduce the Sachems— Mischief brewing 
on the Frontier— Difliculties and Delays in Parting- 
Descent of French Creek— Arrival at Venango, . SO 

Chap. IX. Return from Venango— A Tramp on Foot- 
Murdering Town— The Indian Guide— Treachery— An 
Anxious Night— Perils on the Allegany River— Queen 
Aliquippa— The old Watch-coat— Return across tlie 
Blue Ridge, 3o 

Chap. X. Reply of the Chevalier de St. Pierre— Trent's 
Mission to the Frontier— Washington recruits Trooi^s— 
Dinwiddle and the Ilonse of Burgesses- Independei.t 
Conduct of the Virginians— Expedients to gain Recuils 
—Jacob Van Braam in Service— Toilful March to Wills' 
Creek— ContreccBur at the Fork of the Ohio— Trent's 
refractory Troops, 36 

Chap. XL March to the Little Meadows- Rumors from 
the Ohio — Correspondence from the banks of the Youglii- 
ogeny— Attempt to descend that River— Alarming Re- 
ports—Scouting Parties— Perilous situation of the Camp 
— Gist and La Force— Message from the Ikilf-kii g— 
French Tracks— The Jumonville Skirmish— Treatment 
of La Force— Position at the Great Meadows— Belligerent 
feelings of a young Soldier, 39 

Chap. XII. Scarcity in the Camp— Death of Colonel 
Fry— Promotions— Mackay and his Independent Com- 
ptuiy— Major Muse— Indian Ceremonials— Public Prayers 
in Camp— Alarms — Independence of an Independent 
Company— Affairs at the Great Meadows— Desertion of 
the Indian Allies— Capitulation of Fort Necessity- Van 
Braam as an Interpreter— Indian Plunderers— Return to 
Williamsburg— Vote of Thanks of the House of Bur- 
gesses—Subsequent fortunes of the Half-king— Com- 
ments on the Atfair of Jumonville and the Conduct of 
Van Braam, 43 

Chap. XIII. Founding of Fort Cumberland— Secret Let- 
ter of Stobo— The Indian Mensenger- Project of Din- 
widdic— His Perplexities— A Taint of Repulslicanism in 
the Colonial Assemblies- Dinwiddle's Military Meas- 
•m-es- Washington quits the Service— Overtures of Gov- 
ernor Sharpe, of Maryland— Washington's dignified lie- 
piy— Questions of Rank between Royal and Provincial 
Tj'-oops— Treatment of the French Prisoners— Fate of La 
Force— Anecdotes of Stobo and Van Braam, . 49 

Chap. XIV. Return to quiet Life— French and English 
prepare for Hostilities— Plan of a Campaign— General 
Braddock— His Character— Sir John St. Clair Quarter- 
master-general —His Tour of Inspection — Projected 
Roads— Arrival of Braddock— Military Consultations 
and Plans— Commodore Keppel and his Seamen— Ships 
and Troops at Alexandria— Excitement of Washington 
—Invited to join the Staff" of BracMock— A Mother's 
Obieotions— Washington at Alexandria— Grand Council 
of iaovernors— Military Arrangements— Colonel William 
Johnson— Sir John St. Clair at Fort Cumberland— His 
Explosions of Wrath— Their Effects- Indians to be en- 
listed—Captain Jack and his Band of Bush-beaters, 52 

Chap. XV. Washington proclaimed Aide-de-camp— Dis- 
appointments at Frederioktown— Benjamin Franklin and 
Braddock — Contracts — Departure for Wills' Creek — 
Rough Roads— The General in his Chariot— Camp at 
Fort Cumberland— Hugh Mercer— Dr. Craik— Military 
Tactics — Camp Rules- Secretary Peters— Indians in 
Camp— Indian Beauties — The Princess Bright Light- 
ning—Errand to Williamsburg— Braddock'B Opinion of 
Contractors and Indians— Arrival of Conveyances, 57 

Chap. XVI. March from Fort Cumberland— The Great 
Savage Mountain — Camp at the Little Mcadows^Divi- 



11 



CONTENTS. 



sion of the Forces— Captain Jack and his Band — Scaroo- 
yadi in Danger — Illnesu of Washington — His Halt at the 
Youghiogeny— March of Braddock — The Great Mead- 
ows—Lurking Enemies— Their Tracks— Precautions — 
Thicketty Run — Scouts — Indian Murders — Funeral of 
an Indian Warrior — Camp on the Monongahela — Wash- 
ington's Arrival there— March for Fort Duquesnc— The 
Fording of the Monongahela— The Battle — The Retreat 
—Death of Braddock 61 

Chap. XVII. Arrival at Fort Cumberland— Letters of 
Washington to his Family — Panic of Dunbar — Triumph 
of the French, 69 

Chap. XVIII. Costs of Campaigning — !&reasures for Pub- 
lic Safety — Washington in Command- Head-quarters at 
Winchester — Lord Fairfax and his Troop of Horse— In- 
dian Ravages — Panic at Wincherter — Cause of the 
Alarm — Operations elsewhere— Shirley against Niagara 
— Johnson against Crown Point — Affair at Lake George 
—Death of JDieskau, 70 

Chap. XIX. Reform in the Militia Laws — Discipline of 
the Troops — Dagworthy and the Question of Precedence 
—Washington's Journey to Bn.ston— Style of Travelling 
— Conference with Shirley — The Earl of Loudoun — Mili- 
tary Rule for the Colonies — Washington at New York — 
Miss Mary Philipse, 75 

CnAP. XX. Troubles in the Shenandoah Valley — Green- 
way Court and Lord Fairfax in Danger — Alarms at 
Winchester — Washington appealed to fur Protection — 
.Vttacked by the Virgniia Press — Honored by the Public 
—Projects for Defence — Suggestions of Washington — 
The Gentlemen Associators — Retreat of the Savages — 
Expedition against Kittanning — Ca|itain Hugh Mercer — 
His Struggle "through the Wirderuess, ... 78 

Chap. XXI. Foundmg of Fort Loudoun — Washington's 
Tour of Inspection — Inefficiency of the Militia System 
— Gentlemen Soldiers — Cross-puriioses with Dinwiddle 
— Military Atl'airs in the North — Delays of Lord Lou- 
doun — Activity of Montcalm — Loudoun in Winter Quar- 
ters, 82 

Chap. XXII. Washington vindicates his conduct to Lord 
Loudoun — His reception by his Lordship— Military Plans 
— Lord I>oudoun at Halifax — Montcalm on Lake George 
— His Triumphs — Lord Loudoun's Failures — Washing- 
ton at Wiucliester — Continued Misunderstandings with 
Dinwiddle — Return to Mount Vernon, . . 85 

CtTAP. XXIII. Washington recovers his Health — Again 
in Command at Fort Loudoun — Administration of Pitt 
— Loudoun succeeded by General Abercrombie — Mili- 
tary Arrangements — Washington Commander-in-cliief 
of the Virgmia Forces — Amherst against Louisburg — 
General Wolfe — Montgomery — Capture of Louisburg — 
Abercrombie on Lake George — Death of Lord Howe — 
Repulse of Abercrombie— Success of Bradstreet at Os- 
wego, 88 

Chap. XXIV. Slow Operations — W.ashington orders out 
the Militia — Mission to Williamsburg— Halt at Mr. 
Cliaraberlayne's— Mrs. Martha Custis— A brief Court- 
sliip— An Engagement — Return to Winchester — The 
Rifle Dress— Indian Scouts— Washington elected to the 
House of Burgesses— Tidings of Amherst's Success— 
The new Road to Fort Duquesne- March for the Fort- 
Indiscreet Conduct of Major Grant — Disastrous Conse- 
quences — Washington advances against Fort Duquesne 
— End of the Expedition — Washington returns Homo — 
His Marriage, 92 

Chap. XXV. Plan of Operations for 1759— Investment 
of Fort Niagara — Death of Prideaux — Success of Sir 
William Johnson — Amherst at Ticonderoga— Wolfe at 
Quebec — His Triumph and Death — Fate of Montcalm — 
Capitulation of Quebec — Attemjjt of Do Levi to retake 
it— Arrival of a British Fleet— Last Stand of the French 
at Montreal — Surrender of Canada, ... 96 

Chap. XXVI. Washington's Installation in the House 
of Burgesses — His Rural Life — Mount Vernon and its 
Vicinity — Aristocratical daj's of Viririuia — Washington's 
Management of his Estate — Domestic Habits — Fox- 
hunting—Lord Fairfax — Fishing and Duck-shooting — 
The Poacher — Lj'uch I^aw — Aqn.-itic State — Life at An- 
napolis— Washin'glon in the Dismal Swamp, . 102 

Chap. XXVII. Treaty of Peaco-Pontiac's War— Course 
of Public Events— Board of Trade against Paper Cur- 
rency—Restrictive I'olicy of England— Navigation Laws 
—Discontents in New England— Of the other Colonies- 
Proj'-'Cts to raise Revenue^ by Taxation— Blow .at the In- 
dependence of the Judiciary— Naval Commanders em- 
jiloycd as Custom-house Officers- Retaliation of the 
C!oluaists— Taxation resisted in Boston— Passing of the 
Stamp Act- Burst of Opposition in Virginia — Speech of 
Patrick Henry, 108 

CnAP. XXVIII. Washington's Ideas concerning the 
Stamp Act — Opposition to it in the Colonies — Porten- 
tous Ceremonies at Boston and New York— Non-impor- 



tation Agreement among the MerchantB--'Waehing:tOQ 
and George Mason— Dismissal of Grenville from tho 
British Cabinet — Franklin before the House of Com- 
mons—Repeal of the Stamp Act— Joy of Washington — 
Fresh Causes of Colonial Dissensions— Circular of tho 
General Court of Massachusetts — Embarkation of 
Troops for Boston— Measures of the Bostonians, 111 i 
Chap. XXIX. Cheerful Life at Mount Vernon— Wash- | 
ington and George Mason — Correspondence concerning 
tho NoB-importation Agreement — Feeling toward Eng- 
land—Opening of the Legislative Session— Semi-regal 
St.ate of Lord Botetourt — High-toned Proceedings of the 
House — Sympathy with New England — Dissolved by , 
Lord Botetourt— Washington and the Articles of Asso- 
ciation, 114 '■ 

Chap. XXX. Hood at Boston—The General Court refuses ', 
to do Business under Military Sway — Resists the Billet- 
ing Act — Effect of the Non-importation Association — 
Lord North Premier— Duties revoked except on Tea — 
The Boston Massacre — Disuse of Tea— Conciliatory Con- ; 
duct of Lord Botetourt— His Death, . . . 117 ' 

Chap. XXXI. Expedition of Washington to the Ohio, in 
behalf of Soldiers' Claims— Uneasy State of the Frontier 
— Visit to Fort Pitt — George Croghan — His Mishaps dur- 
ing Pontiac's War— Washington descends the Ohio— ^ 
Scenes and Adventures along the River — Indian Hunting " 
Camp — Interview with an old Sachem at the mouth of ' 
the Kenawha — Return — Claims of Stobo and Van Braam 
— Letter to Colonel George Muse, .... 119 

Chap. XXXII. Lord Dnnmore Governor of Virginia — 
Piques the Pride of the Virginians — Opposition of the I 
Assembly — Corresponding Committees — Death of Miss i 
Custis — Washington's Guardianship of John Parke Cus- 
tis— His Opinions as to Premature Travel and Premature i 
Marriage, 122 

Chap. XXXIII. Lord North's Bill favoring the Exporta- ' 
tiou of Teas — Ships freighted with Tea to the Colonies — 
Sent Ijack from some of the Ports — Tea destroj'ed at i 
Boston — Passage of the Boston Port Bill — Session of tho 
House of Burgesses— Splendid Ojjening — Burst of In- 
dignation at the Port Bill— House Dissolved— Resolu- 
tions at the Raleigh Tavern— Project of a General Con- 
gress — Washington and Lord Dunmore — The Port Bill 
goes into Effect — General Gage at Boston— League and 
Covenant, 124 

Chap. XXXIV. Washington Chairman of a Political 
Meeting— Correspondence with Bryan Fairfax— Patri- 
otic Resolutions — Washington's Opinions on Public Af- 
fairs — Non-importation Scheme — Convention at Wil- 
liamsburg — Washington appointed a Delegate to the 
General Congress— Letter from Bryan Fairfax— Perplex- 
ities of General Gage at Boston 127 

Chap. XXXV. Meeting of the First Congress— Opening 
Ceremonies — Eloquence of Patrick Henry and Henry 
Lee— Declaratory Resolution — Bill of Rights— State Pa- 
jiers — Chatham's Opinions of Congress— Washington's 
Correspondence with Cant. Mackenzie — Views with re- 
spect to ludependence— Departure of Fairfax for Eng- 
land, ISO 

Chap. XXXVl. Gage's Military Measures— Removal of 
Gunpowder from the Arsenal — Public Agitation — 
Alarms in the Country — Civil Government obstructed— 
Belligerent Symptoms — Israel Putnam and General 
Charles Lee, their Characters and Stories — General Elec- 
tion— Self-constituted Congress — Hancock President — 
Adjourns to Concord — Remonstrance to Gage — His Per- 
plexities-Generals Artemas Ward and Sett Pomeroy — 
Committee of Safety — Committee of Supplies— Restless- 
ness throughout the Land — Independent Companies in 
Virginia — Military Tone at Mount Vernon — Washing- 
ton's Military Guests— Major Hor.atio Gates— Anecdotes 
concerning him — General Charles Lee — His Peculiarities 
and Dogs — Washington at the Richmond Convention — 
War Speech of Patrick Henry — Washington's Military 
Intentions, 134 

Chap. XXXVII. Infatuation in British Councils— Col. 
Grant, the Braggart — Coercive Measures — Expedition 
against the Military Magazine at Concord— Battle of Lex- 
ington — The Cry of Blood through the Land— Old Sol- 
diers of the French War— John Stark— Israel Putnam — 
Rising of tho Yeomanry — Measures of Lord Dunmore 
in Virginia — Indignation of tho Virginians — IIuL'h Mer- 
cer and tho Friends of Ijberty — Arrival of the News of 
Lexington at Mount Vernon — Effect on Bryan Fairfax, 
Gates, and Washington, 139 

Chap. XXXVIII. Meeting of Troops in the East— Camp 
at Boston — General Artemas Ward — Scheme to suri^rise 
Ticonderoga — New Hampshire Grants — Ethan Allen and 
tho Green Mountain Boys— Benedict Arnold— Affair of 
Ticonderoga and Crown Point — A Dash at St. Johns, 143 

Chap. XXXIX. Second Session of Congress— John Han- 
cock—Petition to the King— Federal" Union— Military 



CONTENTS. 



HI 



Measures^Detiatea about the Army— Question as to 
Commander-in-cliief — Appointment of Washington — 
Other Appointments— Letters of Washington to his 
Wife and Brother— Preparations for Departure, . 146 
Jhap. XL. More Troops arrive at Boston — Generals 
Howe, Burgoyne, and Clintnai — Proclamation of Gage — 
Nature of the American Army— Scornful Conduct of 
the British Officers— Project of the Americana to seize 
upon Breed's UiU— Putnam's Opinion of it— Sanctioned 
by Prescott- Noctui-nal March of the Detachment— For- 
tifying of Bunker's Hill— Break of Day, and Astonish- 
ment of the Enemy, 149 

Chap. 5LI. Battle of Bunker's Hill 153 

Chap. XLII. Departure from Philadelphia — Anecdotes 
of General Schuyler— of Lee— Tidings of Bunker's Hill 
— Military CouncilB — Population of New York— The 
Johnson Family— Governor Tryon —Arrival at New 
York— Military InstructionB to Schuyler— Arrival at the 
Camp 157 



VOL. II. 

Chapter I. Washineton takes Command of the Armies 
^Sketch of General Lee— Characters of the British 
Commanders, Howe, Clinton, and Burgoyne — Survey 
of the Camps from Prospect Hill — The Camps con- 
trasted — Description of the Revolutionary Army— Rhode 
Island Troops — Character of General Greene — Wash- 
ington represents tJie Deficiencies of the Army — His 
Apology for the Massachusetts Troojis- Governor"Trum- 
bull — Cragie House, Washington's Head-Quarters, 163 

Chap. II. Questions of Milit.ary Rank — Popularity of 
Putnam — Arrangements at Head-Quarters— Colonel Mif- 
flin and John Trumbull, Aides-de-Camji — Joseph Reed, 
Washington's Secretarj' and Confidoutial Friend — Gates 
as Adjutimt-General— Hazardous Situation of the Army- 
Strengthening of the Defences — Efficiency of Putnam — 
Rapid Changes — New Distriijution of the Forces — Rigid 
Discipline — Lee and his Cane — His Idea as to Strong 
Battalions — Arrival of Rifle Companies — Daniel Morgan 
and his Sharp Shooters — Wasliington declines to detach 
Troops to distant points for their Protection — His Rea- 
sons for so doing, 167 

Chap. III. Washington's Object in distressing Boston — 
Scarcity and Sickness in the Town — A Startling Discov- 
ery — Scarcity of Powder in the Camp — Its Perilous 
Situation — Economy of Ammunition — Correspondence 
between L5e and Burgoyne — Correspondence between 
Washington and Gage — The Dignity of the Patriot Army 
asserted, 170 

Chap. IV. Dangers in the Interior — Machinations of the 
Johnson Family — Rivalry of Ethan Allen and Benedict 
Arnold — Government Perplexities about the Ticonde- 
roga Capture — Measures to seciu-e the Prize — Allen and 
Arnold ambitious of further Laurels— Projects for the 
Invasion of Canada — Ethan Allen and Seth Warner 
honored by Congress — Arnold displaced by a Committrc 
of Inquiry — His Indignation — News from Canada — The 
Revolution to be extended into that Province — Enlist- 
ment of Green Mountain Boys — Schuyler at Ticonderoga 
— State of Aft'airs there — Election for Officers of the 
Green Mountain Boys — Ethan Allen dismounted — Joins 
the Army as a Volunteer — Preparations for the Invasion 
of Canada — General Montgomery — Indian Chiefs at 
Cambridge — Council Fire — Flan for an Expedition 
against Quebec — Departure of Troops from Ticonde- 
roga— Arrival at Isle aus Noix, .... 174 

Chap. V. A Challenge declined — A Blow meditated— A 
cautious Council of AVar— Preparations for the Quebec 
Expedition— Benedict Arnold the Leader — Advice and 
Instructions— Departure— General Schuyler on the Sor^'l 
— Reconnoitres St. Johns — Camp at Isle aux Noix — Ill- 
ness uf Schuyler — Returns to Ticonderoga — Exjicdition 
of Montgomery against St. Johns-:-Letter of Ethan Al- 
len—His Dash against Montreal — Its Catastrophe — A 
Hero in Irons — Correspondence of Washington witli 
Schuyler and Arnold — IIis Anxiety about them, . ISO 

Chap. VI. British in Boston send out Cruisers — Depre- 
dations of Captain Wallace along the Coast — Treason in 
the Camp — Arrest of Dr. Church — His Trial and Fate — 
Conflagration of Falmouth— Irritation throughout the 
Country— Fitting out of Vessels of War — Embarkation 
of General Gage for England — Committee from Con- 
gress — Conferences with Washington — Resolutions of 
Congress to carry on the War— Return of Secretary 
Reed to Philadelphia, 186 

3nAP. VII. Measures of General Howe — Desecration of 
Churches — Three Proclamations — Seizure of Tories — 
Want of Artillerj-- Henry Knox, the Artillerist— His 
Mission to Ticonderoga— R'e-enlistment of Troops — Lack 
of Public Spirit— Comments of General Greene, 189 



Chap. VIII, Affairs in Canada— Capture of Fort Cham- 
blee — Siege of St. Johns— Maclean and his Highlanders 
— Montgomery on the Treatment of Ethan Allen — Re- 
pulse of Carleton— Capitulation of the Garrison of St. 
Johns — Generous Conduct of Montgomery — Maclean re- 
embarks for Quebec— We.wy Struggle of Arnold throut-h 
the WUderness — Defection of Colonel Enos — Arnold "i;i 
the Valley of the Chaudierc— His Arrival opposite Que- 
bec — Surrender of Montreal — Escape of Carleton 

Home-sickness of the American Troops, . . 191 

Chap. IX. Washington's Anticipations of Success at Que- 
bec—His Eulogiuin of Arnold— Schuyler and Montgom- 
ery talk of resigning— Expostulations of Washington— 
Tjieir Effect— Schuyler's Conduct to a Captive Foe, 195 

Chap. X. Difficulties in ffiling up the Army— The Con- 
necticut Troops persist in going Home— Their reception 
there— Timely Arrival of Spoils in the Camp— Putnam 
and the Prize Mortar— A Maraud by Americans— Re- 
buked by Washington— Corres]iondence of Washington 
with General Howe about the treatment of Ethan Allen 
—Fraternal Zeal of Levi Allen— Treatment of General 
Prescott— Preparations to bombard Boston— Battery at 
Lechmere's Point— Prayer of Putnam for Powder, 196 
Chap. XL Mount Vernon in Danger— Mrs. Washington 
invited to the Camp— Lund Washington, the General's 
Agent— Terms on which ho serves— Instructed to keep 
up the Hospitality of the House- Journey of Mrs. Wash- 
ington to Camp— Her Equipage and Liveries— Arrival 
at Camp— Domestic Affairs at HeadQuarters— Gajetics 
in Camp— A Brawl between Round-Jackets and Rifle- 
Shirts, 200 

Chap. XII. Affairs in Canada— Arnold at Point Levi— 
Quebec reinforced— Crossintr of the St. Lawrence— Land- 
ing in Wolfe's Cove— Arnold on the Heights of Abra- 
ham—Cautious Counsel— Quebec aroused— The Invaders 
baffled— Withdraw to Point aux Trembles— Booming 
of Cannon- Carleton at Quebec— Letter of Washington 

to Arnold, 202 

Chap. XIII. LordDunmore— His Plans of harassing Vir- 
ginia— Lee's Policy respecting Tory Governors and Place- 
men — Rhode Island harassed by Wallace and his Cruis- 
ers, and infested by Tories— Lee sent to its Relief— His 
Vigorous Measures— The Army disbanding — Washing- 
ton's Perplexities— Sympathy of General Greene— IIis 
Loyalty in time of Trouble— The Crisis— Cheering News 
from Caiiada— Gloomy Opening of the New Year— News 

from Colonel Knox, 204 

Chap. XIV. Military Preparations in Boston — A Secret 
Expedition— Its Object— Lee's Plan for the Security of 
Is ew York— Ojiinion of Adams on the Subject— Instruc- 
tions to Lee— Transactions of Lee in Connecticut — Lee's 
Policy in regard to the Tories — Uneasiness in New York 
— Letter of the Committee of Safety to Lee — His Reply 
—His Opinion of the People of Connecticut— Of the 
Hysterical Letter from the New York Congress, . 207 
Chap. XV. Montgomery before Quebec— His Plan of Op- 
erations—A Summons to Surrender- A Flag Insulted — 
The Town Besieged— Plan of an Escalade— Attack of 
the Lower Town— Montgomery in the Advance — His 
Death— Retreat of Colonel Campbell— Attack by Ar- 
nold — Defence of the Lower Town — Arnold wounded 
— Retreat of the Americans — Gallant Resoh-e of Ar- 
nold, 210 

Chap. XVI. Correspondence of Washington and Schuy- 
ler on the Disasters in Canada — Reinforcements required 
from New England — Dangers in the Interior of New 
York— Johnson Hall beleaguered — Sir John capitulates 
— Generous Conduct of Schuyler— Governor Tryon and 
the Tories — Tory Machinations — Lee at New York— Sir 
Henry Clinton in the Harbor— Menaces of Lee — The 
City and River fortified — Lee's Treatment of the Tories 
—His Plans of Fortification — Ordered to the Command 
in Canada— His Speculations on Titles of Dignity, £14 
CuAP. XVII. Monotonous State of Aft'airs before Boston 
-^V/ashington anxious for Action — Exploit of Putnam — 
Its Dramatic Conseqiiencos — The Farce of the Blockade 
of Boston — An Alarming Interruption — Distresses of the 
Besiesred — Washington's Irksome Predicament — His 
Bold Proposition — Demur of tlie Council of War — Ar- 
rival of Knox with Artillery — Dorchester Heights to bo 
seized, and fortified-Preparations for the Attempt, 21S 
Chap. XVIII. The Affair of Dorchester Heights- Amer- 
ican and English Letters respecting it — A Laborious 
Night — Revelations at Daybreak — Howe in a Perplexity 
—A Night Attack meditated— Stormy Weather— Tl;e 
Town to be evacuated— Negotiations and Arrangements 
—Preparations to Embark — Excesses of the Troops— Bos- 
ton evacuated— Speech of the Duke of Manchesteron the 
subject- A Medal voted by Congress, . . . 220 
Chap. XIX. Destination of the Fleet— Commission of the 
two Howes — Character of Lord Howe — The Colonies 
divided into Departments— Lee assigned to the Soutliern 



CONTENTS. 



Department— General Thomas to Canada— Ch. rarter of 
Lpc, by Washington— Letters of Lee from the South—A 
Dog in a Dancing School— Committee of Safetj- in Vir- 
ginia — Lee's Grenadiers— Putnam in Command at New 
York— State of Alfairs there— Arrival of AVa^hington— 
New Arrangements— rerplexities -nilh respect to Cana- 
da—England suljsidizes Ilessian troop.^, . . 225 

CiTAP. XX. Arnold blockades Quebec— His Difficulties- 
Arrival of General AVooster-Of General Thomas— Abor- 
tive Attempt on (Quebec — rreparations for Retreat— 
Sortie of Carleton — Itetreat of the Americans— Halt at 
Point Deschambeault— Alarm in the Colonies at the lie- 
treat of the Army— Popular Clamor against Schuyler— 
Slanders refuted, 229 

Chap. XXI. Gates sent to Philadelphia with the Canada 
Despatches- Promoted to the rank of Major-General — 
Washington summoned to Philadelphia— Putnam left in 
command— Conference with Congress— Army Arrange- 
ments— A Board of War instituted- The Clintons of 
New York— Mrs. Washington Inoculated— Reed made 
Adjutant-General, 202 

Chap. XXII. Affairs in Canada— Disaster at the Cedars 
— Hostile Designs of the Johnsons — A Bloody Summer 
expected — Forts in the Highlands- Colonel James Clin- 
ton in Command — Fortifications at King's Bridge and 
on Long Island, 234 

Chap. XXIII. Retreat of General Thomas— His Death- 
General Sullivan in Command — Scene ontheSorel — San- 
guine Kxpectations of Sullivan— Washington's Opinion 
of Sullivan's Character — Gates appointed to the Com- 
mand in Canada — Reinforcements of the Enemy — Re- 
verses — Thompson Captured — Retreat of Sullivan — Close 
of the Invasion of Canada, 236 

Chap. XXIV. Designs of the Enemy against New York 
and the Hudson- Plot of Tryon and the Tories— Arrival 
of a Fleet— Alarm Posts— Treachery up the Hudson — 
Fresh Arrivals — General Howe at Staten Island — Wash- 
ington's Preparations, 239 

Chap. XXV. First Appearance of Alexander Hamilton 
— His Early Days — General Hugh Mercer in command 
of the Flying Camp— Declaration of Independence 
—Announced to the Army — Downfall of the King's 
Statue, 242 

Chap. XXVI. Arrival of more Ships — Movements of the 
Phcenix and the Rose— Panic in the City — Hostile Ships 
up tlie Hudson— Stir of AVar along the River — General 
George Clinton, and the Militia of Ulster Coutity— Fresh 
Agitation of New York— Arrival of Lord Howe, 244 

Chap. XXVII. Precautions against Tories — Secret Com- 
mittees — Declaration of Lord Howe — His Letter to the 
Colonial Governors — His Letter to Washington rejected 
— Interview between the British Adjutant-Genenil and 
Colonel Reed — Receijtion of the Adjutant-General by 
Washington — The Phienix and Rose in the Tappan Sea, 
anil Ilavcrstraw Bay — Arming of the River Yeomanry 
— George Clinton at the Gates of the Highlands, 247 

Chap. XXVIII. Question of Command between Gates 
and Schuyler— Condition of the -Irmyat Crown Point — 
Discontent and Departure of Sullivan — Fortifications at 
Ticonderoga — Tlie Question of Ccnnmand adjusted- Se- 
cret Discontents — Sectional Jealousies in the Army — 
Southern Troops— Smallwood's Macaroni Battalion — 
Connecticut Light-Uorse, 250 

Chap. XXIX. Southern Cruise of Sir Henry Clinton- 
Fortifications at Charleston — Arrival there of Gener.al 
Lee — Battle at Sullivan's Island — Washington announces 
the result to the Army, 254 

Chap. XXX. Putnam's Military Projects— Chovaux-de- 
frise at Fort Washington— Meditated Attack on Staten 
Island — Arrival of Ships— Hessian Reinforcements — 
Scotch Highlanders — Sir Henry Clinton and Lord Corn- 
wallis — ^Putnam's Obstructions of the Hudson — The 
Phoenix and Rose attacked by Row Galleys at Tarry- 
town — General Order of Washington on the subject of 
Sectional Jealousies — Profane Swearing prohibited in 
the Camp — Preparations against Attack — Levies of Yeo- 
manry — George Clinton in Command of the Levies along 
the Hudson — Alarms of the Peoijlo of New York— Be- 
nevolent Sympathy of Washington — The I'hcenis Grap- 
pled by a Fire-Ship- The Ships Evacuate the Hud- 
son, 256 

Chap. XXXI. The Battle of Long Island, . . 260 
Chap. XXXII. The Retreat from Long Island, . 267 
Chap. XXXIII. Long Island in Possession of the Ene- 
my-Distressed Situation of the American Army at 
New York— Question of Abandoning the City— Letters 
from either Camp— Enemy's Sliipsln the Sound— Re- 
moval of Women and Children from the City — Yearn- 
ing for Home among the Militia— Tolerant Ideas of 
Washington and Greene— Fort Constitution— Confer- 
ence of Lord Howe with a Committee from Congress, 269 



Chap. XXXIV. Movements of the Enemy— Councils of 
War — Question of the Abandonment of the City — Dis- 
tribution of the Ai-my — Sliips in the East River — The 
Enemy at Hell Gate— Skirmish at Turtle Bay — Panic of 
the Connecticut Militia — Rage and Personal Peril of 
Washington — Putnam's Perilous Retreat from the City 
—British Regale at Murray Hill, .... 273 

Chap. XXXV. Fortified Camp at King's Bridge— Amer- 
ican and British Lines — The Morris House—Alexander 
Hamilton— The Enemy advance— Successful Skirmish 
— Death of Knowlton — Great Fire in New York — Re- 
organization of the Army — Exchange of Prisoners- 
Daniel Morgan regained — Delancey's Tory Brigade — 
Robert Rogers, the Partisan — His Rangers — The Roe- 
buck, Phtenix, and Tartar in the Hudson — Military 
Movements by Land and Water — Letter of John 
Jay, 276 

Chap. XXXVI. Lee expected in Camp — His Letter of 
Advice to the President of Congress— The Enemy at 
Throg's Neck — Washington's Arrangements — Rides to 
Throg's Neck— The Enemy brought to a Stand— Military 
Movements — Arrival of Lee — A Command assigned to 
him — Criticizes the conduct of Congress and the Army — 
Council of War — The Army to move to the Mainland — 
Fort Washington to be kept up, .... 282 

Chap. XXXVII. Army Arrangements — Washington at 
White Plains — The Enemy at Throg's Point — Skinnish 
of Colonel Glover— Attempt to Surprise Rogers, the 
Renegade — Troopers in a rough country — Alarms at 
White Plains — Cannonading of Ships at Fort Washing- 
ton — March of Lee — Fortified Camp at White Plains — 
Reconiioitring — The Afl'air at Chatterton Hill — Relative 
Situation of the Armies- Change of Position— Contrast 
of the Appearance of the Troops— George Clinton's Idea 
of Strategy — Movement of the British Army — Incen- 
diaries at'White Plains, 284 

Chap. XXXVIII. Conjectures as to the Intentions of the 
Enemy — Consequent Precautions — Correspondence with 
Greene respecting Fort Washington — Distribution of 
the Army — Lee left in Command at Northcastle — In- 
structions to him— W.a8hington at Peekskiil — Visits to 
the Po.sts in the Highlands, 2S9 

Chap. XXXIX. Affairs on Lake Champlain— Gates at 
Ticonderoga— Arnold's Flotilla— Military Preparations 
of Sir Guy Carleton at St. Joh'.j— Nautical Encounters 
— Gallant Conduct of Arnold :in'-l "W'aterbr.ry — Carleton 
in Possession of Crown Point — His return to Canada 
and Winter Quarters, 292 

Chap. XL. Washington crosses the Hudson — Arrives at 
Fort Lee — Afl'airs at Fort Washington— Question about 
its Abandonment — Movements of Howe — Tlie Fort sum- 
moned to Surrender — Refusal of Colonel McGaw — The 
Fort attacked- Cai)ture of the Fort and Garrison- 
Comments of Washington on the State of Affairs, . 295 

Chap. XLI. The Enemy cross the Hudson— Retreat of 
the Garrison from Fort Lee — The Crossing of the Hack- 
ensack — Lee ordered to move to the West Side of the 
River— Reed's Letter to him— Second move of the Army 
— Beyond the Passaic — Assistance sought from various 
quarters — Correspondence and Schemes of Lee — Heath 
stanch to his Instructions — Anxiety of George Clinton 
for the Safety of the Hudson— Critical Situation of the 
Army — Disparaging Correspondence between Lee and 
Reed — Washington retreats across theRaritan — Arrives 
at Trenton — Removes his Baggage across the Delaware 
— Dismay and Despondency of' the Country — Procla- 
mation of Lord Howe — Exultation of the Enemy — 
Washington's Resolve in case of Extremity, . 299 

Chap. XLII. Loo at Peekskiil — Stanch adherence of 
Heath to Orders — Lee crosses the Hudson — Washing- 
ton at Trenton— Lee at the Heels of the Enemy — His 
Speculations on Military Greatness — Forced March of 
Cornwallis— Washington crosses the Delaware — Put- 
nam in Command at Philadelphia— Baffling Letters of 
Lee — Hopes to reconquer the Jerseys — Gates on the 
March— Lee quartered at Baskingridge— Surprised and 
Captured — Speculations on his Conduct, . . 305 

Chap. XLIII. Washington clothed with Additional 
Powers — Recruitment of the Army— Increased Pay — 
Colonel John Cadwalader— Arrival of Sullivan— Gates 
—Wilkinson— A Coup do Main meditated— Posture of 
Afl'airs at Trenton — Gates declines to take a part— His 
Comments on Washington's Plans- Preparations for the 
Coup de Main— Crossing of the Delaware— Attack on the 
Enemy's Forces at Trenton- Death of Rahl — His Char- 
acter, 3H 

Chap. XLIV. Treatment of the Hessian Prisoners — 
Their Interviews with Washington— Their Reception 
by the People, 318 

Chap. XLV. Episode— Colonel Griffin in the .Jerseys — 
Donop decoyed — Inroad of Cadwalader and Reed— Re- 
treat and Confusion of the Enemy's Outposts — Wash- 



CONTENTS. 



ington veerossea the Delaware Nvith his Troops — The 
Game reversed — The Hessians hunted back through 
the Country— Washington made Military Dictator, 320 
Chap. XLVI. Howe hears of the Affiiir at Trenton— 
Cornwallis sent back to the Jerseys— Reconnoitring Ex- 
pedition of Reed— His Exploits— Washington in Peril at 
Trenton— Reinforced by Troops under Cadwalader and 
Miflain-PositionofhisMen—Cornwallis at Trenton— Re- 
pulsed at the Assunpink- The American Camp menaced 
—Night March of Washington— Affair at Princeton- 
Death of Mercer— Rout of British Troops— Pursued by 
AVashington- Cornwallis at Princeton— Baffled and Per- 
plexed—Washington at Morristown— His System of 
Annoyance— The Tables turned upon the Enemy, 322 



VOL. III. 

Chapter I. Burke on the State of Affairs in America — 
New Jersey roused to Arms — Washington grants Safe 
Conduct to Hessian Convoys— Encampment at Morris- 
town — Putnam at Princeton— His Stratagem to Conceal 
the Weakness of his Camp— Exploit of General Dick- 
inson near Somerset Court House— Washington's Coun- 
ter Proclamation — Prevalence of the Smallpox— Inocu- 
lation of the Army— Contrast of the British and Ameri- 
can Commanders and their Camps, . . . 329 

Chap. II. Negotiations for Exchange of Prisoners — Case 
of Colonel Ethan Allen— Of General Lee- Correspond- 
ence of Washington with Sir William Howe about 
Exchanges of Prisoners — Referees appointed — Letters 
of Lee from New York — Case of Colonel Campbell — 
Washington's Advice to Congress on the Subject of Re- 
taliation — His Correspondence with Lord Howe about 
the Treatment of Prisoners — The Horrors of the Jersey 
Prison-Ship and the Sugar-House, .... 332 

Chap. III. Exertions to form a New Army — Calls on 
the Difi'erent States — Insufficiency of the Militia — Wash- 
ington's Care for the Yeomanry — Dangers in the North- 
ern Department — Winter Attack on Ticonderoga ap- 
grehended — Exertions to reinforce Schuyler — Precarious 
tate of Washington's Army — ^Conjectures as to the 
Designs of the Enemy — Expedition of the British 
against Peekskill, 336 

Chap. IV. Schuyler's Affairs in the Northern Depart- 
ment-Misunderstandings with Congress — Gives offence 
by a Reproachful Letter— Office of Adjutant-General 
offered to Gates — Declined by him— Schuyler Repri- 
manded by Congress for hia Reproachful Letter— Gates 
appointed to the Command at Ticonderoga— Schuyler 
considers himself virtually suspended— Takes his Seat 
as a Delegate to Congress, and Claims a Court of In- 
quiry — Has Command at Philadelphia, . . . 339 

Chap. V. Foreign Officers Candidates for Situations in 
the Army — Difficulties in adjusting Questions of Rank 
— Ducoudr.ay — Conway — Kosciuszko — Washington's 

■ Guards — Arnold Omitted in the Army Promotions — 
Washington takes his part — British Expedition against 
Danbury — Destruction of American Stores — Connecticut 
Yeomanry in Arms — Skirmish at Ridgefield— Death of 
General Wooster — Gallant Sei-vices of Arnold — Re- 
warded by Congress — Exploit of Colonel Meigs at Sag 
Harbor, 342 

Chap. VI. Schuyler on the Point of Resigning — Com- 
mittee of Inquiry Report in his Favor— His^Memorial to 
Congress proves Satisfactory — Discussions regarding 
the Northern Department— Gates mistaken as to his 
Position — He prompts his Friends in Congress— His 
Petulant Letter to Washington— Dignified Reply of the 
Latter — Position of Gates defined— Schuyler reinstated 
in Command of the Department — Gates appears on the 
Floor of Congress— His Proceedings there, . . 347 

Chap. VIL The Highland Passes of the Hudson— George 
Clinton in Command of the Forts— His Measures for 
Defence— Generals Greene and Knox examine the State 
of the Forts— Their Report— The General Command of 
the Hudson offered to Arnold — Declined by him — Given 
to Putnam — Appointment of Dr. Craik in the Medical 
Department-Expedition planned against Fort Independ- 
ence — But relinquished — Washington shifts his Camp 
to Middlebrook — State of his Army— General Howe 
crosses into the Jerseys — Position of the two Armies at 
Middlebrook and behind the Raritan — Correspondence 
between Washington and Colonel Reed, . . 350 

Chap. VIII. Feigned Movements of Sir William Howe — 
Baffling Caution of Washington — Rumored Inroads from 
the North — Schuyler applies for Reinforcements — Re- 
newed Schemes of Howe to draw Washington from his 
Stronghold — Skirmish between Cornwallis and Lord 
Stirling— The Enemy evacuate the Jerseys— Perplexity 
as to their next Movement — A Hostile Fleet on Lake 
Champlain — Burgoyne approaching Ticonderoga— Spec- 



ulations of Washington— His Purpose of keeping Sir 
William Howe from ascending the Hudson — Orders 
George Clinton to call out Militia from Ulster and Orange 
Counties — Sends Sullivan towards the Highlands — Moves 
his own Camp back to Morristown^Stir among the 
Shipping — Their Destination surmised to be Philadel- 
phia — A Dinner at Head-Quarters — Alexander Hamilton 
— Graydon's Rueful Description of the Army — His 

Character of Wayne, 354 

Chap. IX. British Invasion from Canada — The Plan — 
Composition of the Invading Army — Schuyler on the 
Alert — His Speculations as to the "Enemy's Designs— 
Burgoyne on Lake Champlain — His War-Speech to his 
Indian Allies— Signs of his Approach descried from 
Ticonderoga— Correspondence on the Subject between 
St. Clair, Major Livingston, and Schuyler — Burgoyne 
Intrenches near Ticonderoga— His Proclamation— Schuy- 
ler's Exertions at Albany to forward Reinforcements — 
Hears that Ticonderoga is evacuated— Mysterious Dis- 
appearance of St. Clair and his Troops — Amazement 
and Concern of Washington— OrderstReinforcements to 
Schuyler at Fort Edward, and to Putnam at Peekskill — 
Advances with his Main Army to the Clove — His Hope- 
ful Spirit manifested, 357 

Chap. X. Particulars of the Evacuation — Indian Scouts in 
the Vicinity of the Forts — Outposts abandoned by St. 
Clair — Burgoyne secures Mount Hope — Invests the For- 
tress — Seizes and occupies Sugar Hill — The Forts over- 
looked and in Imminent Peril — Determination to evacu- 
ate — Plan of Retreat — Part of the Garrison depart for 
Skencsborough in the Flotilla— St. Clair crosses with the 
rest to Fort Independence — A Conflagration reveals his 
Retreat — The British Camp aroused — Eraser pursues St. 
Clair — Burgoyne with his Squadron makes after the Flo- 
tilla — Part of the Fugitives overtaken — Flight of the Re- 
mainder to Fort Anne — Skirmish of Colonel Long — Re- 
treat to Fort Edward— St. Clair at Castleton- Attack of 
his Rear-Guard— Fall of Colonel Francis— Desertion of 
Colonel Hale — St. Clair reaches Fort Edward— Conster- 
nation of the Country — Exultation of the British, 362 

Chap. XL Capture of General Prescott— Proffered in 
Exchange for Lee — Reinforcements to Schuyler— Arnold 
sent to the North— Eastern Militia to repair to Saratoga 
— Further Reinforcements— Generals Lincoln and Arnold 
recommended for Particular Services — Washington's 
Measures and Suggestions for the Northern Compaign— 
British Fleet puts to Sea — Conjectures as to its Destina- 
tion—A Feigned Letter — Appearance and Disappearance 
of the Fleet— Orders and Counter Orders of Washington 
— Encamps at Germantown— Anxiety for the Security 
of the Highlands— George Clinton on Guard— Call on 
Connecticut, . . . . ' . . . . 366 

Chap. XII. Gates on the Alert for a Command— Schuy- 
ler undermined in Congress— Put on his Guard— Courts 
a Scrutiny, but not before an expected Engagement — 
Summoned with St. Clair to Head-Quarters— Gates ap- 
pointed to the Northern Department— Washington's 
Speculations on the Successes of Burgoyne— Ill-judged 
Meddlings of Congress with the Commissariat — Colonel 
Trumbull resigns in consequence, . . . 370 

Chap. XIII. Washington's Perplexities about the British 
Fleet— Putnam and Governor Clinton put on the Alert in 
tlie Highl.ands— Morgan and his Riflemen sent to the 
North— Washington at Philadelphia— His lirst Interview 
with Lafayette— Intelligence about the Fleet— Explana- 
tions of its Movements— Review of the Army — Lafay- 
ette mistakes the nature of his Commission — His Alli- 
ance with Washington— March of the Army through 
Philadelphia — Encampment at Wilmington, ■ 372 

Chap. XIV. Burgoyne at Skencsborough- Prepares to 
move towards the iludson- Major Skene the Royalist- 
Slow March to Fort Anne— Schuyler at Fort Miller- 
Painted Warriors— Lanirdale— St. Luc— Honor of the 
Tomahawk— Tragical Story of Miss McCrea— Its Rc- 
sults- Burgoyne advances to Fort Edward— Schuyler 
at Stillwater— Joined by Lincoln— Burgoyne deseivted by 
his Indian Allies, ....'.. 376 

Chap. XV. Difficulties of Burgoyne— Plans an Expedi- 
tion to Bennington— St. Leger before Fort Stanwix- 
General Herkimer at Oriskany— High Words with his 
Officers— A Dogged March— An Ambuscade— Battle of 
Oriskany— Johnson's Greens— Death of Herkimer— 
Spirited Sortie of Colonel Willett- Sir John Johnson 
driven to the River— Flight of the Indians— Sacking of 
Sir John's Camp — Colonel Gansevoort maintains his 
Post— Colonel Willett sent in quest of Aid— Arrives at 
Schuyler's Camp, 379 

Chap. XVI. Schuyler hcar« of the Affair of Orisk.any— 
Applies for Reinforcements — His Appeal to the Patriot- 
ism of Stark— Schuyler superseded- His Conduct there- 
upon—Relief sent to Fort Stanwix — Arnold volunteers 
to conduct it— Change of Encampment — Patriotic De- 
termination of Schuyler— Detachment of the Enemy 



vx 



CONTENTS. 



against Bennington — Germans and their Indian Allies — 
Baum, the Hessian Leader— Stark in the Field— Muster- 
ing of the Militia— A Belligerent Parson— Battle of Ben- 
nington — Breyman to the Rescue— Routed— Reception of 
the News in the Rival Camps— Washington urges New- 
England to follow up the Blow, .... 382 

Chap. XVII. Stratagem of Arnold to relieve Fort Stan- 
wix— Yan Tost Cuyler— The Siege pressed— Indians 
intractable— Success of Arnold's Stratagem— Harassed 
Retreat of St. Leger— Moral Effect of the two Blows 
given to the Enemy— Brightening Prospects in the 
American Camp— Arrival of Gates— Magnanimous Con- 
duct of Schuyler— Poorly requited by Gates— Corre- 
spondence between Gates and Burgoyne concerning the 
Murder of Miss McCrca, . . ... 387 

Chap. XVIII. Landing of Howe's Army on Elk River- 
Measures to check it— Exposed Situation of Washing- 
ton in Reconnoitring— Alarm of the Country— Procla- 
mation of Howe— Arrival of Sullivan— Foreign Officers 
in Camp— Deborie — Conway— Fleury— Count Pulaski— 
First Appearance in the Army of " Light- Horse Harry " 
of Virginia— Washington's Appeal to the Army— Move- 
ments of the Rival Forces— Battle of the Brandywine— 
Retreat of the Americans— Halt in Chester— Scenes in 
Philadelphia during the Battle— Congress orders out 
Militia— Clothes Washington with Extraordinary Pow- 
ers — Removes to Lancaster— Rewards to Foreign Of- 
ficers, 389 

Chap. XIX. General Howe neglects to pursue his Ad- 
vantage — Washington retreats to Germantown — Re- 
crosses the Schuylkill and prepares for another Action- 
Prevented by Storms of Rain— Retreats to French Creek 
— Wayne detached to fall on the Enemy's Rear— His 
Pickets surprised— Massacre of Smallwood's Men — 
Manoeuvres of Howe on the Schuylkill— Washington 
sends for Reinforcements— Howe marches into Phila- 
delphia, .■ 396 

Chap. XX. Dubious Position of Burgoyne — Collects his 
Forces — Ladies of Distinction in his Camp— Lady Har- 
riet Ackland— The Baroness de Riedesel — American 
Army reinforced — Silent Movements of Burgoyne^ 
Watched from the Summit of the Hills— His March 
along the Hudson— Position of the two Camps— Battle 
on the 19th Sept.— Burgoyne encamps nearer — Fortifies 
his Camp— Promised Co-operation by Sir Henry Clinton 
—Determines to await it— Quarrel between Gates and 
Arnold— Arnold deprived of Command— Burgoyne waits 
for Co-operation, 398 

Chap. XXI. Preparations of Sir Henry Clinton — State of 
the Highland Defences — Putnam alarmed — Advance of 
the Armament up the Hudson— Plan of Sir Henry Clin- 
ton — Peekskill threatened — Putnam deceived — Secret 
March of the Enemy through the Mountains — Forts 
Montgomery and Clinton overpowered — Narrow Escape 
of the Commanders — Conflagration and Explosion of the 
American Frigates — Rallying Eft'orts of Putnam and 
Governor Clinton— The Spy and the Silver Bullet — Eso- 
pus burnt — Ravaging Progress of the Enemy up the 
Hudson, 404 

Chap. XXII. Scarcity in the British Camp— Gates bides 
his Time — Foraging Movement of Burgoyne — Battle of 
the 7th October— Rout of the British and Hessians — Sit- 
uation of the Baroness de Riedesel and I>ady Harriet 
Ackland during the Battle— Death of Gen. Eraser — His 
Funeral— Night Retreat of the British — Expedition of 
Lady Harriet Ackland— Dcsper.ate Situation of Bur- 
goyne at Saratoga — Capitulation — Surrender — Conduct 
of the American troops — Scenes in the Camp — Gallant 
Courtesy of Schuyler to the Baroness de Riedesel — His 
Magnanimous Conduct towards Burgoyne — Return of 
the British Ships down the Hudson, . . . 408 

Chap. XXIII. Washington advances to Skippack Creek 
— The British Fleet in the Delaware — Forts and Ob- 
structions in the River — Wasliington meditates an At- 
tack on the British Camp — Battle of Germantown, 417 

Chap. XXIV. AVashinirton at White Marsh— Measures 
to cut oft' the Enemy's Supplies— The Forts on the Del- 
aware reinforced — Colonel Greene of Rhode Island at 
Fort Mercer— Attack and Defence of that Fort— Death of 
Count Donop, 421 

Chap. XXV. De Kalli commissioned Maior General — 
Pretensions of Conway— Thwarted by Washington- 
Conway Cabal— Gates remiss in Corresijondcnce — Dil- 
atory in forwarding Troops — Mission of Hamilton 
to Gates — Wilkinson Bearer of Despatches to Con- 
gress—A Tardy Traveller— His Reward — Conway Cor- 
respondence detected — Washington's Apology for his 
Army, 423 

Chap. XXVI. Further Hostilities on the Delaware— Fort 
Mifflin attacked— Bravely defended— Reduced — Mis- 
sion of Hamilton to Gates— Visits the Camps of Gov- 
ernor Clinton and Putnam on the Hudson — Putnam on 
his Hobby-Horse — Difliculties in procuring Reinforce- 



ments—Intrigues of the Cabal— Letters of Lovell and 
Mifflin to Gates— The Works at Red Bank destroyed — 
The Enemy in Possession of the Delaware, . . 426 
Chap. XXVII. Question of an Attack on Philadelphia- 
General Reed at Head-Quarters — Enemy's Works re- 
connoitred—Opinions in a Council of War— Exploit of 
Lafayette— Receives Command of a Division— Modifica- 
tion of the Board of War— Gates to preside— Letter of 
Lovell— Sally Forth of General Howe— -Evolutions and 
Skirmishes — Conway Inspector-general — Consultation 
about Winter Quarters— Dreary March to Valley Forge 
—Hutting— Washington's Vindicatory Letters— Retro- 
spect of the Year, 430 

Chap. XXVIII. Gates on the Ascendant— The Conway 
Letter— Suspicions — Consequent Correspondence be- 
tween Gatesand Washington— Warning Lt-fterfrom Dr. 
Craik — Anonymous Letters— Projected Expedition to 
Canada— Lafayette, Gates, and the Board of War, 437 

Chap. XXIX. Gates undertakes to explain the Conway 
Correspondence — Washington's Searching Analysis of 
the Explanation — Close of the Correspondence — Spuri- 
ous Letters published — Lafayette and the Canada Expe- 
dition—His Perplexities — Counsels of Washington, 440 

Chap. XXX. More Trouble about the Conway Letter — 
Correspondence between Lord Stirling and Wilkinson — 
Wilkinson's Honor wounded — His Passage at Arms 
with General Gates — His Seat at the Bo.ard of War un- 
comfortaljle — Determines that Lord Stirling shall bleed 
— His Wounded Honor healed — His Interviews with 
Washington — Sees the Correspondence of Gates — De- 
nounces Gates and gives up the Secretaryship — Is 
thrown out of Employ — Closing Remarks on the Conway 
Cabal, 444 

CuAP. XXXI. Committee of Arrangement — Reforms in 
the Army— Scarcity in the Camp — The Enemy revel in 
Philadelphia — Attempt to surprise Light-Horse Harry 
— His Gallant Defence— Praised by Washington— Pro- 
moted— Letter from General Lee— Burgoyne returns to 
England— Mrs. Washington at Valley Forge — Bryan 
Fairfax visits the Camp— Arrival of the Baron Steuben 
— Ilis Character — Disciplines the Army — Greene made 
Quartermaster-general, 447 

Chap. XXXII. Fortifications of the Hudson— Project to 
surprise Sir Henry Clinton — General Howe forages the 
Jerseys — Ships and Stores burnt at Bordentown— Plans 
for the next Campaign— Gates and Mifflin under Wash- 
ington's Command— Downfall of Conway— Lord North's 
Conciliatory Bills — Sent to Washington by Governor 
Tryon— Resolves of Congress— Letter of Washington to 
Tryon — Rejoicing at Valley Forge — The Miechianza, 453 

Chap. XXXIII. Lafayette detached to keep Watch on 
Philadelphia— His Position at Barren HUl — Plan of Sir 
Henry to entrap him — Washington alarmed for his 
Safety — Stratagem of the Marquis — Exchange of General 
Lee and Colonel Ethan Allen— Allen at Valley Forge — 
Washington's Opinion of liim — Preparations in Phila- 
delphia to evacuate — Washington's Measures in Conse- 
quence — Arrival of Commissioners from England— Their 
Disappointment — Their Proceedings — Their Failure — 
Their Manifesto, 457 

Chap. XXXIV. Preparations to evacuate Philadelphia 
— Washington calls a Council of War — Lee opposed to 
any Attack— Philadelphia evacuated — Movements in 
Pursuit of Sir Henry Clinton — Another Council of War 
— Confiict of Opinions— Contradictory Conduct of Lee 
respecting the Command — The Battle of Monmouth 
Court-House— Subsequent March of the Armies, 461 

Chap. XXXV. Correspondence between Lee and Wash- 
ington relative to the Aflair of Monmouth — Lee asks a 
Trial by'Court-martial — The Verdict— Lee's Subsequent 
History, 467 

Chap. XXXVI. Arrival of a French Fleet — Correspond- 
ence of Washington and the Count D'Estaing — Plans 
of the Count — Perturbation at New York — Excitement 
in the French Fleet — Expedition against Rhode Island — 
Operations by Sea and Land— Failure of the Expedition 
—Irritation between the Allied Forces — Considerate 
Letter of Washington to the Count D'Estaing, . 471 

Chap. XXXVII. Indian Warfare— Desolation of the 
Valley of Wyomincr- Movements in New York— Coun- 
ter Movenion"ts of Washington— Foraging Parties of tho 
Enemy— Baylor's Dragoons massacred at Old Tappan — 
British Expedition against Little Egg Ha.rbor — Massacre 
of Pulaski's Infantry — Retaliation on Donop's Rangers 
— Arrival of Admiral Byron — Endeavors to entrap 
D'Estaing, but is disappointed — Expedition against St. 
Lucia— Expedition against Georgia — Capture of Savan- 
nah—Georgia subdued — General Lincoln sent to com- 
mand in the South, 477 

Chap. XXXVIII. Winter Cantonments of the American 
Army — Washington at Middlebrook — Plan of Alarm 
Signals for the Jerseys— Lafayette's Project for an Inva- 



CONTENTS. 



Vli 



Bion of Ccmada — Favored by Congress — Condemned by 
WaBhinittoii — lielinquished— Washington in Plojladel- 
phia — ''J'lie "War Spirit declining— Dissensions in Con- 
gress — Sectional Feelings — Patriotic Appeals of Wash- 
ington — Plans for the next Campaign — Indian Atrocities 
to be repressed — Avenging Expedition set on foot — Dis- 
contents of the Jersey Troops — Appeased by the Inter- 
ference of Washington — Successful Campaign against 
the Indians, 481 

Ceap. XXXIX. Predatory Warfare of the Enemy- 
Ravages in the Chesapeake— Hustilities on the Hudson 
— Verijlaiiok's Point and Stony Point taken — Capture of 
New Haven- Fairfield and Norwalk destroyed- Wash- 
ington jilans a Counter Stroke — Storming of Stony 
Point— Generoui Letter of Lee, .... 486 

CiiAP. XL. E.xpedition against Penobscot — Night Sur- 
prisal of Paulus Hook — Washington fortifies West 
Point— His Style of Living there— Table at Head-Quar- 
ters—Sir Henry Clinton reinforced— Arrival of D'Es- 
taing on the Coast of Georgia — Plans in consequence^ 
The French Minister at Washington's Highland Camp 
— Letter to Lafayette — D'Estaing co-operates with Lin- 
coln — Repulsed at Savannah — Washington reinforces 
Lincoln — Goes into Winter Quarters — Sir Henry Clinton 
sends an Expedition to the South, .... 490 



VOL. IV. 

Chapter I. Sufferings of the Army at Morristown — Rig- 
orous Winter — Derangement of the Currency — Confu- 
sion in the' Commissariat — Impressment of Supplies — 
Patriotic Conduct of the People of New Jersey— The 
Bay of New York frozen over — Lord Stirling's Expedi- 
tion against Staten Island — Knyphausen's Incursion into 
the Jerseys — Caldwell's Church at Elizabethtown burnt 
— Character of its Pastor — Foray into Westchester 
County — Burning of Young's House in the Valley of the 
Neperan, 497 

Chap. II. Arnold in Command of Philadelphia — Unpop- 
iilar Measures — Arnold's Style of Living — His Schemes 
and Speculations — His Collisions with the Executive 
Council — His Land Project — Charges sent against him 
to Congress— His Address to the Public — Charges re- 
ferred to a Court-martial— His Marriage— Verdict of the 
Court-martial— Arnold reprimanded — Obtains leave of 
absence from the Army, 500 

Chap. III. South Carolina threatened — Its Condition and 
Population— Stormy Voyage of Sir Henry Clinton- Loss 
of Horses — Character of Lieutenant-colonel Tarleton — 
Fleet arrives at Tybec — Sir Henry Clinton advances 
upon Charleston — Lincoln prepares for Defence — Com- 
modore Whipple — Governor Riitlege — Forebodings of 
Washington — Embarkation of British Troops at'New 
York — Washington sends De Kalbwith Reinforcements 
— His Hopeful Letter to Steuben, . . . 504 

Chap. IV. Evils of the Continental Currency- Military 
Reforms proposed by Washington— Congress Jealous of 
Military Power — Committee of Three sent to confer 
with Washington — Losses by Depreciation of the Cur- 
rency to bo made good to the Troops— Arrival of Lafay- 
ette—Scheme for a Combined Attack upon New York — 
Arnold has Debts and Difficulties — His Proposals to the 
French Minister — Anxious to return to the Army — 
Mutiny of the Connecticut Troops — Washington writes 
to Reed for Aid from Pennsylvania— Good EU'ects of his 
Letter, 507 

CnAP. V. Siege of Charleston continued— British Ships 
enter the Harbor— British Troops march from Sav.annah 
—Tarleton and his Dragoons— His Brush with Colonel 
Washington— Charleston reinforced by Woodford— 
Tarleton's Exploits at Monk's Corner— At Laneau's 
Ferry- Sir Henry Clinton reinforced— Charleston ca- 
pitulates—Affair of Tarleton and Buford on the Wax- 
haw— Sir Henry Clinton embarks for New York, 511 

Chap. VI. Knyphausen marauds the Jerseys— Sacking 
of Connecticut Farms — Murder of Mrs. Caldwell— Ar- 
rival and Movements of Sir Henx-y Clinton — Springfield 
Burnt— The Jerseys evacuated, .... 516 

Chap. VII. Washington -applies to the State Legislatures 
for Aid— Subscriptions of the Ladies of Philadelphia — 
Gates appointed to command the Southern Department 
^French Fleet arrives at Newport — Preparations for a 
Cimibincd Movement again.st New York — Arnold ob- 
ta'n-! Command at West Point — Greene resigns the 
Ollice of Quartermaster-general, . . . 519 

Chap. VIII. North Carolina — Difficulties of its Invasion 
— Character of the People and Country — Sumter, his 
Character and Story — Rocky Mount — Hanging Rock — 
Blow Advance of De Kalb— Gates takes Command- 
Desolate March— Battle of Camden— Flight of Gates- 



Sumter surprised by Tarleton at the Waxhaws— Wash- 
ington's Opinion of Militia— His Letter to Gates, 524 

Chap. IX. Treasonof Arnold— His Correspondence with 
the Enemy- His Negotiations with Andre— Parting 
Scene with Washington— Midnight Conference on the 
Banks of the Hudson— Return of Andre by Land— Cir- 
cumstances of his Capture, 530 

Chap. X. Interview of Washington with the French Of- 
ficers .at Hartford — Plan of Attack disconcerted — Wash- 
ington's Return— Scenes at Arnold's Head-quarters in 
the Highlands- Tidings of Andre's Capture— Flight of 
Arnold — Letters from the Traitor— Washington's Prc- 
cautions— Situ.ation of Mrs. Arnold, . . . 537 

Chap. XI. Andre's Conduct as a Prisoner — His Conver- 
sations with Colonel Tallmadge- Story of Nathan Hale 
— Andre's Prison at Tappau — Correspondence on his 
behalf— His Trial— Execution— Reward of the Captors 
—Reward of Arnold— His Proclamation— After Fortunes 
of Mrs. Arnold, 541 

Chap. XII. Greene takes Command at West Point— In- 
sidious Attempts to shake the Confidence of Washing- 
ton in his Otheers- Plan to entrap Arnold— Character 
of Serge.ant Champe — Court of Inquiry into the Conduct 
of Gates— Greene appointed to the Southern Depart- 
ment — Washington's Instructions to him — Incursioi-s 
from Canada — Moh.awk Valley r.avaged— State of the 
Army— Reforms adopted — Enlistment for the War— 
Halfp.ay, 549 

Chap. XIII. The Marquis Lafayette and his Light-In- 
fantry — Proposes a Brilliant Stroke — Preparations for iii; 
Attack on the British Posts on New York Island — Visit 
of the Marquis of Chastellux to the American Camp — 
Washington at Head-quarters- Attack on the British 
Posts given up— Stark forages Westchester County- 
Exploit of Tallmadge on Long Island, . . . £52 

Chap. XIV. Rigorous Measures of CornwalliB in South 
Carolina — Ferguson sent to scour the Mountain Country 
between the Catawba and the Yadkin — Cornwallis in a 
Hornet's Nest — Movements of Ferguson — Mountain Men 
and Fierce Men from Kentucky — Battleof King's Moui- 
tain— Retrograde March of Cornwallis, . . . 555 

Chap. XV. Marion— His Character— Bye-names— Haunts 
— Tarleton in Quest of him — Sumter on the West Side 
of the Saiitee— His Affair with Tarleton at Black Stock 
Hill— Gates at Hillsborough — His Domestic Misfortunes 
— Arrival of Greene — His Considerate Conduct— Gates 
Retires to his Estate— Condition of the Army— Strata- 
gem of Colonel Washington at CUrmont ^Morgan de- 
tached to the District of Ninety-Six— Greene posts him- 
self on the Pedee, 559 

Chap. XVI. Hostile Embarkations to the South— Arnold 
in Command — Necessitous Stale of the Country — Wasli- 
ington urges a Foreign Loan — Mission of Colonel Lau- 
rens in France to seek Aid in Men and Money— Griev- 
ances of the Pennsylvania Line — Mutiny — Negotiations 
with the Mutineers — Articles of Accommodation — Policy 
doubted by Washington — Rigorous Course adojited by 
him with other Malcontents — Successful — Ratification 
of the Articles of Confederation of the States, . 563 

Chap. XVII. Expedition of Arnold into Virginia— Buc- 
caneering Ravages — Checked by Steuben — Arnold at 
Portsmouth— Congress resolves to form Heads of De- 
partments — Hamilton suggested by Sullivan forDepait- 
ment of Finance — High Opinion of him expresfed liy 
Washington — Misunderstanding between Hamilton and 
the Commander-in-chief, 668 

Chap. XVIII. Cornwallis prepares to invade North 
Carolina — Tarleton sent against Morgan — Battle at Cow- 
pens- Morgan pushes for the Catawba with Spoils and 
Prisoners— Cornw.allis endeavors to intercept him — The 
Rising of the River — Cornwallis at Ranisour's Mills, 571 

Chap. XIX. Greene joins Morgan on the Catawba— 
Adopts the Fabian Policy— Movement of Cornwalli-^ to 
cross the Catawba— Affair at McGowan's Ford— Militia 
surprised by Tarleton at Tarrant's T.avern- Cornwallis 
checked by the Rising of the Yadkin— Contest of Skill 
and Speed of the two Armies in a March to the Banks 
of the Dan, 575 

Chap. XX. Cornwallis takes Post at Hillsboroueh— His 
Proclamation — Greene recrosscs the Dan — Country 
Scoured by Lee and Pickens— Aft'air with Co'.o-ol Pyle 
— Manoeuvres of Cornwallis to bring Greene to Action — 
Battle of Guilford Court-House — Greene Retreats to 
Troublesome Creek — Cornwallis marches towards Cape 
Fear — Greene pursues him — Is brought to a Stand at 
Deep River — Determines to face about and cany tlie 
War into South Carolina — Cornwallis Marches for Vir- 
ginia, 579 

Chap. XXI. Arnold at Portsmouth, in Virginia— Expe- 
ditions sent against him — Instructions to Lafayettf — 
Washington at Newport— Consultations witli De Ro- 



CONTENTS. 



chambe.iu— Sailing of the French Fleet— Pursued by the 
English— Expedition of Lafayette to Virginia— Engage- 
ment between the English and French Fleets— Failure 
of the Expedition against Arnold— Letter of Washing- 
ton to Colonel Laurens— Measures to reinforce Greene 
—General Phillips in Command at Portsmouth— Marauds 
the Country— Checked by Lafayette — Mount Vernon 
menaced- Death of Phillips, 586 

Chap. XXII. Inefficient State of the Army— Maraud of 
Delancey— Death of Colonel Greene- Arrival of the 
Count De Barras— French Naval Force expected— In- 
terview of Washington and De liochambeau at Woatb- 
ersfield— Plan of Combined Operations— Financial Ar- 
rangement of Robert Morris— Scheme to attack tlie 
Works on New York Island and capture Delanccy'a 
Corps— Encampments of American and French Armies 
in Westcbester County— Reconnoitring Expeditions, 591 

Chap. XXIII. Movements and Counter-movements of 
Cornwallis and Lafayette in Virginia— Tarleton and his 
Troopers scour the Country— A Dash at the State Legis- 
lature-Attempt to surprise the Governor at Monticello 
—Retreat of Jefterson to Carter's Mountain— Steuben 
outwitted by Simcoe— Lafayette joined by Wayne and 
Steuben — Acts on the Aggressive — Desperate M61ee of 
Macpherson and Simcoe— Corn w.allis pursued to James- 
town Island — Mad Anthony in a Morass— His Impetuous 
Valor— Alertness of Lafayette— Washington's Opinion 
of the Virginia Campaign, 596 

Chap. XXIV. Greene's Retrograde Operation in South 
Carolina— Appears before Camden— Aftair at Hobkirk's 
Hill— Rawdon abandons Camden— Rapid Successes of 
the Americans— Greene's Attack on the Fortress of 
Ninety-Six— Operaiions against Lord Rawdon — Greene 
on the Hish Hills of Santee— Sumter scours the Lower 
Country— Dash of Colonel Wade Hampton at the Gates 
of Charleston — Exploits of Lee and Hampton — Of Cap- 
tain Armstrong at Quimby Bridge- Action in the Neigh- 
borhood-End of the Campaign, .... 699 

Chap. XXV. Washington disappointed as to Reinforce- 
ments — French Armament destined for the Che.-apeake 
— Attempts on New York postponed- March of the 
Armies to the Chesapeake — Stratagems to deceive the 
Enemy — Arnold ravages New London — Washington at 
Philadelphia— March of the two Armies through the 
City — Cornwallis at Yorktown — Preparations to proceed 
against him— Visit to Mount Vernon, . . . 603 

Chap. XXVI. Cornwallis aroused to his Danger — His 
Retreat to the Carolinas cut off— Strengthens his Works 
—Action between the French and British Fleets — Wash- 
ington and DeRochambeau visit the French Fleet — Ope- 
rations before Yorktown, COS 

Chap. XXVIL Greene on the High Hills of Santee— The 
Enemy harassed — Greene marches against Btuart — Bat- 
tle near Eutaw Springs, 612 

Chap. XXVIII. Siege and Surrender of Yorktown, 615 

C'tAP. XXIX. DisflolutiTjn of the Combined Armies — 
W;'sliiugton at Ellhani — Death of John Parke Custis — 
AVashington at Blount Vernon — Correspondence about 
the next Campaign — Lafayette sails for France — Wash- 
inton stimulates Congress to Military Preparations — 
Project to surprise and carry olV Prince William Henry 
from New York — The case of Captain Asgill, . 621 

Chap. XXX. Washington continues his Precautions — Sir 
Guy Carleton bring Pacific News — Discontents of the 
Army — Extraordinary Letter from Colonel Nicol.a — In- 
dignant Reply of Washington — Joint Letter of Sir Guy 
Carleton and Admiral Digby — Junction of the xMlied 
Armies on the Hudson — Contemplated Reduction of the 
Army, 625 

Chap. XXXI. Discontents of the Array at Ncwburg — 
Memorial of the Officers to Congress — Anonymous Pa- 
pers circulated in the Camp — Meeting of Officers called 
— Address of Washington — Resolutions in Consequence 
— Letters of Washington to the President—His Opinion 
of the Anonymous Addresses and their. Author, 627 

Chap. XXXII. Newsof Peace— Letter of Washington in 
Behalf of the Army — Cessation of Hostilities proclaimed 
— Order of the Ciiiciniiati formed— I^ctter of Washing- 
ton to the State Gover;.ors— Mutiny in the Pennsylvania 
Line— Letter of Washington on the Subject— Tour to the 
Northern Posts, 631 

CuAP. XXXIII. The Army to be discharged— Parting 
Address of Washington— Evacuation of New York- 
Parting Scene of Washington with his Officers at New 
York— Washington resigns las Commission to Congress 
— Retires to Mount Vernon, 630 

Chap. XXXIV. Washington at Mount Vernon— A S)!- 
dier's Repose— Plans of Domestic I^ife — Kind Offi'r of 
the Council of Pennsylvania— Historical Applications- 
News of Jacob Van Braam— Opening of Spring — Agri- 
cultural L'fo resumed — Recolleotiors of the Fairfaxes — 
Meeting of the Order of Cincinnati— Tour of Washington 



and Dr. Craik to the West— Ideas of Internal Improve- 
ment—Parting with Lafayette, .... 639 

Chap. XXXV. Scheme of Inland Navigation — Shares of 
Stock ofl'ered to Washington — Declined — Rural Improve- 
ments — The Tax of Letter-writing — The Tax of Sitting 
for Likenesses — Ornamental Gardening — Management 
of the Estate — Domestic Life — Visit of Mr. Watson — 
Reverential Awe inspired by Washington — Irksome to 
him — Instances of his Festive Gayely — Of his Laughing 
— Passion for Hunting revived — Death of Gen. Greene^ 
His Character- Washington's Regrets and Encomiums 
— Letters to the French is'oblemen, . . • 641 

Chap. XXXVI. Washington doubts the Solidity of the 
Confederation — Correspondence with John Jay on the 
Subject — Plan of a Convention of all the St.ates to revise 
the Federal System — Washington heads the Virginia 
Delegation — Insurrection in Massachusetts — The Con- 
vention — A Federal Constitution organized — Rati- 
fied, 652 

CuAP. XXXVII. Washington talked of for the Presi- 
dency — His Letters on the Subject expressing his Reluc- 
tance — His Election — Ills Progress to the Seat of Gov- 
ernment — His Reception at New York — The Inaugura- 
tion, 657 



VOL. V. 

Chapter I. The new Government— Domestic a;;d For- 
eign Relations — Washington's anxious Position — Its Dif- 
ficulties—Without Cabinet or Constitutional Advisers — 
John Jay — Hamilton — His efficient Support of the Con- 
stitution and Theoretic Doubts — James Madison — Kno.x 
— His Characteristics, 665 

Chap. II. Washington's Privacy beset with Visits of 
Compliment— Queries as to the proper Line of Conduct 
in his Presidential Intercourse — Opinions of Adams and 
Hamilton— Jetl'ersou as to the Authors of the Minor 
Forms and Ceremonies — His whimsical Anecdote of the 
first Levee — Inaugural Ball, 667 

Chap. III. Journey of Mrs. Washington to New York — 
Honors paid her in her Progress — Receptions at the Seat 
of Government— The President's Equipage, . 6G9 

Chap. IV. Alarming Illness of the President— The Sen- 
ate rejects one of his Nominations — His sensitive Vindi- 
cation of it — Death of his Mother — Her Character— The 
Executive Departments instituted — Selection of Officers 
for the Treasury and War Departments — Hamilton in- 
structed to report a Financial Plan at the next Session 
of Congress — Arrangement of the Judiciary Department 
— Edmund Randolph — Adjournment of Congress — Its 
Ch.aracler, by Fisher Ames, 071 

Chap. V. The Department of State still without a Head 
— Sketch of Jefferson's Character and Opinions — Deeply 
immersed in French Politics at Paris— Gouverneur Mor- 
ris abroad — Contrast of his and Jeflerson's Views on the 
French Crisis — News of the French Revolution in Amer- 
ica — Popular Excitement — Washington's cautious Opin- 
ion on the Subject— Hamilton's apprehensive View — 
Jeflerson oflered a Place in the Cabinet aa Secretary of 
State, 673 

CnAp. VI. Washington's Journey through the Eastern 
States— John Hancock— Clashing between the Civil and 
Municip.al Authorities on the President's Entry into Bos- 
ton — A Contest of Etiquette — Washington's account of 
his Entry — His Reception — A new Punctilio — Address 
of the Cincinnati Society- Return to New York, 677 

CnAp. VII. Col. John Trumbull— Message to Washing- 
ton from Lafayette — Jefferson's Embarkation for Amer- 
ica — Washington forwards his Commission as Secretary 
of State— His Acceptance, 679i 

Chap. VIII. Reassembling of Congress — Financial Con- 
dition of t!ie Country — Its Debt at Home and Abroad — 
Delits of the States — Hamilton's Report — Opposition to 
It— Dr. Stuart's Avarning Letter to Washington — His 
Reply — Jefferson's arrival at the Seat of Goverjiment — 
New York at that Period — Jeflerson apprehends Monar- 
chical Designs, 6S0 

Chap. IX. The Assumption of the State Debts discussed 
— Washington in Favor— A Majority of Two against it — 
Hamilton's Ap])eal to Jeflerson on the Subject — Tiio lat- 
ter arranges for a Compromise — His Account of it — Ad- 
juslmentabout the Seat of Government — Assiuription 
carried — Treaty of Peace with the Creek-- Cavillings 
about Presidential Etiquette— WashiuGfton's Defence- 
Adjournment of Congress — Fancied Harmony of tho 
Cabinet— Jefferson suspects Hamilton of Finesse iu pro- 
curing his Agency in the Assumption, . . 684 

CnAP. X. Lafayette at the Head of the Revolution in 
France— Hia Letter to Wa.shington— Gouvcrneur Mor- 



CONTENTS. 



IX 



ris's Opinion of his Position — Washington's dubious and 
anxious Views — Presented by Lafayette with the Key 
of the Bastille — Visits Rhode Island and Mount Ver- 
non, 686 

Chap. XI. Frontier Difficulties with the Indians— Gen- 
eral Ilarmcr's Expedition against tliem — Ambuscade of 
Ool. Hardin's Detachment — Escape of Capt. Armstrong 
— A second Detachment of Col. Hardin compelled to re- 
treat — "Washington's long Anxiety as to the Result of 
the Enterprise— Final Tidings, .... 688 

Chap. XII. Congress reassembles at Philadelphia — Resi- 
dence of Washington at the new Scat of Government — 
Tlio State Carriage— Hamilton's Financial Arrangements 
— Impost and Excise Bill— Passage of a Bill for a Na- 
tional Bank — JetFcrsou's Objections — Fomiation of two 
Political Parties under Hamilton and Jeft'erson — Their 
diflerent Views — Dissatisfaction of Congress at the Re- 
port of Harmer's Expedition — Washington's Address to 
the Seneca Chiefs — His Desire to civilize the Savages — 
Kentucky and Vermont admitted into the Union — First 
Congress expires — A new Expedition projected against 
the Hostile Tribes under General St. Clair — Washing- 
ton's Solemn Warning on taking Leave of him, . 690 

Chap. XIII. Washington's Tour through the Southern 
States — Letter lo Lafayette — Gloomy Picture of French 
Afl'airs by Gouverneur Morris— His Allusion to Lafayette 
— Lafayette depicts the Troubles of a Patriot Leader — 
Washington's Reply— Jcfl'erson's ardent Views of the 
French Revolution— Distrust of .lohn Adams— His Con- 
tributions to Fenno's Gazette— Reprint of Paine's Rights 
of Man — Flieht and Recapture of Louis XVL — Jefferson 
communicates the News to Washington — His Satisfac- 
tion when the King accepts the Constitution, . 092 

Chap. XIV. Rural Hours at Mount Vernon — Assem- 
bling of Second Congress — Washington's opening 
Speech — Two Expeditions organized against the Indians, 
under Scott and Wilkinson — Their feeble Result — Third 
Expedition under St. Clair— His disastrous Contest and 
dismal Retreat— How Washington received the Intelli- 
gence, 694 

Chap. XV. The Apportionment Bill— Washington's Veto 
— His Concern at the growing Asperities of Congress — 
Intended Retirement — Jefferson's determination to re- 
tire at the same Time — Remonstrance of Washington^ 
His Request to Madison to prep:iro Valedictory — Wayne 
appointed to succeed St. Clair — Congress adjourns — 
Washington at Mount Vernon— Sugeests Topics for his 
Farewell Address — Madison's Draft — Jefi'erson urges 
his continuance, iG9S 

Chap. XVI. Jefferson's Suspicions— Contemned by Ham- 
ilton — Washington's Expostulation — Complains of the 
Conduct of Freneau's Paper — Hamilton and Raiidol))h 
urge him to a Re-election — A warring Caliinet — Hamil- 
ton's attack on Jefferson — Washington's healing Admo- 
nition— Replies of the two Secretaries — Continued Hos- 
tility to the Excise Law — Washington's Proclamation 
— Renewed Effort to allay the Discord inhis Cabinet, 703 

Chap. XVII. Washington imanimously re-elected — 
Opening of Session of'Congress- Topics of the Presi- 
dent's Speech — Abortive attack upon the Secretary 
of the Treasury — Washington installed for his Second 
Term, 708 

Chap. XVIII. GouverneurMorrisMinisterat the French 
Court— His Representations of the State of Aftairs— 
Washington's Concern for Lafayette— Jefferson annoyed 
at his Forebodings — Overthrow of the French Mon- 
archy — Imprisonment of Lafayette — Jefferson con- 
cerned, but not discouraged at IheKcjJublican ^Massacres 
— Washington shocked— His Letter to the Marchioness 
Lafayette, 709 

Chap. XIX. Washington's Entrance upon his Seconil 
Term— Gloomy Auspices— Execution of Louis XVL— ■ 
Franco declares War against England— Belligerent Ex- 
citement in America— Proclamation of Neutrality- 
French Mission to the United States— Genet arrives 
in Charleston — His Reception in Philadelphia — Views 
of Jefferson and Hamilton— Washington's dispassionate 
Opinion, 712 

Chap. XX. Genet presents his Letter of Credence — His 
Diplomatic Speech — AVashington's Conversation with 
Jefferson — Capture of the Ship Grange and other Brit- 
ish Vessels — Question of Restitution — Dissatisfaction of 
Genet — Demands Release of two American Citizens — 
Washington's Sensitiveness to the Attacks of the Press 
—His unshaken Determination, .... 714 

Chap. XXI. Washington called to Mount Vernon— The 
case of the Little Sarah comes up in his Absence — Gov- 
ernor Mifflin determined to prevent her Departure — 
Rage of Genet — Jefferson urges Detention of the Priva- 
teer until the President's Return — Evasive Assurance of 
Genet — Distrust of Hamilton and Knox — Washington 
returns to Philadelphia— A Cabinet Council— Its Deter- 



mination communicated to Genet— The Vessel sails in 
Defiance of it — Formation of the Democratic Society — 
The Recall of Genet determined on — The Ribald Lai.i- 
poon— Washington's Outburst, .... 716 
Chap. XXII. Threatened Dissolution of the Cabinet- 
Action between the Ambuscade and Boston — Trium- 
phant return of the former to New York— A French 
Fleet arrives same Day — Excitement of the People — 
Genet arrives in the midst of it — His enthusiastic Re- 
ception — Is informed by Jefferson of the Measures for 
his Recall— His Rage and Reply— Decline of his Popu- 
larity, 719 

Chap. XXIII. Neutrality endangered by Great Brit- 
ain—Her lU-advieed Measures— Detention of Vesscla 
bound for France— Impressment of American Seamen 
—Persistence in holding tho Western Posts— Congress 
assembles in December— The President's opening Speech 
—His Censure of Genet— 1 he Vice-President's Allusion 
to it — The Administration in a Minority in the House — 
Proclamation of Neutrality sustained— Jefferson's Re- 
port—Retires from the Cabinet— His parting Rebuke to 
Genet — His Character of Washington, . . . 722 
Chap. XXIV. Debate on Jefferson's Report on Com- 
mercial Intercourse — A Naval Force proposed for tVie 
Protection of Commerce against Piratical Cruisers- 
Further Instances of the Audacit j' of Genet — His Recall 
—Arrival of his Successor — Irritation excited by British 
Captures of American Vessels — Preparations for De- 
fence — Embargo — Intense Excitement at " British Spoli- 
ations" — Partisans of Franco in the ascendant— A 
Chance for Accommodating Difficulties — Jefferson's 
Hopes of Reconciliation — The War Cry uppermost — 
Washington determines to send a Special Envoy to the 
British Government — Jefferson's Letter to Tench 

Coxe, 725 

Chap. XXV. James Monroe appointed Minister to 
France in place of Gouverneur Morris rccalled^His Re- 
ception — Pennsylvania Insurrection — Proclamation of 
Washington — Perfseverancc of the Insurgents — Second 
Proclarnation— The President proceeds against them— 
General Morg.an— Lawrence Lewis— Washington ar- 
ranges a Plan of Military Operations — Returns to Phila- 
delphia, leaving Lee in Command — Submission of the 
Insurgents — The Pi-csident's Letter on the Subject lo 

Jay, Minister at London, 729 

Chap. XXVI. Washington's Denunciation of Self-created 
Societies — Not relished by Congress — Campaign of 
General Wayne— Hamilton reports a Plan for the Re- 
demption of "the Pulilic Debt — And retires from his Post 
ns Secretary of the Treasury— Is succeeded by Oliver 
Wolcott— Resignation of Knox— Succeeded by Timothy 
Pickering— Close of the Session, .... 732 
Cdap. XXVII. Washington's Anxiety about the Pro- 
gress of the Negotiation with England — Jay's Treaty 
arrives for Ratification— Predisposition to condemn — 
Return of Jay— Adet succeeds Fauchet as Minister froni 
France— The" Treaty laid before the Senate— Ratified 
with a Qualification— A Novel Question— Popular Dis- 
content-Abstract of the Treaty published— Violent Op- 
position to it— Washington resolved to ratify — His 
Resolution suspended— Goes to Mount Vernon — Reply 
to an Address from Boston— Increasing Clamor, . 7o-l 
Chap. XXVIII. Washington recalled to the Seat of 
Government— Conduct of Randolph brought in question 
—Treaty signed— Resignation of Randolph— His Corre- 
spondence with Washington— Unlimited Disclosure per- 
mitted—Appearance of his Vindication — Pickering 
transferred to the Department of State— M'Henry ap- 
pointed Secretary of War— Arrival of George Washing^ 

ton Lafayette, ''37 

Chap. XXIX. Meeting of Congress — Washington's 
Official Summary of the Events of the Year— Cordial 
Response of the Senate— Partial Demur of the House- 
Washington's Position and Feelings with regard to Eng- 
land, as shown by himself- Mr. Adet presents the 
Colors of France— The Treaty returned— Proceedings 
thereupon— Tliomas Pinckney resigns as Minister at 
London— Rufus King appointed in his place— Washing- 
ton's View of the Political Campaign— Jefferson's Fears 
of an Attempt to sow Dissension iK'tween him and Wash- 
ington—Mr-. Monroe recalled, and C. C. Pinckney ap- 
pointed in his Stead— Resentful Policy of France, . 740 

Chap. XXX. Washington's Farewell Address— Meets 
the two Houses of Congress for tho last Time — His 
Speech— Replies of the Senate and House— Mr. Giles- 
Andrew Jackson— Offensive Publication of the French 
Minister — John Adams declared President— Washing- 
ton's Letter to Knox on the Eve of his Retirement- Tho 
Spurious Letters — IDs Farewell Dinner — John Adams 
takes the Oath of Office— Greetings of Washington at 
the close of the Ceremony, 745 

Chap. XXXI. Washington at Mount Vernon— Influx of 
strange Faces— Lawrence Lewis— Mies Nelly Custis— 



CONTENTS. 



"Washington's Connpel in Love Matters— A Romantic 
Episode — Return of George Washington Lafayette,. 749 

Chap. XXXIL Parting Address of the French Directory 
to Mr. Monroe — The new American Minister ordered to 
leave the Republic — Congress convened — Measures of 
Defence recommended — Washington's Concern — Ap- 
pointment of three Envoys Extraordinary— Doubts their 
Success— Hears of an old Companion in Arms — The 
three Ministers and Talleyrand— Their degrading Treat- 
ment — Threatened War with France — Washington ap- 
pointed Commander-in-Chief— Arranges for three Major 
Generals — Knox aggrieved, 752 

Chap. XXXIII. Washington taxed anew with the Cares 
of Office — Correspondence with Lafayette — A Marriage 
at Mount Vernon — Appointment of a Minister to the 
French Republic— Washington's SurpriBe— His Activity 



on his Estate— Political Anxieties— Concern about the 
Army, 753 

Chap. XXXIV. Washington digests a Plan for the Man- 
agement of his Estate— His Views in reeard to a Military 
Academy— Letter to Hamilton— His Last Hours— The 
Funeral— The Will— Its Provisions in regard to his 
Slaves— Proceedings of Congress on his Death— Con- 
clusion, 761 

Afpexdix I. Portraits of Washington, ... 766 
II. Washington's Farewell Address, . '775 
III. Proceedings of Congress in consequence 

of the Death of Washington, . 7S3 
IV. Washington's WiU, .... 785 



Index, 



791 



.ijifea^i&^Jijiiiwiii 





LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 



VOLUME FIEST 



CHAPTER I. 

The "Washington family is of an ancient Eng- 
lisli stock, the genealogy of which has been 
traced up to the century immediately succeed- 
ing the Conquest. At that time it was in pos- 
sessioA of landed estates and manorial privi- 
leges in the county of Durham, such as were 
enjoyed only by those, or their descendants, 
who had come over from Normandy with 
the Conqueror, or fought under his standard. 
When William the Conqueror laid waste the 
whole country north of the Humber, in pun- 
ishment of the insurrection of the Northum- 
brians, he apportioned the estates among his 
followers, and advanced Normans and other 
foreigners to the principal ecclesiastical dig- 
nities. One of the most wealthy and impor- 
tant sees was that of Durham. Hither had 
been transported the bones of St. Cuthbert 
from their original shrine at Lindisfarne, when 
it was ravaged by the Danes. That saint, says 
Camden, was esteemed by princes and gentry 
a titular saint against the Scots.* His shrine, 
tlierefore, had been held in peculiar reverence 
by the Saxons, and the see of Durham en- 
dowed with extraordinary privileges. 

WilHam continued and increased those privi- 
leges. He needed a powerful adherent on this 
frontier to keep the restless Northumbrians in 
order, and check Scottish invasion ; and no 
doubt considered an enlightened ecclesiastic, 
appointed by the crown, a safer depositary of 
such power than a hereditary noble. 

Having placed a noble and learned native of 
Loraine in the diocese, therefore, he erected it 
into a palatinate, over which the bishop, as 

* Camden, Brit, iv.,349. 



Count Palatine, had temporal, as well as spirit- 
ual jurisdiction. He built a strong castle for 
his protection, and to serve as a barrier against 
the Northern foe. He made him lord high- 
admiral of the sea and waters adjoining his 
palatinate, — lord warden of the marches, and 
conservator of the league between England and 
Scotland. Thenceforth, we are told, the pre- 
lates of Durham owned no earthly superior 
wit] n their diocese, but contimied for cen- 
turies to exercise every right attached to an 
independent sovereign.* 

The bishop, as Count Palatine, lived in al- 
most royal state and splendor. He had his 
lay chancellor, chamberlains, secretaries, stew- 
ards, treasurer, master of the horse, and a host 
of minor officers. Still he was under feudal 
obligations. All landed property in those war- 
like times, implied military service. Bishops 
and abbots, equally with great barons who held 
estates immediately of the crown, were obhged, 
when required, to furnish the king with armed 
men in proportion to their domains ; but they 
had their feudatories under them to aid them 
in this service. 

The princely prelate of Durham had his 
barons and knights, who held estates of him 
on feudal tenure, and were bound to serve him 
in peace and war. They sat occasionally in 
his councils, gave martial splendor to his court, 
and were obliged to have horse and weapon 
ready for service, for they lived in a belligerent 
neighborhood, disturbed occasionally by civil 
war, and often by Scottish foray. When the 
banner of St. Cuthbert, the royal standard of 
the province, was displayed, no armed feuda- 



* Annals of Roger de Hoveden. Hutchinson's Durham, 
vol. ii. Collectanea Curiosa, vol. ii., p. 83. 



6 



GENEALOGY OF THE WASHINGTON FAMILY. 



tory of the bishop could refuse to .take the 
field.* 

Some of these prelates, in token of the war- 
like duties of their diocese, engraved on their 
seals a knight on horseback armed at all points, 
brandishing in one hand a sword, and holding 
forth in the other the arms of the see.f 

Among the knights wlio held estates in the 
palatinate on these warlike conditions, was 
"William de HEnTBURX, the progenitor of the 
Wasliingtons. His Norman name of "William 
would seem to point out his national descent ; 
and the family long continued to have Norman 
names of baptism. The surname of De Hert- 
burn was taken from a village on the palatinate 
which he held of the bishop in knight's fee ; 
•probably the same now called Ilartburn on the 
banks of the Tees. It had become a custom 
among the Norman families of rank about the 
time of the Conquest, to take surnames from 
their castles or estates ; it was not until some 
time afterwards that surnames became gener- 
ally assumed by the people. J 

How or when the De Hertburns first ac- 
quired possession of theii- village is not known. 
They may have been companions in arms with 
Eobert de Brus (or Bruce) a noble knight of 
Normandy, rewai'ded by "William the Con- 
(jueror with great possessions in the North, 
and among others, with the lordships of Hert 
and Hertness in the coimty of Durham. 

The first actual mention we find of the 
family is in the Bolden Book, a record of all 
the lands appertaining to the diocese of 1183. 
Ill this it is stated that "William de Hertburn 
had exchanged his village of Hertburn for the 
manor and village of "Wessyngton, likewise in 
the diocese ; paying the bishop a quitrent of 
four pounds, and engaging to attend him with 
two greyhounds in grand hunts, and to furnish 
a man at arms whenever military aid should 
bs required of the palatinate.§ 

* Robert de Grnystanos, Ang. Sac, p. 746. 

+ Camden, Brit, iv., S49. 

I Lower on Surnames, vol. i., p. 43. Fuller gays that 
the custom of surnames was brought from Franco in Ed- 
ward the Confessor's time, about fifty years before the 
Conquest; but did not become universally settled imtil 
some hundred years afterwards. At first they did not 
descend hereditarily on the family.— i^iiWer, Church His- 
tory. Roll Dattlp. Ahhe'j. 

§ The Bolden Book. As this ancient document gives 
the first trace of the "\Vashint;ton family, it merits espe- 
cial mention. In 11S3, a survey was made by order of 
Bishop de Pusaz of all the lands of the see held in de- 
mesne, or by tenants in villanacre. The record was entered 
in a book called the Bolden Buko ; the parish of Bolden 
occurring first in alphabetical arrangement. The docu- 



The family changed its surname with its 
estate, and thenceforward assumed that of 
De "Wessyngton.* The condition of military 
service attached to its manor will be found to 
have been often exacted, nor was the service 
in the grand hunt an idle form. Hunting came 
next to war in those days, as the occupation 
of the nobility and gentry. The clergy en- 
gaged in it equally with the laity. The hunt- 
ing establishment of the Bishop of Durham 
was on a princely scale. Ho had his forests, 
chases, and parks, with their train of foresters, 
rangers, and park keepers. A grand hunt was 
a splendid pageant in which all his barons and 
knights attended him with horse and hound. 
The .stipulations with the Seignior of Wess- 
yngton show how strictly the rights of the 
chase were defined. All the game taken by 
him in going to the forest belonged to the 
bishop ; all taken on returning belonged to 
himself.t 

Hugli de Pusaz (or De Pudsay) during whose 
episcopate we meet with this first trace of 
the De "Wes.syngtons, was a nephew of king 
Stephen, and a prelate of great pretensions ; 
fond of appearing with a train of ecclesiastics 
and an armed retinue. "When Richard Coeur 
de Lion put every thing at pawn and sale to 
raise funds for a crusade to the Holy Land, 
the bishop resolved to accompany him. More 
wealthy than his sovereign, he made magnifi- 
cent preparations. Besides ships to convey 
his troops and retinue, he had a sumptuotis 
galley for himself, fitted up with a throne or 
episcopal chair of silver, and all the household, 
and even culinary utensils, were of the same 
costly material. In a word, had not the pre- 
late been induced to stay at home, and aid the 
king with his treasures, by being made one of 
the regents of the kingdom, and Earl of North- 



ment commences in the following manner : Incipit liber 
qui vocatur Bolden Book. Anno Dominice Incarnationis, 
11S3, &o. 

The following is the memorandum in question : — 

WilluB de Ilertcburn habet Wessyngton (escepta ecclc- 
sia et terra ecclesie partinen) ad excamb, pro villa de Her- 
teburn quam pro hac quietam clamavit : Et reddit 4 L. 
Et vadit in magna caza cum 2 Leporar. Et quando com- 
mune auxillum venerit debet dare 1 Militcm ad plus de 
auxilio, &c. — Collectanea Curiosa, vol. ii. p. 89. 

The Bolden Buke is a small folio, deposited in the ofiice 
of the bishop's auditor, at Burham. 

* The name is probably of Saxon origin. It existed in 
England prior to the Conquest. The village of Wasseng- 
tone is mentioned in a Saxon charter as granted by l?ing 
Edgar in 073 to Thorney Ahhey.— Collectanea Topograph- 
tea, iv. 55. 

t Hutchinson's Durham, vol. ii., p. 4S9. 



GENEALOGY OF THE WASHINGTON FAMILY. 



nmboi'land for life, the De "Wessyngtons might 
have followed the banner of St. Outhbert to 
I the Holy -wars. 

iSTearly seventy years afterv.'ards we find the 
family still retaining its manorial estate in the 
palatinate. The names of Boiido de "Wessyng- 
ton and William his son appear on charters of 
land, granted in 1257. to religious houses. Soon 
after occurred the wars of the barons, in whicli 
the throne of Henry III. was shaken by the 
De Mountforts. The chivalry of the palatinate 
raUied under the royal standard. On the list 
of royal knights who fought for their sovereign 
in the disastrous battle of Lewes (1264), in 
which the king was taken prisoner, we find 
the name of William Weshington, of Weshing- 
ton.* 

During the splendid pontificate of Anthony 
Beke (or Beak), the knights of the palatinate 
had continually to be in the saddle, or buckled 
in armor. The prelate was so impatient of 
rest that he never took more than one sleep, 
saying it was unbecoming a man to turn 
from one side to another in bed. He was per- 
petually, when within his diocese, either rid- 
ing from one manor to another, or hunting and 
hawking. Twice he assisted Edward I. with 
all his force in invading Scotland. In the pro- 
gress northward with the king, the bishop led 
the van, marching a day in advance of the 
main body, with a mercenary force, paid by 
himself, of one thousand foot and five hundred 
horse. Besides these he had his feudatories 
of the palatinate ; sis bannerets and one hun- 
dred and sixty knights, not one of whom, says 
an old poem, but surpassed Arthur himself, 
though endowed with the charmed gifts of 
Merlin.t We presume the De Wessyngtons 
were among those preux chevaliers, as the 
banner of St. Cuthbert had been taken from 
its shrine on the occasion, and of course all the 
armed force of the diocese was bound to fol- 
low. It was borne in front of the army by a 
monk of Durham. There were many rich ca- 
parisons, says the old poem, many beautiful 
pennons, fluttering from lances, and much 
neighing of steeds. The hills and valleys Avere 
covered with sumpter horses and waggons 
laden with tents and provisions. The Bishop 
of Durham in his warlike state appeared, we 



* This list of knights was inserted in the Bolden Book 
as an additional entry. It is cited at full length by Hutch- 
inson. — Hist. Durham, vol. i., p. 220. 

t Onques Artous poiir touz ces charmes, 
Si beau prisent ne ot de Merlyn. 
Siege of Karlatkrook; an old Poem in Norman French. 



are told, more like a powerful prince, than a 
priest or prelate.* 

At the surrender of the crown of Scotland 
by John Baliol, v/hich ended this invasion, the 
bishop negotiated on the part of England, As 
a trophy of the event, the chair of Schone used 
on the inauguration of the Scottish monarchs, 
and containing the stone on which Jacob 
dreamed, the palladium of Scotland, was trans- 
ferred to England and deposited in Westminster 
Abbey.! 

In the reign of Edward III. we find the De 
Wcs.syngtons still mingling in chivalrous scenes. 
The name of Sir Stephen de Wessyngton ap- 
pears on a li.st of knights (nobles chevaliers) 
v/ho were to tilt at a tournament at Dunstable 
in 1334. He bore for his device a golden rose 
on an azure field. J 

He was soon called to exercise his arms on a 
sterner field. In 1346, Edward and his son, the 
Black Prince, being absent with the armies in 
France, king David of Scotland invaded North- 
umberland with a powerful army. Queen 
Philippa, who had remained in England as 
regent, immediately took the field, calling the 
northern prelates and nobles to join her stand- 
ard. They all hastened to obey. Among the 
prelates was Hatfield, the Bishop of Durham. 
The sacred banner of St. Cuthbert was again 
displayed, and the chivalry of the palatinate 
assisted at the famous battle of Nevil's cross, 
near Durham, in which the Scottish army was 
defeated and king David taken prisoner. 

Queen Philippa hastened with a victorious 
train to cross the sea at Dover, and join king 
Edward in his camp before Calais. The prelate 
of Durham accompanied her. His military 
train consisted of three bannerets, forty-eight 
knights, one hundred and sixty-four esquires, 
and eighty archers, on horseback.§ They all 



* Robert do Graystanes, Ang. Sac, n, 74C, cited by 
Hutchinson, vol. i., p. 2S9. 

t An extract from an inedited poem, cited by Nicolas 
in his translation of the Siege of Carlavarock, gives a 
striking picture of the palatinate in these days of its pride 
and splendor : — 

There valor bowed before the rood and book, 

And kneeling knighthood served a prelate lord, 
Yet little deigned he on such train to look. 
Or glance of ruth or pity to aftbrd. 

There time has heard the peal rung out at night, 
Has seen from every tower the cressets stream, 

When the red bale tire on yon western height 
Had roused the warder from his fitful dream. 

Has seen old Durham's lion banner float 
O'er tb.e proud bulwark, that, with giant pride 

And feet deep plunged amidst the circling moat, 
The efforts of the roving Soot defied. 

t Collect. Topog. et Genealog. T. iv., p. 395. 
§ Collier's Eccles. Hist., Book VI., Cent. XIV. 



8 



GENEALOGY OF THE WASHINGTON FAMILY. 



arrived to witness the surrender of Calais 
(1346), on which occasion queen Philippa dis- 
tinguished herself by her noble interference in 
saving the lives of its patriot citizens. 

Such were the warlike and stately scenes in 
which the De "Wessyngtons were called to 
mingle by their feudal duties as knights of the 
palatinate. A few years after the last event 
(1350), "William, at that time lord of the manor 
of "Wessyngton, had license to settle it and the 
village upon himself, his wife, and " his own 
right heirs." He died in 136Y, and his son and 
heir, "William, succeeded to the estate. The 
latter is mentioned under the name of Sir "Wil- 
liam de "Weschington, as one of the knights 
who sat in the privy council of the county 
during the episcopate of John Fordham.* 
During this time the whole force of the pala- 
tinate was roused to pursue a foray of Scots, 
under Sir 'William Douglas, who, having rav- 
aged the country, were returning laden with 
spoil. It was a fruit of the feud between the 
Douglases and the Percys. The marauders 
were overtaken by Hotspur Percy, and then 
took place the battle of Otterbourne, in which 
Percy was taken prisoner and Douglas slain.t 

For upwards of two hundred years the De 
"Wessyngtons had now sat in the councils of 
the palatinate ; had mingled with horse and 
hound, in the stately hunts of its prelates, and 
followed the banner of St. Cuthbert to the 
field; but Sir 'Williani, just mentioned, was 
the last of the family that rendered this feudal 
service. He was the last male of the line to 
which the inheritance of the manor, by the 
license granted to his father, was confined. It 
passed away from the De "Wessyngtons, after 
his death, by the marriage of his only daughter 
and heir, Dionisia, with Sir "William Temple of 
Studley. By the year 1400 it had become the 
property of the Blaykestons.| 

But though the name of De "Wessyngton no 
longer figured on the chivalrous roll of the 
palatinate, it continued for a time to flourish in 
the cloisters. In the year 1416, John De "Wess- 
yngton was elected prior of the Benedictine 
convent, attached to the cathedral. The monks 
of this convent had been licensed by Pope Gre- 
gory VII. to perform the solemn duties of the 
cathedral in place of secular clergy, and "Wil- 

* Ilutcliinson, vol. ii. 

t Theare the Dowglas lost his life, 
And the Percye was led away. 
FoRDUN. Quoted by Surtee's Hist. Durha7n,yo\. i. 
t Hutchinson's Durham, vol. ii., p. 4S9. 



liam the Conqueror had ordained that the 
priors of Durham should enjoy all the liberties, 
dignities, and honors of abbots ; should hold 
their lands and churches in their own hands 
and free dispo.sition, and have the abbot's seat 
on the left side of the choir — thus taking rank 
of every one but the bishop.* 

In the course of three centuries and up- 
wards, which had since elapsed, these honors 
and privileges had been subject to repeated 
dispute and encroachment, and the prior had 
nearly been elbowed out of the abbot's chair 
by the archdeacon. John de "Wessyngton was 
not a man to submit tamely to such infringe- 
ments of his rights. He forthwith set himself 
up as the champion of his priory, and in a 
learned tract, de Juribiis et Possessionibtis Ec- 
clesicB Dunelm, established the validity of the 
long-controverted claims, and fixed himself 
firmly in the abbot's chair. His success in this 
controversy gained him much renown among 
his brethren of the cowl, and in 1426 he pre- 
sided at the general chapter of the order of 
St. Benedict, held at Northampton. 

The stout prior of Durham had other dis- 
putes with the bishop and the secular clergy 
touching his ecclesiastical functions, in which 
he was equally victorious, and several tracts 
remain in manuscript in the dean and chapter's 
library ; weapons hung up in the church armory 
as memorials of his polemical battles. 

Finally, after fighting divers good fights for 
the honor of his priory, and filling the abbot's 
chair for thirty years, he died, to use an an- 
cient j)hrase, " in all the odor of sanctity," in 
1446, and was buried like a soldier on his 
battle-field, at the door of the north aisle of 
the church, near to the altar of St. Benedict. 
On his tombstone was an inscription in brass, 
now unfortunately obliterated, which may have 
set forth the valiant deeds of this Washington 
of the cloisters.t 

By this time the primitive stock of tlie 
De "Wessyngtons had separated into divers 
branches, holding estates in various parts of 
England ; some distinguishing themselves in 
the learned professions, others receiving knight- 
hood for public services. Their names are to 
be found honorably recorded in county his- 
tories, or engraved on monuments in time- 
worn churches and cathedrals, those garnering 
places of English worthies. By degrees the 



* Dusrdale Monasticon Anglicanum. T. 1., p. 231. Lon- 
don cd. 1S46. 

t nutchinBon's Durham, vol. ii., passim. 



GENEALOGY OF THE WASHINGTON FAMILY. 



seignorial sign of cle disappeared from before 
the family surname, which also varied from 
Wessyngton to Wassington, "Wasshington, and 
finally, to "Washington.* A parish in the 
county of Durham hears the name as last 
written, and in this probably the ancient 
manor of "Wessyngton was situated. There 
is another parish of the name in the county of 
Sussex. 

The branch of the family to which our 
"Washington immediately belongs sprang from 
Laurence "Washington, Esquire, of Gray's Inn, 
son of John "Washington, of "Warton in Lan- 
cashire. This Laurence "Washington was for 
some time mayor of Northampton, and on the 
dissolution of the priories by Henry VIII. he re- 
ceived, in 1538, a grant of the manor of Sul- 
grave, in Northamptonshire, with other lands 
in the vicinity, all confiscated property formerly 
belonging to the monastery of St. Andrew's. 

Sulgrave remained in the family until 1 620, and 
was commonly called "Washington's manor." t 

One of the direct descendants of the grantee 
of Sulgrave was Sir William Washington, of 
Packington, in the county of Kent. He mar- 
ried a sister of George Villiers, Duke of Buck- 
ingham, the unfortunate favorite of Charles I. 



* " The de came to be omitted," says an old treatise, 
" when Enghshmen and English manners began to prevail 
upon the recovery of lost credity— Restitution of decayed 
intelligence in antiquities. London, 1634. 

About the time of Henry VI., says another treatise, 
the de or d' was generally dropped from Burnames, when 
the title of armiger, esquier, amongst the heads of families, 
and generosus, or gentylman, among younger sons, was sub- 
stituted. — Lower on Surnames., vol. i. 

+ The manor of Garsdon in Wiltshire has been men- 
tioned as the homestead of the ancestors of our Washing- 
ton. This is a mistake. It was the residence of Sir 
Laurence Washington, second son of the above-mentioned 
grantee of Sulgrave. Elizabeth, granddaughter of this 
Bir Laurence, married Robert Shirley, Earl Ferrers and 
Viscount of Tamworth. Washington became a baptismal 
name among the Shirleys— several of the Earls Ferrers 
have borne it. 

The writer of these pages visited Sulgrave a few years 
since. It was in a quiet rural neighborhood, where the 
farm houses were quaint and antiquated. A part only of 
the manor house remained, and was inhabited by a farmer. 
The Washington crest, in colored glass, was to be seen in 
a window of what was now the buttery. A window on 
which the whole family arms was emblazoned had been 
removed to the residence of the actual proprietor of the 
manor. Another relic of the ancient manor of the Wash- 
ingtons was a rookery in a venerable grove hard by. The 
rooks, those stanch adherents to old family abodes, still 
hovered and cawed about their hereditary nests. In the 
pavement of the parish church we were shown a stone 
slab bearing effigies on plates of brass of Laurence Wassh- 
ington, gent., and Anne his wife, and their four sons and 
eleven daughters. The inscription in black letter was 
dated 1564. 



This may have attached the Sulgrave Wash- 
ingtons to the Stuart dynasty, to which they 
adhered loyally and generously throughout all 
its vicissitudes. One of the family, Lieutenant- 
Colonel James Washington, took up arms in 
the cause of king Charles, and lost his life at 
the siege of Pontefract castle. Another of the 
Sulgrave line. Sir Henry Washington, son and 
heir of Sir William, before mentioned, ex- 
hibited in the civil wars the old chivalrous 
spirit of the knights of the palatinate. He 
served under prince Rupert at the storming of 
Bristol, in 1G43, and when the assailants were 
beaten off" at every point, he broke in with a 
handful of infantry at a weak part of the wall, 
made room for the horse to follow, and opened 
a path to victory.* 

He distinguished himself still more in 1646, 
when elevated to the command of Worcester, 
the governor having been captured by the 
enemy. It was a time of confusion and dismay. 
The king had fled from Oxford in disguise and 
gone to the parliamentary camp at Newark. The 
royal cause was desperate. In this crisis Sir 
Henry received a letter from Fairfax, who, 
with his victorious army, was at Haddington, 
demanding the surrender of Worcester. Tlie 
following was Colonel Washington's reply : 

Sir, 

It is acknowledged by your books and by 
report of your own quarter, that the king is in 
some of your armies. That granted, it may be 
easy for you to procure his Majesty's commands 
for the disposal of this garrison. Till then I 
shall make good the trust reposed in me. As 
for conditions, if I shaU be necessitated I shall 
make the best I can. The worst I know and 
fear not ; if I had, the profession of a soldier 
had not been begun, or so long continued by 
your. Excellency's humble servant, 

HeNEY WASHINGT0jS".t 

In a few days Colonel Whalley invested the 
city with five thousand troops. Sir Henry dis- 
patched messenger after messenger in quest of 
the king to know his pleasure. None of them 
returned. A female emissary was equally 
unavailing. Week after week elapsed, until 
nearly three months had expired. Provisions 
began to fail. The city was in confusion. The 
troops grew insubordinate. Yet Sir Henry per- 
sisted in the defence. General Fairfax, with 



* Clarendon, Book vii. 

t Greene's Antiquities of Worcester, p. 273. 



10 



GEORGE WASHINGTON'S BIRTH. 



[1732. 



1,500 horse and foot, was daily expected. There 
was not powder enough for an hour's contest 
should the city be stormed. Still Sir Henry 
" awaited his Majesty's commands." 

At length news arrived that the king had 
issued an order for the surrender of all towns, 
castles, and forts. A printed copy of the order 
was shown to Sir Henry, and on the faith of 
that document he capitulated (19th July, 1C46) 
on honorable terms, won by his fortitude and 
perseverance. Those who believe in hereditary 
virtues may see foreshadowed in the conduct 
of this "Washington of Worcester, the magnani- 
mous constancy of purpose, the disposition to 
"hope against hope," which bore our Wash- 
ington triumphantly through the darkest days 
of our revolution. 

We have little note of the Sulgrave branch 
of the family after the death of Charles I. and 
the exile of his successor. England, during the 
protectorate, became an uncomfortable resi- 
dence to such as had signalized themselves as 
adherents to the house of Stuart. In 1655, 
an attempt at a general insurrection drew on 
them the vengeance of Cromwell. Many of 
their party who had no share in the conspiracy, 
yet sought refuge in other lands, where they 
might live free from molestation. This may 
have been the case with two brothers, John 
f::id Andrew Washington, great-grandsons of 
the grantee of Sulgrave, and uncles of Sir 
Henry, the gallant defender of Worcester. 
John had for some time resided at South Cave, 
ia the East Riding of Yorkshire;* but now 
emigrated with his brother to Virginia ; which 
colony, from its allegiance to the exiled mon- 
arch and the Anglican Church had become a 
favorite resort of the Cavaliers. The brothers 
arrived in Virginia in 1G57, and purchased lands 
in Westmoreland County, on the northern neck, 
between the Potomac and Rappahannock 
rivers. John married a Miss Anne Pope of the 
same county, and took up his residence on 
Bridges Creek, near where it falls into the 
Potomac. He became an extensive planter, 
and, in process of time, a magistrate and 
member of the House of Burgesses. Having a 
spark of the old military fire of the family, we 
find him, as Colonel Washington, leading the 
Virginia forces, in co-operation with those of 

* South Cave is ne;ir tlio Ilnmbcr. " In the vicinity is 
Cave Ciistle, iin embattled eclilico. It has a iioblo collcc- 
t;on of paintings, including a portrait of General "Washing- 
ton, whose ancestors possessed a portion of the estate."— 
Leices, Tojiog. Diet., vol. i., p. 630. 



I Maryland, against a band of Seneca Indians, 
who were ravaging the settlements along the 
Potomac. In honor of liis public services and 
private virtues the parish in wliich ho resided 
was called after him, and still bears the name 
of Wa.shington. He lies buried in a vault on 
Bridges Creek, which, for generations, was the 
family place of sepulchre. 

The estate continued in the family. His 
grandson Augustine, the father of our Wash- 
ington, was bom there in 1094. He was twice 
married; first (April 20th, 1715), to Jane, 
daughter of Caleb Butler, Esq,, of Westmore- 
land County, by whom he had four children, 
of whom only two, Lawrence and Augustine, 
survived the years of childhood ; their mother 
died November 24th, 1782, and was buried in 
the family vault. ' , 

On the 6th of March, 1730, he married in 
second nuptials, Mary, the daughter of Colonel 
Ball, a young and beautiful girl, said to be the 
belle of the Northern Neck. By her he had 
four sons, George, Samuel, John Augustine, 
and Charles ; and two daughters, Elizabeth, or 
Betty, as she was commonly called, and Mildred, 
who died in infancy. 

George, the eldest, the subject of this biog- 
raphy, was born on the 22d of February (11th 
O. S.), 1732, in the homestead on Bridges 
Creek. This house commanded a view over 
many miles of the Potomac, and the opposite 
shore of Maryland. It had probably been 
purchased with the property, and was one of 
the primitive farm-houses of Virginia. The 
roof was steep, and sloped down into low pro- 
jecting eaves. It had four rooms on the 
ground floor, and others in the attic, and an 
immense chimney at each end. Not a vestige 
of it remains. Two or three decayed fig trees, 
with shrubs and vines, linger about the place, 
and here and Uiere a flower grown wild serves 
" to mark where a garden has been." Such, 
at least, was the case a few years since ; but 
these may have likewise passed away. A 
stone* marks the site of the house, and an 
inscription denotes its being the birthplace of 
Washington. 

We have entered with some minuteness into 
this genealogical detail; tracing the family 
step by step through the pages of historical 
documents for upwards of six centuries ; and 
we have been tempted to do so by the 
documentary jjroofs it gives of the lineal 



♦ Placed there by George "W. P. Custis, Esq. 



1740.] 



THE HOME OF WASHINGTON'S BOYHOOD— HIS EARLY EDUCATION. 



11 



and enduring worth of the race. "We have 
shown that, for many generations, and through 
a variety of eventful scenes, it has main- 
tained an equality of fortune and respec- 
tability, and whenever brought to the test 
has .acquitted itself with honor and loyalty. 
Hereditary rank may be an illusion ; but hered- 
itary virtue gives a patent of innate nobleness 
beyond all the blazonry of the Herald's Col- 

ICffC. 



CHAPTER II. 

Not long after the birth of George, his fiither 
removed to an estate in Stafford Countj^, oppo- 
site Fredericksburg. The house was similar in 
style to the one at Bridges Creek, and stood on 
a rising ground overlooking a meadow which 
bordered the Rappahannock. This was the 
home of George's boyhood ; the meadow was 
his play -ground, and the scene of his early ath- 
letic sports ; but this home, like that in which 
he Avas born, has disappeared ; the site is only 
to be traced by fragments of bricks, china, and 
earthenware. 

In those days the means of instruction in 
Virginia were limited, and it was the custom 
among the wealthy planters to send their sons 
to England to complete their education. This 
was done by Augustine Washington with his 
eldest son Lawrence, then about fifteen years 
of age, and whom he no doubt considered the 
future head of the family. George was yet in 
early childhood : as his intellect dawned he 
received the rudiments of education in the best 
establishment for the purpose that the neigh- 
borhood afforded. It was Avhat was called, in 
popular parlance, an " old lield school-house ; " 
humble enough in its pretensions, and kept by 
one of his father's tenants named Hobby, who 
moreover was sexton of the parisli. The in- 
struction doled out by him must have been of 
the simplest kind, reading, writing, and cipher- 
ing, perhaps ; but George had tiie benefit of 
mental and moral culture at home, from an ex- 
cellent father. 

Several traditional anecdotes have been given 
to the world, somewhat prolix and trite, but 
illustrative of the familiar and practical manner 
in which Augustine Washington, in the daily 
intercourse of domestic life, impressed the duc- 
tile mind of his child with high maxims of re- 
ligion and virtue, and imbued him with a spirit 
of justice and generosity, and above all a scru- 
pulous lore of truth. 



When George was about seven or eight years 
old his brother Lawrence returned from Eng- 
land, a well-educated and accomplished youth. 
There was a difference of fourteen years in 
their ages, which may have been one cause of 
the strong attachment which took place be- 
tween them. Lawrence looked down with a 
protecting eye \;pon the boy whose dawning 
intelligence and perfect rectitude won his re- 
gard ; while George looked up to his manly 
and cultivated brother as a model in mind and 
manners. We call particular attention to this 
brotherly interchange of affection, from the in- 
fluence it had on all the future career of the 
subject of this memoir. 

Lawrence Washington had something of the 
old military spirit of the family, and circum- 
stances soon called it into action. Spanish dep- 
redations on British commerce had recently pro- 
voked reprisals. Admiral Vernon, command- 
er-in-chief in the West Indies, had accordingly 
captured Porto Bello, on the Isthmus of Darien. 
The Spaniards were preparing to revenge the 
blow ; the French were fitting out ships to aid 
them. Troops were embarked in England for 
another campaign in the West Indies ; a regi- 
ment of four battalions was to be raised in the 
colonies and sent to join them at Jamaica. 
There was a sudden outbreak of military ardor 
in the province ; the sound of drum and fife 
was heard in the villages with the parade of 
recruiting parties. Lawrence Washington, now 
twenty-tvio years of age, caught the infection. 
He obtained a captain's commission in the new- 
ly raised regiment, and embarked with it for 
the West Indies in 1740. He served in the 
joint expeditions of Admiral Vernon and Gen- 
eral Wentworth, in the land forces commanded 
by the latter, and acquired the friendship and 
confidence of both of those officers. He was 
present at the siege of Carthagena, when it 
was bombarded by the fleet, and when the 
troops attempted to escalade the citadel. It 
was an ineffectual attack ; the ships could not 
get near enough to throw their shells into the 
town, and the scaling ladders proved too short. 
That part of the attack, however, with which 
Lawrence was concerned, distinguished itself 
by its bravery. The troops sustained unflinch- 
ing a destructive fire for several hours, and at 
length retired with honor, their small force 
having sustained a loss of about six hundred 
in killed and wounded. 

We have here the secret of that martial spirit 
so often cited of George in his boyish days. 



12 



DEATH OF WASHINGTON'S FATHER— SCHOOL EXERCISES. 



[1T4^ 



He had seen his brother fitted out for the -wars. 
He had heard by letter and otherwise of the 
warhke scenes in which lie was minghng. All 
his amusements took a military turn. lie made 
soldiers of his schoolmates ; they had their 
mimic parades, reviews, and sham fights ; a 
boy named William Bustle was sometimes his 
competitor, but George was commander-in- 
chief of Hobby's school. 

Lawrence Washington returned home in the 
autumn of 1742, the campaigns in the West 
Indies being ended, and Admiral Vernon and 
General Wentworth being recalled to England. 
It was the intention of Lawrence to rejoin his 
regiment in that country, and seek promotion 
in the army, but circumstances completely 
altered his plans. He formed an attachment 
to Anne, the eldest daughter of the Honorable 
William Fairfax, of Fairfax County ] his ad- 
dresses were well received, and they became 
engaged. Their nuptials were delayed by the 
sudden and untimely death of his fatlier, which 
took place on the 12th of April, 1743, after a 
short but severe attack of gout in the stom- 
ach, and when but forty-nine years of age. 
George had been absent from home on a visit 
during his father's illness, and just returned in 
time to receive a parting look of afi"ection. 

Augustine Washington left large possessions, 
distributed by will among his children. To 
Lawrence, the estate on the banks of the Poto- 
mac, with other real property, and several 
shares in iron works. To Augustine, the 
second son by the first marriage, the old home 
stead and estate in Westmoreland. The chil- 
dren by the second marriage were severally 
well provided for, and George, when he became 
of age, was to have the house and lands on the 
Rappahannock. 

In the month of July the marriage of Law- 
rence "with Miss Fairfax took i:)lace. He now 
gave up all thoughts of foreign service, and 
settled himself on his estate on the banks of 
the Potomac, to which he gave the name of 
MotrxT Vernon, in honor of the admiral. 

Augiistine took np his abode at the home- 
stead on Bridges Creek, and married Anne, 
daughter and co-heiress of WiUiam Aylett, 
Esquire, of Westmoreland County. 

George, now eleven years of age, and the 
other children of the second marriage, had 
been left under the guardianship of their 
mother, to whom was intrusted the proceeds 
of all their property until they should severally 
come of age. She proved herself w^orthy of 



the trust. Endowed with plain, direct good 
sense, thorough conscientiousness, and prompt 
decision, she governed her family strictly, but 
kindly, exacting deference while she inspired 
alfection. George, being her eldest son, w^as 
thought to be her favorite, yet she never gave 
him undue preference, and the implicit defer- 
ence exacted from him in childhood continued 
to be habitually observed by him to the day 
of her death. He inherited from her a high 
temper and a spirit of command, but her early 
precepts and example taught him to restrain 
and govern that temper, and to square his con- 
duct on the exact principles of equity and jus- 
tice. 

Tradition gives an interesting picture of the 
widow, with her little flock gathered around 
her, as was her daily wont, reading to them 
lessons of religion and morality out of some 
standard work. Her favorite volume was Sir 
Matthew Hale's Contemplations, moral and 
divine. The admirable maxims therein con- 
tained, for outward action as well as self-gov- 
ernment, sank deep into the mind of George, 
and, doubtless, had a great influence in forming 
his character. They certainly were exemi^lified 
in his conduct throughout life. This mother's 
manual, bearing his mother's name, Mary Wash- 
ington, written with her owm hand, was ever pre- 
served by him with filial care, and may be seen 
in the archives of Moimt Vernon. A precious 
document ! Let those who wish to know the 
moral foundation of his character consult its 
pages. 

Having no longer the benefit of a father's 
instructions at home, and the scope of tuition 
of Hobby, the sexton, being too limited for 
the growing wants of his pupil, George was 
now sent to reside with Augustine Washington, 
at Bridges Creek, and enjoy the benefit of a 
superior school in that neighborhood, kept by a 
Mr. Williams. His education, however, was 
plain and practiftil. He never attempted the 
learned languages, nor manifested any inclina- 
tion for rhetoric or beUes-lettres. His object, 
or the object of his friends, seems to have been 
confined to fitting him for ordinary business. 
His manuscript school books still exist, and are 
models of neatness and accuracy. One of them, 
it is true, a ciphering book preserved in the li- 
brary at Mount Vernon, has some school-boy at- 
tempts at calligraphy ; nondescript birds, execut- 
ed with a flourish of the pen, or profiles of faces, 
probably intended for those of his schoolmates ; 
the rest are all grave and business-like. Before 



iET. 11.] 



WASHINGTON'S CODE OF MORALS AND MANNERS. 



13 



he was thirteen years of age he had copied 
into a volume forms for all kinds of mercan- 
tile and legal papers ; bills of exchange, notes 
of hand, deeds, bonds, and the lilie. This early 
self-tuition gave him throughout life a lawyer's 
skiU in drafting documents, and a merchant's 
exactness in keeping accounts ; so that all the 
concerns of his various estates; his dealings 
with his domestic stewards and foreign agents ; 
his accounts with government, and all his finan- 
cial transactions, are to this day to he seen 
posted up in books, in his own hand-writing, 
monuments of his method and unwearied accu- 
racy. 

He was a self-disciplinarian in physical as well 
as mental matters, and practised himself in all 
kinds of athletic exercises, such as running, 
leaping, wrestling, pitching quoits, and tossing 
bars. His frame even in infancy had been 
large and powerful, and he now excelled most 
of his playmates in contests of agility and 
strength. As a proof of his muscular power, 
a place is stUl pointed out at Fredericksburg, 
near the lower ferry, where, when a boy, he 
flung a stone across the Eappahannock. In 
horsemanship too he already excelled, and 
was ready to back, and able to manage the 
most fiery steed. Traditional anecdotes remain 
of his achievements in this respect. 

Above all, his inherent probity and the prin- 
ciples of justice on which he regulated aU his 
conduct, even at this early period of life, were 
soon appreciated by his schoolmates ; he was 
referred to as an umpire in their disputes, and 
his decisions were never reversed. As he had 
formerly been military chieftain, he was now 
legislator of the school; thus displaying in 
boyhood a type of the future man. 



CHAPTER III. 

The attachment of Lawrence "Washington to 
his brother George seems to have acquired 
additional strength and tenderness on their 
father's death ; he now took & truly paternal 
interest in his concerns, and had him as fre- 
quently as possible a guest at Mount Vernon. 
Lawrence had deservedly become a popular 
and leading personage in the country. He was 
a member of the House of Burgesses, and Ad- 
jutant-General of the district, with the rank 
of major, and a regular salary. A frequent 
sojourn with him brought George into familiar 
intercourse with the family of his father-in- 



law, the Hon. WUliam Fairfax, who resided at 
a beautiful seat called Belvoir, a few miles be- 
low Mount Vernon, and on the same woody 
ridge bordering the Potomac. 

"William Fairfax was a man of liberal edu- 
cation and intrinsic worth*; he had seen much 
of the world, and his mind had been enriched 
and ripened by varied and adventurous expe- 
rience. Of an ancient English family in York- 
shire, he had entered the army at the age of 
twenty-one ; had served with honor both in 
the East and "West Indies, and ofiiciated as 
governor of New Providence, after having 
aided in rescuing it from pirates. For some 
years past he had resided in Virginia, to man- 
age the immense landed estates of his cousin. 
Lord Fairfax, and lived at Belvoir in the style 
of an English country gentleman, surrounded 
by an intelligent and cultivated family of sons 
and daughters. 

An intimacy with a family like this, in which 
the frankness and simplicity of rural and colo- 
nial life were united with European refine- 
ment, could not but have a beneficial eff"ect in 
moulding the character and manners of a some- 
what homebred school-boy. It was probably 
his intercourse with them, and his ambition to 
acquit himself weU in their society, that set 
him upon compiling a code of morals and man- 
ners which still exists in a manuscript in his 
own handwriting, entitled " rules for behavior 
in company and conversation," It is extremely 
minute and circumstantial. Some of the rules 
for personal deportment extend to such trivial 
matters, and are so quaint and formal, as 
almost to provoke a smile ; but in the main, a 
better manual of conduct could not be put into 
the hands of a youth. The whole code evinces 
that rigid propriety and self control to which 
he subjected himself, and by which he brought 
all the impulses of .a somewhat ardent temper 
under conscientious government. 

Other influences were brought to bear on 
George during his visit at Mount Vernon. His 
brother Lawrence still retained some of his 
military inclinations, fostered no doubt by his 
post of Adjutant-General. "William Fairfax, as 
we have shown, had been a soldier, and in 
many trying scenes. Some of Lawrence's 
comrades of the provincial regiment, who had 
served with him in the "West Indies, were oc- 
casional visitors at Mount Vernon ; or a ship 
of war, possibly one of Vernon's old fleet, 
would anchor in the Potomac, and its officers 
be welcome guests at the tables of Lawrence 



14 



STUDIES AND EXERCISES— A SCHOOL-BOY PASSION. 



[1747. 



and his fatlier-in-law. Thus military scenes on 
sea and shore would become the topics of con- 
versation. The capture of Porto Bello ; the 
bombardment of Carthagena; old stoi'ies of 
cruisings in the East and West Indies, and 
campaigns against me pirates. "We can picture 
to ourselves George, a grave and earnest boy, 
Avith an expanding intellect and a deep-seated 
passion for enterprise, listening to such con- 
versations with a kindling spirit and a growing 
desire for military life. In this way most 
probably was produced that desire to enter the 
navy which he evinced when about fourteen 
years of age. The opportunity for gratifying 
it appeared at hand. Ships of war frequented 
the colonies, and at times, as we have hinted, 
were anchored in the Potomac. The inclina- 
tion was encouraged by Lawrence "Wasliington 
and Mr. Fairfax. Lawrence retained pleasant 
recollections of his cruisings in the fleet of 
Admiral Vernon, and considered the naval 
service a popular path to fame and fortune. 
George was at a suitable age to enter the navy. 
The great difficulty was to procure the assent 
of his mother. She was brought, however, to 
acquiesce ; a midshipman's warrant wa,g ob- 
tained, and it is even said that the luggage of 
the youth was actually on board of a man of 
war, anchored in the river just below llount 
Vernon. 

At the eleventh hour the mother's heart 
faltered. This was her eldest born. A son, 
whose strong and steadfast character promised 
to be a support to herself and a protection to 
her other children. The thought of his being 
completely severed from her, and exposed to 
the hardships and perils of a boisterous pro- 
fession, overcame even her resolute mind, and 
at her urgent remonstrances the nautical scheme 
was given up. 

To school, therefore, George returned, and 
continued his studies for nearly two years 
longer, devoting himself especially to mt^ihe- 
matics, and accomplishing himself in those 
branches calculated to fit him either for civil 
or military service. Among these, one of the 
most important in the actual state of the coun- 
try was land surveying. In this he schooled 
himself thoroughly, using the highest processes 
of the art ; making surveys about the neigh- 
borhood, and keeping regular field books, some 
of which we have examined, in which the 
boundaries and measurements of the fields sur- 
veyed were carefully entered, and diagrams 
made, with a neatness and exactness as if the 



whole related to important land transactions 
instead of being mere school exercises. Thus, 
in his earliest days, there was perseverance and 
completeness in all his undertakings. Nothing 
Avas left half done, or done in a hurried and 
slovenly manner. The habit of mind thus cul- 
tivated continued througliout life ; so that 
however complicated his tasks and overwhelm- 
ing his cares, in the arduous and hazardous 
situations in which he was often placed, he 
found time to do every thing, and to do it 
well. He had acquired the magic of method, 
wliich of itself works wonders. 

In one of these manuscript memorials of his 
practical studies and exercises, we have come 
upon some documents singularly in contrast 
with all that we have just cited, and with his 
apparently unromantic character. In a word, 
there are evidences in his own handwriting, 
that, before he was fifteen years of age, he 
had conceived a passion for some unknown 
beauty, so serious as to disturb his otherwise 
well-regulated mind, and to make him really 
unhappy. "Why this juvenile attachment was 
a source of unhappiness we have no positive 
means of ascertaining. Perhaps the object of 
it may have considered him a mere school-boy, 
and treated him as such ; or his own shyness 
may have been in his way, and his " rules for 
behavior and conversation" may as yet have 
sat awkwardly on him, and rendered him 
formal and ungainly when he most sought to 
please. Even in later years he was apt to be 
silent and embarrassed in female society. " He 
was a very bashful young man," said an old 
lady, whom he used to visit when they were 
both in their nonage. " I used often to wish 
that he would talk more." 

Whatever may have been the reason, this 
early attachment seems to have been a source 
of i)oignant discomfort to him. It clung to 
him after he took a final leave of school in the 
autumn of 1747, and went to reside with his 
brother Lawrence at Mount Vernon. Here he 
continued his mathematical studies and his 
practice in surveying, disturbed at times by 
recurrences of his unlucky passion, j Though 
by no means of a poetical temperament, the 
waste pages of his journal betray several at- 
tempts to pour forth his amorous sorrows in 
verse. They arc mere common-place rhymes, 
such as lovers at his age are apt to write, in 
which he bewails his "poor restless heart, 
wounded by Cupid's dart," and " bleeding for 
one who remams pitiless of his griefs and woes.'* 



^T. 15.] 



LORD FAIRFAX— GEORGE WILLIAM FAIRFAX. 



15 



The tenor of some of his verses induce us to 
believe that he never told his love ; but, as we 
I have already surmised, was prevented by his 
bashfulness. 

I " Ah, "^oe is mc, that I should love conceal ; 

I Long have I wished and never dare reveal." 

I It is difScult to reconcile one's self to the 
I idea of the cool and sedate Washington, the 
great champion of American liberty, a woe- 
j worn lover in his youthful days, " sighing like 
furnace," and inditing plaintive verses about 
j the groves of Mount Vernon. We are glad of 
I an opportunity, however, of penetrating to his 
native feelings, and finding that under his 
studied decorum and reserve he had a heart of 
flesh throbbing with the warm impulses of 
human nature. | 

Being a favorite of Sir William Fairfax, he 
was now an occasional inmate of Belvoir. 
Among the persons at present residing there 
was Thomas, Lord Fairfax, cousin of William 
Fairfax, and of whose immense landed property 
the latter Avas the agent. As this nobleman 
was one of Washington's earliest friends, and 
in some degree the founder of his fortunes, 
his character and history ai"e worthy of espe- 
cial note. 

Lord Fairfax was now nearly sixty years of 
age, upwards of six feet high, gaunt and raw- 
boned, near-sighted, with light gray eyes, sharp 
features, and an aquilme nose. However un- 
gainly his present appearance, lie had figured 
to advantage in London life in his younger 
days. He had received his education at the 
university of Oxford, where he acquitted him- 
self with credit. He afterwards held a com- 
mission, and remained for some time in a regi- 
ment of horse called the Blues. His title and 
connections, of course, gave him access to the 
best society, in which he acquired additional 
currency by contributing a paper or two to 
Addison's Spectator, then in great vogue. 

In the height of his fashionable career, he 
became strongly attached to a young lady of 
rank; paid his addresses, and was accepted. 
The wedding day was fixed; the Avedding 
dresses were provided ; together with servants 
and equipages for the matrimonial establish- 
ment. Suddenly the lady broke her engage- 
ment. She had been dazzled by the superior 
brilliancy of a ducal coronet. 

It was a cruel blow, alike to the afi'ection 
and pride of Lord Fairfax, and wrought a 
cliange in both character and conduct. From 
that time he almost avoided the sex, and be- 



came shy and embarrassed in their society, ex- 
cepting among those Vt'ith whom he Avas con- 
nected or particularly intimate This may have 
been among the reasons which ultimately in- 
duced him to abandon the gay world and bury 
himself in the wilds of America. He made a 
voyage to Virginia about the year 1739, to 
visit his vast estates there. These he inherit- 
ed from his mother, Catharine, daughter of 
Thomas, Lord Culpepper, to Avhom they had 
been granted by Charles II. The original 
grant was for aU the lands lying between the 
Rappahannock and Potomac rivers ; meaning 
thereby, it is said, merely the territory on the 
northern neck, east of the Blue Ridge. His 
lordsliip, howcA^er, discoA^ering that the Poto- 
mac headed in the Allegany Mountains, re- 
turned to England and claimed a correspondent 
definition of his grant. It was arranged by 
compromise ; extending his domain into the 
Allegany Mountains, and comprising, among 
other lands, a great portion of the Shenandoah 
Valley. 

Lord Fairfax had been delighted with his 
visit to Virginia. • The amenity of the climate, 
the magnificence of the forest scenery, the 
abundance of game, — aU pointed it out as a 
favored land. He was pleased, too, with the 
frank, cordial character of the Virginians, and. 
their independent mode of life ; and returned 
to it with the resolution of taking up his abode 
there for the remainder of his days. His early 
disappointment in love was the cause of some 
eccentricities in his conduct ; yet he Avas ami- 
able and coui'teous m his manners, and of a lib- 
eral and generous spirit. 

Another inmate of Belvoir at this time 
was George William Fairfax, about twenty- 
tAvo years of age, the eldest son of the proprie- 
tor. He had been educated in England, and 
since his return had married a daughter of 
Colonel Carey, of Hampton, on James River. 
He had recently brought home his bride and 
her sister to his father's house. 

The merits of Washington were known and 
appreciated by the Fairfax family. Though 
not quite sixteen years of age, he no longer 
seemed a boy, nor was he treated as such. 
Tall, athletic, and manly for his years, his early 
self -training, and the code of conduct he had 
devised, gave a gravity and decision to his con- 
duct ; his frankness and modesty inspired cor- 
dial regard, and the melancholy, of which he 
speaks, may have produced a softness in his 
manner calculated to win favor in ladies' eyes. 



16 



THE LOWLAND BEAUTY— VISIT TO BELVOIR. 



[1Y48. 



According to his own account, the female so- 
ciety by which he was surrounded had a sooth- 
ing eifect on that melancholy. The charms of 
Miss Carey, the sister of the bride, seem even 
to have caused a slight fluttering in his bosom ; 
which, however, was constantly rebuked by 
the remembrance of his former passion — so at 
least we judge from letters to his youthful 
confidants, rough drafts of which are still to be 
seen in his tell-tale journal. 

To one whom he addresses as his dear friend 
Eobin, he writes : " My residence is at present 
at his lordship's, where I might, was my heart 
disengaged, pass my time very pleasantly, as 
there's a very agreeable young lady lives in the 
same house (Col. George Fairfax's wife's sister) ; 
but as that's only adding fuel to fire, it makes 
me the more uneasy, for by often and unavoid- 
ably being in company with her, revives my 
former passion for your Lowland Beauty ; 
whereas was I to live more retired from young 
women, I might in some measure alleviate my 
sorrows, by burying that chaste and trouble- 
some passion in the grave of oblivion," &c. 

Similar avowals he makes to another of his 
young correspondents, whom he styles, " Dear 
friend John ; " as also to a female confidant, 
styled " Dear Sally," to whom he acknowledges 
that the company of the " very agreeable 
young lady, sister-in-law of Col. George Fair- 
fax," in a great measure cheers his sorrow and 
dejectedness. 

The object of this early passion is not posi- 
tively known. Tradition states that the "low- 
land beauty " was a Miss Grimes, of Westmore- 
land, afterwards Mrs. Lee, and mother of Gen- 
eral Henry Lee, wlio figured in revolutionary 
history as Light Horse Harry, and was always 
a favorite with Washington, probably from the 
recollections of his early tenderness for the 
mother. 

Whatever may have been the soothing effect 
of tlie female society by which he Avas sur- 
rounded at Belvoir, the youth found a more 
effectual remedy for his love melancholy in the 
company of Lord Fairfax. His lordship was a 
staunch fox-hunter, and kept horses and hounds 
in the English style. The hunting season had 
arrived. The neighborhood abounded with 
sport ; but fox-hunting, in Virginia, required 
bold and skilful horsemanship. He found 
Washington as bold as himself in the saddle, 
and as eager to follow the hounds. He forth- 
with took him into pecidiar favor ; made him 
Ms hunting companion ; and it was probably 



under the tuition of this hard-riding old noble- 
man that the youth imbibed that fondness 
for the chase for which he was afterwards re- 
marked. 

Their fox-hunting intercourse was attended 
with more important results. His lordship's 
possessions beyond the Blue Ridge had never 
been regularly settled nor surveyed. Lawless 
intruders — squatters, as they were called — 
were planting themselves along the finest 
streams and in the richest valleys, and vir- 
tually taking possession of the country. It 
was the anxious desire of Lord Fairfax to have 
these lands examined, surveyed, and portioned 
out into lots, preparatory to ejecting these in- 
terlopers or bringing them to reasonable terms. 
Li Washington, notwithstanding his youth, he 
beheld one fit for the task — having noticed the 
exercises in surveying which he kept up while 
at Mount Vernon, and the aptness and exact- 
ness with which every process was executed. 
He was well calculated, too, by his vigor and 
activity, his courage and hardihood, to cope 
witli the wild country to be surveyed, and 
with its still wilder inhabitants. The pro- 
position had only to be offered to Washington 
to be eagerly accepted. It was the very kind 
of occupation for which he had been diligently 
training himself. All the preparations required 
by one of his simple habits were soon made, 
and in a very few days he was ready for his 
first expedition into the Avilderness. 



CHAPTER IV. 

It was in the month of March (1748), and just 
after he had completed his sixteenth year, that 
Washington set out on horseback on this sur- 
veying expedition, in company with George 
William Fairfax. Their route lay by Ashley's 
Gap, a pass through the Blue Ridge, that 
beautiful line of mountains Avhich, as yet, 
almost formed the western frontier of in- 
habited Virginia. Winter still lingered on the 
tops of the mountains, whence melting snows 
sent down torrents, which swelled the rivers 
and occasionally rendered them almost im- 
passable. Spring, however, was softening the 
lower parts of the landscape and smiling in 
the valleys. 

They entered the great valley of Virginia, 
where it is about twenty-five miles wide ; a 
lovely and temperate region, diversified by 



Mt. 16.] EXPEDITION BEYOND THE BLUE KIDGE— LIFE IN THE WILDERNESS. 



17 



gentle swells and slopes, admirably adapted to 
cultivation. The Blue Eidge boimds it on one 
side, the North Mountain, a ndge of the Alle- 
ganies, on the other ; while through it flows 
that bright and abounding river, which, on 
account of its surpassing beauty, was named 
by the Indians the Shenandoah — that is to say, 
" the daughter of the stars." 

The first station of the travellers was at a 
kind of lodge in the wilderness, where tlie 
steward or land-bailiff of Lord Halifax resided, 
with such negroes as were required for farm- 
ing purposes, and which Washington terms 
" his lordship's quarter." It was situated not 
far from the Shenandoah, and about twelve 
miles from the site of the present town of 
Winchester, 

In a diary kept with his usual minuteness, 
Washington speaks with delight of the beauty 
of the trees and the richness of the land in the 
neighborhood, and of his riding through a 
noble grove of sugar maples on the banks of 
the Shenandoah ; and at the present day, the 
magnificence of the forests which stiU exist in 
this favored region justifies his eulogium. 

He looked around, however, with an eye to 
the profitable rather than the poetical. The 
gleam of poetry and romance, inspired by his 
" lowland beauty," occurs no more. The real 
business of life has commenced with him. His 
diary affords no food for fancy. Every thing 
is practical. The qualities of the soil, the 
relative value of sites and localities, are faith- 
fully recorded. In these his early habits of 
observation and his exercises in surveying had 
already made him a proficient. 

His surveys commenced in the lower part of 
the valley, some distance above the junction 
of the Shenandoah with the Potomac, and ex- 
tended for many miles along the former river. 
Here and there partial " clearings " had been 
made by squatters and hardy pioneers, and 
their rude husbandry had produced abundant 
crops of grain, hemp, and tobacco ; civilization, 
however, had hardly yet entered the valley, 
if we may judge from the note of a night's 
lodging at the house of one of the settlers — 
Captain Hite, near the site of the present town 
of Winchester. Here, after supper, most of 
the company stretched themselves in back- 
wood style, before the fire; but Washington 
was phown into a bed-room. Fatigued with a 
hard day's work at surveying, he soon un- 
dressed ; but instead of being nestled between 
sheets in a comfortable bed, as at the maternal 
2 



home, or at Mount Vernon, he found himself 
on a couch of matted straw, under a thread- 
bare blanket, swarming with unwelcome bed- 
fellows. After tossing about for. a few mo- 
ments, he was glad to put on his clothes again, 
and rejoin his companions before the fire. 

Such was his first experience of life in the 
wilderness ; he soon, however, accustomed 
himself to " rough it," and adapt himself to 
fare of all kinds, though he generally preferred 
a bivouac before a fire, in the open air, to the 
accommodations of a woodman's cabin. Pro- 
ceeding down the valley to the banks of the 
Potomac, they found that river so much swol- 
len by the rain which had fallen among the 
Alleganies, as to be unfordable. To while away 
the time until it should subside, they made an 
excursion to examine certain warm springs in 
a valley among the mountains, since called the 
Berkeley Springs. There they camped out at 
night under the stars ; the diary makes no com- 
plaint of their accommodations ; and their camp- 
ing-ground is now known as Bath, one of the 
favorite watering-places of Virginia. One of 
the waiTU springs was subsequently appropri- 
ated by Lord Fairfax to his own use, and still 
bears his name. 

After watching in vain for the river to sub- 
side, they procured a canoe, on which they 
crossed to the Maryland side ; swimming their 
horses. A weary day's ride of forty miles up 
the left side of the river, in a continual rain, 
and over what Washington pronounces the 
worst road ever trod by man or beast, brought 
them to the house of a Colonel Cresap, opposite 
the south branch of the Potomac, where they 
put up for the night. 

Here they were detained three or four days 
by inclement weather. On the second day 
they were surprised by the appearance of a 
war party of thirty Indians bearing a scalp as 
a trophy. A little liquor procured the spec- 
tacle of a war-dance, A large space was 
cleared, and a fire made in the centre, round 
which the warriors took their seats. The prin- 
cipal orator made a speech, reciting their re- 
cent exploits, and rousing them to triumph. 
One of the warriors started up as if from sleep, 
and began a series of movements, half-grotesque, 
half-tragical ; the rest followed. For music, 
one savage drummed on a deerskin, stretched 
over a pot half filled with water ; another rat- 
tled a gourd, containing a few shot, and deco- 
rated with a horse's tail. Their strange out- 
cries, and uncouth forms and garbs, seen by 



18 



CAMPING OUT— WASHINGTON AS PUBLIC SURVEYOR. 



[1'748. 



the glare of the fire, and their whoops and 
yells, made them appear more like demons than 
human heings. All this savage gamhol was no 
novelty to "W^ashington's companions, experi- 
enced in frontier life ; but to the youth, fresh 
from school, it was a strange spectacle, which 
he sat contemplating with deep interest, and 
carefully noted down in his journal It wiU be 
found that he soon made himself acquainted 
with the savage character, and became expert 
at dealing with these inhabitants of the wilder- 
ness. 

From this encampment the party proceeded 
to the mouth of Patterson's Creek, where they 
recrossed the river in a canoe, swimming their 
horses as before. More than two weeks were 
now passed by them in the wild mountainous 
regions of Frederick County, and about the 
south branch of the Potomac, surveying lands 
and laying out lots, camped out the greater 
part of the time, and subsisting on wild turkeys 
and other game. Each one was his own cook ; 
forked sticks served for spits, and chips of 
wood for dishes. The weather was unset- 
tled. At one time their tent was blown 
down ; at another they were driven out of it 
by smoke ; now they were drenched with rain, 
and now the straw on which "Washington was 
sleeping caught fire, anfl. he was awakened by 
a companion just in time to escape a scorching. 

The only variety to this camp life was a sup- 
per at the hoiise of one Solomon Hedge, Es- 
quire, his majesty's justice of the peace, where 
there were no forks at table, nor any knives, 
but such as the guests brought in their pockets. 
During their surveys they were followed by 
numbers of people, some of them squatters, 
anxious, doubtless, to procure a cheap title to 
the land they had appropriated ; others, Ger- 
man emigrants, with their wives and children, 
seeking a new home in the wilderness. Most 
of the latter could not speak English; but 
when spoken to, answered in their native 
tongue. They appeared to Washington igno- 
rant as Indians, and uncouth, but " merry, and 
full uf antic tricks.'' Such were the progen- 
itors of the sturdy yeomanry now inhabit- 
ing those parts, many of whom still preserve 
their strong German characteristics. 

" I have not slept above three or four nights 
in a bed," writes Washington to one of his 
young friends at home, " but after walking a 
good deal all the day I have lain down before 
the fire upon a little straw or fodder, or a bear 
skin, whichever was to be had, with man, wife, 



and children, like dogs and cats ; and happy is 
he who gets the berth nearest the fire." 

Having completed his surveys, he set forth 
from the south branch of the Potomac on his 
return homeward ; .crossed the mountains to 
the great Cacapehon ; traversed the Shenan- 
doah valley, passed through the Blue Eidge, 
and on the 12th of April found himself once 
more at Mount Vernon. For his services he 
received, according to his note-book, a doub- 
loon per day when actively employed, and 
sometimes six pistoles.* 

The manner in which he had acquitted him- 
self in this arduous expedition, and his accounts 
of the country surveyed, gave great satisfac- 
tion to Lord Fairfax, who shortly afterwards 
moved across the Blue Ridge, and took up his 
residence at the place heretofore noted as his 
" quarters." Here he laid out a manor, con- 
taining ten thousand acres of arable grazing 
lands, vast meadows, and noble forests, and 
projected a spacious manor house, giving to the 
place the name of Greenway Court. 

It was probably through the influence of 
Lord Fairfax that Washington received the ap- 
pointment of public surveyor. This conferred 
authority on his surveys, and entitled them to 
be recorded in the county ofilces, and so in- 
variably correct have these surveys been found 
that, to this day, wherever any of them stand 
on record, they receive implicit credit. 

For three years he continued in this occupa- 
tion, which proved extremely profitable, from 
the vast extent of country to be surveyed and 
the very limited number of public surveyors. 
It made him acquainted, also, with the coun- 
try, the nature of the soil in various parts, and 
the value of localities ; all which proved advan- 
tageous to him in his purchases in after years. 
Many of the finest parts of the Shenandoah 
valley are yet owned by members of the Wash- 
ington family. 

While thus employed for months at a time 
surveying the lands beyond the Blue Ridge, he 
was often an inmate of Greenway Court. The 
projected manor house was never even com- 
menced. On a green knoll overshadowed by 
trees was a long stone building one story in 
height, with dormer windows, two wooden 
belfries, chimneys studded with swallow and 
martin coops, and a roof sloping down in the 
old Virginia fashion, into low projecting eaves 
that formed a verandah the Avhole length of 

* A pistole is $3 60. 



yEx. 17.] 



ENGLISH AND FRENCH CLAIMS TO THE OHIO VALLEY. 



19 



the house. It was probably the house origi- 
nally occupied by his steward or land agent, 
but was now devoted to hospitable purposes 
and the reception of guests. As to his lord- 
ship, it was one of his many eccentricities, 
that he never slept in the main edifice, but 
lodged apart in a wooden house not much above 
twelve feet square. In a small building was 
his office, where quitrents were given, deeds 
drawn, and business transacted with his ten- 
ants. 

About the knoll were out-houses for his 
numerous servants, black and white, with 
stables for saddle-horses and hunters, and ken- 
nels for his hounds, for his lordship retained 
his keen hunting propensities, and the neigh- 
borhood abounded in game. Indians, half- 
breeds, and leathern-clad woodsmen, loitered 
about the place, and partook of the abundance 
of the kitchen. His lordship's table was plen- 
tiful but plain, and served in the English 
fashion. 

Here Washington had full opportunity, in 
the proper seasons, of indulging his fondness 
for field sports, and once more accompanying 
his lordship in the chase. The conversation of 
Lord Fairfax, too, was full of interest and in- 
struction to an inexperienced youth, from his 
cultivated talents, his literary taste, and his 
past intercourse with the best society of Eu- 
rope, and its most distinguished authors. He 
had brought books, too, with him into the 
wilderness, and from Washington's diary we 
find that during his sojourn here he was dili- 
gently reading the history of England, and the 
essays of the Spectator. 

Such was Greenway Court in these its palmy 
days. We visited it recently and found it tot- 
tering to its fall, mouldering in the midst of a 
magnificent country, where nature still flour- 
ishes in full luxuriance and beauty. 

Three or four years were thus passed by 
Washington, the greater part of the time be- 
yond the Blue Ridge, but occasionally with his 
brother Lawrence at Mount Vernon, His rug- 
ged and toilsome expeditions in the mountains, 
among rude scenes and rough people, inured 
him to hardships, and made him apt at expedi- 
ents ; while his intercourse with his cultivated 
brother, and with the various members of the 
Fairfax family, had a happy effect in toning up 
his mind and manners, and counteracting the 
careless and self-indulgent habitudes of the 
wilderness. 



CHAPTER V. 

DuRiXG the time of Washington's surveying 
campaigns among the mountains, a grand colo- 
nizing scheme had been set on foot, destined 
to enlist him in hardy enterprises, and in some 
degree to shape the course of his future for- 
tunes. 

The treaty of peace concluded at Aix-la- ^ 
Chapelle, which had put an end to the general 
war of Europe, had left undefined the boim- 
daries between the British and French posses- 
sions in America ; a singular remissness, con- 
sidering that they had long been a subject in 
dispute, and a cause of frequent conflicts in the 
colonies. Immense regions were still claimed 
by both nations, and each was now eager to 
forestall the other by getting possession of them, 
and strengthening its claim by occupancy. 

The most desirable of these regions lay west 
of the Allegany Moimtains, extending from the 
lakes to the Ohio, and embracing the valley of 
that river and its tributary streams. An im- 
mense territory, possessing a salubrious climate, 
fertile soil, fine hunting and fishing groxmds, 
and facilities by lakes and rivers for a vast in- 
ternal commerce. 

The French claimed all this country quite to 
the Allegany Mountains by the right of dis- 
covery. In 1673, Padre Marquette, witli his 
companion, Joliet, of Quebec, both subjects 
of the crown of France, had passed down the 
Mississippi in a canoe quite to the Arkansas, 
thereby, according to an alleged maxim in the 
law of nations, establishing the right of their 
sovereign, not merely to the river so discovered 
and its adjacent lands, but to all the country 
drained by its tributary streams, of which the 
Ohio was one ; a claim, the ramifications of 
which might be spread, like the meshes of a 
web, over half the continent. 

To this illimitable claim the English opposed 
a right derived, at second hand, from a tradi- 
tionary Indian conquest. A treaty, they said, 
had been made at Lancaster, in 1744, between 
commissioners from Pennsylvania, Maryland, 
and Virginia, and the Iroquois, or Six Nations, 
whereby the latter, for four hundred pounds, 
gave up all right and title to the land west of 
the Allegany Mountains, even to the Mississip- 
pi, which land, according to their traditions^ had 
been conquered by their forefathers. 

It is undoubtedly true that such a treaty was 
made, and such a pretended transfer of title 



20 



INDIAN TRADERS— LIBERTY OF CONSCIENCE. 



(lid take place, under the influence of spirituous 
liquors ; but it is equally true that the Indians 
in question did not, at the time, possess an acre 
of the land conveyed ; and that the tribes actu- 
ally in possession scoffed at their pretensions, 
and claimed the country as their own from time 
immemorial. 

Such were the shadowy foundations of claims 
which the two nations were determined to 
maintain to the uttermost, and which ripened 
into a series of wars, ending in a loss to England 
of a great part of her American possessions, 
and to France of the whole. 

As yet in the region in question there was 
not a single white settlement. Mixed Iroquois 
tribes of Delawares, Shawnees, and Mingoes, 
had migrated into it early in the century from 
the French settlements in Canada, and taken 
up their abodes about the Ohio and its 
branches. The French pretended to hold them 
under their protection ; but their allegiance, 
if ever acknowledged, had been sapped of late 
years by the influx of fur traders from Penn- 
sylvania. These were often rough, lawless 
men ; half Indians in di-ess and habits, prone 
to brawls, and sometimes deadly in their feuds. 
They were generally in the employ of some 
trader, who, at the head of his retainers and a 
string of pack-horses, would make his way over 
mountains and through forests to the banks of 
the Ohio, establish his head-quarters in some 
Indian town, and disperse his followers to traflic 
among the hamlets, hunting-camps, and wig- 
wams, exchanging blankets, gaudy colored 
cloth, trinketry, powder, shot, and rum, for 
valuable furs and peltry. In this way a lucra- 
tive trade with these western tribes was spring- 
ing up and becoming monopolized by the Penn- 
sylvanians. 

To secure a participation in this trade, and 
to gain a foothold in this desirable region, be- 
came now the wish of some of the most intelli- 
gent and enterprising men of Virginia and 
Maryland, among whom were Lawrence and 
Augustine "Washington. With these views they 
projected a scheme, in connection with John 
Hanbury, a wealthy London merchant, to ob- 
tain a grant of land from the British govern- 
ment, for the purpose of forming settlements 
or colonies beyond the Alleganies. Govern- 
ment readily countenanced a scheme by which 
French encroachments might be forestalled, and 
prompt and quiet possession secured of the 
great Ohio valley. An association was accord- 
ingly chartered in 1749, by the name of " the 



Ohio Company," and five hundred thousand 
acres of land was granted to it west of the Al- 
leganies ; between the Monongahela and Kana- 
wha Elvers ; though part of the land might be 
taken up north of the Ohio, should it be deem- 
ed expedient. The company were to pay no 
quitrent for ten years ; but they were to select 
two-fifths of their lands immediately ; to settle 
one hundred families upon them within seven 
years ; to build a fort at their own expense, and 
maintain a sufficient garrison in it for defence 
against the Indians. 

Mr. Thomas Lee, president of the council of 
Virginia, took the lead in the concerns of the 
company at the outset, and by many has been 
considered its founder. On his death, which 
soon took place, Lawrence "Washington had the 
chief management. His enlightened mind and 
liberal spirit shone forth in his earliest arrange- 
ments. He wished to form the settlements 
with Germans from Pennsylvania. Being dis- 
senters, however, they would be obliged, on 
becoming residents within the jurisdiction 
of Virginia, to pay parish rates, and main- 
tain a clergyman of the Church of Eng- 
land, though they might not understand his 
language nor relish his doctrines. Lawrence 
sought to have them exempted from this double 
tax on purse and conscience. 

" It has ever been my opinion," said he, 
" and I hope it ever wiU be, that restraints on 
conscience are cruel in regard to those on 
whom they are imposed, and injurious to the 
country imposing them. England, Holland, 
and Prussia I may quote as examples, and much 
more Pennsylvania, which has flourished under 
that delightful liberty, so as to become the ad- 
miration of every man who considers the short 
time it has been settled. * * * * This colo- 
ny (Virginia) was greatly settled in the latter 
part of Charles the First's time, and during the 
usurpation by the zealous churchmen ; and that 
spirit, which was then brought in, has ever 
since continued ; so that, except a few Quakers, 
we have no dissenters. But what has been the 
consequence ? We have increased by slow de- 
grees, whilst our neighboring colonies, whose 
natural advantages are greatly inferior to ours, 
have become populous." 

Such were the enlightened views of this 
brother of our Washington, to whom the lat- 
ter owed much of his moral and mental train- 
ing. The company proceeded to make prepara- 
tions for their colonizing scheme. Goods were 
imported from England suited to the Indian 



GEORGE CROGHAX-CHRISTOPHER GIST. 



trade, or for presents to the chiefs. Rewards 
were promised to veteran warriors and hunters 
among the natives acquainted with the woods 
and mountains, for the best route to the Ohio. 
Before the company had received its charter, 
however, the French were in the field. Early 
in 1749, the Marquis de la Galisonniere, Gov- 
ernor of Canada, despatched Celeron de Bien- 
ville, an intelligent ofBcer, at the head of three 
hundred men, to the banks of the Ohio, to 
make peace, as he said, between the tribes that 
had become embroiled with each other during 
the late war, and to renew the French posses- 
sion of the country. Celeron de Bienville dis- 
tributed presents among the Indians, made 
speeches reminding them of former friendship 
and warned them not to trade with the English.' 
He furthermore nailed leaden plates to Trees 
and buried others in the earth, at the conflu- 
ence of the Ohio and its tributaries, bearino- 
mscriptions purporting that all the lands on 
both sides of the rivers to their sources apper- 
tamed, as in foregone times, to the crown of 
France.* The Indians gazed at these mysteri- 
ous plates with wondering eyes, but surmised 
then- purport. " They mean to steal our coun 
try from us," murmured they ; and they de 
termmed to seek protection from the English. 
Celeron finding some traders from Pennsyl 
vania trafficking among the Indians, he sum- 
moned them to depart, and wrote bv them to 
James Hamilton, Governor of Pennsylvania 
telhng him the object of his errand to those 
parts, and his surprise at meeting with Eno-lish 
traders in a country to which England had no 
pretensions; intimating that, in future, any 

intruders of the kind would be rigorously dealt 
With. 

His letter, and a report of his proceedings 
on the Ohio, roused the solicitude of the gov 
ernor and council of Pennsylvania, for the pro- 
tection of their Indian trade. Shortly after- 
wards, one Hugh Crawford, who had been 
tradmg with the Miami tribes on the Wabash 
brought a message from them, speaking of the 
promises and threats with which the French 
were endeavoring to shake their faith, but as- 
suring the governor that their friendship for 
the English "would last while the sun and 
moon ran round the world." This message was 
accompanied by three strings of wampum 
Governor Hamilton knew the value of Indian 



21 



^.,'?'"^ f^*^'^^" ^''''''' ^"e^ing date August 16, 174^ 
^ s found ,n recent years at the confluence of the Mus- 
l^ingum with the Ohio. 



friendship, and suggested to the assembly that 
It would be better to clinch it with presents 
and that as soon as possible. An envoy accord- 
mgly was sent off early in October, who was 
supposed to have great influence among the 
western tribes. This was one George Croghan, 
a veteran trader, shrewd and sagacious, who 
had been frequently to the Ohio country with 
pack-horses and foUowers, and made himself 
popular among the Indians by dispensing pres- 
ents with a lavish hand. He was accompanied 
by Andrew Montour, a Canadian of half Indian 
descent, who was to act as interpreter. They 
were provided with a small present for the 
emergency; but were to convoke a meeting 
of aU the tribes at Logstown, on the Ohio, 
early in the ensuing spring, to receive an 
ample present which would be provided by the 
assembly. 

It was some time later in the same autumn 
that the Ohio company brought their plans into 
operation, and despatched an agent to explore 
the lands upon the Ohio and its branches as 
low as the Great Falls, take note of their fitness 
for cultivation, of the passes of the mountains, 
the courses and bearings of the rivers, and the 
strength and disposition of the native tribes. 
The man chosen for the purpose was Christo- 
pher Gist, a hardy pioneer, experienced in wood- 
craft and Indian life, who had his home on the 
banks of the Yadkin near the boundary line of 
Virginia and North Carolina. He was allowed 
a woodsman or two for the serAdce of the ex- 
pedition. He set out on the 31st of October 
from the banks of the Potomac, by an Indian 
path which the hunters had pointed out leading 
from Wills' Creek, since called Fort Cumber- 
land, to the Ohio. Indian paths and bufi-alo tracks 
are the primitive highways of the wilderness. 
Passing the Juniata, he crossed the ridges of 
the AUegany, arrived at Shannopin, a Dela- 
ware viUage on the south-east side of the Ohio, 
or rather of that upper branch of it, now cahed 
the Allegany, swam his horses across that 
river, and descending along its valley arrived 
at Logstown, an important Indian village a 
little below the site of the present city of Pitts- 
burg. Here usually resided Tanacharisson, a 
Seneca chief of great note, being head sachem 
of the mixed tribes which had migrated to 
the Ohio and its branches. He was generally 
surnamed the half-king, being subordinate to 
the Iroquois confederacy. The chief was ab- 
sent at this time, as were most of his people, it 
being the hunting season. George Croghan, 



NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE INDIANS— SCENES IN THE OHIO COUNTRY 



the envoy from Pennsylvania, with Montour 
his interpreter, had passed through Logstown 
a week previously, on his way to the Twightwees 
and other tribes, on the Miami branch of the 
Ohio. Scarce any one was to be seen about 
the village but some of Croghan's rough peo- 
ple, whom he had left beliind — "reprobate 
Indian traders," as Gist terms them. They 
regarded the latter with a jealous eye, suspect- 
ing him of some rivalship in trade, or designs on 
the Indian lands ; and intimated significantly 
" that he would never go home safe." 

Gist knew the meaning of such hints from 
men of this stamp in the lawless depths of the 
wilderness ; but quieted their suspicions by 
letting them know that he was on public biisi- 
ness, and on good terms with their great man, 
George Croghan, to whom he despatched a let- 
ter. He took his departure from Logstown, 
however, as soon as possible, preferring, as he 
said, the solitude of the wilderness to such 
company. 

At Beaver Creek, a few miles below the 
village, he left the river and struck into the 
interior of the present State of Oliio. Here he 
overtook George Croghan at Muskingum, a 
town of "Wyandots and Mingoes. He had or- 
dered all the traders in his employ who were 
scattered among the Indian villages, to rally at 
this town, where he had hoisted the English flag 
over his residence and over that of the sachem. 
This was in consequence of the hostility of the 
French, who had recently captured, in the 
neighborhood, three white men in the employ 
of Frazier, an Indian trader, and had carried 
them away prisoners to Canada. 

Gist was well received by the people of 
Muskingum. They were indignant at the French 
violation of their territories, and the capture 
of their "English brothers." They had not 
forgotten the conduct of Celeron de Bienville 
in the previous year, and the mysterious plates 
which he had nailed against trees and sunk in 
the ground. " If the French claim the rivers 
which run into the lakes," said they, " those 
which run into the Ohio belong to us and to 
our brothers the English." And they were 
anxious that Gist should settle among them, 
and build a fort for their mutual defence. 

A council of the nation was now held, in 
which Gist invited them, in the name of the 
Governor of Virginia, to visit that province, 
where a large present of goods awaited them, 
sent by their father the great king, over the 
water to his Ohio children. The invitation 



was graciously received, but no answer could 
be given mitil a grand council of the western 
tribes had been held, which was to take place 
at Logstown in the ensuing spring. 

Similar results attended visits made by Gist 
and Croghan to the Delawares and the Shaw- 
nees at their villages about the Scioto Eiver ; 
all promised to be at the gathering in Logstown. 
From the Shawnee village, near the mouth of 
the Scioto, the two emissaries shaped their 
course north two hundred miles, crossed the 
Great Moneami, or Miami Paver, on a raft, 
swimming their horses ; and on the 17th of 
February arrived at the Indian town of Piqua. 

These journeyings had carried Gist about a 
wide extent of country beyond the Ohio. It 
was rich and level, watered with streams and 
rivulets, and clad with noble forests of hick- 
ory, walnut, ash, poplar, sugar-maple, and wild 
cherry trees. Occasionally there were spacious 
plains covered with wild rye ; natural meadows 
with blue grass and clover ; and buffaloes thirty 
and forty at a time grazing on them as in a 
cultivated pasture. Deer, elk, and wild 
turkeys abounded. " Nothing is wanted but 
cultivation," said Gist, " to make this a most 
delightful country." Cultivation has since 
proved the truth of his words. The country 
thus described is the present State of Ohio. 

Piqua, where Gist and Croghan had arrived, 
was the principal town of the Twightwees or 
Miamis ; the most powerful confederacy of the 
West, combining four tribes, and extending its 
influence even beyond the Mississippi. A king 
or sachem of one or other of the different 
tribes presided over the whole. The head 
chief at present was the king of the Piankeshas. 

At this town Croghan formed a treaty of 
alliance in the name of the Governor of Penn- 
sylvania with two of the Miami tribes. And 
Gist was prorriised by the king of the Pian- 
keshas that the chiefs of the various tribes 
would attend the meeting at Logstown to make 
a treaty with Virginia. 

In the height of these demonstrations of 
friendship, two Ottawas entered the council- 
house, announcing themselves as envoys from 
the French Govei-nor of Canada to seek a 
renewal of ancient alliance. They were received 
with all due ceremonial ; for none are more 
ceremonious than the Iiidians. The French 
colors were set up beside the English, and the 
ambassadors opened their mission. " Your 
father, the ^rench king," said they, " remem- 
bering his chUdren on the Ohio, has sent them 



DIPLOMACY AT PIQUA— FRENCH SCHEME. 



23 



these two kegs of milk," here, with great 
solemnity, they deposited two kegs of hrandy, 
— " and this tobacco ; " — here they deposited 
a roll ten pounds in weight. " He has made 
a clean road for you to come and see him and 
his oflScers ; and urges you to come, assuring 
you that all past differences will he forgotten," 

The Piankesha chief replied in the same 
figurative style. " It is true our father has 
sent for us several times, and has said the road 
was clear ; but I understand it is not clear — 
it is foul and bloody, and the French have made 
it so. We have cleared a road for our broth- 
ers, the English ; the French have made it bad, 
and have taken some of our brothers prisoners. 
This we consider as done to ourselves," So 
saying he turned his back upon the ambassa- 
dors, and stalked out of the council -house. 

In the end the ambassadors were assured 
that the tribes of the Ohio and the Six Nations 
were hand in hand with their brothers, the 
English; and should war ensue with the 
French, they were ready to meet it. 

So the French colors were taken down ; the 
" kegs of milk " and roll of tobacco were 
rejected ; the grand council broke up in a war- 
dance, and the ambassadors departed, weeping 
and howling, and predicting ruin to the Miamis. 

"When Gist returned] to the Shawnee town, 
near the mouth of the Scioto, and reported to 
his Indian friends there the alliance he had 
formed with the Miami confederacy, there was 
great feasting and speech-making, and firing of 
guns. He had now happily accomplished the 
chief object of his mission — nothing remained 
but to descend the Ohio to the Great Falls. 
This, however, he was cautioned not to do. 
A large party of Indians, allies of the French, 
were hunting in that neighborhood, who might 
kill or capture him. He crossed the river 
attended only by a lad as a travelling compan- 
ion and aid, and proceeded cautiously down 
the east side until within fifteen miles of the 
Falls. Here he came upon traps newly set, 
and Indian footprints not a day old ; and heard 
the distant report of guns. The story of 
Indian hunters then was true. He was in a 
dangerous neighborhood. The savages might 
come upon the tracks of the horses, or heal* 
the bells put about their necks, when turned 
loose in the wilderness to graze. 

Abandoning aU idea, therefore, of visiting 
the Falls, and contenting himself with the 
information concerning them which he had 
received from others, he shaped his course on 



the 18th of March for the Cuttawa, or Ken- 
tucky River. From the top of a mountain in 
the vicinity he had a view to the south-west 
as far as the eye could reach, over a vast wood- 
land country in the fresh garniture of spring, 
and watered by abundant streams ; but as yet 
only the hunting ground of savage tribes, and 
the scene of their sanguinary combats. In a 
word, Kentucky lay spread out before him in 
all its wild magnificence ; long before it was 
beheld by Daniel Boone. 

For six weeks was this hardy pioneer making 
his toilful way up the valley of the Cuttawa, or 
Kentucky River, to the banks of the Blue 
Stone ; often checked by precipices, and obliged 
to seek fords at the heads of tributary streams ; 
and happy when he could find a buffalo path 
broken through the tangled forests, or worn 
into the everlasting rocks. 

On the 1st of May he climbed a rock sixty 
feet high, and crowning a lofty mountain, and 
had a distant view of the great Kanawha, 
breaking its way through a vast sierra ; cross- 
ing that river on a raft of his own construction, 
he had many more weary days before him, 
before he reached his frontier abode on the 
banks of the Yadkin. He arrived therein in 
the latter part of May, but there was no one 
to welcome the wanderer home. There had 
been an Indian massacre in the neighborhood,, 
and he found his house silent and deserted. 
His heart sank within him, until an old man 
whom he met near the place assured him his fam- 
ily were safe, having fled for refuge to a settle- 
ment thirty-five miles oft", on the banks of the 
Roanoke. There he rejoined them on the fol- 
lowing day. 

While Gist had been making his painful way 
homeward, the two Ottawa ambassadors had 
returned to Fort Saudusky, bringing word to 
the French that their flag had been struck in 
the council-house at Piqua, and their friend- 
ship rejected and their hospitality defied by 
the Miamis, They informed them also of the 
gathering of the western tribes that was to 
take place at Logstown, to conclude a treaty 
with the Virginians. 

It was a great object with the French to 
prevent this treaty, and to spirit up the Ohio 
Indians against the English. This they hoped 
to effect through the agency of one Captain 
Joncaire, a veteran diplomatist of the wilder- 
ness, whose character and story deserve a 
passing notice. 

He had been taken prisoner when quite 



24 



CAPTAIN JONCAIRE— PREPARATION FOR HOSTILITIES. 



[1751. 



young by the Iroquois, and adopted into one 
of their tribes. This was the making of his 
fortune. He had grown up among them, 
acquired their language,, adapted himself to 
their habits, and was considered by them as 
one of themselves. On returning to civilized 
life he became a prime instrument in the hands 
of the Canadian government, for managing and 
cajoling the Indians. Sometimes he was an 
ambassador to the Iroquois ; sometimes a medi- 
ator between the jarring tribes ; sometimes a 
leader of their warriors when employed by the 
French. When in 1728 the Delawares and 
Shawnees migrated to the banks of the Ohio, 
Joncaire was the agent who followed them, 
and prevailed on them to consider themselves 
under French protection. When the French 
wanted to get a commanding site for a post 
on the Iroquois lands, near Niagara, Joncaire 
was the man to manage it. He craved a situ- 
ation where he might put up a ^^igwam, and 
dwell among his Iroquois brethren. It was 
granted of course, " for was he not a son of 
the tribe — was he not one of themselves ? " 
By degrees his wigwam grew into an impor- 
tant trading post ; ultimately it became Fort 
Niagara. Years and years had elapsed ; he 
had grown gray in Indian diplomacy, and was 
now sent once more to maintain French sover- 
eignty over the valley of the Ohio. 

He appeared at Logstown accompanied by 
another Frenchman, and forty Iroquois war- 
riors. He found an assemblage of the western 
tribes, feasting and rejoicing, and firing of guns, 
for George Croghan and Montour the inter- 
preter were there, and had been distributing 
presents on behalf of the Governor of Penn- 
sylvania. 

Joncaire was said to have the wit of a 
Frenchman, and the eloquence of an Iroquois. 
He made an animated speech to the chiefs in 
their own tongue, the gist of which was that 
their father Onontio (that is to say, the Gov- 
ernor of Canada) desired his children of the 
Ohio to turn away the Indian traders, and 
never to deal with them again on pain of his 
displeasure ; so saying, he laid down a wam- 
pum belt of uncommon size, by Avay of empha- 
sis to his message. 

For once his eloquence was of no avail ; a 
chief rose indignantly, shook his tinger in his 
face, and stamping on the ground, " This is our 
land," said he. " What right has Onontio here? 
The English are our brothers. They shall live 
among us as long as one of us is alive. We 



wiU trade with them, and not with you ; " and 
so saying he rejected the belt of Avampum. 

Joncaire returned to an advanced post 
recently established on the upper part of the 
river, whence he wrote to the Governor of 
Pennsylvania : " The Marquis de la Jonquiere, 
Governor of New France, having ordered me 
to watch that the English make no treaty in 
the Ohio country, I have signified to the 
traders of your government to retire. You 
are not ignorant that all these lands belong to 
the King of France, and that the English have 
no right to trade in them." He concluded by 
reiterating the threat made two years pre- 
viously by Celeron de BienviUe against all 
intruding fur traders. 

In the mean time, in tlie face of all these 
protests and menaces, Mr. Gist, under sanc- 
tion of the Virginia Legislature, proceeded 
in the same year to survey the lands with- 
in the grant of the Ohio company, lying 
on the south side of the Ohio Eiver, as far 
down as the great Kanawha. An old Dela- 
ware sachem, meeting him while thus em- 
ployed, propounded a somewhat puzzling ques- 
tion. "The French," said he, "claim aU the 
land on one side of the Ohio, the English 
claim all the land on the other side — now 
where does the Indians' land lie? " 

Poor savages ! Between their " fathers," 
the French, and their " brothers," the English, 
they were in a fair way of being most lovingly 
shared out of the whole country. 



CHAPTER VI. 

The French now prepared for hostile contin- 
gencies. They launched an armed vessel of 
unusual size on Lake Ontario ; fortified their 
trading houses at Niagara ; strengthened their 
outposts, and advanced others on the upper 
waters of the Ohio. A stir of warlike pre- 
paration was likewise to be observed among 
the British colonies. It was evident that the 
adverse claims to the disputed territory, if 
pushed home, could only be settled by the 
stern arbitrament of the sword. 

In Virginia, especially, the war spirit Avas 
manifest. The province was divided into 
military districts, each having an adjutant- 
general, with the rank of major, and" the pay 
of one hundred and fifty pounds a year, whose 



Ml. 19.] 



SCENES AT BARBADOES— TROPICAL FRUITS. 



25 



duty was to attend to the organization and 
equipment of the militia. 

Such an appointment was sought by Law- 
rence Washington for his brother George. 
It shows what must have been the maturity 
of mind of the latter, and the confidence in- 
spired by his judicious conduct and aptness for 
business, that the post should not only be sought 
for him, but readily obtained ; though he was 
yet but nineteen years of age. He proved him- 
self worthy of the appointment. 

He now set about preparing himself, with 
his usual method and assiduity, for his new 
duties. Virginia had among its floating popu- 
lation some military relics of the late Spanish 
war. Among these there was a certain 
Adjutant Muse, a "Westmoreland volunteer, 
who had served with Lawrence Washington 
in the campaigns in the West Indies, and had 
been with him in the attack on Oarthagena. 
He now undertook to instruct his brother 
George in the art of war; lent him treatises 
on military tactics; put him through the 
manual exercise, and gave him some idea of 
evolutions in the field. Another of Law- 
rence's campaigning comrades was Jacob Van 
Braam, a Dutchman by birth ; a soldier of for- 
tune of the Dalgetty order ; who had been in 
the British army, but was now out of service, 
and, professing to be a complete master of 
fence, recruited his slender purse in this time 
of military excitement, by giving the Virgin- 
ian youth lessons in the sword exercise. 

Under the instructions of these veterans 
Mount Vernon, from being a quiet rural 
retreat, where Washington, three years pre- 
viously, had indited love ditties to his " low- 
land beauty," was suddenly transformed into 
a school of arms, as he practised the manual 
exercise with Adjutant Muse, or took lessons 
on the broadsword from Van Braam. 

His martial studies, however, were inter- 
rupted for a time by the critical state of his 
brother's health. The constitution of Law- 
rence had always been delicate, and he had 
been obliged repeatedly to travel for a 
change of air. There were now pulmonary 
symptoms of a threatening nature, and by 
advice of his physicians he determined to 
pass a winter in the West Indies, taking with 
him his favorite brother George as a com- 
panion. 

They accordingly sailed for Barbadoes on 
the 28th of September, 1751. George kept a 
journal of the voyage with logbook brevity ; 



recording the wind and weather, but no events 
worth citation. They landed at Barbadoes on 
the 3d of November. The resident phy- 
sician of the place gave a favorable report of 
Lawrence's case, and held out hopes of a cure. 
The brothers were delighted with the aspect 
of the country, as they drove out in the cool 
of the evening, and beheld on all sides fields 
of sugar cane and Indian corn, and groves of 
tropical trees, in full fruit and foliage. 

They took up their abode at a house pleas- 
antly situated about a mile from town, com- 
manding an extensive prospect of sea and land, 
including Carlyle bay and its shipping, and 
belonging to Captain Crofton, commander of 
James Fort. 

Barbadoes had its theatre, at which Wash- 
ington witnessed for the first time a dramatic 
representation, a • species of amusement of 
which he afterwards became fond. It was in 
the present -instance the doleful tragedy of 
George Barnwell. "The character of Barn- 
well, and several others," notes he in his 
journal, "were said to be well performed^ 
There was music adapted and regularly con- 
ducted." A safe but abstemious criticism. 

Among the liospitalities of the place the 
brothers were invited to the house of a Judge 
Maynards, to dine with an association of the 
first people of the place, who met at each 
other's house alternately every Saturday, under 
the incontestably English title of " The Beef- 
steak and Tripe Club." Washington notes with 
admiration the profusion of tropical fruits 
with which the table was loaded, " the grana- 
dilla, sapadella, pomegranate, sweet orange, 
water-lemon, forbidden fruit, and guava." The 
homely prosaic beefsteak and tripe must have 
contrasted strangely, though sturdily, with 
these magnificent poetical fruits of the tropics. 
But John Bull is faithful to his native habits, 
and native dishes, whatever may be the coun- 
try or clime, and would set up a chop-house at 
the very gates of paradise. 

The brothers had scarcely been a fortnight 
at the island when George was taken down by 
a severe attack of small-pox. Skilful medical 
treatment, with the kind attention of friends, 
and especially of his brother, restored him to 
health in about three weeks ; but his face al- 
ways remained slightly marked. 

After his recovery he made excursions about 
the island, noticing its soil, productions, forti- 
fications, public works, and the manners of its 
inhabitants. While admiring the productive- 



26 



RETURN HOME OF WASHINGTON— DEATH OF LAWRENCE. 



[1752. 



ness of the sugar plantations, he was shocked 
at the spendthrift hahits of the planters, and 
their utter want of management. 

" How wonderful," writes he, " that such 
people should be in debt, and not be able to 
indulge themselves in aU the luxuries, as well 
as the necessaries of life. Yet so it happens. 
Estates are often alienated for debts. How 
persons coming to estates of two, three, and 
four hundred acres can want, is to me most 
wonderful." How much does this wonder 
speak for his own scrupulous principle of al- 
ways living within compass. 

The residence at Barbadoes failed to have 
the anticipated effect on the health of Law- 
rence, and he determined to seek the sweet 
climate of Bermiada in the spring. He felt 
the absence from his wife, and it was arranged 
that George should return to Virginia, and 
bring her out to meet him at that island. 
Accordingly, on the 22d of December, George 
set sail in the Industry, bound to Virginia, 
where he arrived on the 1st February, 1752, 
after five weeks of stormy winter seafaring. 

Lawrence remained through the winter at 
Barbadoes; but the very mildness of the 
climate relaxed and enervated him. He felt 
the want of the bracing winter weather to 
which he had been accustomed. Even the in- 
variable beauty of the climate, the perpetual 
summer, wearied the restless invalid. " This 
is the finest island of the West Indies," said 
he ; " but I own no place can please me with- 
out a change of seasons. We soon tire of the 
same prospect." A consolatory truth for the 
inhabitants of more capricious climes. 

Still some of the worst symptoms of his dis- 
order had disappeared, and he seemed to be 
slowly recovering; but the nervous restless- 
ness and desire of change, often incidental to 
his malady, had taken hold of him, and early 
in March he hastened to Bermuda. He had 
come too soon. The keen air of early spring 
brought on an aggravated return of his worst 
symptoms. " I have now got to my last 
refuge," writes he to a friend, " where I must 
receive my final sentence, which at present Dr. 
Forbes will not pronounce. He leaves me, 
however, I think, like a criminal condemn- 
ed, though not without hopes of reprieve. 
But tliis I am to obtain by meritoriously 
abstaining from flesh of every sort, all strong 
liquors, and by riding as much as I can bear. 
These are the only terms on which I am to 
hope for life." 



He was now afflicted with painful inde- 
cision, and his letters perplexed his family, 
leaving them uncertain as to his movements, 
and at a loss how to act. At one time he talked 
of remaining a year at Bermuda, and wrote to 
his wife to come out with George and rejoin 
him there ; but the very same letter shows 
his irresolution and uncertainty, for he leaves 
her coming to the decision of herself and 
friends. As to his own movements, he says, 
" Six weeks will determine me what to resolve 
on. Forbes advises the south of France, or 
else Bai'badoes." The very next letter, writ- 
ten shortly afterwards in a moment of de- 
spondency, talks of the possibility of " hurry- 
ing home to his grave ! " ^ 

The last was no empty foreboding. He did 
indeed hasten back, and just reached Mount ' | 
Vernon in time to die under his own roof, 
surrounded by his family and friends, and 
attended in his last moments by that brother 
on whose manly affection his heart seemed to 
repose. His death took place on the 26th 
July, 1752, when but thirty-four years of age. 
He was a noble-spirited, pure-minded, accom- 
plished gentleman ; honored by the public, 
and beloved by his friends. The paternal 
care ever manifested by him for his youthful 
brother George, and the influence his own 
character and conduct must have had upon 
him in his ductile years, should link their 
memories together in history, and endear the 
name of Lawrence Washington to every 
American. 

Lawrence left a wife and an infant daughter 
to inherit his ample estates. In case his 
daughter should die without issiie, the estate 
of Mount Vernon, and other lands specified in 
his will, were to be enjoyed by her mother 
during her lifetime, and at her death to be 
inherited by his brother George. The latter 
was appointed one of the executors of the 
will ; but such was the implicit confidence 
reposed in his judgment and integrity, that, 
although he was but twenty years of age, the 
management of the affairs of the deceased 
was soon devolved upon him almost en- 
tirely. It is needless to say that they were 
managed with consummate skill and scrupu- 
lous fidelity. 



^T. 20.] 



TREATY WITH THE ENGLISH— FRENCH AGGRESSIONS. 



27 



CHAPTER VII. 

The meeting of the Ohio tribes, Dekawares, 
Shawnees, and Mingoes, to form a treaty of 
alliance with Virginia, took place at Logs- 
town, at the appointed time. The chiefs of 
the Six Nations dechned to attend. " It is 
not our custom," said they proudly, " to meet 
to treat of affairs in the woods and weeds. 
If the Governor of Virginia wants to speak 
with lis, and deliver us a present from our fa- 
ther (the King), we will meet him at Albany, 
where we expect the Governor of New York 
will be present." * 

At Logstown, Colonel Fry and two other 
commissioners from Virginia, concluded a 
treaty with the tribes above named ; by 
wliich the latter engaged not to molest any 
English settlers south of the Ohio. Tana- 
charisson, the half-king, now advised that his 
brothers of Virginia should build a strong 
house at the fork of the Monongahela, to re- 
sist the designs of the French. Mr. Gist was 
accordingly instructed to lay out a town' and 
build a fort at Chartier's Creek, on the east 
side of the Ohio, a little below the site of the 
present city of Pittsburg. He commenced a 
settlement, also, in a valley just beyond Laurel 
Hill, not far from the Youghiogeny, and pre- 
vailed on eleven families to join him. The 
Ohio Company, about the same time, estab- 
lished a trading post, well stocked with Eng- 
lish goods, at Wills' Creek (now the town of 
Cumberland). 

The Ohio tribes were greatly incensed at 
the aggressions of the French, who were 
erecting posts within their territories, and 
sent deputations to remonstrate, but without 
effect. The half-king, as chief of the west- 
ern tribes, repaired to the French post on 
Lake Erie, where he made his complaint in 
person. 

" Fathers," said he, " you are the disturb- 
ers of this land by building towns, and taking 
the country from us by fraud and force. We 
kindled a fire a long time ago at Montreal, 
where we desired you to stay and not to come 
and intrude upon our land. I now advise you 
to return to that place, for this land is ours. 

" If you had come in a peaceable manner, 
like our brothers the English, we should have 
traded with you as we do with them; but 

* Letter of Col. Johnson to Gov. Clinton,— Doc. Hist. 
N. Y., ii. 624. 



that you should come and build houses on our 
land, and take it by force, is what we cannot 
submit to. Both you and the English are 
white. We live in a country between you 
both ; the land belongs to neither of you. 
The Great Being allotted it to us as a residence. 
So, fathers, I desire you, as I have desired 
our brothers the English, to withdraw, for I 
will keep you both at arm's length. Which- 
ever most regards this request, that side will 
we stand by and consider friends. Our 
brothers the English have heard this, and I 
now come to tell it to you, for I am not afraid 
to order you off this land." 

" Child," replied the French commandant, 
" yon talk foolishly. You say this land 
belongs to you ; there is not the black of my 
nail yours. It is my land, and I will have it, 
let who will stand up against me. I am not 
afraid of flies and mosquitoes, for as such I 
consider the Indians. I tell you that down 
the river I will go, and build upon it. If it 
were blocked up I have forces sufficient to 
burst it open and trample down all who 
oppose me. My force is as the sand upon the 
sea-shore. Therefore here is your wampum; 
I fling it at you." 

Tanacharisson returned, wounded at heart, 
both by the language and the haughty manner 
of the French commandant. He saw the ruin 
impending over his race, but looked with hope 
and trust to the English as the power least 
disposed to wrong the red man. 

French influence was successful in other 
quarters. Some of the Indians who had been 
friendly to the English showed signs of alien- 
ation. Others menaced hostilities. There 
were reports that the French were ascending 
the Mississippi from Louisiana. France, it was 
said, intended to connect Louisiana and Canada 
by a chain of military posts, and hem the 
English within the Allegany Mountains, 

The Ohio Company complained loudly to 
the Lieutenant-Governor of Virginia, the Hon. 
Robert Dinwiddie, of the hostile conduct of 
the French and their Indian allies. They 
found in Dinwiddie a ready listener; he was 
a stockholder in the company. 

A commissioner. Captain William Trent, 
was sent to expostulate with the French com- 
mander on the Ohio for his aggressions on the 
territory of his Britannic majesty; he bore 
presents also of guns, powder, shot, and cloth- 
ing for the friendly Indians. 

Trent was not a man of the true spirit for 



28 



MISSION TO THE FRENCH COMMANDER— THE FORK OF THE OHIO. 



[1753. 



a mission to the frontier. lie stopped a 
short time at Logstown, though the French 
were one hundred and fifty miles further up 
the river, and directed liis course to Piqua, the 
great town of the TwiglitAvees, where Gist 
and Croghan had been so well received by 
the Miamis, and the French flag struck in the 
council house. All now was reversed. The 
place had been attacked by the French and 
Indians ; the Miamis defeated with great loss ; 
the English traders taken prisoners; the 
Piankesha chief, who had so proudly turned 
his back upon tlie Ottawa ambassadors, had 
been sacrificed by the hostile savages, and the 
French flag hoisted in triumph on the ruins 
of the town. The whole aspect of affairs was 
so threatening on the frontier, that Trent lost 
heart, and returned home without accomplish- 
ing his errand. 

Governor Dinwiddle now looked round for 
a person more fitted to fulfil a mission which 
required physical strength and moral energy ; 
a courage to cope with savages, and a sagacity 
to negotiate with white men. Washington 
was pointed out as possessed of those re- 
quisites. It is true he Avas not yet twenty- 
two years of age, but public confidence in his 
judgment and abilities had been manifested a 
second time, by renewing his appointment of 
adjutant-general, and assigning him the north- 
ern division. He was acquainted too with the 
matters in litigation, having been in the bosom 
councils of his deceased brother. His wood- 
land experience fitted him for an expedition 
through the wilderness ; and his great discre- 
tion and self-command for a negotiation with 
wily commanders and fickle savages. He was 
accordingly chosen for the expedition. 

By his letter of instructions he was directed 
to repair to Logstown and hold a communica- 
tion with Tanachai-isson, Monacatoocha, alias 
Scarooyadi, the next in command, and the 
other sachems of the mixed tribes friendly to 
the English ; inform them of the purport of 
his errand, and request an escort to the head- 
quarters of the French commander. To that 
commander he was to deliver his credentials, 
and the letter of Governor Dinwiddle, and 
demand an answer in the name of his Britannic 
majesty ; but not to wait for it beyond a week. 
On receiving it, he was to request a sufiicient 
escort to protect liim on his return. 

He was, moreover, to acquaint himself 
with the numl)ers and force of the French 
stationed on the Ohio and in its vicinity; 



their capability of being reinforced from Can- 
ada; the forts they had erected; where 
situated, how garrisoned ; the object of their 
advancing into those parts, and how they 
were likely to be supported. 

Washington set off from Williamsburg on 
the 30th of October (1V53), the very day on 
which he received his credentials. At Fred- 
ericksburg he engaged his old "master of 
fence," Jacob Van Braam, to accompany him 
as interpreter; though it would appear from 
subsequent circumstances, that the veteran 
swordsman was but indifferently versed in 
French or English. 

Having provided himself at Alexandria 
with necessaries for the journey, he proceeded 
to Winchester, then on the frontier, where he 
procured horses, tents, and other travelling 
equipments, and then pushed on by a road 
newly opened to Wills' Creek (town of Cum- 
berland), where he arrived on the 14th of 
November. 

Here he met with Mr. Gist, the intrepid 
pioneer, who had explored the Ohio in the 
employ of the company, and whom he engaged 
to accompany and pilot him in the present 
expedition. He secured the services also of 
one John Davidson as Indian interpreter, and 
of four frontiersmen, two of Avhom were Indian 
traders. With this little band, and his swords- 
man and interpreter, Jacob Van Braam, he set 
forth on the 15th of November through a 
wild country, rendered almost impassable by 
recent storms of rain and snow. 

At the mouth of Turtle Creek, on the 
Monongahela, he found John Frazier the 
Indian trader, some of whose people, as here- 
tofore stated, had been sent off prisoners to 
Canada. Frazier himself had recently been 
ejected by the French from the Indian village 
of Venango, where he had a gunsmith's es- 
tablishment. According to his account the 
French general who had commanded on this 
frontier was dead, and the greater part of the 
forces were retired into winter quarters. 

As the rivers were all swollen so that the 
horses had to swim them, Washington sent all 
the baggage down the Monongahela in a canoe 
under care of two of the men, Avho had orders 
to meet him at the confluence of that river 
with the Allegany, where their united waters 
form the Ohio. 

" As I got down before the canoe," writes 
he in his journal, "I spent some time in view- 
ing the rivers, and the land at the Fork, which 



^T. 21] 



THE HALF-KIXG— INDIAN DIPLOMACY. 



23 



I think extremely well situated for a fort, as it 
has the absolute command of both rivers. 
The land at the point is twenty or twenty- 
five feet above the common surface of the 
water, and a considerable bottom of flat, well- 
timbered land all around it, very convenient 
for building. The rivers are each a quarter 
of a mile or more across, and run here veiy 
nearly at right angles; Allegany bearing 
north-east, and Monongahela south-east. The 
former of these two is a very rapid and swift- 
running water, the other deep and still, with- 
out any perceptible fall." The Ohio company 
had intended to build a fort about two miles 
from this place on the south-east side of the 
river; but Washington gave the fork the 
decided preference. French engineers of ex- 
perience proved the accuracy of his military 
eye, by subsequently choosing it for the site of 
Fort Duquesne, noted in frontier history. 

In this neighborhood lived Shingiss, the king 
or chief sachem of the Delawares. "Washing- 
ton visited him at his village, to invite him to 
the council at Logstown. He was one of the 
greatest warriors of his tribe, and subse- 
quently took up- the hatchet at various times 
against the English, though now he seemed 
favorably dispQsed, and readily accepted the 
invitation. 

They arrived at Logstown after sunset on 
the 2-ith of November. The half-king was 
absent at his hunting lodge on Beaver Creek, 
about fifteen miles distant; but "Washington 
had runners sent out to invite him and all the 
other chiefs to a grand talk on the following 
day. 

In the morning four French deserters came 
into the village. They had deserted from a 
company of one hundred men, sent up from 
New Orleans with eight canoes laden with 
provisions. "Washington drew from them an 
account of the French force at New Orleans, 
and of the forts along the Mississippi, and at 
the mouth of the Wabash, by which they 
kept up a communication with the lakes ; all 
which he carefully noted down. The deserters 
were on their way to Philadelphia, conducted 
by a Pennsylvania trader. 

About three o'clock the half-king arrived. 
Washington had a private conversation with 
him in his tent, through Davidson, the inter- 
preter. He found him intelligent, patriotic, 
and proudly tenacious of his territorial rights. 
We have already cited from Washington's 
papers, the account given by this chief in this 



conversation, of his interview with the late 
French commander. He stated, moreover, 
that the French had built two forts, differing 
in size, but on the same model, a plan of 
which he gave, of his own drawing. The 
largest was on Lake Erie, the other on Frencii 
Creek, fifteen miles apart, with a waggon road 
between them. The nearest and levellest way 
to them was now impassable, lying through 
large and miry savannas ; they would have, 
therefore, to go by Venango, and it would 
take five or six sleeps (or days) of good travel- 
ling to reach the nearest fort. 

On the following morning at nine o'clock, 
the chiefs assembled at the council house; 
where Washington, according to his instruc- 
tions, informed them that he was sent by their 
brother, the Governor of Virginia, to deliver 
to the French commandant a letter of great 
importance, both to their brothers the English 
and to themselves; and that he was to ask 
their advice and assistance, and some of their 
young men to accompany and provide for him 
on the way, and be his safeguard against the 
"French Indians" who had taken up the 
hatchet. He concluded by presenting the in- 
dispensable document in Indian diplomacy a 
string of wampum. 

The chiefs, according to etiquette, sat for 
some moments silent after he had concluded, 
as if ruminating on what had been said, or to 
give him time for further remark. 

The half-king then rose and spoke in behalf 
of the tribes, assuring him that they con- 
sidered the English and themselves brothers, 
and one people; and that they intended to 
return the French the "speech-belts," or 
wampums, which the latter had sent them. 
This, in Indian diplomacy, is a renunciation of 
all fi-iendly relations. An escort would be 
furnished to Washington composed of Mingoes, 
Shannoahs, and Delawares, in token of the 
love and loyalty of those several tribes; but 
three days would be required to prepare for 
the journey. 

Washington remonstrated against such de- 
lay ; but was informed, that an affair of such 
moment, where three speech-belts were to be 
given up, Avas not to be entered into without 
due consideration. Besides, the young men 
who were to form the escort were absent 
hunting, and the half-king could not suffer 
the party to go without sufficient protection. 
His own French speech-belt, also, was at his 
hunting lodge, whither he must go in quest of it. 



30 



INDIAN ESCORTS— FRONTIER REVELRY. 



[1753. 



Moreover, the Shannoah chiefs were yet absent 
and naust be waited for. In short, Washing- 
ton had his first lesson in Indian diplomacy, 
which for punctilio, ceremonial, and secret 
manoeuvring, is equal at least to that of civil- 
ized life. He soon found that to urge a more 
speedy departure would be offensive to Indian 
dignity and decorum, so he was fain to await 
the gathering together of the different chiefs 
with their speech-belts. 

In fact there was some reason for all this 
caution. Tidings had reached the sachems 
that Captain Joncaire had called a meeting 
at Venango, of the Mingoes, Delawares, and 
other tribes, and made them a speech, inform- 
ing them that the French, for the present, had 
gone into winter quarters, but intended to 
descend the river in great force, and fight the 
English in the spring. He had advised them, 
therefore, to stand aloof, for should they inter- 
fere, the French and English would join, cut 
them all off, and divide their land between 
them. 

With these rumors preying on their minds, 
the half-king and three other chiefs waited 
on Washington in his tent in the evening, and 
after representing that they had complied with 
all the requisitions of the Governor of Vir- 
ginia, endeavored to draw from the youthful 
ambassador the true purport of his mission to 
the French commandant. Wasliington had 
anticipated an inquiry of the kind, knowing 
how natural it was that these poor people 
should regard, with anxiety and distrust, every 
movement of two formidable powers thus 
pressing upon them from opposite sides ; he 
managed, however, to answer them in such 
a manner as to allay their solicitude with- 
out transcending the bounds of diplomatic 
secrecy. 

After a day or two more of delay and fur- 
ther consultations in the council house, the 
chiefs determined that but three of their num- 
ber should accompany the mission, as a greater 
number might awaken the suspicions of the 
French. Accordingly, on the 30th of Novem- 
ber, Washington set out for the French post, 
having his usual party augmented by an Indian 
hunter, and being accompanied by the half- 
king, an old Shannoah sachem named Jeskaka- 
ke, and another chief, sometimes called Belt 
of Wampum, from being the keeper of the 
speech-belts, but generally bearing the sound- 
ing appellation of White Thunder, 



CHAPTER VIII. 

Although the distance to Venango, by the 
route taken, was not above seventy mdes, yet 
such was the inclemency of the weather and 
the difl[iculty of travelling, that Washington 
and his party did not arrive there until the 4th 
of December. The French colors were flying 
at a house whence John Frazier, the English 
trader, had been driven. Washington repaired 
thither, and inqnired of three French officers 
whom he saw there where the commandant 
resided. One of them promptly replied that he 
" had the command of the Ohio." It was, in 
fact, the redoubtable Captain Joncaire, the 
veteran intriguer of the frontier. On being 
apprised, however, of the nature of Washing- 
ton's errand, he informed him that there was 
a general oflScer at the next fort, where he ad- 
vised him to apply for an answer to the letter 
of which he was the bearer. 

In the mean time, he invited Washington 
and his party to a supper at head-quarters. It 
proved a jovial one, for Joncaire appears to 
have been somewhat of a boon companion, and 
there is always ready though rough hospitality 
in the wilderness. It is true, Washington, for 
so young a man, may not have had the most 
convivial air, but there may have been a moist 
look of promise in the old soldier Van Braam. 

Joncaire and his brother officers pushed the 
bottle briskly. " The wine," says Washington, 
" as they dosed themselves pretty plentifully 
with it, soon banished the restraint which at 
first appeared in their conversation, and gave 
a license to their tongues to reveal their senti- 
ments more freely. They told me that it was 
their absolute design to take possession of the 
Ohio, and by G — they would do it ; for that 
although they were sensible the English could 
raise two men for their one, yet they knew 
their motions were too slow and dilatory to 
prevent any undertaking. They pretend to 
have an undoubted right to the river from a 
discovery made by one La SaUe sixty years 
ago, and the rise of this expedition is to pre- 
vent our settling on the river or the waters of 
it, as they heard of some families moving out 
in order thereto." 

Washington retained his sobriety and his 
composure throughout all the rodomontade 
and bacchanalian outbreak of the mercurial 
Frenchmen ; leaving the task of pledging them 
to his master of fence. Van Braam, who was 



^T. 21,] LA FORCE, THE WILT COMMISSARY— fORT AT FRENCH CREEK. 



31 



not a man to flinch from potations. He took 
careful note, however, of all their revelations, 
and collected a variety of information concern- 
ing the French forces ; how and where they 
were distributed ; the situations and distances 
of their forts, and their moans and mode of 
obtaining supplies. If the veteran diplomatist 
of the wilderness had intended this revel for a 
snare, he was completely foiled by his youthful 
competitor. 

On the following day there was no travelling 
on account of excessive rain. Joncaire, in the 
mean time, having discovered that the half -king 
was with the mission, expressed his surprise 
that he had not accompanied it to his quarters 
on the preceding day. 'Washington, in truth, 
had feared to trust the sachem within the 
reach of the politic Frenchman. Nothing would 
do now but Joncaire must have the sachems at 
head-quarters. Here his diplomacy was tri- 
umphant. He received them with open arms. 
He was enraptured to see them. His Indian 
brothers ! How could they be so near with- 
out coming to visit him? He made them 
presents ; but, above all, plied them so po- 
tently with liquor, that the poor half-king, 
Jeskakake, and White Thunder forgot all about 
their wrongs, their speeches, their speech-belts, 
and all the business they had come upon ; paid 
no heed to the repeated cautions of their Eng- 
lish friends, and were soon in a complete state 
of frantic extravagance or drunken oblivion. 

The next day the half-king made his appear- 
ance at Washington's tent, perfectly sober and 
very much crestfallen. He declared, however, 
that he still intended to make his speech to 
the French, and offered to rehearse it on the 
spot ; but Washington advised him not to 
waste his ammunition on inferior game like 
Joncaire and his comrades, but to reserve it 
for the commandant. The sachem was not to 
be persuaded. Here, he said, was the place of 
the council fire, where they were accustomed 
to transact their business with the French ; 
and as to Joncaire, he had all the management 
of French affairs with the Indians. 

Washington was fain to attend the council 
fire and listen to the speech. It was much the 
same in purport as that which he had made to 
the French general, and he ended by offering 
to return the French speech-belt ; but this 
Joncaire refused to receive, telling him to carry 
It to the commander at the fort. 

All that day and the next was the party kept 
at Venango by the stratagems of Joncaire and 



his emissaries to detain and seduce the sachems. 
It was not until 12 o'clock on the 7th of De- 
cember, that Washington was able to extricate 
them out of their clutches and commence his 
journey. 

A French commissary by the name of La 
Force, and three soldiers, set off in company 
with him. La Force went as if on ordinary 
business, but he proved one of the most active, 
daring, and mischief-making of those anoma- 
lous agents employed by the French among the 
Indian tribes. It is probable that he was at 
the bottom of many of the perplexities expe- 
rienced by Washington at Venango, and now 
travelled with him for the prosecution of his 
wiles. He AviU be found, hereafter, acting a 
more prominent part, and ultimately reaping 
the fruit of his evil doings. 

After four days of weary travel through 
snow and rain, and mire and swamp, the party 
reached the fort. It was situated on a kind of 
island on the west fork of French Creek, about 
fifteen miles south of Lake Erie, and consisted 
of four houses, forming a hollow square, defend- 
ed by bastions made of pallisades twelve feet 
high, picketed, and pierced for cannon and 
small arms. Within the bastions were a guard- 
house, chapel, and other buildings, and outside 
were stables, a smith's forge, and log-houses 
covered with bark, for the soldiers. 

On the death of the late general, the fort 
had remained in charge of one Captain Reparti 
until within a week past, when the Chevalier 
Legardeur de St. Pierre had ai'rived, and taken 
command. 

The reception of Washington at the fort was 
very different from the unceremonious one ex- 
perienced at the outpost of Joncaire and his 
convivial messmates. When he presented him- 
self at the gate, accompanied by his interpre- 
ter, Van Braam, he was met by the officer 
second in command and conducted in due mili- 
tary form to his superior ; an ancient and 
silver-haired chevalier of the military order of 
St. Louis, courteous but ceremonious; ming- 
ling the polish of the French gentleman of the 
old school with the precision of the soldier. 

Having announced his errand through his 
interpreter, Van Braam, Washington offered 
his credentials and the letter of Governor Din- 
widdle, and was disposed to proceed at once to 
business with the prompt frankness of a young 
man unhackneyed in diplomacy. The cheva- 
lier, however, politely requested him to retain 
the documents in his possession until his pre- 



32 



THE CHEVALIER DE ST. PIERRE— TRANSACTIONS AT THE FORT. 



[1753. 



decessor, Captain Reparti, should arrive, who 
was hourly expected from the next post. 

At two o'clock the captain arrived. The 
letter and its accompanying documents were 
then oflered again, and received in due form, 
and the chevalier and his officers retired witli 
them into a private apartment, where the cap- 
tain, who understood a little English, officiated 
as translator. The translation being finished, 
"Washington was requested to walk in and bring 
his translator, Van Braam, with him, to peruse 
and correct it, which he did. 

In this letter, Dinwiddie complained of the 
intrusion of French forces into the Ohio coun- 
try, erecting forts and making settlements in 
the western parts of the colony of Virginia, so 
notoriously known to be the property of the 
crown of Great Britain. He inquired by 
whose authority and instructions the French 
Commander-general had marched this force 
from Canada, and made this invasion ; intimat- 
ing that his own action would be regulated by 
the answer he should receive, and the tenor of 
the commission with which he was honored. 
At the same time he required of the command- 
ant his peaceable departure, and that he would 
forbear to prosecute a purpose " so interruptive 
of the harmony and good understanding which 
his majesty was desirous to continue and culti- 
vate with the most catholic king." 

The latter part of the letter related to the 
youthful envoy. " I persuade myself you wiU 
receive and entertain Major "Washington with 
the candor and politeness natural to your na- 
tion, and it will give me the greatest satisfac- 
tion if you can return him with an answer suit- 
able to my wishes for a long and lasting peace 
between us." 

The two following days were consumed in 
councils of the chevalier and his officers over 
the letter and the necessary reply. "Washing- 
ton occupied himself in the mean time in ob- 
serving and taking notes of the plan, dimen- 
sions, and strength of the fort, and of every 
thing about it. He gave orders to his people, 
also, to take an exact account of the canoes in 
readiness, and others in the process of con- 
struction, for the conveyance of troops down 
the river in the ensuing spring. 

As the weather continued stormy, with 
much snow, and the horses were daily losing 
strength, he sent them down, unladen, to Ve- 
nango, to await his return by water. In the 
mean time, he discovered that busy intrigues 
were going on to induce the half- king and 



the other sachems to abandon him, and re- 
nounce all friendship with the English. Upon 
learning this, he urged the chiefs to deliver up 
their " speoch-belts " immediately, as they had 
promised, thereby shaking off all dependence 
upon the French. They accordingly pressed 
for an audience that very evening. A private 
one was at length granted them by the com- 
mander, in presence of one or two of his 
officers. The half-king reported the result of 
it to "Washington. The venerable but astute 
chevalier cautiously evaded the acceptance of 
the proffered wampum ; made many professions 
of love and friendship, and said he wished to 
live in peace and trade amicably with the 
tribes of the Ohio, in proof of which he would 
send down some goods immediately for them to 
Logstown. 

As "Washington understood, privately, that 
an officer was to accompany the man employed 
to convey these goods, he suspected that the 
real design was to arrest and bring off all 
straggling English traders they might meet 
with. "What strengthened this opinion was a 
frank avowal which had been made to him by 
the chevalier, that he had orders to capture 
every British subject who should attempt to 
trade upon the Ohio or its waters. 

Captain Reparti, also, in reply to his inquiry 
as to what had been done with two Pennsyl- 
vania traders, who had been taken with aU 
their goods, infomied him that they had been 
sent to Canada, but had since returned home. 
He had stated, furtheiTnore, that during the 
time he held command, a white boy had been 
carried captive past the fort by a party of In- 
dians, who had with them, also, two or three 
white men's scalps. 

All these circumstances showed him the mis- 
chief that was brewing in these parts, and the 
treachery and violence that pervaded the 
frontier, and made him the more solicitous to 
accomplish his mission successfully, and con- 
duct his little band in safety out of a wily 
neighborhood. 

On the evening of the 14th, the Chevalier 
de St. Pierre delivered to "Washington his 
sealed reply to the letter of Governor Din- 
widdie. The purport of previous conversations 
with the chevalier, and the whole complexion 
of affairs on the frontier, left no doubt of the 
nature of that reply. 

The business of his mission being accom- 
plished, "Washington prepared on the 15th to 
return by water to Venango ; but a secret in- 



Mr. 21.] ATTEMPTS TO SEDUCE THE SACHEMS— RETURN FROM VENANGO. 



33 



I fluence was at work which retarded every 

I movement. 

' " The commandant," writes he, " ordered a 
plentiful store of liquor and provisions to be 
put on boai'd our canoes, and appeared to be 
extremely complaisant, though he was exert- 

I ing every artifice which he could invent to set 
our Indians at variance with us, to prevent 
their going until after our departure ; presents, 

! rewards, and every thing which could be sug- 
gested by him or his officers. I cannot say 

1 that ever in my life I suffered so much anxiety 

• as I did in this affair. I saw that every strata- 

I gem which the most fruitful brain could invent 

■ was practised to win the half-king to their in- 
terests, and that leaving him there was giving 

I them the opportunity they aimed at. I went 

I to the half-king, and pressed him in the strong- 
est terms to go ; he told me that the com- 
mandant would not discharge him until the 
morning. I then went to the commandant 
and desired him to do their business, and 
complained to him of iU treatment ; for, keep- 

! ing them, as they were a part of my company, 
was detaining me. This he promised not to 
do, but to forward my journey as miich as he 

' could. He protested he did not keep them, 
but was ignorant of the cause of their stay ; 

1 though I soon found it out. lie had promised 
them a present of guns if they would wait 
until the morning. As I was very much 

I pressed by the Indians to wait this day for 
them, I consented, on the promise that noth- 

j ing should hinder them in the morning." 

The next morning (16th) the French, in ful- 

' filment of their promise, had to give the pres- 

I ent of guns. They then endeavored to detain 
the sachems with liquor, which at any other 
time might have prevailed, but "Washington re- 

1 minded the half-king that his royal woi-d was 
pledged to depart, and urged it upon him so 
closely, that exerting unwonted resolution and 

j self-denial, he turned his back upon the liquor 

land embarked. 

I It was rough and laborious navigation, 
French Creek was swollen and turbulent, and 

j'full of floating ice. The frail canoes were 
several times in danger of being staved to 
pieces against rocks. Often the voyagers had 
to leap out and remain in the water half an 
hour at a time, drawing the canoes over shoals, 
and at one place to carry them a quarter of a 
mile across a neck of land, the river being com- 
pletely dammed by ice. It was not until the 
22d that they reached Venango. 
3 



Here "Washington was obliged, most unwill- 
ingly, to part company with the sachems. 
"White Thunder had hurt himself and was ill 
and unable to walk, and the others determined 
to remain at "V'enango for a day or two and 
convey him down the river in a canoe. There 
was danger that the smooth-tongued and con- 
vivial Joncaire would avail himself of the in- 
terval to ply the poor monarchs of the woods 
with flattery and liquor. "Washington en- 
deavored to put the worthy half-king on his 
guard, knowing that he had once before shown 
himself but little proof against the seductions of 
the bottle. The sachem, however, desired him 
not to be concerned ; he knew the French too 
well for any thing to engage him in their 
favor ; nothing should shake his faith to his 
English brothers ; and it will be found that in 
these assurances he was sincere. 



-K 



CHAPTER IX. 



On the 25th of December, "Washington and his 
little party set out by land from Venango on 
their route homeward. They had a long win- 
ter's journey before them, through a wilderness 
beset with dangers and difficulties. The pack- 
horse?', ladon with tents, baggage, and provi- 
sions, were completely jaded ; it was feared 
they would give out. "Washington dismounted, 
gave up his eaddle-horse to aid in transporting 
the baggage-^ and requested his companions to 
do the sa'XiO, Ij^'one but the drivers remained 
in the suddle 7,Ie 'Wff equipped himself in an 
Indian )fiunti.^,g d.'tess- and with Van Braam, 
Gistr sa}il j'ohn X)avids>'.., the Indian interpret- 
er, proceeded on foot.. 

The c^ld 'ncreaaed, I'here was deep snow 
that froze as it fell. The horses grew less anc^- 
less capable of ti'j.velling. For three days 
they toiled on slowly a;id wearily-, "Washing- 
ton was impatient to accomplish his journey, 
and make his report to the governor ; he de- 
termined, therefore, to liasten some distance in 
advance of the party, and then strike for the 
Fork of the Ohio by the nearest course directly 
through the woods. He accordingly put the 
cavalcade under the command of Van Braam, 
and furnished him with money for expenses ; 
then disencumbering himself of all superfluous 
clothing, buckling himself up in a watch-coat, 
strapping his pack on his shoulders, containing 
his papers and provisions, and taking gun in 



34 



THE INDIAN GUIDE— TREACHERY. 



[1753. 



hand, he left the horses to flomider on, and 
struck manfully ahead, accompanied only by 
Mr. Gist, who had equipped himself in like 
manner. 

At night they lit a fire, and " camped " by it 
in the woods. At two o'clock in the morning 
they were again on foot, and pressed forward 
until they struck the south-east fork of Beaver 
Creek, at a place bearing the sinister name of 
Murdering Town ; probably the scene of some 
Indian massacre. 

Here "Washington, in planning his route, had 
intended to leave the regular path, and strike 
through the woods for Shannopins Town, two 
or three miles above the fork of the Ohio, 
where he hoped to be able to cross the Alle- 
gany Eiver on the ice. 

At Murdering Town he found a party of In- 
dians, who appeared to have known of his 
coming, and to have been waiting for him. 
One of them accosted Mr. Gist, and expressed 
great joy at seeing him. The wary woodsman 
regarded him narrowly, and thought he had 
seen him at Joncaire's. If so, he and his com- 
rades were in the French interest, and their 
lying in wait boded no good. The Indian was 
very curious in his inquiries as to when they 
had left Venango ; how they came to be 
travelling on foot ; where they had left their 
horses, and when it was probable the latter 
would reach this place. All these questions in- 
creased the distrust of Gist, and rendered him 
extremely cautious in reply. 

The route hence to Shannopins Town lay 
through a trackless wild, of which the travel- 
lers knew nothing; after some consultation, 
therefore, it was deemed expedient to engage 
one of the Indians as a guide. He entered 
upon his duties with alacrity, took Washing- 
ton's pack upon his back, and led the way by 
what he said was the most direct course. 
After travelling briskly for eight or ten miles 
Wasliington became fatigued, and his feet were 
chafed ; he thought, too, they were taking a 
direction too much to the north-east ; he came 
to a halt, therefore, and determined to light a 
fire, make a shelter of the bark and branches 
of trees, and encamp there for the night. The 
Indian demurred ; he offered, as Washington 
was fatigued, to carry his gun, but the latter 
was too wary to part with his weapon. The 
Indian now grew churlish. There were Ottawa 
Indians in the woods, he said, who might be 
attracted by their fire, and surprise and scalp 
them ; he urged, tharefore, that they should 



continue on : he would take them to his cabin, 
where they would be safe. 

Mr. Gist's suspicions increased, but he said 
nothing. Washington's also were awakened. 
They proceeded some distance further : the 
guide paused and listened. He had heard, he 
said, the report of a gun toward the north ; it 
must be from his cabin ; he accordingly turned 
his steps in that direction. 

Washington began to apprehend an ambus- 
cade of savages. He knew the hostility of 
many of them to the English, and what a 
desirable trophy was the scalp of a white man. 
The Indian still kept on toward the north ; he 
pretended to hear two whoops — they were 
from his cabin — it could not be far off. 

They went on two miles further, when Wash- 
ington signified his determination to encamp at 
the first water they should find. The guide 
said nothing, but kept doggedly on. After a 
little while they arrived at an opening in the 
woods, and emerging from the deep shadows 
in which they had been travelling, found them- 
selves in a clear meadow, rendered still more 
light by the glare of the snow upon the ground. 
Scarcely had they emerged when the Indian, 
who Avas about fifteen paces ahead, suddenly 
turned, levelled his gun, and fired. Washing- 
ton was startled for an instant, but, feeling that 
he was not wounded, demanded quickly of Mr. 
Gist if he was shot. The latter answered in 
the negative. The Indian in the mean time 
had run forward, and screened himself behind 
a large white oak, were he was reloading his 
gun. They overtook, and seized him. Gist 
would have put him to death on the spot, but 
Washington humanely prevented him. They 
permitted him to finish the loading of his gun ; 
but, after he had put in the ball, took the 
weapon from him, and let him see that he was 
under guard. 

Arriving at a small stream they ordered the 
Indian to make a fire, and took turns to watch 
over the guns. While he was thus occupied, 
Gist, a veteran woodsman, and accustomed to 
hold the life of an Indian rather cheap, was 
somewhat incommoded by the scruples of his 
youthful commander, which might enable the 
savage to carry out some scheme of treachery. 
He observed to Washington that, since he 
would not suffer the Indian to be killed, they 
mi;st manage to get him out of the way, and 
then decamp with all speed, and travel all night 
to leave this perfidious neighborhood behind 
them; but first it was necessary to blind the 



JEt. 21.] PERILS ON THE ALLEGANY RIVER— RETURN ACROSS THE BLUE RIDGE. 35 



guide as to their intentions. He accordingly 
addressed him in a friendly tone, and adverting 
to the late circumstance, pretended to suppose 
that he had lost his way, and fired his gun 
merely as a signal. The Indian, whether de- 
ceived or not, readily chimed in with the ex- 
planation, lie said he now knew the way to 
his cabin, which was at no great distance. 
" "Well then,'' repUed Gist, " you can go home, 
and as we are tired we wiU remain here for 
the night, and follow your track at daylight. 
In the mean time here is a cake of bread for yon, 
and you must give us some meat in the morning." 

Whatever might have been the original de- 
signs of the savage, he was evidently glad to 
get off. Gist followed him cautiously for a 
distance, and listened until the sound of his 
footsteps died away ; returning then to Wash- 
ington, they proceeded about half a mile, made 
another fire, set their compass and fixed their 
course by the light of it, then leaving it burn- 
ing, pushed forward, and travelled as fast as 
possible all night, so as to gain a fair start 
should any one pursue them at daylight. Con- 
tinuing on the next day they never relaxed 
their speed until nightfall, when they arrived 
on the banks of the Allegany River, about two 
miles above Shannopins Town. 

Washington had expected to find the river 
frozen completely over ; it was so only for 
about fifty yards from each shore, while great 
quantities of broken ice were driving down the 
main channel. Trusting that he had out-trav- 
elled pursuit, he encamped on the border of 
the river ; still it was an anxious night, and he 
was up at daybreak to devise some means of 
reaching the opposite bank. No other mode 
presented itself than by a raft, and to construct 
this they had but one poor hatcliet. With this 
they set resolutely to work and labored all day, 
but the sun went down before their raft was 
finished. They launched it, however, and get- 
ting on board, endeavored to propel it across 
with setting poles. Before they were half way 
over the raft became jammed between cakes of 
ice, and they were in imminent peril. Wash- 
ington planted his pole on the bottom of the 
stream, and leaned against it with all his might, 
to stay the raft until the ice sliould pass by. 
The rapid current forced the ice against the 
pole with such violence that he was jerked into 
the water, where it was at least ten feet deep, 
and only saved himself from being swept away 
and drowned by catching hold of one of the 
raft loss. 



It was now impossible with all their exer- 
tions to get to either shore ; abandoning the 
raft therefore, they got upon an island, near 
which they were drifting. Here they passed 
the night exposed to intense cold, by which the 
hands and feet of Mr. Gist were frozen. In the 
morning tliey found the drift ice wedged so 
closely together, that they succeeded in getting 
from the island to the opposite side of the riv- 
er ; and before night were in comfortable 
quarters at the house of Frazier, the Indian 
trader, at the mouth of Turtle Creek on the 
Monongahela. 

Here they learned from a war party of Indians 
that a band of Ottawas, a tribe in the interest 
of the French, had massacred a whole family 
of whites on the banks of the great Kanawha 
River. 

At Frazier's they were detained two or three 
days endeavoring to procure horses. In this 
interval Washington had again occasion to ex- 
ercise Indian diplomacy. About three miles 
distant, at the mouth of the Youghiogeny Riv- 
er, dwelt a female sachem. Queen Aliquippa, 
as the English called her, whose sovereign dig- 
nity had been aggrieved, that the party on 
their way to the Ohio, had passed near her 
royal wigwam without paying their respects 
to her. 

Aware of the importance, at this critical 
juncture, of securing the friendship of the In- 
dians, Washington availed himself of the inter- 
ruption of his journey, to pay a visit of ceremony 
to this native princess. Whatever anger she 
may have felt at past neglect, it was readily ap- 
peased by a present of his old watch-coat ; and 
her good graces were completely secured by a 
bottle of rum, which, he intimates, appeared 
to be peculiarly acceptable to her majesty. 

Leaving Frazier's on the 1st of January, tliey 
arrived on the 2d at Gist's residence 16 miles 
from the Monongahela. Here they separated, 
and Washington having purchased a horse, con- 
tinued his homeward course, passing horses 
laden with materials and stores for the fort at 
the Fork of the Ohio, and families going out to 
settle there. 

Having crossed the Bine Ridge and stopped 
one day at Belvoir to rest, he reached Williams- 
burg on the 16th of January, where he deliver- 
ed to Governor Dinwiddle the letter of the 
French commandant, and made him a full re- 
port of the events of his mission. 

We have been minute in our account of this 
expedition, as it was an early test and develop- 



36 REPLY OF THE CHEVALIER DE ST. PIERRE— WASHINGTON RECRUITS TROOPS. [1754. 



ment of the various talents and characteristics 
of Washington. 

The prudence, sagacity, resolution, firmness, 
and self-devotion manifested by him through- 
out ; his admirable tact and self-possession in 
treating with fickle savages and crafty white 
men ; the soldier's eye with which he had no- 
ticed the commanding and defensible points of 
the country, and every thing that would bear 
upon military operations ; and the hardihood 
with which he had acquitted himself during a 
wintry tramp through ttie wilderness, through 
constant storms of rain and snow ; often sleep- 
ing on the ground without a tent in the open 
air, and in danger from treacherous foes, — all 
pointed him out, not merely to the governor, 
but to the public at large, as one eminently 
fitted, notwithstanding his youth, for important 
trusts involving civil as well as military duties. 
It is an expedition that may be considered the 
foundation of his fortunes. From that moment 
he was the rising hope of Virginia. 



CHAPTER X. 

The reply of the Chevalier de St. Pierre was 
such as might have been expected from that 
courteous but wary commander. He should 
transmit, he said, the letter of Governor Din- 
widdle to his general, the Marquis du Quesne, 
" to whom," observed he, " it better belongs 
than to me to set forth the evidence and reality 
of the rights of the king, my master, upon the 
lands situated along the river Ohio, and to con- 
test the pretensions of the King of Great Brit- 
ain thereto. His answer shall be a law to 
me. ***** As to the summons yon 
send me to retire, I do not think myself obliged 
to obey it. Whatever may be your instruc- 
tions, I am here by virtue of the orders of my 
general ; and I entreat you, sir, not to doubt 
one moment but that I am determined to con- 
form myself to them with all the exactness and 
resolution which can be expected from the 
best officer." * * * * 

" I made it my particular care," adds he, " to 
receive Mr. Washington with a distinction suit- 
able to your dignity, as well as his own quality 
and great merit. I flatter myself that he will 
do me this justice before you, sir, and that he 
will signify to you, in the manner I do myself, 
the profound respect with which I am, sir," &c.* 

* London M;iir., June, 1754. 



This soldier-like and punctilious letter of the 
chevalier was considered evasive, and only in- 
tended to gain time. The information given 
by Washington of what he had observed on the 
frontier convinced Governor Dinwiddle and his 
council that the French were preparing to de- 
scend the Ohio in the spring, and take mili- 
tary possession of the country. Washington's 
journal was printed, and widely promulgated 
throughout the colonies and England, and 
awakened the nation to a sense of the impend- 
ing danger, and the necessity of prompt meas- 
ures to anticipate the French movements. 

Captain Trent was despatched to the frontier, 
commissioned to raise a company of one hun- 
dred men, march with all speed to the Fork of 
the Ohio, and finish as soon as possible the fort 
commenced there by the Ohio Company. He 
was enjoined to act only on the defensive, but 
to capture or destroy whoever should oppose 
the construction of the works, or disturb the 
settlements. The choice of Captain Trent for 
this service, notwithstanding his late inefficient 
expedition, was probably owing to his being 
brother-in-law to George Croghan, who had 
grown to be quite a personage of consequence 
on the frontier, where he had an establishment 
or trading-house, and was supposed to have 
great influence among the western tribes, so as 
to be able at any time to persuade many of them 
to take up the hatchet. 

Washington was empowered to raise a com- 
pany of like force at Alexandria ; to procure 
and forward munitions and supplies for the 
projected fort at the Fork, and ultimately to 
have command of both companies. When on 
the frontier he was to take council of George 
Croghan and Andrew Montour the interpreter, 
in all matters relating to the Indians, they being 
esteemed perfect oracles in that department. 

Governor Dinwiddle in the mean time called 
upon the governors of the other provinces to 
make common cause against the foe ; he en- 
deavored, also, to effect alliances with the In- 
dian tribes of the south, the Catawbas and 
Cherokees, by way of counterbalancing the 
Chippewas and Ottawas, who were devoted to 
the French. 

The colonies, however, felt as yet too much 
like isolated territories ; the spirit of union was 
Avanting. Some pleaded a want of militarjr 
funds ; some questioned the justice of the 
cause ; some declined taking any hostile step ' 
that might involve them in a war, unless they 
should have direct orders from the crown. 



.Et. 22.] DINWIDDIE AND THE BURGESSES— EXPEDIENTS TO GAIN RECRUITS. 



37 



Dinwiddle convened the House of Burgesses 
to devise measures for the public security. 
Here his high idea of prerogative and of guber- 
natorial dignity met with a grievous counter- 
check from the dawning spirit of independence. 
High as were the powers vested in the colonial 
government of Virginia, of which, though but 
lieutenant-governor, he had the actual control ; 
they were counterbalanced by the power in- 
herent in the people, growing out of their situ- 
ation and circumstances, and acting through 
their representatives. 

There was no turbulent 'factious opposition 
to government in Virginia ; no " fierce democ- 
racy," the rank growth of crowded cities, and 
a fermenting populace ; but there was the inde- 
pendence of men, living apart in patriarchal 
style on their own rural domains ; surrounded 
by their families, dependants, and slaves, among 
whom their will was law, — and there was the 
individuality in character and action of men 
prone to nurture peculiar notions and habits of 
thinking, in the thoughtful solitariness of coun- 
try life. 

"When Dinwiddle propounded liis scheme of 
operations on the Ohio, some of the burgesses 
had the hardihood to doubt the claims of the 
king to the disputed territory ; a doubt which 
the governor reprobated as savoring strongly 
of a most disloyal French spirit ; he fired, as he 
says, at the thought " that an English legislature 
should presume to doubt the right of his majesty 
to the interior parts of this continent, the back 
part of his dominions ! " 

Others demurred to any grant of means for 
military purposes which might be construed 
into an act of hostility. To meet this scruple 
it was suggested that the grant might be made 
for the purpose of encouraging and protecting 
all settlers on the waters of the Mississippi. 
And under this specious plea ten thousand 
pounds were grudgingly voted ; but even this 
moderate sum was not put at the absolute dis- 
])Osition of the governor. A committee was 
appointed with whom he was to confer as to 
its appropriation. 

This precaution Dinwiddle considered an in- 
sulting invasion of the right he possessed as 
governor to control the purse as well as the 
sword; and he complained bitterly of the As- 
sembly, as deeply tinctured with a republican 
%vay of thinking, and disposed to encroach on 
the prerogative of the crown, "which he feared 
would render them more and more difficult to 
be liroiiglit to order.'''' 



"Ways and means being pi-ovided. Governor 
Dinwiddle augmented the number of troops to 
be enlisted to three hundred, divided into sis 
companies. The command of the whole, as 
before, was oftered to Washington, but ho 
shrank from it, as a charge too great for his 
youth and inexperience. It was given, there- 
fore, to Colonel Joshua Fry, an English gentle- 
man of worth and education, and "Washington 
was made second in command, with the rank 
of lieutenant-colonel. 

The recruiting, at first, went on slowly. 
Those who offered to enlist, says "Washington, 
were for the most part loose, idle persons with- 
out house or home, some without shoes or 
stockings, some shirtless, and many without 
coat or waistcoat. 

He was young in the recruiting service, or 
he would have known that such is generally 
the stuff of which armies are made. In this- 
country especially it has always been ditficult 
to enlist the active yeomanry by holding out 
merely the pay of a soldier. The means of 
subsistence are too easily obtained by the in- 
dustrious, for them to give up home and per- 
sonal independence for a mere daily support. 
Some may be tempted by a love of adventure ; 
but in general, they require some prospect of 
ultimate advantage that may " better their con- 
dition." 

Governor Dinwiddle became sensible of this, 
and resorted to an expedient rising out of the 
natural resources of the country, which has 
since been frequently adopted, and always with 
efficacy. He proclaimed a bounty of two hun- 
dred thousand acres of land on the Ohio River, 
to be divided among the ofljcers and soldiers 
who should engage in this expedition ; one 
thousand to be laid off contiguous to the fort at 
the Fork, for the use of the garrison. This was 
a tempting bait to the sons of farmers, who 
readily enlisted in the hope of having, at the 
end of a short campaign, a snug farm of their 
own in this land of i)romise. 

It was a more difficult matter to get officers 
than soldiers. Very few of those appointed 
made their appearance; one of the captains had 
been promoted ; two declined ; "Washington 
found himself left, almost alone, to manage a 
number of self-willed, undisciplined recruits. 
Happily he had with him, in the rank of lieu- 
tenant, that soldier of fortune, Jacob Van 
Braam, his old " master of fence," and travel- 
ling interpreter. 

In his emergency he forthwith nominated 



38 



TOILSOME MARCH TO WILLS' GREEK— CATASTROPHE AT THE FORT. 



[1754 



him captain, and wrote to the governor to con- 
firm the appointment, representing him as the 
oldest lieutenant, and an experienced officer. 

On the 2d of April "Washington set off from 
Alexandria for the new fort, at the Fork of the 
Ohio. He had hut two companies with him, 
amounting to about one hundred and fifty men ; 
the remainder of the regiment was to follow 
under Colonel Fry with the artillery, which 
was to he conveyed up the Potomac. "While 
on the march he was joined by a detachment 
under Captain Adam Stephen, an officer des- 
tined to serve with him at distant periods of 
his military career. 

At "Winchester he found it impossible to ob- 
tain conveyances by gentle means, and was 
obliged reluctantly to avail himself of thd mili- 
tia law of Virginia, and impress horses and 
waggons for service ; giving the owners orders 
on government for their appraised value. Even 
then, out of a great number impressed, he ob- 
tained but ten, after waiting a week ; these, 
too, were grudgingly furnished by farmers with 
their worst horses, so that in steep and difficult 
passes they were incompetent to the draught, 
and the soldiei's had continually to put their 
shoulders to the wheels. 

Thus slenderly fitted out, "Washington and 
his little force made their way toilfully across 
the mountains, having to prepare the roads as 
they went for the transportation of the cannon, 
which were to follow on with the other division 
under Colonel Fry. They cheered themselves 
Avith the thoughts that this hard work would 
cease when they should arrive at the company's 
trading-post and store-house at Wills' Creek, 
where Captain Treut was to have packhorses 
in readiness, with which they might make the 
rest of the way by light stages. Before arriv- 
ing there they were startled by a rumor that 
Trent and all his men had been captured by the 
French. "With regard to Trent, the news soon 
proved to be false, for they found him at "Wills' 
Creek on the 20th of April. With regard to 
his men there was still an uncertainty. He 
had recently left them at the Fork of the Ohio, 
busily at work on the fort, under the command 
of his lieutenant, Frazier, late Indian trader, 
and gunsmith, but now a provincial officer. If 
the men had been captured, it must have been 
since the captain's departure. Washington was 
eager to press forward and ascertain the truth, 
but it was impossible. Trent, inefficient as 
usual, had failed to provide packhorses. It 
was necessary to send to Winchester, sixty miles 



distant, for baggage-waggons, and await their 
arrival. All uncertainty as to the fate of the 
men, however, was brought to a close by their 
arrival, on the 25th, conducted by an ensign, 
and bringing with them their woi'king imple- 
ments. The French might well boast that they 
had again been too quick for the English. 
Captain Contrecoeur, an alert officer, had em- 
barked about a thousand men with field-pieces, 
in a fleet of sixty batteaux and three hundred 
canoes, dropped down the river from Venango, 
and suddenly made his appearance before the 
fort, on which the rfien were working, and which 
was not half completed. Landing, drawing up 
his men, and planting his artillery, he sum- 
moned the fort to surrender, allowing one hour 
for a written reply. 

What was to be done ! the whole garrison 
did not exceed fifty men. Captain Trent was 
absent at Wills' Creek ; Frazier, his lieutenant, 
was at his own residence at Turtle Creek, ten 
miles distant. There was no officer to reply * 
but a young ensign of the name of Ward. In • 
his perj)lexity he turned for counsel to Tana- - 
charisson, the half-king, who was present in : 
the fort. The chief advised the ensign to plead i 
insufficiency of rank and powers, and crave de- ■ 
lay until the arrival of his superior officer. The j 
ensign repaired to the French camp to ofier this 
excuse in person, and was accompanied by the 
half-king. They were courteously received, 
but Contrecoeur was inflexible. There must be 
instant surrender, or he would take forcible 
possession. All that the ensign could obtain 
was permission to depart with his men, taking 
with them their working tools. The capitula- 
tion ended. Contrecoeur, with true French 
gayety, invited the ensign to sup with him ; 
treated him with the utmost politeness, and 
wished him a pleasant journey, as he set off 
the next morning with his men laden with their 
working tools. 

Such was the ensign's story. He was accom- 
panied by two Indian warriors, sent by the 
half-king to ascertain where the detachment « 
was, what was its strength, and when it might I 
be expected at the Ohio. They bore a speech 
from that sachem to Washington, and another, s 
with a belt of Avampum, for the Governor of i 
Virginia. In these he plighted his steadfast 
faith to the English, and claimed assistance from 
his brothers of Virginia and Pennsylvania. 

One of these warriors Wasliington forwarded 
on with the speech and wampum to Governor 
Dinwiddle. The other he prevailed on to re- 



^T. 22.] TRENT'S REFRACTORY TROOPS— LEGISLATIVE CROSS-PURPOSES. 



39 



turn to the half -king, bearing a speech from 
him, addressed to the " Sachems, warriors of 
the Sis United Nations, Sliannoahs and Dela- 
wares, our friends and bretliren." In this he 
informed them that he was on the advance 
with a part of the army, to clear the road for 
a greater force coming with guns, ammunition, 
and provisions ; and he invited the half-king 
and another sachem to meet him on the road 
■as soon as possible to hold a council. 

In fact, his situation was arduous in the ex- 
treme. Regarding the conduct of the French 
in the recent occurrence an -overt act of war, 
he found himself thrown with a handful of raw 
recruits far on a hostile frontier, in the midst 
of a wilderness, with an enemy at hand greatly 
superior in number and discipline ; provided 
with artillery, and all the munitions of war, 
and within reach of constant supplies and rein- 
forcements. Beside the French that had come 
from Venango, he had received credible ac- 
counts of another party ascending the Ohio ; 
and of six hundred Chippewas and Ottawas 
marching down Scioto Creek to join the hostile 
camp. Still, notwithstanding the accumulat- 
ing danger, it would not do to fall back, nor 
show signs of apprehension. His Indian allies 
in such case might desert him. The soldiery, 
too, might grow restless and dissatisfied. He 
was already annoyed by Captain Trent's men, 
who, having enlisted as volunteers, considered 
themselves exempt from the rigor of martial 
law ; and by their example of loose and refrac- 
tory conduct, threatened to destroy the subor- 
dination of his own troops. 

In this dilemma he called a council of war, 
in which it was determined to proceed to the 
Ohio Company store-house, at the mouth of 
Redstone Creek ; fortify themselves there, and 
wait for reinforcements. Here they might 
keep up a vigilant watch upon the enemy, and 
get notice of any hostile movement in time for 
defence, or retreat ; and should they be rein- 
forced suflSciently to enable them to attack the 
fort, they could easily drop down the river with 
their artillery. 

"With these alternatives in view, "Washington 
detached sixty men in advance to make a road ; 
and at the same time wrote to Governor Din- 
widdie for mortars and grenadoes, and cannon 
of heavy metal. 

Aware that the Assembly of Pennsylvania 
was in session, and that the Maryland Assem- 
bly would also meet in the course of a few 
days, he wrote directly to the governors of 



those provinces, acquainting them with the 
hostile acts of the French, and with his peril- 
ous situation ; and endeavoring to rouse them 
to co-opei"ation in the common cause. "We will 
here note in advance that his letter was laid 
before the Legislature of Pennsylvania, and a 
bill was about to be passed asking appropria- 
tions for the service of the king ; but it fell 
through, in consequence of a disagreement be- 
tween the Assembly and the governor as to the 
mode in which the money should be raised ; 
and so no assistance was furnished to "Washing- 
ton from that quarter. The youthful com- 
mander had here a foretaste, in these his incip- 
ient campaigns, of the perils and perplexities 
which awaited him from enemies in the field, 
and lax friends in legislative councils in the 
grander operations of his future years. Before 
setting off for Redstone Creek, he discharged 
Trent's refractory men from his detachment, 
ordering them to await Colonel Fry's com- 
mands ; they, however, in the true spirit of 
volunteers from the backwoods, dispersed to 
their several homes. 

It may be as well to observe, in this place, 
that both Captain Trent and Lieutenant Fra- 
zier were severely censured for being absent 
from their post at the time of the French sum- 
mons. " Trent's behavior," said "Washington, 
in a letter to Governor Dinwiddle, " has been 
very tardy, and has convinced the world of 
what they before suspected — his great timid- 
ity. Lieutenant Frazier, though not altogether 
blameless, is much more excusable, for he 
would not accept of the commission until he 
had a promise from his captain that he should 
not reside at the fort, nor visit it above once a 
week, or as he saw necessity." In fact, "Wash- 
ington subsequently recommended Frazier for 
the oflBce of adjutant. 



CHAPTER XI. 

On the 29th of April "Washington set out from ,^ 
"Wills' Creek at the head of one hundred and 
sixty men. He soon overtook those sent in 
advance to work the road ; they had made but 
little progress. It was a difficult task to break 
a road through the wilderness sufficient for the 
artillery coming on with Colonel Fry's division. 
All hands were now set to work, but with aU 
their labor they could not accomplish more 
than four miles a day. They were toiling 



40 



RUMORS FROM THE OHIO— WASHINGTON'S MOTIVES OF ACTION. 



[1754. 



through Savage Mountain and that dreary 
forest region beyond it, since bearing the sinis- 
ter name of " The Shades of Death." On the 
9th of May they were not further than twenty 
miles from Wills' Creek, at a place called the 
Little Meadows. 

Every day came gloomy accounts from the 
Ohio ; brought chiefly by traders who, with 
packhorses bearing their effects, were retreat- 
ing to the more settled parts of the country. 
Some exaggerated the number of the French, 
as if strongly reinforced. All represented them 
as diligently at work constructing a fort. By 
their account Washington perceived the French 
had chosen the very place which he had noted 
in his journal as best fitted for the purpose. 

One of the traders gave information concern- 
ing La Force the French emissary who had 
beset Washington when on his mission to the 
frontier, and acted, as he thought, the part of 
a spy. He had been at Gist's new settlement 
beyond Laurel Hill, and was prowling about 
the country with four soldiers at his heels on 
a pretended hunt after deserters. Washington 
suspected him to be on a reconnoitering expe- 
dition. 

It was reported, moreover, that the French 
were lavishing presents on the Indians about 
the lower part of the river, to draw them to 
their standard. Among all these flying reports 
and alarms Washington was gratified to learn 
that the half-king was on his way to meet him 
at the head of fifty warriors. 

After infinite toil through swamps and for- 
ests, and over rugged mountains, the detachment 
arrived at the Youghiogeny Eiver, where they 
were detained some days constructing a bridge 
to cross it. 

This gave Washington leisure to correspond 
with Governor Dinwiddie concerning matters 
which had deeply annoyed him. By an ill- 
judged economy of the Virginia government 
at this critical juncture, its provincial officers 
received less pay than that allowed in the regular 
army. It is true the regular officers were oblig- 
ed to furnish their own table, but their superior 
pay enabled them to do it luxuriously ; whereas 
the provincials were obliged to do hard duty on 
salt provisions and water. The provincial officers 
resented this inferiority of pay as an indignity, 
and declared that nothing prevented them 
from throwing up their commissions but un- 
willingness to recede before approaching dan- 
ger. 

AVashington shared deeply this fechng. " Let 



him serve voluntarily, and he would with the 
greatest pleasure in life devote his services to 
the expedition — but to be slaving through 
woods, rocks, and mountains, for the shadow 
of pay — " writes he, " I would rather toil like a 
day laborer for a maintenance, if reduced to 
the necessity, than serve on such ignoble terms." 
Parity of pay was Indispensable to the dignity 
of tlie service. 

Other instances of false economy were point-* 
ed out by him, forming so many drags upon the 
expedition, that he quite despaired of success. 
" Be the consequence what it will, however," 
adds he, " I am determined not to leave the 
regiment, but to be among the last men that 
leave the Ohio ; even if I serve as a private 
volunteer, which I greatly prefer to the estab- 
lishment we are upon. * t- * * j have a 
constitution hardy enough to encounter and un- 
dergo the most severe trials, and I flatter my- 
self resolution to face what any man dares, as 
shall be proved when it comes to the test." 

And in a letter to his friend Colonel Fairfax 
— " For my own part," writes he, " it is a mat- 
ter almost indifferent whether I serve for full 
pay or as a generous volunteer ; indeed, did 
my circumstances correspond with my inclina- 
tions, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer 
the latter ; for the motives that have led me here 
are pure and noble. I had no view of acquisi- 
tion hut that of honor., hj serving faithfully 
my Icing and country.'''' 

Such Avere the noble impulses of Washington 
at the age of twenty-two, and such continued 
to actuate him throughout life. We have put 
the latter part of the quotation in italics, as 
applicable to the motives which in after life 
carried him into the Revolution. 

While the bridge over the Youghiogeny was 
in the course of construction, the Indians assured 
Washington he would never be able to open a 
waggon-road across the mountains to Redstone 
Creek ; he embarked therefore in a canoe Avith 
a lieutenant, three soldiers, and an Indian guide, 
to try whether it was possible to descend the 
river. They had not descended above ten miles 
before the Indian refused to go further. Wash- 
ington soon ascertained the reason. " Indians," 
said he, "expect presents — nothing can be done 
without them. Tlie French take this method. 
If you want one or more to conduct a party to 
discover the country to hunt, or for any partic- 
ular purpose, they must be bought ; their 
friendship is not so warm as to prompt them 
to these services gi'atis." The Indian guide in 



^T. 22.] 



LURKING FOES— SKIRMISH WITH JUMONVILLE. 



41 



the present instance, was propitiated by the 
promise of one of Washington's ruffled shirts, 
and a watch-coat. 

The river was bordered by mountains and 
obstructed by rocks and rapids. Indians might 
thread such a labyrinth i» their light canoes, 
but it would never admit the transportation of 
troops and military stores. Washington kept 
on for thirty miles, until he came to a place 
where the river fell nearly forty feet in the 
space of fifty yards. There he ceased to ex- 
plore, and returned to camp, resolving to con- 
tinue forward by land. 

On the 23d Indian scouts brought word that 
the French were not above eight hundred 
strong, and that about half their number had 
been detached at night on a secret expedition. 
Close upon this report came a message from 
the half-king, addressed " to the first of his 
majesty's officers whom it may concern." 

" It is reported," said he, " that the French 
army is coming to meet Major Washington. Be 
on your guard against them, my brethren, for 
they intend to strike the first English they 
shall see. They have been on their march two 
days. I know not their number. The half- 
king and the rest of the chiefs will be with you 
in five days to hold a council." 

In the evening Washington was told that 
the French were crossing the ford of the 
Youghiogeny about eighteen miles distant. 
He now hastened to take a position in -a place 
called the Great Meadows, where he caused 
the bushes to be cleared away, made an in- 
trenchment, and prepared what he termed " a 
charming field for an encounter." 

A party of scouts were mounted on waggon 
horses, and sent out to reconnoitre. They 
returned without having seen an enemy. A 
sensitiveness prevailed in the camp. They 
were surrounded by foi-ests, threatened by 
unseen foes, and hourly in danger of surprise. 
There was an alarm about two o'clock in the 
night. The sentries fired upon what they took 
to be .prowling foes. The troops sprang to 
arms, and remained on the alert until daybreak. 
Not an enemy was to be seen. The roll 
was called. Six men were missing, who had 
deserted. 

On the 25th Mr. Gist arrived from his place, 
about fifteen miles distant. La Force had 
been there at noon on the previous day, with 
a detachment of fifty men, and Gist had since 
come upon their track within five miles of the 
camp. Washington considered La Force a 



bold, enterprising man, subtle and dangerous; 
one to be particularly guarded against. He 
detached seventy-five men in pursuit of him 
and his prowling band. 

About nine o'clock at night came an Indian 
messenger from the half-king, who was en- 
camped with several of his people about six 
miles off. The chief had seen tracks of two 
Frenchmen, and was convinced their whole 
body must be in ambush near by. 

Washington considered this the force which 
had been hovering about him for several days, 
and determined to forestall their hostile de- 
signs. Leaving a guard with the baggage and 
ammunition, he set out before ten o'clock, 
with forty men, to join his Indian aUy. They 
grouped their way in single file, by footpaths 
through the woods, in a heavy rain and murky 
darkness, tripping occasionally and stumbling 
over each other, sometimes losing the track 
for fifteen or twenty minutes, so that it was 
near sunrise when they reached the camp of 
the half-king. 

That chieftain received the youthful com- 
mander with great demonstrations of friend- 
ship, and engaged to go hand in hand Avith him 
against the lurking enemy. He set out accord- 
ingly, accompanied by a few of his warriors 
and his associate sachem Scarooyadi or Mona- 
catoocha, and conducted Washington to the 
tracks which he had discovered. Upon these 
he put two of his Indians. They followed 
them up like hounds, and brought back word 
that they had traced them to a low bottom 
surrounded by rocks and trees, where the 
French were encamped, having built a few 
cabins for shelter from the rain. 

A plan was now concerted to come upon 
them by surprise; Washington with his men 
on the right ; the half-king with his warriors 
on the left ; all as silently as possible. Wash- 
ington was the first upon the ground. As he 
advanced from among the rocks and trees at 
the head of his men, the French caught sight 
of him and ran to their arms. A sharp firing 
instantly took place, and was kept up on both 
sides for about fifteen minutes. Washington 
and his party were most exposed, and received 
all the enemy's fire. The balls whistled 
around him ; one man was killed close by him, 
and three others wounded. The French at 
length, having lost several of their number, 
gave way and ran. They were soon over- 
taken; twenty-one were captured, and but 
one escaped, a Canadian, who carried the 



42 



DEATH OF JUMONVILLE— TREATMENT OF PRISONERS. 



[1754. 



tidings of the affair to the fort on the Ohio. 
The Indians would have massacred the prison- 
ers had not Washington prevented them. Ten 
of the French had fallen in the skirmish, and 
one been wounded. "Washington's loss was 
the one killed and three wounded which we 
have mentioned. He had been in the hottest 
fire, and having for the first time heard balls 
whistle about him, considered his escape 
miraculous. Jumonville, the French leader, 
had been shot through the head at the first 
fire. He was a young ofiicer of merit, and his 
fate was made the subject of lamentation in 
prose and verse — chiefly through political 
motives. 

Of the twenty-one prisoners the two most 
important were an ofiicer of some consequence 
named Dronillon, and the subtle and redoubt- 
able La Force. As Washington considered 
the latter an arch mischief-maker, he was 
rejoiced to have him in his power. La Force 
and his companion would fain have assumed 
the sacred character of ambassadors, pretend- 
ing they were coming with a summons to him 
to depart from the territories belonging to the 
crown of France. 

Unluckily for their pretensions, a letter of 
instructions, found on Jumonville, betrayed 
their real errand, which was to inform them- 
selves of the roads, rivers, and other features 
of the country as far as the Potomac ; to send 
back from time to time, by fleet messengers, 
all the information they could collect, and to 
give word of the day on which they intended 
to serve the summons. 

Their conduct had been conformable. In- 
stead of coming in a direct and open manner 
to his encampment, when they had ascer- 
tained where it was, and delivering their 
summons, as they would have done had their 
designs been frank and loyal, they had moved 
back two miles, to one of the most secret 
retirements, .better for a deserter than an 
ambassador to encamp in, and stayed there, 
within five miles of his camp, sending spies to 
reconnoitre it, and despatching messengers to 
Contrecoeur to inform him of its position and 
numerical strength, to the end, no doubt, that 
he might send a sulficient detachment to en- 
force the summons as soon as it should be 
given. In fact, the footprints which had first 
led to the discovery of the French lui'king- 
place, were those of two "runners" or swift 
messengers, sent by Jumonville to the fort on 
the Ohio. 



It would seem that La Force, after aU, was 
but an instrument in the hands of his com- 
manding officers, and not in their full confi- 
dence ; for when the commission and instruc- 
tions found on JumonviUe were read before 
him, he professed not to have seen them be- 
fore, and acknowledged, with somewhat of an 
air of ingenuousness, that he believed they 
had a hostile tendency.* 

Upon the whole, it was the opinion of 
Washington and his officers that the summons, 
on which so much stress was laid, was a mere 
specious pretext to mask their real designs and 
be used as occasion might require. " That they 
were spies rather than any thing else," and 
were to be treated as prisoners of war. 

The half-king joined heartily in this opin- 
ion ; indeed, had the fate of the prisoners 
been in his hands, neither diplomacy nor any 
thing else would have been of avail. " They 
came with hostile intentions," he said ; " they 
had bad hearts, and if his English brothers 
were so foolish as to let them go, he would 
never aid in taking another Frenchman." 

The prisoners were accordingly conducted 
to the camp at the Great Meadows, and sent 
on the following day (29th), under a strong 
escort to Governor Dinwiddle, then at Win- 
chester. Washington had treated them with 
great courtesy ; had furnished DrouiUon and 
La Force with clothing from his own scanty 
stock, and, at their request, given them let- 
ters to the governor, bespeaking for them 
"the respect and favor due to their character 
and personal merit." 

A sense of duty, however, obliged him, in 
his general despatch, to put the governor on 
his guard against La Force. " I really think, 
if released, he would do more to our disservice 
than fifty other men, as he is a person whose 
active spirit leads him into all parties, and 
has brought him acquainted with all parts of 
the country. Add to this a perfect knowledge 
of the Indian tongue, and great influence with 
the Indians." 

After the departure of the prisonei-s, he 
wrote again respecting them: "I have stiU 
stronger presumption, indeed almost confirma- 
tion, that they were sent as spies, and were 
ordered to wait near us till they were fuUy 
informed of our intentions, situation, and 
strength, and were to have acquainted their 
commander therewith, and to have been lurk- 

* Washington's letter to Dinwiddie, 29th May, 175i. 



Ml. 22.] 



POSITION AT THE GREAT MEADOWS— MILITARY EXCITEMENT. 



43 



ing here for reinforcements before they served 
the summons, if served at all. 

" I doubt not but they will endeavor to 
amuse you with many smooth stories, as they 
did me ; but they were confuted in them all, 
and, by circumstances too plain to be denied, 
almost made ashamed of their assertions. 

" I have heard since they went away, they 
should say they called on us not to fire ; but that 
I know to be false, for I was the first man that 
approached them, and the first whom they 
saw, and immediately they ran to their arms, 
and fired briskly till they were defeated." * 
* * * * "I fancy they will have the 
assurance of asking the privileges due to an 
embassy, when in strict justice they ought to 
be hanged as spies of the Avorst sort." 

The situation of "Washington was now ex- 
tremely perilous. Contrecoeur, it was said, 
had nearly a thousand men with him at the 
fort, beside Indian allies ; and reinforcements 
were on the way to join him. The messen- 
gers sent by JumonviUe, previous to the late 
affair, must have apprised him of the weak- 
ness of the encampment on the Great Mead- 
ows. Washington hastened to strengthen it. 
He wrote by express also to Colonel Fry, who 
lay still at Wills' Creek, urging instant rein- 
forcements ; but declaring his resolution to 
"fight with very unequal numbers rather than 
give up one inch of what he had gained." 

The half-king was full of fight. He sent 
the scalps of the Frenchmen slain in the 
late skirmish, accompanied by black wampum 
and hatchets, to all his allies, summoning them 
to. take up arms and join him at Eedstone 
Creek, " for their brothers, the EngHsh, had 
now begun in earnest." It is said he would 
even have sent the scalps of the prisoners had 
not Washington interfered.* He went off for 
his home, promising to send down the river for 
all the Mingoes and Shawuees, and to be back 
at the camp on the 30th, with thirty or forty 
warriors, accompanied by their wives and 
children. To assist him in the transportation 
of his people and their effects thirty men were 
detached, and twenty horses. 

" I shall expect every hour to be attacked," 
writes Washington to Governor Dinwiddie, 
on the 29th, " and by unequal numbers, which 
I must withstand, if there are five to one, for I 
fear the consequence will be that we shall lose 
the Indians if Ave suffer ourselves to be driven 

* Letter from Virginia,— London Mag., 1754. 



back. Your honor may depend I will not be 
surprised, let them come at what hour they 
will, and this is as much as I can promise; 
but my best endeavors shall not be Avanting 
to effect more. I doubt not, if you hear I am 
beaten, but you wiU hear at the same time 
that we have done our duty in fighting as long 
as there is a shadow of hope." 

The fact is, that Washington was in a 
high state of military excitement. He was a 
young soldier ; had been for the first time in 
action, and been successful. The letters Ave 
have already quoted show, in some degree, 
the fervor of his mind, and his readiness to 
brave the worst ; but a short letter, written 
to one of his brothers, on the 31st, lays open 
the recesses of his heart. 

" We expect every hour to be attacked by 
superior force; but if they forbear but one 
day longer we shall be prepared for them. * 
* * * * ^ffQ have already got intrench- 
ments, and are about a palisade, which, I hope, 
wiU be finished to-day. The Mingoes have 
struck the French, and, I hope, Avill give a 
good blow before they have done. I expect 
forty odd of them here to-night, which, with 
our fort, and some reinforcements from Colonel 
Fry, will enable us to exert our noble courage 
Avith spirit." 

Alluding in a postscript to the late affair, he 
adds : " I fortunately escaped without any 
Avound; for the right wing, Avhere I stood, 
Avas exposed to, and received, aU the enemy's 
fire ; and it Avas the part Avhere the man was 
killed and the rest Avounded. / heard the 
liidlets whistle, mid, Relieve me, there is some- 
thing charming in the sounds 

This rodomontade, as Horace Walpole terms 
it, reached the ears of George II. "He 
would not say so," observed the king, dryly, 
" if he had been used to hear many."* 

Washington himself thought so Avhen more 
experienced in warfare. Being asked, many 



* This anecdote has hitherto rested on the authority of 
Horace "Walpole, who gives it in his memoirs of George 
II.,andin Ids corre.spondonce. He cites the rodomontade 
as contained in the express despatched by Washington, 
whom he pronounces a " brave braggart." As no despatch 
of Washington contains any rodomontade of the kind ; 
as it is quite at variance with the general tenor of his 
character ; and as Horace Walpole is well known to have 
been a "great gossip dealer," apt to catch up any idle 
rumor that would give piquancy to a paragraph, the story 
has been held in great distrust. We met with the letter 
recently, hoAvever, in a column of the London Magazine 
for 1754, page 370, into which it must have found its way 
not long after it was written. 



44 



SCARCITY IX THE CAMP— INDEPENDENT COMPANIES. 



[175-t. 



years afterwards, whether he really had made 
such a speech about the -whistling of bullets, 
" If I said so," replied he quietly, " it -was 
■when I was young."* He was, indeed, but 
twenty-two yeai'S old when he said it ; it was 
just after his first battle ; he was flushed with 
success, aij^ was writing to a brother. 



CHAPTER XII. 

Scarcity began to prevail in the camp. Con- 
tracts had been made with George Croghan for 
flour, of which he had large quantities at his 
frontier establishment ; for he was now trading 
Avith the army as well as the Indians. None, 
however, made its appearance. There was 
mismanagement in the commissariat. At one 
time the troops were six days without flour ; 
and even then had only a casual supply from 
an Ohio trader. In this time of scarcity the 
half-king, his fellow sachem, Scarooyadi, and 
thirty or forty warriors, arrived, bringing with 
them their wives and cliildren — so many more 
hungry mouths to be supplied. Washington 
wrote urgently to Croghan to send forward all 
the flour he could furnish. 

News came of the death of Colonel Fry at 
Wills' Creek, and that he was to be succeeded 
in the command of the expedition by Colonel 
Innes of North Carolina, who was actually at 
Winchester with three hundred and fifty North 
Carolina troops. Washington, who felt the 
increasing responsibilities and diflSculties of his 
situation, rejoiced at the prospect of being un- 
der the command of an experienced ofiicer, who 
had served in company with his brother Law- 
rence at the siege of Carthagena. The colonel, 
"however, never came to the camp, nor did the 
North Carolina troops render any service in 
the campaign — the fortunes of which might 
otherwise have been very different. 

By the death of Fry, the command of the 
regiment devolved on Washington. Finding a 
blank major's commission among Fry's papers, 
he gave it to Captain Adam Stephen, who had 
conducted himself with spirit. As there would 
necessarily be other changes, he wrote to Gov- 
ernor Dinwiddle in behalf of Jacob Van Braam. 
" He has acted as captain ever since we left 
Alexandria. He is an experienced officer, and 
worthy of the command he has enjoyed." 

The ])alisaded fort was now completed, and 

* Gordon, Hist. Aiu. War, vol. ii., p. 203. 



was named Fort Necessity, from the pinching 
famine that had prevailed during its construc- 
■tion. The scanty force in camp was augmented 
to three hundred, by the arrival from Wills' 
Creek of the men who had been under Colonel 
Fry. With them came the surgeon of the regi- 
ment. Dr. James Craik, a Scotchman by birth, 
and one destined to become a faithful and con- 
fidential friend of Washington for the remainder 
of his life. 

A letter from Governor Dinwiddle an- 
nounced, however, that Captain Mackay 
would soon arrive Avith an independent com- 
pany of one hundred men, from South Caro- 
lina. 

Tlie title of independent company liad a 
sound ominous of trouble. Troops of the kind, 
raised in the colonies, under direction of the 
governors, were paid by the Crown, and the 
officers had king's commissions ; such, doubt- 
less, had Captain Mackay. " I should have 
been particularly obliged," writes Washington 
to Governor Dinwiddle, " if you had declared 
whether he was under my command, or inde- 
pendent of it. I hope he wiU have more sense 
than to insist upon any unreasonable distinction, 
because he and his officers have commissions 
from his majesty. Let him consider, though 
we are greatly inferior in I'espect to advantages 
of profit, yet we have the same spirit to serve 
our gracious king as they have, and are as ready 
and willing to sacrifice our lives for our coun- 
try's good. And here once more, and for the 
last time, I must say, that it will be a circum- 
stance which will act upon some officers of this 
regiment, above all measure, to be obliged to 
serve upon such different terms, when their 
lives, their fortunes, and their operations are 
equally, and, I dare say, as effectually exposed 
as those of others, who are happy enough to 
have the king's commission." 

On the 9th arrived Washington's early in- 
structor in military tactics, Adjutant Muse, 
recently appointed a major in the regiment. 
He was accompanied by Montour, the Indian 
interpreter, now a provincial captain, and 
brought with him nine swivels, and a small 
supply of powder and ball. Fifty or sixty 
horses were forthwith sent to WilL' Creek, to 
bring on further supplies, and Mr, Gist was 
urged to hasten forward the artillery. 

Major Muse was likewise the bearer of a belt 
of Avampum and a speech, from Governor Din- 
widdle to the half-king ; with medals for the 
clilefs, and goods for i)resents among the 



Mt. 22.] 



INDEPENDENCE OF AN INDEPENDENT COMPANY— ALARMS. 



45 



friendly Indians, a measure whicli had been 
suggested by "Washington. They \yere distrib- 
uted with that grand ceremonial so dear to the 
red man. The chiefs assembled, painted and 
decorated in all their savage finery ; "Washing- 
ton wore a medal sent to him by the governor 
for such occasions. The wampum and speech 
having been delivered, he advanced, and witli 
aU due solemnity, decorated the chiefs and 
warriors with the medals, which they were to 
wear in remembrance of their father the King 
of England. 

Among the warriors thus decorated was a 
son of Queen Aliquippa, the savage princess, 
whose good graces "Washington had secured in 
the preceding year, by the present of an old 
watch-coat, and whose friendship was impor- 
tant, her town being at no great distance from 
the French fort. She had requested that her 
son might be admitted into the war councils 
of the camp, and receive an English name. The 
name of Fairfax was accordingly given to him, 
in the customary Indian form ; the half-king 
being desirous of like distinction, received the 
name of Dinwiddle. The sachems returned 
the compliment in kind, by giving "Washington 
the name of Connotaucarius ; the moaning of 
which is not explained. 

William Fairfax, "Washington's paternal ad- 
viser, had recently counselled him by letter, to 
have public prayers in his camp, especially 
when there were Indian families there ; this 
was accordingly done at the encampment in the 
Great Meadows, and it certainly was not one 
of the least striking pictures j^resented in this 
wild campaign — the youthful commander pre- 
siding with calm seriousness over a motley as- 
semblage of half-equipped soldiery, leathern- 
clad hunters and woodsmen, and painted sav- 
ages with their wives and children, and uniting 
them all in solemn devotion by his own exam- 
ple and demeanor. 

On the 10th there was agitation in the camp. 
Scouts hurried in with word, as Washington 
understood them, that a party of ninety 
Frenchmen were approaching. He instantly 
ordered out a hundred and fifty of his best 
men ; put himself at their head, and leaving 
Major Muse with the rest to man the fort and 
mount the swivels, sallied forth " in the full 
hope," as he afterwards wrote to Governor 
Dinwiddie, " of procuring him another present 
of French prisoners." 

It was another eflfervescence of his youthful 
military ardor, and doomed to disappointment. 



The report of the scouts had been either exag- 
gerated or misunderstood. The ninety French- 
men in military array dwindled down into nine 
French deserters. 

According to their account, the fort at the 
fork was completed, and named Duquesne, in 
honor of the Governor of Canada. It was 
proof against all attack, excepting Avith bombs, 
on the land side. The garrison did not exceed 
five hundred, but two hundred more were 
hourly expected, and nine hundred in the course 
of a fortnight. 

Washington's suspicions with respect to La 
Force's party were justified by the report of 
these deserters ; they had been sent out as 
spies, and were to show the summons if dis- 
covered or overpowered. The French com- 
mander, they added, had been blamed for 
sending out so small a party. 

On the same day Captain Mackay arrived, 
with his independent company of South Caro- 
linians. The cross-purposes which Washington 
had apprehended, soon manifested themselves. 
The captain was civil and well disposed, but 
full of formalities and points of etiquette. 
Holding a commission direct from the king, he 
could not bring himself to acknowledge a pro- 
vincial ofiicer as his superior. He encamped 
separately, kept separate guards, would not 
agree that Washington should assign any rally- 
ing place for his men in case of alarm, and ob- 
jected to receive from him the parole and 
countersign, though necessary for their common 
safety. 

Washington conducted himself with circum- 
spection, avoiding every thing that might call 
up a question of command, and reasoning calm- 
ly whenever such question occurred ; but he 
urged the governor by letter, to prescribe their 
relative rank and authority. " He thinks you 
have not a power to give commissions that wiU 
command him. If so, I can very confidently 
say that his absence would tend to the public 
advantage." 

On the 11th of June, Washington resumed 
the laborious march for Redstone Creek. As 
Captain Mackay could not oblige his men to 
work on the road unless they were allowed a 
shilling sterling a day ; and as Washington did 
not choose to pay this, nor to suffer them to 
march at their ease while his own faithful sol- 
diers were laboriously employed ; he left the 
captain and his Independent company as a 
guard at Fort Necessity, and undertook to com- 
plete the military road with his own men. 



46 



MARCH FOR REDSTONE CREEK— RETREAT TO THE GREAT MEADOWS. 



[1Y54 



Accordingly, he and bis Virginia troops 
toiled forward through the narrow defiles of 
the mountains, working on the road as they 
went. Scouts were sent out in all directions, 
to prevent surprise. While on the march he 
was continually beset by sachems, with their 
tedious ceremonials and speeches, all to very 
little purpose. Some of these chiefs were 
secretly in the French interest ; few rendered 
any real assistance, and all expected presents. 

At Gist's establishment, about thirteen miles 
from Fort Necessity, Washington received cer- 
tain intelligence that ample reinforcements had 
arrived at Fort Duquesne, and a large force 
would instantly be detached against him. 
Coming to a halt, he began to throw up in- 
trenchments, calling in two foraging parties, and 
sending word to Captain Mackay to join him 
with all speed. The captain and his company 
arrived in the evening ; the foraging parties the 
next morning. A council of war was held, in 
which the idea of awaiting the enemy at this 
place was unanimously abandoned. 

A rapid and toilsome retreat ensued. There 
was a deficiency of horses. Washington gave 
up his own to aid in transporting the military 
munitions, leaving his baggage to be brought 
on by soldiers, whom he paid liberally. The 
other ofiicers followed his example. The 
weather was sultry ; the roads were rough ; 
provisions were scanty, and the men dispirited 
by hunger. The Virginia soldiers took turns 
to drag the swivels, but felt almost insulted by 
the conduct of the South Carolinians, who, 
piquing themselves upon their assumed privi- 
leges as " king's soldiers," sauntered along at 
their ease ; refusing to act as pioneers, or 
participate in the extra labors incident to a 
hurried retreat. 

On the 1st of July they reached the Great 
Meadows. Here the Virginians, exhausted by 
fatigue, himger, and vexation, declared they 
would carry the baggage and drag the swivels 
no further. Contrary to his original intentions, 
therefore, Washington determined to halt here 
for the present, and fortify, sending off expresses 
to hasten supplies and reinforcements from 
Wills' Creek, where he had reason to believe 
that two independent companies fi*om New 
York, were by this time arrived. 

The retreat to the Great Meadows had not 
been in the least too precipitate. Captain de 
Villiers, a brother-in-law of Jnmonville, had 
actually sallied forth from Fort Duquesne at 
the head of upwards of five hundred French, 



and several hundred Indians, eager to avenge 
the death of his relative. Arriving about dawn 
of day at Gist's plantation, he surrounded the 
works which Washington had hastily thrown 
up there, and fired into them. Finding them 
deserted, he concluded that those of whom he 
came in search had made good their retreat to 
the settlements, and it was too late to pursue 
them. He was on the point of returning to 
Fort Duquesne, when a deserter arrived, who 
gave word that Washington had come to a halt 
in the Great Meadows, where his troops were 
in a starving condition ; for his own part, he 
added, hearing that the French were coming, 
he had deserted to them to escape starvation. 

De Villiers ordered the fellow into confine- 
ment ; to be rewarded if his words proved 
true, otherwise to be hanged. He then pushed 
forward for the Great Meadows.* 

In the mean time Washington had exerted 
himself to enlarge and strengthen Fort Neces- 
sity, nothing of which had been done by Cap- 
tain Mackay and his men, while encamped there. 
The fort was about a hundred feet square, 
protected by trenches and palisades. It stood 
on the margin of a small stream, nearly in the 
centre of the Great Meadows, which is a grassy 
plain, perfectly level, surrounded by wooded 
hills of a moderate height, and at that place 
about two luindred and fifty yards wide. Wash- 
ington asked no assistance from the South Car- 
olina troops, but set to work with his Vir- 
ginians, animating them by word and example ; 
sharing in the labor of felling trees, hewing off 
the branches, and rolling up the ti'unks to form 
a breastwork. 

At this critical juncture he was deserted by 
his Indian allies. They were disheartened at 
the scanty preparations for defence against a 
superior force, and offended at being subjected 
to military command. The half-king thought 
he had not been sufficiently consulted, and that 
his advice had not been sufficiently followed ; 
such, at least, were some of tlie reasons which 
he subsequently gave for abandoning the youth- 
ful commander on the approach of danger. 
The true reason was a desire to put his wife 
and children in a place of safety. Most of his 
warriors followed his example ; very few, and 
those probably who had no families at risk, 
remained in the camp. 

Early in the morning of the 3d, while Wash- 
ington and his men were working on the fort, 



* Hazard's Register of Pennsylvania, vol. iv., p. 22. 



^T. 22.] 



ATTACK ON FORT NECESSITY— INDIAN PLUNDERERS. 



47 



a sentinel came in wonnded and bleeding, hav- 
ing been fired upon. Scouts brought word 
shortly afterwards that the French were in 
force, about four miles off. "Washington drew 
up his men on level ground outside of the 
works, to await their attack. About 11 o'clock 
there was a firing of musketry from among 
trees on rising ground, but so distant as to do 
no liarm ; suspecting this to be a stratagem 
designed to draw his men into the woods, he 
ordered them to keep quiet, and refrain from 
firing until the foe should show themselves, 
and draw near. 

The firing was kept up, but stiU under cover. 
He now fell back with his men into the trenches, 
ordering them to fire whenever they could get 
sight of an enemy. In this way there was 
skirmishing throughout the day ; the French 
and Indians advancing as near as the covert of 
the woods would permit, which in the nearest 
place was sixty yards, but never into open 
sight. In tlie mean time the rain fell in tor- 
rents ; the harassed and jaded troops were half 
drowned in their trenches, and many of their 
muskets were rendered unfit for use. 

About eight at night the French requested 
a pai'ley, "Washington hesitated. It might be 
a stratagem to gain admittance for a spy into 
the fort. The request was repeated, with the 
addition that an officer might be sent to treat 
with them, under their parole for his safety. 
Unfortunately the Chevalier de Peyrouney, 
engineer of the regiment, and the only one wlio 
could speak French correctly, was wounded 
and disabled. "Washington had to send, there- 
fore, his ancient swordsman and interpreter, 
Jacob Van Braam. The captain returned twice 
with separate terms, in which the garrison was 
required to surrender ; both were rejected. He 
returned the third time, with written articles 
of capitulation. They were in French. As 
no implements for writing were at hand, "Van 
Braam undertook to translate them by word of 
mouth. A candle was brought, and held close 
to the paper while he read. The rain fell in 
torrents ; it was difficult to keep the light from 
being extinguished. The captain rendered the 
capitulation, article by article, in mongrel Eng- 
lish, while "Washington and his officers stood 
listening, endeavoring to disentangle the mean- 
ing. One article stipulated that on surrender- 
ing the fort they should leave all tlieir military 
stores, munitions, and artillery in possession of 
tlie French. This was objected to, and was 
roadilv modified. 



The main articles, as Washington and his 
officers understood them, were, that they should 
be allowed to return to the settlements with- 
out molestation from French or Indians. That 
they should march out of the fort with the 
honors of war, drums beating and colore flying, 
and with all their effects and military stores 
excepting the artillery, whicli sliould be de- 
stroyed. That they sliould be allowed to de- 
posit their effects in some secret place, and leave 
a guard to protect them until they could send 
horses to bring them away ; their horses hav- 
ing been nearly aU killed or lost during the ac- 
tion. That they should give their word of 
honor not to attempt any buildings or improve- 
ments on the lands of his most Christian 
Majesty, for the space of a year. That the 
prisoners taken in the skirmish of Jumonville 
should be restored, and until their delivery Cap- 
tain Van Braam and Captain Stobo should 
remain with the French as hostages.* 

The next morning accordingly, Washington 
and his men marched out of their forlorn fortress 
with the honors of war, bearing with them 
their regimental colors, but leaving behind a 
large flag, too cumbrous to be transported. 
Scarcely had they begun their march, however, 
when, in defiance of the terms of capitulation, 
they were beset by a large body of Indians, 
allies of the French, who began plundering the 
baggage, and committing other irregularities. 
Seeing that the French did not, or could not, 
prevent them, and that all the baggage which 
could not be transported on the shoulders of 
his troops would fall into the hands of these 
savages, Washington ordered it to be destroyed, 
as well as the artillery, gunpowder, and other 
military stores. AU this detained him until 
ten o'clock, when he set out on his melancholy 
march. He liad not proceeded above a mile 
when two or three of the wounded men were 
reported to be missing. He immediately de- 
tached a few men back in quest of them, and 
continued on until three miles from Fort N"eces- 
sity, where he encamped for the night, and 
was rejoined by the stragglex's. 

In this affair, out of the Virginia regiment, 
consisting of three hundred and five men, 
officers included, twelve had been killed, and 
forty-three wounded. The number killed and 



* Horace Walpole, in a flippant notice of this capitu- 
lation, says : " The French have tied up the hands of an 
exccIIent_/a/j/a?-on, a Major Washington, whom they took 
and engaged not to sei-ve for one year." (Correspondence, 
vol. iii., p. 73.) Walpole, at this early date, seems to have 
considered "Washington a perfect fire-eater. 



48 FATE OF THE HALF-KING— COMMENTS ON THE CONDUCT OF VAN BRAAM. [1754. • ' 



wounded in Captain Mackay's company is not 
known. The loss of the French and Indians is 
supposed to have been mucli greater. 

In the following days' march the troops 
seemed jaded and disheartenied ; they were en- 
cumbered and delayed by the wounded ; pro- 
visions were scanty, and they had seventy 
weary miles to accomplish before they could 
meet with supplies. "Washington, however, 
encouraged them by his own steadfast and 
cheerful demeanor, and by sharing all their 
toils and privations ; and at length conducted 
them in safety to Wills' Creek, where they 
found ample provisions in the military maga- 
zines. Leaving them here to recover their 
strength, he proceeded with Captain Mackay 
to "Williamsburg, to make his military report 
to the governor. 

A copy of the capitulation was subsequently 
laid before the "Vu'ginia House of Burgesses, 
with explanations. Notwithstanding the un- 
fortunate result of the campaign, the conduct 
of "Washington and his officers were properly 
appreciated, and they received a vote of thanks 
for their bravery, and gallant defence of their 
country. Three hundred pistoles (nearly eleven 
hundred dollars) also were voted to be distrib- 
uted among the privates who had been in ac- 
tion. 

From the vote of thanks, two officers were 
excepted ; Major Muse, who was charged with 
cowardice, and "Washington's unfortunate mas- 
ter of fence and blundering interpreter, Jacob 
Van Braam, who was accused of treachery, in 
piirposely misinterpreting the articles of capitu- 
lation. 

In concluding this chapter, we will anticipate 
dates to record the fortunes of the half-king 
after his withdrawal from the camp. He and 
several of his warriors, with their wives and 
children, retreated to Aughquick, in the back 
part of Pennsylvania, where George Croghan 
had an agency, and was allowed money from 
time to time for the maintenance of Indian al- 
lies. By the by, "Washington, in his letter to 
"William Fairfax, expressed himelf much disap- 
pointed in Croghan and Montour, who proved, 
he said, " to be great pretenders, and by vainly 
boasting of their interest with the Indians, in- 
volved the country in great calamity, causing de- 
pendence to be placed where there was none." * 
For, with all their boast, they never could 
induce above thirty fighting men to join the 

♦ Letter to W. Fairfax, Aug. 11th, 1754. 



camp, and not more than half of those rendered 
any service. 

As to the half-king, he expressed himself 
perfectly disgusted with the white man's mode 
of warfare. The French, he said, were cow- 
ards ; the English, fools. "Washington was a 
good man, but wanted experience : he would 
not take, advice .of the Indians, and was al- 
ways driving them to fight according to his 
own notions. For this reason he (the half- 
king) had carried off his wife and children to a 
place of safety. 

After a time the chieftain fell dangerously 
ill, and a conjurer or "medicineman" was 
summoned to inquire into the cause or nature 
of his malady. He gave it as his opinion that 
the French had bewitched him, in revenge for 
the great blow he had struck them in the affair 
of Jumonville ; for the Indians gave him the 
whole credit of that success, he having sent 
round the French scalps as trophies. In the 
opinion of the conjurer aU the friends of the 
chieftain concuiTed, and on his death, which 
took place shortly afterwards, there was great 
lamentation mingled with threats of immediate 
vengeance. The foregoing particulars are 
gathered from a letter written by John Harris, 
an Indian trader, to the Governor of Pennsyl- 
vania, at the request of the half-king's friend 
and fellow sachem, Mauacatoocha, otherwise 
called Scarooyadi. " I humbly presume," con- 
cludes John Hai'ris, " that his death is a very 
great loss, especially at this critical time."* 

NOTE. 

We have been thus particular in tracing the affair 
of the Great Meadows, step by step, guided by the 
statements of Washington himself and of one of his 
oiScers, present in the engagement, because it is an- 
other of the events in the early stage of his military 
career, before the justice and magnanimity of his 
character were sufficiently established, which has 
been subject to misrepresentation. When the articles 
of capitulation came to be correctly translated and 
published, there were passages in them derogatory to 
the honor of Washington and his troops, and which, 
it would seem, had purposely been inserted for their 
humiliation by the French commander; but which, 
they protested, had never been rightly translated by 
Van Braam. For instance, in the written articles, 
they were made to stipulate that for the space of a 
year, they would not work on any establishment be- 
yond the mountains ; whereas it had Been translated 
by Van Braam " on any establishment on the lands of 
the king of France," which was quite another thing, 
as most of the land beyond the mountains was con- 



Pennsylvania Archives, vol. il., p. 178. 



^T. 22.] 



STATEMENT OF DE VILLIERS— SECRET LETTER OF STOBO. 



49 



sidered by them as belonging to the British crown. 
There were other points, of minor importance, rela- 
tive to the disposition of the artillery ; but the most 
startling and objectionable one was that concerning 
the previous skirmish in the Great Meadows. This 
was mentioned in the written articles as rassassinat 
du Sieur de Jumonville, that is to say, the murder 
of De Jumonville ; an expression from which Wash- 
ington and his officers would have revolted with scorn 
and indignation ; and which, if truly translated, would 
in all probability have caused the capitulation to be 
sent back instantly to the French commander. On 
the contrary, they declared it had been translated to 
them by Van Braam the death of De Jumonville. 

M. de Villiers, in his account of this transaction to 
the French Government, avails himself of these pas- 
sages in the capitulation to cast a slur on the conduct 
of Washington. He says, " We made the English 
consent to sign that they had assassinated my brother 
in his camp." — " We caused them to abandon the 
lands belonging to the king. — We obliged them to 
leave their cannon, which consisted of nine pieces," 
(ic. He further adds : " The English, struck with 
panic, took to flight, and left their flag and one of 
their colors." We have shown that the flag left was 
the unwieldy one belonging to the fort ; too cumbrous 
to be transported by troops who could not carry their 
own necessary baggage. The regimental colors, as 
honorable symbols, were scrupulously carried off by 
Washington, and retained by him in after j-cars. 

M. de Villiers adds another incident intended to de- 
grade his enemy. He says, " One of my Indians took 
ten Englishmen, whom he brought to me, and whom 
I sent back by another." These, doubtless, were the 
men detached by Washington in quest of the wounded 
loiterers ; and who, understanding neither French nor 
Indian, found a difficulty in explaining their peaceful 
errand. That they were captured by the Indian 
seems too much of a gasconade. 

The public opinion at the time was that Van Braam 
had been suborned by De Villiers to soften the offen- 
sive articles of the capitulation in translating them, 
so that they should not wound the pride nor awaken 
the scruples of Washington and his officers, yet should 
stand on record against them. It is not probable that 
a French officer of De Villiers' rank would practise 
such a base perfidy, nor does the subsequent treatment 
experienced by Van Braam from the French corrob- 
orate the charge. It is more than probable the in- 
accuracy of translation originated in his ignorance of 
the precise weight and value of words in the two lan- 
guages, neither of which was native to him, and be- 
tween which he was the blundering agent of exchange. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

Early in August Washington rejoined his 
regiment, which had arrived at Alexandria by 
the way of "Winchester. Letters from Governor 
Dinwiddie urged him to recruit it to the former 
number of three hundred men, and join Colonel 
4 



luues at Wills' Creek, where that officer was 
stationed with Mackay's independent company 
of South Carolinians, and two independent 
companies from New York ; and had been em- 
ployed in erecting a work to serve as a frontier 
post and rallying point ; which work received 
the name of Fort Cumberland, in honor of the 
Duke of Cumberland, captain-general of the 
British army. 

In the meantime the French, elated by their 
recent triumph, and thinking no danger at hand, 
relaxed their vigilance at Fort Duquesne. 
Stobo, who was a kind of prisoner at large 
there, found means to send a letter secretly by 
an Indian, dated July 28, and directed to the 
commander of the English troops. It was ac- 
companied by a plan of the fort. " There are 
two hundred men liere," writes he, " and two 
hundred expected ; the rest have gone off in 
detachments to the amount of one thousand, 
besides Indians. None lodge in the fort but 
Contrecceur and the guard, consisting of forty 
men and five officers ; the rest lodge in bark 
cabins around the fort. The Indians have ac- 
cess day and night, and come and go when they 
please. If one hundred trusty Shawnees, Min- 
goes, and Delawares were picked out, they 
might surprise the fort, lodging themselves 
under the palisades by day, and at night secure 
the guard with their tomahawks, shut the 
sally-gate, and the fort is ours." 

One part of Stobo's letter breathes a loyal 
and generous spirit of self-devotion. Alluding 
to the danger in which he and Van. Braam, 
his fellow -host age, might be involved, he says, 
" Consider the good of tlie expedition without 
regard to us. When we engaged to serve the 
country it Avas expected we were to do it with 
our lives. For my part, I would die a hundred 
deaths to have the pleasure of possessing this 
fort but one day. They are so vain of their 
success at the Meadows it is worse than death 
to hear them. Haste to strike." * 

The Indian messenger carried the letter to 
Aughquick and delivered it into the hands of 
George Croghan. The Indian chiefs who were 
with him insisted upon his opening it. He did 
so, but on finding the tenor of it, transmitted it 
to the Governor of Pennsylvania. The secret 
information communicated by Stobo may have 
been the cause of a project suddenly conceived 
by Governor Dinwiddie, of a detachment which, 
by a forced march across the mountains, might 



* Hazard's Register of Penn., iv. 329. 



50 



DINWIDDIE'S MILITARY MEASURES— WASHINGTON QUITS THE SERVICE. [1754. 



descend npon the Frencli and take Fort Du- 
quesne at a single blow ; or, failing that, might 
build a rival fort in its vicinity. He accord- 
ingly wrote to "Washington to march forthwith 
for "Wills' Creek, with sv;ch companies as were 
complete, leaving orders with the oflScers to 
follow as soon as they should have enlisted 
men sufficient to make np their companies. 
" The season of the year," added he, " calls for 
despatch. I depend upon your usual diligence 
and spirit to encourage your people to be active 
on this occasion." 

The ignorance of Dinwiddle in military affairs, 
and his want of forecast, led hitn perpetually 
into blunders. Washington saw the rashness 
of an attempt to dispossess the French with a 
force so inferior that it could be harassed and 
driven from place to place at their pleasure. 
Before the troops could be collected, and muni- 
tions of war provided, the season would be too 
far advanced. There would be no forage for 
the horses ; the streams Avould be swollen and 
unfordable ; the mountains rendered impassable 
by snow, and frost, and slippery roads. The 
men, too, unused to campaigning on the frontier, 
vrould not be able to endure a winter in the 
wilderness, with no better shelter than a tent ; 
especially in their present condition, destitute 
of almost every thing. Such are a few of the 
cogent reasons urged by Washington in a letter 
to his friend William Fairfax, then in the House 
of Burgesses, which no doubt was shown to 
Governor Dinwiddie, and probably had an ef- 
fect in causing the rash project to be aban- 
doned. 

The governor, in truth, was sorely perplexed 
about this time by contradictions and cross- 
purposes, both in military and civil affairs. A 
body of three hundred and fifty North Caro- 
linian troops had been enlisted at high pay, and 
were to form the chief reinforcement of Colonel 
Innes at WiUs' Creek. By the time they 
reached Winchester, however, the provincial 
military chest was exhausted, and future pay 
seemed uncei-tain ; whereupon they refused to 
serve any longer, disbanded themselves tumul- 
tuonsly, and set oft' for their homes without tak- 
ing leave. 

The governor found the House of Burgesses 
equally unmanageable. His demands for sup- 
])lies were resisted on what he considered pre- 
sumptuous pretexts; or granted sparingly, 
under mortifying restrictions. His high Tory 
notions were outraged by sucli republican con- 
duct. " There appears to me," said he, " an 



infatuation in all the assemblies in this part of 
the world." In a letter to the Board of Trade 
he declared that the only way effectually to 
check the progress of the French, would be an 
act of parliament requiring the colonies to con- 
tribute to the common cause, independently of 
asscmhlies ; and in an another, to the Secretary 
of State, he urged the policy of compelling the 
colonies to their duty to the king by a general 
poll-tax of two and sixpence a head. The 
worthy governor Avould have made a fitting 
counsellor for the Stuart dynasty. Subsequent 
events have shown how little his policy was 
suited to compete with the dawning republican- 
ism of America. 

In the month of October the House of Bur- 
gesses made a grant of twenty thousand pounds 
for the public service ; and ten thousand more 
were sent out from England, beside a supply of 
firearms. The governor now applied himself 
to military matters with renewed spirit ; in- 
creased the actual force to ten companies ; and, 
as there had been difficulties among the differ- 
ent kinds of troops with regard to precedence, 
he reduced them all to independent companies ; 
so that there would be no officer in a Virginia 
regiment above the rank of captain. 

This shrewd measure, upon which Dinwid- 
die secretly prided himself as calculated to put 
an end to the difficulties in question, immedi- 
ately drove Washington out of the service ; 
considering it derogatory to his character to 
accept a lower commission than that under 
which his conduct hud gained him a vote of 
thanks from the Legislature. 

Governor Sharpe, of Maryland, appointed by 
the king commander-in-chief of all the forces 
engaged against the French, sought to secure 
his valuable services, and authorized Colonel 
Fitzhugh, whom he had placed in temporary 
command of the army, to write to him to that 
effect. The reply of Washington (15th Nov.) 
is full of dignity and spirit, and shows how 
deeply he felt his military degradation. 

" You make mention," says he, " of my con- 
tinuing in the service and retaining my colonel's 
commission. This idea has filled mo with sur- 
prise ; for if you think me capable of holding a 
com.mission that has neither rank nor emolu- 
ment annexed to it, you must maintain a very 
contemptible opinion of my weakness, and be- 
lieve me more empty than the commission it- 
self." After intimating a suspicion that the 
project of reducing the regiment into independ- 
ent companies, and thereby throwing out the 



^T. 22.] 



QUESTIONS OF RANK— LA FORCE— STOBO AND VAN BRAAM. 



51 



higher officers, was " generated and hatched at 
Wills' Creek," — in other words, was an expedi- 
ent of Governor Dinwiddle, instead of being a 
peremptory order from England, he adds, " In- 
genuous treatment and plain dealing I at least 
expected. It is to be hoped the pi-oject will 
answer ; it shall meet my acquiescence in every 
thing except personal services. I herewith in- 
close Governor Sharpe's letter, which I beg you 
will return to him with my acknowledgments 
for the favor he intended me. Assure him, sir, 
as you truly may, of my reluctance to quit the 
service, and the pleasure I should have received 
in attending his fortunes. Inform him, also, 
that it was to obey the call of honor and the 
advice of my friends that I declined it, and not 
to gratify any desire I had to leave the mili- 
tary line. My feelings are strongly bent to 
arms." 

Even had "Washington hesitated to take this 
step, it would have been forced upon him by a 
further regulation of government, in the course 
of the ensuing winter, settling the rank of offi- 
cers of his majesty's forces when joined or 
serving with the provincial forces in North 
America, " which directed that all such as were 
commissioned by the king, or by his general 
commander-in-chief in North America, should 
take rank of all officers commissioned by the 
governors of the respective provinces. And 
further, that the general and field officers of the 
provincial troops should have no rank when 
serving with the general and field officers com- 
missioned by the crown ; but that all captains 
and other inferior officers of the royal troops 
should take rank over provincial officers of the 
same grade, having older commissions." 

These regulations, originating in that super- 
cilious assumption of superiority Avhich some- 
times overruns and degrades true British pride, 
would have been spurned by Washington, as 
insulting to the character and conduct of his 
high-minded brethren of the colonies. How 
much did this open disparagement of colonial 
honor and understanding, contribute to wean 
from England the aftection of her American 
subjects, and prepare the way for their ultimate 
assertion of independence. 

Another cause of vexation to Washington 
was the refusal of Governor Dinwiddle to give 
up the French prisoners, taken in the affair of 
De Jumonville, in fulfilment of the articles of 
capitulation. His plea was, that since the ca- 
pitulation, the French had taken several British 
subjects, and sent them prisoners to Canada, he , 



considered himself justifiable in detaining those 
Frenchmen which he had in his custody. He 
sent a flag of truce, however, offering to return 
the officer Drouillon, and the two cadets, in 
exchange for Captains Stobo and Van Braam, 
whom the French held as hostages ; but his 
offer was treated with merited disregard. 
Washington felt deeply mortified by this ob- 
tuseuess of the governor on a point of military 
punctilio and honorable faith, but his remon- 
strances were unavailing. 

The French prisoners w^ere clothed and main- 
tained at the public expense, and Drouillon and 
the cadets were allowed to go at large ; the 
private soldiers were kept in confinement. La 
Force, also, not having acted in a military capa- 
city, and having offended against the peace and 
security of the frontier, by his intrigues among 
the Indians, was kept in close durance. AVash- 
ington, who knew nothing of this, was shocked 
on visiting Williamsburg, to learn that La Force 
was in prison. He expostulated with the gov- 
ernor on the subject, but without eff"ect ; Din- 
widdle was at all times pertinacious, but par- 
ticularly so when he felt himself to be a little 
in the wrong. 

As we shall have no further occasion to 
mention La Force, in connection with the sub- 
ject of this work, we will anticipate a page of 
his fortunes. After renmining two years in 
confinement he succeeded in breaking out of 
prison, and escaping into the country. An 
alarm was given, and circulated far and wide, 
for such was the opinion of his personal 
strength, desperate courage, wily cunning, and 
great influence over the Indians, that the most 
mischievous results were apprehended should 
he regai n the frontier. In the mean time he was 
wandering about the country, ignorant of the 
roads, and fearing to make inquiries, lest his 
foreign tongue should betray Idm. He reached 
King and Queen Court House, about thirty 
miles from Williamsburg, when a countryman 
was struck with his foreign air and aspect. La 
Force ventured to put a question as to the dis- 
tance and direction of Fort Duquesne, and his 
broken English convinced the countryman of 
his being the French prisoner, whose escape 
had been noised about the country. Watching 
an opportunity he seized him, and regardless 
of offers of great bribes, conducted him back 
to the prison of Williamsburg, where he was 
secured with double irons, and chained to the 
floor of his dungeon. 

The refusal of Governor Dinwiddle to fulfil 



52 



"WASHINGTON'S RETURN TO QUIET LIFE— MILITARY PREPARATIONS. [1755. 



the article of the capitulation respecting the 
prisoners, and the rigorous treatment of La 
Force, operated hardly upon the hostages, Stobo 
and Van Braam, who, in retaliation, were con- 
fined in prison in Quebec, though otherwise 
treated with kindness. They, also, by extra- 
ordinary efforts, succeeded in breaking prison, 
but found it more difficult to evade the sentries 
of a fortified place. Stobo managed to escape 
into the country ; but the luckless Van Braam 
sought concealment under an arch of a cause- 
way leading from the forti'ess. Here he re- 
mained imtil nearly exhausted by huuger. 
Seeing the Governor of Canada passing by, and 
desparing of being able to effect his escape, he 
came forth from his hiding place, and surrender- 
ed himself, invoking his clemency. He was 
remanded to prison, but experienced no addi- 
tiojial severity. He was subsequently shipped 
by the governor from Quebec to England, and 
never returned to Virginia. It is this treatment 
of Van Braam, more than any thing else, which 
convinces us that the suspicion of his being in 
collusion with the French in regard to the mis- 
interpretation of the articles of capitulation, 
was groundless. He was simply a blunderer. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

Having resigned his commission, and disen- 
gaged himself from public affairs, Washington's 
first care was to visit his mother, inquire into 
the state of domestic concerns, and attend to 
the welfare of his brothers and sisters. In these 
matters he was ever his mother's adjunct and 
counsellor, discharging faithfully the duties of 
an eldest son, who should consider himself a 
second father to the family. 

He now took up his abode at Mount Vernon, 
and prepared to engage in those agricultural 
pursuits, for which, even in his youthful days, 
he had as keen a relish as for the profession of 
arms. Scarcely had he entered upon his rural 
occupations, however, when the service of his 
country once more called him to the field. 

The disastrous affair at Great Meadows, 
and the other acts of French hostility on the 
Ohio, had aroused the attention of the British 
ministry. Tiieir ambassador at Paris was in- 
structed to complain of those violations of the 
peace. The court of Versailles amused him 
with general assurances of amity, and a strict 
adherence to treaties. Their ambassador at 



the court of St. James, the Marquis de Mire- 
poix, on the faith of his instructions, gave the 
same assurances. In the mean time, however, 
French ships were fitted out, and troops em- 
barked, to carry out the schemes of the 
government in America. So profound was the 
dissimulation of the court of Versailles, that 
even their own ambassador is said to have 
been kept in ignorance of their real designs, 
and of the hostile game they were playing, 
while he was exerting himself in good faith, 
to lull the suspicions of England, and maintain 
the international peace. When his eyes, how- 
ever, were opened, he returned indignantly to 
France, and upbraided the cabinet with the 
duplicity of which he had been made the un- 
conscious instrument. 

The British government now prepared for 
military operations in America ; none of them 
professedly aggressive, but rather to resist and 
counteract aggressions. A plan of campaign 
was devised for 1755, having four objects. 

To eject the French from lands which they 
held unjustly, in the province of Nova Scotia. 

To dislodge them from a fortress which they 
had erected at Crown Point, on Lake Cham- 
plain, Avithin what was claimed as British 
territory. 

To dispossess them of the fort which they had 
constructed at Niagara, between Lake Ontario 
and Lake Erie. 

To drive them from the frontiers of Penn- 
sylvania and Virginia, and recover the valley 
of the Ohio. 

The Duke of Cumberland, captain-general 
of the British army, had the organization of 
this campaign ; and through his patronage. 
Major-general Edward Braddock was intrust- 
ed with the execution of it, being appoint- 
ed generalissimo of all the forces in the 
colonies. 

Braddock was a veteran in service, and had 
been upwards of forty years in the guards, that 
school of exact discipline and technical punc- 
tilio. Cumberland, who held a commission in 
the guards, and was bigoted to its routine, may 
have considered Braddock fitted, by his skill 
and preciseness as a tactician, for a command 
in a new country, inexperienced in military 
science, to bring its raw levies into order, and 
to settle those questions of rank and etiquette 
apt to arise where regular and provincial troops 
are to act together. 

The result proved the error of such an 
opinion. Braddock was a brave and experi- 



^T. 23.] 



ST. CLAIR'S TOUR OF INSPECTION— INDIAN ALLIES. 



53 



enced officer ; but liis experience was that of 
routine, and rendered him pragmatical and 
obstinate, impatient of novel expedients " not 
laid down in the books," but dictated by emer- 
gencies in a " new country," and his military 
precision, which would have been brilliant on 
parade, was a constant obstacle to alert action 
in the wilderness.* 

Braddock was to lead in person the grand 
enterprise of the campaign, that destined for 
the frontiers of Virginia and Pennsylvania ; it 
Avas the enterprise in which "Washington be- 
came enlisted, and, therefore, claims our spe- 
cial attention. 

Prior to the arrival of Braddock, came out 
from England Lieutenant-colonel Sir John St. 
Clair, deputy quartermaster-general, eager to 
make himself acquainted with the field of opera- 
tions. He made a tour of inspection, in com- 
pany with Governor Sharpe, of Maryland, and 
appears to have been dismayed at sight of the 
impracticable wilderness, the region of Wash- 
ington's campaign. From Fort Cumberland, he 
wrote in February to Governor Morris, of 
Pennsylvania, to have the road cut, or repaired 
towards the head of the river Youghiogeny, 
and another opened from Philadelphia for the 
transportation of supplies. " No general," 
writes he, " will advance with an army with- 
out having a communication open to the 
provinces in his rear, both for the security of 
retreat, and to facilitate the transport of pro- 
visions, the supplying of which must greatly 
depend on your province."! 

Unfortunately the governor of Pennsylvania 



* Horace "Walpole, in his letters, relates some anecdotes 
of Braddock, •which give a familiar picture of him in the 
fashionable life in which he had mingled in London, and 
are of value, as letting us into the private character of a 
man whose name has become proverbial in American 
history. " Braddock," says Walpole, " is a very Iroquois 
in disposition. He had a sister, who, having gamed away 
f\\\ her little fortune at Bath, hanged herself with a truly 
English deliberation, leaving a note on the table with 
these lines : ' To die is landing on some silent shore,' &c. 
When Braddock was told of it, he only said: 'Poor 
Fanny! I always thought she would play till she would 
be forced to tuck herself up.' " 

Braddock himself had been somewhat of a spendthrift. 
He was touchy also, and punctilious. " He once had a 
duel," says Waliiole, "with Colonel Glumley, Lady 
Bath's brother, who had been his great friend. As they 
were going to engage, Glumley, who had good humor and 
wit (Braddock had the latter) said : ' Braddock, you are 
a poor dog I here, take my purse, if you kill me j-ou will 
be forced to run away, and then you will not have a shil- 
ling to support you." Braddock refused the purse, insisted 
on the duel, was disarmed, and would not even ask for 
his life." 

* Colonial Records, vi. 300. 



had no money at his command, and was 
obliged, for expenses, to apply to his Assem- 
bly, " a set of men," writes he, " quite unac- 
quainted with every kind of military service, 
and exceedingly unwilling to part with money 
on any terms." However, by dint of exer- 
tions, he procured the appointment of com- 
missioners to explore the country, and survey 
and lay out the roads required. At the head 
of the commission was George Oroghan, the 
Indian trader, whose mission to the Twight- 
wees we have already spoken of. Times had 
gone hard with Croghan. The French had 
seized great quantities of his goods. The 
Indians, with whom he traded, had failed to 
pay their debts, and he had become a bank- 
rupt. Being an efficient agent on the frontier, 
and among the Indians, he still enjoyed the 
patronage of the Pennsylvania government. 

When Sir John St. Clair had finished his 
tour of inspection, he descended Wills' Creek 
and the Potomac for two hundred miles in a 
canoe to Alexandria, and repaired to Virginia 
to meet General Braddock, The latter had 
landed on the 20th of February at Hampton, 
in Virginia, and proceeded to Williamsburg to 
consult with Governor Dinwiddle. Shortly 
afterwards he was joined there by Commodore 
Keppel, whose squadron of two ships-of-war, 
and several transports, had anchored in the 
Chesapeake. On btoard of these ships were 
two prime regiments of about five hun- 
dred men each ; one commanded by Sir 
Peter Halket, the other by Colonel Dunbar ; 
together with a train of artillery, and the 
necessary munitions of war. The regiments 
were to be augmented to seven hundred men 
each, by men selected by Sir John St. Clair 
from Virginia companies recently raised. 

Alexandria was fixed upon as the place 
where the troops should disembark, and en- 
camp. The ships were accordingly ordered 
up to that place, and the levies directed to 
repair thither. 

The plan of the campaign included the use 
of Indian allies. Governor Dinwiddle had 
already sent Christopher Gist, the pioneer, 
Washington's guide in 1753, to engage the 
Cherokees and Catawbas, the bravest of the 
southern tribes, who he had no doubt would 
take up the hatchet for the English, peace 
being first concluded, through the mediation 
of his government, between them and the Six 
Nations ; and he gave Braddock reason to 
expect at least four hundred Indians to join 



54 



MILITARY PLANS— A SITUATION IN TUE STAFF. 



[1755. 



him at Fort Cumberland. He laid before 
him also contracts that lie had made for cattle, 
and liromises that the Assembly of Pennsyl- 
vania had made of flour ; these, with other 
supplies, and a thousand barrels^ of beef on 
board of the transports, would furnish sis 
months' provisions for four thousand men. 

General Braddock apprehended difficulty in 
procuring waggons and horses sufficient to 
attend him in his march. Sir John St. Clair, 
in the course of his tour of inspection, had met 
with two Dutch settlers, at the foot of the 
Blue Ridge, who engaged to furnish two 
hundred waggons, and fifteen hundred carry- 
ing horses, to be at Fort Cumberland early in 
May. 

Governor Sharpe was to furnish above a 
hundred waggons for the transportation of 
stores, on the Maryland side of the Potomac. 

Keppel furnished four cannons from his 
ships, for the attack on Fort Duquesne, and 
thirty picked seamen to assist in dragging them 
over the mountains ; for " soldiers," said he, 
" cannot be as well acquainted with the 
nature of i>urchases, and making use of tackle, 
as seamen." They were to aid also in passing 
the troops and artillery on floats or in boats, 
across the rivers, and were under the com- 
mand of a midshipman and lieutenant.* 

"Every thing," writes Captain Robert 
Orme, one of the general's aides-de-camp, 
" seemed to promise so far the greatest suc- 
cess. The transports all arrived safe, and the 
men in health. Provisions, Indians, carriages, 
and horses, were already provided; at least 
were to be esteemed so, considering the 
authorities on which they were promised to 
the general." 

Trusting to these arrangements, Braddock 
proceeded to Alexandria. The troops had all 
been disembarked before his ai*rival, and the 
Virginia levies selected by Sir Jolm St. Clair, 
to join the regiments of regulars, were arrived. 
There were besides two companies of hatchet 
men, or carpenters; sis of rangers; and one 
troop of light horse. The levies, having been 
clothed, were ordered to march immediately 
for Winchester, to be armed, and the general 
gave them in charge of an ensign of the 44th, 
" to make them as like soldiers as possible."! 
Tlie light horse were retained by the general 
as his escort and body guard. 



* Keppel's Life of Kciipcl, p. 205. 
t Orme's Journal. 



The din and stir of warlike preparation dis- 
turbed the quiet of Mount Vernon. "Washing- 
ton looked down from his rural retreat upon 
the ships of war and transports, as they passed 
up the Potomac, with the array of arms gleam- 
ing along their decks. The booming of can- 
non echoed among liis groves. Alexandria 
was but a few miles distant. Occasionally he 
mounted his horse, and rode to that place ; it 
was like a garrisoned town, teeming with 
troops, and resounding with the drum and fife. 
A brilliant campaign was about to open under 
the auspices of an experienced general, and 
with all the means and appurtenances of Euro- 
pean warfare. How different from the starve- 
ling expeditions he had hitherto been doomed 
to conduct ! Wliat an opportunity to efface 
the memory of his recent disaster ! All his 
thoughts of rural life were put to flight. The 
military part of his character was again in the 
ascendant; his great desire was to join the 
expedition as a volunteer. 

It was reported to General Braddock. The 
latter was apprised by Governor Dinwiddle 
and others, of Washington's personal merits, 
his knowledge of the country, and his expe- 
rience in frontier service. The consequence 
was, a letter from Captain Robert Orme, one 
of Braddock's aides-de-camp, written by the 
general's order, inviting Washington to join 
his staff"; the letter concluded with frank and 
cordial expressions of esteem on the part of 
Orme, which were warmly reciprocated, and 
laid the foundation of a soldierlike friendship 
between them. 

A volunteer situation on the staffs of General 
Braddock offered no emolument nor command, 
and would be attended with considerable ex- 
pense, besides a sacrifice in his private inter- 
ests, having no person in whom he had confi- 
dence, to take charge of his affairs in his 
absence, still he did not hesitate a moment to 
accept the invitation. In the position offered 
to him, all the questions of military rank which 
had hitherto annoyed him, would be obviated. 
He could indulge his passion for amis without 
any sacrifice of dignity, and he looked forward 
with high anticipation to an opportunity of 
acquiring military experience in a corps well 
organized, and tlioroughly disciplined, and in 
the family of a commander of acknowledged 
skill as a tactician. 

His mother heard with concern of another 
projected expedition into the wilderness. 
Hurrying to Mount Vernon, she entreated him 



Mr. 23.] 



GRAND COUNCIL OF GOVERNORS— MILITARY PREPARATIONS. 



55 



not again to expose himself to the hardships 
and perils of these fi-ontier campaigns. She 
doubtless felt the value of his presence at 
home, to manage and protect the complicated 
interests of the domestic connection, and had 
watched with solicitude over his adventurous 
campaigning, where so much family welfare 
was at hazard. However much a mother's 
pride may have been gratified by his early 
advancement and renown, she had rejoiced on 
his return to the safer walks of peaceful life. 
She was thoroughly practical and prosaic in 
her notions ; and not to be dazzled by military 
glory. The passion for arms which mingled 
with the more sober elements of Washington's 
character, would seem to have been inherited 
from his father's side of the house ; it was, in 
fact, the old chivalrous spirit of the De "Wes- 
syngtons. 

His mother had once prevented him from 
entering the navy, when a gallant frigate was 
at hand, anchored in the waters of the 
Potomac ; with all his deference for her, which 
he retained through life, he could not resist 
the appeal to his martial sympathies, which 
called him to the head-quarters of General 
Braddock at Alexandria. 

His arrival was hailed by his young associ- 
ates, Captains Orme and Morris, the general's 
aides-de-camp, who at once received him into 
frank companionship, and a cordial intimacy 
commenced between them, that continued 
throughout the campaign. 

He experienced a courteous reception from 
the general, who expressed in flattering terms 
the impression he had received of his merits. 
Washington soon appreciated the character of 
the general. He found him stately and some- 
what haughty, exact in matters of military 
etiquette and discipline, positive in giving an 
opinion, and obstinate in maintaining it ; but 
of an honorable and generous, though some- 
what irritable nature. 

There were at that time four Governors, 
besides Dinwiddle, assembled at Alexandria, 
at Braddcck's request, to concert a plan of 
military operations ; Governor Shirley, of 
Massachusetts ; Lieutenant-governor Delancey, 
of New York ; Lieutenant-governor Sharpe, 
of Maryland ; Lieutenant-governor Morris, of 
Pennsylvania. Washington was presented to 
them in a manner that showed how well his 
merits were already appreciated. Shirley 
seems particularly to have struck him as the 
model of a cjentleman and statesman. He was 



originally a lawyer, and had risen not more 
by his talents, than by his implicit devotion 
to the crown. His son William was military 
secretary to Braddock. 

A grand council was held on the 14th of 
April, composed of General Braddock, Com- 
modore Keppel, and the governors, at which 
the general's commission was read, as were his 
instructions from the king, relating to a com- 
mon fund, to be established by the several col- 
onies, toward defraying the expenses of the 
campaign. 

The governors were prepared to answer on 
this head, letters to the same purport having 
been addressed to them by Sir Thomas Robin- 
son, one of the king's secretaries of state, in 
the preceding month of October. They in- 
formed Braddock that they had applied to 
their respective Assembhes for the establish- 
ment of such a fund, but in vain, and gave it 
as their unanimous opinion, that such a fund 
could never be established in the colonies with- 
out the aid of Parliament. They had found it 
impracticable, also, to obtain from their re- 
spective governments the proportions expected 
from them by the crown, toward military ex- 
penses in America ; and suggested that minis- 
ters should find out some mode of compelling 
them to do it ; and that, in the mean time, the 
general should make use of his credit upon 
government, for current ex^ienses, lest the ex- 
pedition should come to a stand.* 

In discussing the campaign, the governors 
were of opinion that New York should be 
made the centre of operations, as it afforded 
easy access by water to the heart of the French 
possessions in Canada. Braddock, however, 
did not feel at liberty to depart from his in- 
structions, which specified the recent establish- 
ments of the French on the Ohio as the objects 
of his expedition. 

Niagara and Crown Point were to be attack- 
ed about the same time with Fort Duquesne, 
the former by Governor Shirley with his own 
and Sir William Pepperell's regiments, and 
some New York companies ; the latter by 
Colonel William Johnson, sole manager and 
director of ludiai;! aflairs ; a personage worthy 
of especial note. 

He was a native of Ireland, and had come 
out to this country in 1734, to manage the 
landed estates owned by his uncle. Commodore 
Sir Peter Warren, in the Mohawk country. 



♦ Colonial Record?, vol. vi., p. 366. 



56 



THREATS OF SIR JOHN SINCLAIR— THEIR EFFECTS. 



[1755. 



He had resided ever since in the vicinity of the 
Mohawk River, in the province of New York. 
By his agency and his dealings with the native 
tribes he had acquired great wealth, and be- 
come a kind of potentate in the Indian coun- 
try. His influence over the Six Nations was 
said to be unbounded ; and it was principally 
with the aid of a large force of their warriors 
that it was expected he would accomplish his 
part of the campaign. The end of June, 
"nearly in July," was fixed upon as the time 
when the several attacks upon Forts Duquesne, 
Niagara, and Crown Point, should be carried 
into execution, and Braddock anticipated an 
easy accomplishment of his plans. 

The expulsion of the French from the lands 
wrongfully held by them in Nova Scotia, was 
to be assigned to Colonel Lawrence, Lieuten- 
ant-governor of that province ; we will briefly 
add, in anticipation, that it was effected by 
him, with the aid of troops from Massachu- 
setts and elsewhere, led by Lieutenant-colonel 
Monckton. 

The business of the Congress being finished. 
General Braddock would have set out for Fred- 
ericktown, in Maryland, but few waggons or 
teams had yet come to remove the artillery. 
Washington had looked with wonder and dis- 
may at the huge paraphernalia of war, and 
the world of superfluities to be transported 
across the mountains, recollecting the difii- 
culties he had experienced in getting over them 
with his nine swivels and scanty supplies. " If 
our march is to be regulated by the slow move- 
ments of the train," said he, " it wiU be tedi- 
ous, very tedious, indeed." His predictions 
excited a sarcastic smile in Braddock as betray- 
ing the limited notions of a young provincial 
oflacer, little acquainted with the march of 
armies. 

In the meanwhile, Sir John St. Clair, who 
had returned to the frontier, was storming at 
the camp at Fort Cumberland. The road re- 
quired of the Pennsylvania government had 
not been commenced. George Croghan and 
the other commissioners were but just arrived 
in camp. Sir John, according to Croghan, re- 
ceived them in a very disagreeable manner ; 
would not look at their draughts, nor suifer 
any Representations to be made to him in re- 
gard to the province, " but stormed like a lion 
rampant ; " declaring that the want of the road 
and of the provisions promised by Pennsyl- 
vania had retarded the expedition, and might 
cost them their lives from the fresh numbers 



of French that might be poured into the coun- 
try. — " That instead of marching to the Ohio, 
he would in nine days march his army into 
Cumberland County to cut the roads, press 
horses, waggons, &c. That he would not suffer 
a soldier to handle an axe, but by fire and sword 
oblige the inhabitants to do it. * * * That 
he would kill aU kinds of cattle, and carry 
away the horses, burn the houses, &c. ; and 
that if the French defeated them, by the de- 
lays of Pennsylvania, he would, with his sword 
drawn, pass through the jjrovince and treat 
the inhabitants as a parcel of traitors to his 
master. That he would write to England by a 
man-of-war ; shake Mr. Penn's proprietaryship, 
and represent Pennsylvania as a disaffected 
province. * * * * jjg iq]^ ^^jg ^q ^q iq 

the genera], if we pleased, who would give us 
ten iad words for one that he had given.'''' 

The explosive wrath of Sir John, which was 
not to be appeased, shook the souls of the 
commissioners, and they wrote to Governor 
Morris, urging that people might be set at 
work upon the road, if the Assembly had made 
provision for opening it ; and that flour might 
be sent without delay to the mouth of Canoco- 
cheague River, " as being the only remedy left 
to prevent these threatened mischiefs." * 

In reply, Mr. Richard Peters, Governor Mor- 
ris's secretary, wrote in his name : " Get a 
number of hands immediately, and further the 
work by all possible methods. Your expenses 
will be paid at the next sitting of Assembly. 
Do your duty, and oblige the general and quar- 
termaster if possible. Finish the road that 
wiU be wanted first, and then proceed to any 
other that may be thought necessary." 

An additional commission, of a different 
kind, was intrusted to George Croghan. Gov- 
ernor MoTris by letter requested him to con- 
vene at Aughquick, in Pennsylania, as many 
warrior as possible of the mixed tribes of the 
Ohio, distribute among them wampum belts 
sent for the purpose, and engage them to meet 
General Braddock when on the march, and 
render him all the assistance in their power. 

In reply, Croghan engaged to enlist ft strong 
body of Indians, being sure of the influence of 
Scarooyadi, successor to the half-king, and of 
his adjunct. White Thunder, keeper of the 
speech-belts.t At the instance of Governor 
Morris, Croghan secured the services of an- 
other kind of force. This was'a band of hunt- 



* Colonial Records, vol. vi., p. SOS. 



t Ibid., p. 375. 



^T. 23.] CAPTAIN JACK AND HIS BAND— WASHINGTON PROCLAIMED AIDE-DE-CAMP. 57 



ers, resolute men, well acquainted with tlie 
eountry, and inured to hardships. They were 
under the command of Captain Jack, one of the 
most remarkable characters of Pennsylvania ; 
a complete hero of the wilderness. He had 
been for many years a captive among the In- 
dians ; and, having learnt their ways, had 
formed this association for the protection of 
the settlements, receiving a commission of cap- 
tain from the Governor of Pennsylvania. The 
band had become famous for its exploits, and 
was a teiTor to the Indians. Captain Jack was 
at present protecting the settlements on the 
Canococheague ; but promised to march by a 
circuitous route and join Braddock with his 
hunters. " They require no shelter for the 
night," writes Croghan ; " they ask no pay. 
If the whole army was composed of such men 
there would be no cause of apprehension. I 
shall be with them in time for duty."* 

NOTE. 

The following extract of a letter, dated August, 
1750, gives one of the stories relative to this indi- 
vidual : 

" The ' Black Hunter,' the ' Black Rifle,' the ' Wild 
Hunter of Juniata,' is a white man ; his history is 
this : He entered the woods with a few enterprising 
companions ; built his cabin ; cleared a little land, 
and amused himself with the pleasures of fishing and 
hunting. He felt happy, for then he had not a care. 
But on an evening, when he returned from a day of 
sport, ho found his cabin burnt, his wife and children 
murdered. From that moment he forsakes civilized 
man ; hunts out caves, in which he lives ; protects 
the frontier inhabitants from the Indians ; and seizes 
every opportunity of revenge that ofifers. He lives 
the terror of the Indians and the consolation of the 
whites. On one occasion, near Juniata, in the middle 
of a dark night, a family were suddenly awaked from 
sleep by the report of a gun ; they jump from their 
huts, and by the glimmering light from the chimney 
saw an Indian fall to rise no more. The open door 
exposed to view the wild hunter. ' I have saved your 
lives,' he cried, then turned and was buried in the 
gloom of night." — Hazard's Register of Penn., vol. 
iv. 389. 



CHAPTER XV. 

GEiSTERAL Braddook sct out from Alexandria 
on the 20th of April. Washington remained 
behind a- few days to arrange his affairs, and 
then rejoined him at Fredericktown, in Mary- 
land, where, on the 10th of May, he was pro- 
claimed one of the general's aides-de-camp. 
The troubles of Braddock had already com- 



* Hazard's Register of reiin., vol. iv., p. 416. 



menced. The Virginian contractors failed to 
fulfil their engagements ; of all the immense 
means of transportation so confidently prom- 
ised, but fifteen waggons and a hundred draft- 
horses had arrived, and there was no prospect 
of more. There was equal disappointment in 
provisions, both as to quantity and quality, and 
he had to send round the country to buy cattle 
for the subsistence of the troops. 

Fortunately, while the general was venting 
his spleen in anathemas against army contrac- 
tors, Benjamin Franklin arrived at Frederick- 
town. That eminent man, then about forty- 
nine years of age, had been for many years 
member of the Pennsylvania Assembly, and 
was now postmaster-general for America. The 
Assembly understood that Braddock was in- 
censed against them, supposing them adverse 
to the service of the war. They had procured 
Franklin to wait upon him, not as if sent by 
them, but as if he came in his capacity of post- 
master-general, to arrange for the sure and 
speedy transmission of de.spatches between the 
commander-in-chief and the governors of the 
provinces. 

He was well received, and became a daily 
guest at the general's table. In his autobiog- 
raphy, he gives us an instance of the blind 
confidence and fatal prejudices by which Brad- 
dock was deluded throughout this expedition. 
" In conversation with him one day," writes 
Franklin, " he was giving me some account of 
his intended progress. ' After taking Fort 
Duquesne,' said he, ' I am to proceed to Niag- 
ara ; and having taken that, to Frontenac, if 
the season will allow time ; and I suppose it 
will, for Duquesne can hardly detain me above 
three or four days : and then I can see nothing 
that can obstruct my march to Niagara.' 

" Having before revolved in my mind," con- 
tinues Franklin, '' the long line his army must 
make in their march by a very narrow road, to 
be cut for them through the woods and bushes, 
and also what I had heard of a former defeat 
of fifteen hundred French, who invaded the 
Illinois country, I had conceived some doubts 
and some fears for the event of the campaign ; 
but I ventured only to say, ' To be sure, sir, if 
you arrive well before Duquesne with these 
fine troops, so well provided with artillery, the 
fort, though completely fortified and assisted 
with a very strong garrison, can probably make 
but a short resistance. The only danger I appre- 
hend of obstruction to your march, is from the 
ambuscades of the Indians, who, by constant 



58 



BRADDOCK AND FRANKLIN— HUGH MERCER— DR. CRAIK. 



[1155. 



practice, are dexterous in laying and executing 
them ; and the slender line, nearly four miles 
long, which your army must make, may expose 
it to be attacked by surprise on its flanks, and 
to be cut like thread into several pieces, which, 
from their distance, cannot come up in time to 
support one another.' 

" He smiled at my ignorance, and replied : 
'These savages may indeed be a formidable 
enemy to raw American militia, but upon the 
king's regular and disciplined troops, sir, it is 
impossible they should make an impression.' I 
was conscious of an impropriety in my disput- 
ing with a military man in matters of his pro- 
fession, and said no more."* 

As the whole delay of the army was caused 
by the want of conveyances, Franklin observed 
one day to the general that it was a pity the 
troops had not been landed in Pennsylvania, 
where almost every farmer had his waggon. 
" Then, sir," replied Braddock, " you, who are 
a man of interest there, can probably procure 
them for me, and I beg you will." Franklin 
consented. An instrument in writing was 
drawn up, empowering him to contract for one 
hundred and fifty waggons with four horses to 
each waggon, and fifteen hundred saddle or 
packhorses for the service of his majesty's 
forces, to be at Wills' Creek on or before the 
20th of May, and he promptly departed for 
Lancaster to execute the commission. 

After his departure, Braddock, attended by 
his staff, and his guard of light horse, set ofi:' 
for Wills' Creek by the way of Winchester, the 
road along the north side of the Potomac not 
being yet made. " This gave him," writes 
Washington, " a good opportunity to see the 
absui'dity of the route, and of damning it very 
heartily." t 

Three of Washington's horses were knocked 
up before they reached Winchester, and he had 
to purchase others. This was a severe drain 
of his campaigning purse ; fortunately he was 
in the neighborhood of Greenway Court, and 
was enabled to replenish it by a loan from his 
old friend Lord Fairfax. 

The discomforts of the rough road were in- 
creased with the general, by his travelling with 
some degree of state in a chariot which he had 
purchased of Governor Sharpe. In this he 
dashed by Dunbar's division of the troops, 
which he overtook near Wills' Creek ; his body 



* Autobiography of Franklin. Sparks' Edition, p. 190. 
t Draft of a letter, among "Washington's papers, ad- 
dressed to Major John Carlj'le. 



guard of light horse galloping on each side of 
his chariot, and his staff accompanying him; 
the drums beating the Grenadier's march as he 
passed. In this style, too, he arrived at Fort 
Cumberland, amid a thundering salute of sev- 
enteen guns.* 

By this time the general discovered that he 
was not in a region fitted for such display, and 
his travelling chariot was abandoned at Fort 
Cumberland ; otherwise it would soon have ' 
become a wreck among the mountains beyond. 

By the 19th of May, the forces were assem- 
bled at Fort Cumberland. The two royal regi- 
ments, originally one thousand strong, now in- 
creased to fourteen hundred, by men chosen 
from the Maryland and Virginia levies. Two 
provincial companies of carpenters, or pio- 
neers, thirty men each, with subalterns and cap- 
tains. A company of guides, composed of a 
captain, two aids, and ten men. The troop of 
Virginia light horse, commanded by Captain 
Stewart ; the detachment of thirty sailors with 
their officers, and the remnants of two inde- 
pendent companies from New York, one of 
which was commanded by Captain Horatio 
Gates, of whom we shall have to speak much 
hereafter, in the course of this biography. 

Another person in camp, of subsequent no- 
toriety, and who became a warm friend of 
Washington, was Dr. Hugh Mercer, a Scotch- 
man, about thirty-three years of age. About 
ten years previously he had served as assistant 
surgeon in the forces of Charles Edward, and 
followed his standard to the disastrous field of 
CuUoden. After the defeat of the " chevalier," 
Mercer had escaped by the way of Inverness to 
America, and taken up his residence in Vir- 
ginia. He was now with the Virginia troops, 
rallying under the standard of the House of 
Hanover, in an expedition led by a general who 
had aided to drive the chevalier from Scotland.t 

Another young Scotchman in the camp was 
Dr. James Oraik, who had become strongly at- 
tached to Washington, being about the same 
age, and having been with him in the affair of 
the Great Meadows, serving as surgeon in the 
Virginia regiment, to which he still belonged. 

At Fort Cumberland, Washington had an 
opportunity of seeing a force encamped accord- 
ing to the plan approved of by the council of 
war ; and military tactics, enforced with all 
the precision of a martinet. 



* Journal of the Seamen's detachment, 
t Braddock had been an officer under the Duke of Cum- 
berland, in his campaign against Charles Edward. 



^T. 23.] 



MILITARY TACTICS— CAMP RULES— INDIANS IN CAMP. 



59 



The roll of each company vfas called over 
morning, noon, and night. There was strict 
examination of arms and accoutrements ; the 
commanding officer of each company being 
answerable for their being kept in good order. 

The general was very particular in regard to 
the appearance and drill of the Virginia re- 
cruits and companies, whom he had put under 
the rigorous discipline of Ensign Allen. " They 
performed their evolutions and firings, as well 
as' could be expected," writes Captain Orme, 
" but their languid, spiritless, and unsoklier-like 
appearance, considered with the lowness and 
ignorance of most of their officers, gave little 
hopes of their future good behavior."* He 
doubtless echoed the opinion of the general ; 
how completely were both to be undeceived as 
to their estimate of these troops ! 

The general held a levee in his tent every 
morning, from ten to eleven. He Avas strict as 
to the morals of the camp. Drunkenness "was 
severely punished. A soldier convicted of 
theft was sentenced to receive one thousand 
lashes, and to be drummed out of his regiment. 
Part of the first part of the sentence was re- 
mitted. Divine service was performed every 
Sunday, at the head of the colors of each regi- 
ment, by the chaplain. There was the funeral 
of a captain who died at this encampment. A 
captain's guard marched before the corpse, the 
captain of it in the rear, the firelocks reversed, 
the drums beating the dead march. "When 
near the grave, th'^ guard formed two lines, 
facing each other ; rested on their arms, muz- 
zles downwards, and leaned their faces on the 
butts. The corpse was carried between them, 
the sword and sash on the coffin, and the offi- 
cers following two and two. After the chaplain 
of the regiment had read the service, the guard 
fired three volleys over the grave, and returned.! 

Braddock's camp, in a word, was a complete 
study for "Washington, during the halt at Fort 
Cumberland, where he had an opportunity of 
seeing military routine in its strictest forms. 
He had a specimen, too, of convivial life in the 
camp, which the general endeavored to main- 
tain, even in the wilderness, keeping a hospit- 
able table ; for he is said to have been some- 
what of a Ion mvant^ and to have had with 
him " two good cooks, who could make an ex- 
cellent ragout out of a pair of boots, had they 
but materials to toss them up with." J 



* Orme's Journal. 

t Orme's Journal. Journal of the Seamen's detachrnent. 

I Preface toWinthrop Sargent's introductory Memoir. 



There was great detention at the fort, caused 
by the want of forage and supplies, the road 
not having been finished from Philadelphia. 
Mr. Eichard Peters, the secretary of Governor 
Morris, was in camp, to attend to the matter. 
He had to bear the brunt of Braddock's com- 
plaints. The general declared he would not 
stir from "Wills' Creek until he had the govern- 
or's assurance that the road would be opened 
in time. Mr. Peters requested guards to pro- 
tect the men while at work, from attacks by 
the Indians. Braddock swore he would not 
furnish guards for the woodcutters, — "let Penn- 
sylvania do it ! " He scofied at the talk about 
danger from Indians. Peters endeavored to 
make him sensible of the peril which threat- 
ened him in this respect. Should an army of 
them, led by French officers, beset him in his 
march, he would not be able, with all his 
strength and military skill, to reach Fort Du- 
quesne without a body of rangers, as well on 
foot as horseback. The general, however, 
" despised his observations." * Still, guards 
had ultimately to be provided, or the work on 
the road would have been abandoned. 

Braddock, in fact, was completely chagrined 
and disappointed about the Indians. The Cherc 
kees and Catawbas, whom Dinwiddle had given 
him reason to expect in such numbers, nevei* 
arrived. 

George Croghan reached the camp with but 
about fifty warriors, whom he had brought from 
Aughquick. At the general's request he sent 
a messenger to invite the Delawares and Shaw- 
nees from the Ohio, who returned with two 
chiefs of the former tribe. Among the sa- 
chems thus assembled were some of "Washing- 
ton's former allies ; Scarooyadi, ahas Monaca- 
toocha, successor to the half-king; "White 
Thunder, the keeper of the speech-belts, and 
Silver Heels, so called, probably, from being 
swift of foot. 

Notwithstanding his secret contempt for the 
Indians, Braddock, agreeably to his instruc- 
tions, treated them with great ceremony. A 
grand council was held in his tent, where all 
his oflicers attended. The chiefs, and all the 
warriors, came painted and decorated for v,'ar. 
They were received with military honors, the 
guards resting on their fire-arms. The general 
made them a speech through his interpreter, 
expressing the grief of their father, the great 
king of England, at the death of the half-king. 



* Colonial Records, vi. 396. 



I 



60 



BRADDOCK'S OPINION OF CONTRACTORS AND INDIANS. 



[1765. 



and made them pi*esents to console them. They 
in return promised their aid as guides and 
scouts, and declared eternal enmity to the 
French, following the declaration with the war 
song, " making a terrible noise." 

The general, to regale and astonish them, 
ordered all the artillery to be fired, " the drums 
and fifes playing and beating the point of war ; " 
the fete ended by their feasting in their own 
camp, on a bullock which the general had given 
them, following up their repast by dancing the 
war dance round a fire, to the sound of their 
uncouth drums and rattles, " making night 
hideous," by howls and yellings. 

" I have engaged between forty and fifty In- 
dians from the frontiers of your province to go 
over the mountains with me," writes Brad- 
dock to Governor Morris, " and shall take 
Croghan and Montour into service." Croghan 
was, in eflfect, put in command of the Indians, 
and a warrant given to him of captain. 

For a time all went well. The Indians had 
their separate camp, where they passed half 
the night singing, dancing, and howling. The 
British were amused by their strange cere- 
monies, their savage antics, and savage decora- 
tions. The Indians, on the other hand, loitered 
by day about the English camp, fiercely painted 
and arrayed, gazing with silent admiration at 
the parade of the troops, their marchings and 
evolutions ; and delighted with the horse-races, 
with which the young ofiicers recreated them- 
selves. 

Unluckily the warriors had brought their fam- 
ilies with them to "Wills' Creek, and the women 
were even fonder than the men of loitering 
about the British camp. They were not desti- 
tute of attractions ; for the young squaws re- 
semble the gypsies, having seductive forms, 
small hands and feet, and soft voices. Among 
those who visited the camp was one who no 
doubt passed for an Indian princess. She was 
the daughter of the sachem. White Thunder, 
and bore the dazzling name of Bright Light- 
ning.* The charms of these wild-wood beau- 
ties were soon acknowledged. " The squaws," 
writes Secretary Peters, " bring in money plen- 
ty ; the officers are scandalously fond of them." t 

The jealousy of the warriors was aroused ; 
some of them became furious. To prevent dis- 
cord, the squaws were forbidden to come into 
the British camp. This did not prevent their 
being sought elsewhere. It Avas ultimately 

* Seamen's Journal. 

t Letter of Peters to Governor Morris. 



found necessary, for the sake of quiet, to send 
Bright Lightning, with all the other women 
and children, back to Aughquick. White 
Thunder, and several of the warriors, accompa- 
nied them for their protection. 

As to the three Delaware chiefs, they re- 
turned to the Ohio, promising the general they 
would collect their warriors together, and meet 
him on his march. They never kept their 
word. " These people are villains, and always 
side with the strongest," says a shrewd jour- 
nalist of the expedition. 

During the halt of the troops at Wills' Creek, 
Washington had been sent to Williamsburg to 
bring on four thousand pounds for the military 
chest. He returned, after a fortnight's absence, 
escorted from Winchester by eight men, " which 
eight men," writes he, " were two days assem- 
bling, but I believe would not have been more 
than as many seconds dispersing if I had been 
attacked." 

He found the general out of all patience and 
temper at the delays and disappointments in 
regard to horses, waggons, and forage, making 
no allowances for the difficulties incident to a 
new country, and to the novel and great de- 
mands upon its scanty arid scattered re- 
sources. 

He accused the army contractors of want of 
faith, honor, and honesty ; and in his moments 
of passion, which were many, extended the 
stigma to the whole country. This stung the 
patriotic sensibility of Washington, and over- 
came his usual self-command, and the proud, 
and passionate commander was occasionally 
surjirised by a well-merited rebuke from his 
aide-de-camp. " We have frequent disputes on 
this head," writes Washington, " which are 
maintained with warmth on both sides, espe- 
cially on his, as he is incapable of arguing 
without it, or of giving up any point he asserts, 
be it ever so incompatible with reason or com- 
mon sense." 

The same pertinacity was maintained with 
respect to the Indians. George Croghan in- 
formed Washington that the sachems consider- 
ed themselves treated with shght, in never 
being consulted in war matters. That he him- 
self had repeatedly offered the services of the 
warriors under his command as scouts and out- 
guards, but his offers had been rejected. Wash- 
ington ventured to interfere, and to urge their 
importance for such purposes, especially now 
when they were approaching the stronghold 
of the enemy. As usual, the general remained 



^T. 23.] ARRIVAL OF CONVEYANCES— MARCH FROM FORT CUMBERLAND. 



61 



bigoted in his belief of the all-suflBciency of 
well-disciplined troops. 

Either from disgust thus caused, or from 
being actually dismissed, the warriors began to 
disappear from the camp. It is said that Col- 
onel Innes, who was to remain in command at 
Fort Cumberland, advised the dismissal of all 
but a few to serve as guides ; certain it is, be- 
fore Braddock recommenced his march, none 
remained to accompany him but Scarooyadi, 
and eight of his warriors.* 

Seeing the general's impatience at the non- 
arrival of conveyances, Washington again rep- 
resented to him the difficulties he would en- 
counter in attempting to traverse the moun- 
tains with such a train of wheel-carriages, as- 
suring him it would be the most arduous part 
of the campaign ; and recommended, from his 
own experience, the substitution, as much as 
possible, of packhorses. Braddock, however, 
had not been sufficiently harassed by frontier 
campaigning to depart from his European 
modes, or to be swayed in his military opera- 
tions by so green a counsellor. 

At length the general was relieved from 
present perplexities by the arrival of the horses 
and waggons which Franklin had undertaken 
to procure. That eminent man, with his char- 
acteristic promptness and unwearied exertions, 
and by his great personal popularity, had ob- 
tained them from the reluctant Pennsylvania 
farmers, being obliged to pledge his own re- 
sponsibility for their being fully remunerated. 
He performed this laborious task out of pure 
zeal for the public service, neither expecting 
nor receiving emolument ; and, in fact, expe- 
riencing subsequently great delay and embar- 
rassment before he was relieved from the pe- 
cuniary responsibilities thus patriotically in- 
curred. 

The arrival of the conveyances put Braddock 
in good humor with Pennsylvania. In a letter 
to Governor Morris, he alludes to the threat 
of Sir John St. Clair to go through that prov- 
ince with a drawn sword in his hand. " He is 
ashamed of his having talked to you in the 
manner he did." StiU the general made Frank- 



* Braddock's own secretar}', "William Shirley, was dis- 
aflfected to him. Writing about him to Governor Morris, 
he satirically observes : " We have a general most judi- 
ciously chosen for being disqualified for the service he is 
employed in, in almost every respect." And of the second- 
ary officers, " As to them, I don't think we have much to 
boast. Some are insolent and Ignorant ; others capable, 
but rather aiming at showing their own abilities than 
making a proper use of them."— Colonial Records, vi. 405. 



Mn's contract for waggons the sole instance in 
which he had not experienced deceit and vil- 
lany. " I hope, however, in spite of aU this," 
adds he, " that we shall pass a merry Christ- 
mas together." 



CHAPTER XVI. 



^' 



On the 10th of June, Braddock set off from 
Fort Cumberland with his aides-de-camp, and 
others of his staff, and his body guard of light 
horse. Sir Peter Halket, with his brigade, had 
marched six days previously ; and a detach- 
ment of three hundred men, under the com- 
mand of Colonel Chapman, and the supervision 
of Sir John St. Clair, had been employed up- 
wards of ten days in cutting down trees, re- 
moving rocks, and opening a road. 

The march over the mountains proved, as 
"Washington had foretold, a "tremendous under- 
taking." It was with difficulty the heavily 
laden waggons could be dragged up the steep and 
rugged roads, newly made, or imperfectly re- 
paired. Often they extended for three or four 
miles in a straggling and broken line, with the 
soldiers so dispersed, in guarding them, that an 
attack on any side would have thrown the 
whole in confusion. It was the dreary region 
of the great Savage Mountain, and the " Shades 
of Death " that was again made to echo with 
the din of arms. 

"What outraged Washington's notions of the 
abstemious frugality suitable to campaigning 
in the " backwoods," was the great number of 
horses and waggons required by the officers for 
the transportation of their baggage, camp equi- 
page, and a thousand articles of artificial neces- 
sity. Simple himself in his tastes and habits, 
and manfully indifferent to personal indulgences, 
he almost doubted whether such sybarites in 
the camp could be efficient in the field. 

By the time the advanced corps had strug- 
gled over two mountains, and through the in- 
tervening forest, and reached (16th June) the 
Little Meadows, where Sir John St. Clair had 
made a temporary camp. General Braddock 
had become aware of the difference between 
campaigning in a new country, or on the old 
well beaten battle-grounds of Europe. He 
now, of his own accord, turned to Washington 
for advice, though it must have been a sore 
trial to his pride to seek it of so young a man ; 
but he had by this time sufficient proof of his 
sagacity, and his knowledge of the frontier. 



62 



CAMP AT LITTLE MEADOWS— CAPTAIN JACK AND HIS BAND, 



[1755. 



Thus unexpectedly called on, "Washington 
gave his couneel with becoming modesty, but 
with his accustomed clearness. There was just 
now an opportunity to strike an effective blow 
at Fort Duquesne, but it might be lost by de- 
lay. The garrison, according to credible re- 
ports, was weak ; large reinforcements and sup- 
plies, which were on their way, would be de- 
tained by the drought, which rendered the 
river by which they must come low and un- 
navigable. The blow must be struck before 
they could arrive. He advised the general, 
therefore, to divide his forces : leave one part 
to come on with the stores and baggage, and 
all the cumbrous appurtenances of an army, 
and to throw himself in the advance with the 
other part, composed of his choicest troops, 
lightened of every thing superfluous that might 
impede a rapid march. 

His advice was adopted. Twelve hundred 
men, selected out of all the companies, and 
furnished with ten field-pieces, were to form 
the first division, their provisions, and other 
necessaries, to be carried on packhorses. The 
second division, with all the stores, munitions, 
and heavy baggage, was to be brought on by 
Colonel Dunbar. 

The least practicable part of the arrange- 
ment was with regard to the oflScers of the ad- 
vance. Washington liad urged a retrenclnnent 
of their baggage and camp equipage, that as 
many of tlieir horses as possible might be 
used as packhorses. Here was the difficulty. 
Brought up, many of them, in fashionable and 
luxurious life, or the loitering indulgence of 
country quarters, they were so encumbered 
with what they considered indispensable ne- 
cessaries, that out of two hundred and twelve 
horses generally appropriated to their use, not 
more than a dozen could be spared by them 
for the public service. Washington, in his own 
case, acted up to the advice he had given. He 
retained no more clothing and effects with him 
than would about half fill a portmanteau, and 
gave up his best steed as a packhorse, — which 
he never heard of afterwards.* 

During the halt at the Little Meadows, Cap- 
tain Jack and his band of forest rangers, whom 
Croghan had engaged at Governor Morris's 
suggestion, made their appearance in the camp ; 
armed and equipped with rifle, knife, hunting- 
shirts, leggings and moccasins, and looking 
almost like a band of Indians as they issued 
from the woods. 



* Letter to J. Augustine Washington. Sparks, ii. 81. 



The captain asked an interview with the 
general, by whom, it would seem, he was not 
expected. Braddock received him in his tent, 
in his usual stiff' and stately manner. The 
" Black Eifle " spoke of himself and his fol- 
lowers as men inured to hardships, and accus- 
tomed to deal with Indians, who preferred 
stealth and stratagem to open warfare. He 
requested his company should be employed as 
a reconnoitring part to beat up the Indians in 
their lurking-places and ambuscades. 

Braddock, who had a sovereign contempt for 
the chivalry of the woods, and despised their 
boasted strategy, replied to the hero of the 
Pennsylvania settlements in a manner to which 
he had not been accustomed. " There Avas 
time enough," he said, " for making arrange- 
ments ; and he had experienced troops, on whom 
he could completely rely for all purposes." 

Captain Jack withdrew, indignant at so 
haughty a reception, and informed his leathern- 
clad followers of his rebuff. They forthwith 
shouldered their rifles, turned their backs upon 
the camp, and, headed by the captain, departed 
in Indian file through the woods, for the usual 
scenes of their exploits, where men knew their 
value, the banks of the Juniata or the Conoco- 
cheague.* 

On tlie 19th of June Braddock's first divi- 
sion set out with less than thirty carriages, in- 
cluding those that transported ammunition for 
the artillery, all strongly horsed. The Indians 
marched with the advanced party. In the 
coarse of the day Scarooyadi and his son being 
at a small distance from the line of march, was 
surrounded and taken by some French and In- 
dians. His son escaped, and brought intelli- 
gence to his warriors ; they hastened to rescue 
or revenge him, but found him tied to a tree. 
The French had been disposed to shoot him, 
but their savage allies declared they Avould 
abandon them should they do so ; having some 
tie of friendship or kindred with the chieftain, 
who thus rejoined the troops unharmed. 

AVashington was disappointed in his antici- 
pations of a rapid march. The general, though 
he had adopted his advice in the main, could 
not carry it out in detail. His mihtary educa- 
tion was in the way ; bigoted to the regular 
and elaborate tactics of Europe, he could not 



* On the Conococheaguc and Juniata is left the history 
of their exploits. At one time you may hear of the hand 
near Fort Augusta, next at Fort Franklin, then at Loudon, 
then at Juniata, — rapid were the movements of this hardy 
hand.— Hazard's Reg. Petin., iv. 390 ; also v. 194. 

i 



I 



Ml. 23.] 



ILLNESS OF WASHmGTON— MARCH OF BRADDOCK. 



63 



-toop to the make-shift expedients of a new 

*Ty where every difficulty is encountered 
lastered in a rough-and-ready style. " I 
XV., 1," said Washington, "that instead of 
pushing on with vigor, without regarding a 
little rough road, they were halting to level 
every mole hill, and to erect bridges over every 
brook, by which means we were four days in 
getting twelve miles." 

For several days "Washington had suffered 
from fever, accompanied by intense headache, 
and his illness increased in violence to such a 
degree that he was unable to ride, and had to 
be conveyed for a part of the time in a covered 
waggon. His illness continued without inter- 
mission until the 23d, " when I was relieved," 
says he, " by the general's absolutely ordering 
the physician to give me Dr. James's powders ; 
one of the most excellent medicines in the 
world. It gave me immediate relief, and re- 
moved my fever and other complaints in four 
days time." 

He was still unable to bear the jolting of the 
waggon, but it needed another interposition of 
the kindly-intended authority of General Brad- 
dock, to bring him to a halt at the great cross- 
ings of the Youghiogeny. There the general 
assigned him a guard, provided him with ne- 
cessaries, and requested him to remain, under 
care of his i)liysician Dr. Craik, until the arrival 
of Colonel Dunbar's detachment, which was 
two days' march in the rear ; giving him his 
word of honor that he should, at all events, be 
enabled to rejoin the main division before it 
reached the French fort.* 

This kind solicitude on the part of Braddock, 
shows the real estimation in which he was held 
by that officer. Doctor Craik backed the gen- 
eral's orders, by declaring that should Wash- 
ington persevere in his attempts to go on in 
the condition he then was, his life would be in 
danger. Orme also joined his entreaties, and 
promised if he would remain, he would keep 
him informed by letter of every occurrence of 
moment. 

Notwithstanding all the kind assurances of 
Braddock and his aide-de-camp Orme, it was 
with gloomy feelings that Washington saw the 
troops depart ; fearful he might not be able to 
rejoin them in time for the attack upon the 
fort, which he assured his brother aide-de- 
camp, he would not miss for five hundred 
pounds. 



* Letter to John Augustine "Washington. Sparks, ii. 80. 



Leaving Washington at the Youghiogeny, we 
will follow the march of Braddock. In the 
course of the first day, (June 24th) he came to 
a deserted Indian camp ; judging from the 
number of wigwams, there must have been 
about one hundred and seventy warrious. Some 
of the trees about it had been stripped, and 
painted with threats, and bravadoes, and scur- 
rilous taunts written on them in the French 
language, showing that there were white men 
with the savages. 

The next morning, at daybreak, three men 
venturing beyond the sentinels were shot and 
scalped ; parties were immediately sent out to 
scour the woods, and drive in the stray horses. 

The day's march passed by the Great Mead- 
ows and Fo»t Necessity, the scene of Wash- 
ington's capitulation. Several Indians were 
seen hovering in the woods, and the light horse 
and Indian allies were sent out to surround 
them, but did not succeed. In crossing a 
mountain beyond the Great Meadows, the car-» 
riages had to be lowered with the assistance of 
the sailors, by means of tackle. The camp for 
the night was about two miles beyond Fort 
Necessity. Several French and Indians endea- 
vored to reconnoitre it, but were fired upon by 
the advanced sentinels. 

The following day (26th) there was a labori- 
ous march of but four miles, owing to the diffi- 
culties of the road. The evening lialt was at 
another deserted Indian camp strongly posted 
on a high rock, with a steep and narrow ascent ; 
it had a spring in the middle, and stood at the 
termination of the Indian path to the Monon- 
gahela. By this pass the party had come which 
attacked Washington the year before, in the 
Great Meadows. The Indians and French too, 
who were hovering about the army, had just 
left this camp. The fires they had left were 
yet burning. The French had inscribed their 
names on some of the trees with insulting bra- 
vadoes, and the Indians had designated in tri- 
umph the scalps they had taken two days pre- 
viously. A party was sent out with guides, to 
foUow their tracks and fall on them in the 
night, but again without success. In fact, it 
was the Indian boast, that throughout this 
march of Braddock, they saw him every day 
from the mountains, and expected to be able to 
shoot down his soldiers " like pigeons." 

The march continued to be toilful and diffi- 
cult ; on one day it did not exceed two miles, 
having to cut a passage* over a mountain. In 
cleaning their guns the men were ordered to 



64 



INDIAN MURDERS— FUNERAL OF AN INDIAN WARRIOR. 



[1Y55. 



draw the charge, instead of firing it ofl". No 
fire was to be lighted in front of the pickets. 
At night the men were to talie their arms into 
the tents with them. 

Further on the precautions became still 
greater, • On the advanced pickets the men 
were in two divisions, relieving each other 
every two hours. Half remained on guard 
with fixed bayonets, the other half lay down 
by their arms. The picket sentinels were 
doubled. 

On the 4th of July they encamped at Thick- 
etty Eun. The country was less mountain- 
ous and rocky, and the woods, consisting chiefly 
of white pine, were more open. The general 
now supposed himself to be within thirty miles 
of Fort Duquesne, Ever since the halt at the 
deserted camp on the rock beyond the Great 
Meadows, he had endeavored to prevail upon 
the Croghan Indians to scout in the direction 
of the fort, and bring him intelligence, but 
•never could succeed. They had probably been 
deterred by the number of French and Indian 
tracks, and by the recent capture of Scarooyadi, 
This day, however, two consented to recon- 
noitre ; and shortly after their departure, Chris- 
topher Gist, the resolute pioneer, who acted 
as guide to the general, likewise set off as a 
scout. 

The Indians returned on the 6th. They had 
been close to Fort Duquesne. There were no 
additional works there ; they saw a few boats 
under the fort, and one with a white flag com- 
ing down the Ohio ; but there were few men 
to be seen and few tracks of any. They came 
upon an unfortunate oflficer shooting within 
half a mile of the fort, and brought a scalp as 
a trophy of his fate. None of the passes be- 
tween the camp and fort were occupied ; they 
beheved there were few men abroad reconnoi- 
tring. 

Gist returned soon after. His account cor- 
roborated theirs ; but he had seen a smoke in a 
valley between the camp and the fort, made 
probably by some scouting party. He had in- 
tended to prowl about the fort at night, but had 
been discovered and pursued by two Indians, 
and narrowly escaped with his life. 

On the same day, during the march, three or 
four men loitering in the rear of the grenadiers 
were killed and scalped. Several of the gren- 
adiers set off to take revenge. They came 
upon a party of Indians, who held up boughs 
and grounded their arms, the concerted sign of 
amity. Not perceiving or understanding it, 



the grenadiers fired upon them and one fell. 
It proved to be the son of Scarooyadi, Aware 
too late of their error, the grenadiers brought 
the body to the camp. The conduct of Brad- 
dock was admirable on the occasion. He sent 
for the father and the other Indians, and con- 
doled with them on the lamentable occurrence ; 
making them the customary presents of expia- 
tion. But what was more to the point, he 
caused the youth to be buried with the honors 
of war ; at his request the officers attended 
the funeral, and a voUey was fired over the 
grave. 

These soldierlike tributes of respect to the 
deceased, and sympathy with the survivors, 
soothed the feelings and gratified the pride of 
the father, and attached him more firmly to 
the service. We are glad to record an anec- 
dote so contrary to the general contempt for 
the Indians with which Braddock stands 
charged. It speaks weU for the real kindness 
of his heart. 

We wiU return now to Washington in his 
sick encampment on the banks of the Youghio- 
geny, where he was left repining at the depar- 
ture of the troops without him. To add to his 
annoyances, his servant, John Alton, a faithful 
Welshman, was taken ill with the same malady, 
and unable to render him any services. Letters 
from his fellow aides-de-camp showed him the 
kind solicitude that was felt concerning him. 
At the general's desire. Captain Morris wrote 
to him, informing him of their intended halts. 

" It is the desire of every individual in the 
family," adds he, " and the general's positive 
commands to you, not to stir, but by the ad- 
vice of the person [Dr. Craik] under whose 
care you are, till you are better, which we aU ' 
hope will be very soon," ' 

Orme, too, according to promise, kept him 
informed of the incidents of the march ; the 
frequent night alarms, and occasional scalping ' 
parties. The night alarms Washington con- 
sidered mere feints, designed to harass the men ' 
and retard the march ; the enemy, he was sure, ' 
had not sufficient force for a serious attack ; and ^ 
he was glad to learn from Orme that the men 
were in high spirits and confident of success. 

He now considered himself sufficiently re- 
covered to rejoin the troops, and his only anx- 
iety was that he should not be able to do it in ' 
time for the great blow. He was rejoiced, 
therefore, on the 3d of July, by the arrival of j 
an advanced party of one hundred men con- 
voying provisions. Being still too weak to 



^T. 23.] "WASHINGTON'S ARKIVAL AT THE CAMP— CROSSING THE FORDS. 



65 



mount his borse, he set off with the escort in 
a covered waggon ; and after a most fatiguing 
journey, over mountain and through forest, 
reached Braddock's camp on the 8th of July. 
It was on the east side of the Monongahela, 
about two miles from the river, in the neighbor- 
hood of the town of Queen Aliquippa, and 
about fifteen miles from Fort Duquesne. 

In consequence of adhering to technical rules 
and military forms, General Braddock had con- 
sumed a month in marching little more than a 
hundred miles. The tardiness of his progress 
was regarded with surprise and impatience 
even in Europe ; where his patron, the Duke 
of Brunswick, was watching the events of the 
campaign he had planned. " The Duke," writes 
Horace "Walpole, " is much dissatisfied at the 
slowness of General Braddock, who does not 
march as if he was at all impatient to he 
scalped.'''' The insinuation of the satirical wit 
was unmerited. Braddock was a stranger to 
fear ; but in his movements he was fettered by 
system, 

"Washington was warmly received on his ar- 
rival, especially by his fellow aides-de-camp, 
Morris and Orme. He was just in time, for 
the attack upon Fort Duquesne was to be made 
on the following day. The neighboring coun- 
try had been reconnoitred, to determine upon 
a plan of attack. The fort stood on the same 
side of the Monongahela with the camp ; but 
there was a narrow pass between them of 
about two miles, with the river on the left and 
a very high mountain on the right, and in its 
present state quite impassable for carriages. 
The route determined on was to cross the Mo- 
nongahela by a ford immediately opposite to the 
camp; proceed along the west bank of the river, 
for about five miles, then recross by another 
ford to the eastern side, and push on to the 
fort. The river at these fords was shallow, 
and the banks were not steep. 

According to the plan of arrangement, Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel Gage, with the advance, was to 
cross the river before daybreak, march to the 
second ford, and recrossing there, take post to 
secure the passage of the main force. The ad- 
vance was to be composed of two companies 
of grenadiers, one hundred and sixty infantry, 
the independent company of Captain Horatio 
Gates, and two six-pounders. 

"Washington, who had already seen enough 
of regular troops to doubt their infallibility in 
wild bush-fighting, and who knew the danger- 
ous nature of the ground they were to traverse, 
5 



ventured to suggest, that on the following day 
the Virginia rangers, being accustomed to the 
country and to Indian warfare, might be thrown 
in the adA^ance. The proposition drew an 
angry reply from the general, indignant, very 
probably, that a young ^^rovincial ofBcer should 
presume to school a veteran like himself. 

Early next morning (July 9th), before day- 
light. Colonel Gage crossed with the advance. 
He was followed, at some distance, by Sir John 
St. Clair, quartermaster-general, with a work- 
ing party of two hundred and fifty men, to 
make roads for the artillery and baggage. 
They had with them their waggons of tools 
and two six-pounders. A party of about thirty 
savages rushed out of the woods as Colonel 
Gage advanced, but were put to flight before 
they had done any harm. 

By sunrise the main body turned out in full 
uniform. At the beating of the general, their 
arms, which had been cleaned the night before, 
were charged with fresh cartridges. The offi- 
cers were perfectly equipped. All looked as if 
arrayed for a fete, rather than a battle. "Wash- 
ington, who was still weak and unwell, mount- 
ed his horse, and joined the staff of the general, 
who was scutinizing every thing with the eye 
of a martinet. As it was supposed the enemy 
would be on the watch for the crossing of the 
troops, it had been agreed that they should do ' 
it in the greatest order, with bayonets fixed, 
colors flying, and drums and fifes beating and 
playing.* They accordingly made a gallant ap- 
pearance as they forded the Monongahela, and 
wound along its banks, and through the open 
forests, gleaming and glittering in morning sun- 
shine, and stepping buoyantly to the Grena- 
dier's March. 

"Washington, with his keen and youthful 
relish for military affairs, was delighted with 
their perfect order and equipment, so different 
from the rough bush-fighters, to which he had 
been accustomed. Eoused to new life, he for- 
got his recent ailments, and broke forth in ex- 
pressions of enjoyment and admiration, as he 
rode in company with his fellow aides-de-camp, 
Oi'me and Morris. Often, in after life, he used 
to speak of the effect upon him of the first sight 
of a well-disciplined European army, marching 
in high confidence and bright array, on the eve 
of a battle. 

About noon they reached the second ford. 
Gage, with the advance, was*on the opposite 



■ Orme's Journal. 



66 



THE BATTLE— BUSH-FIGHTING. 



[1755, 



side of the Monongahela, posted according to 
orders ; but the river bank had not been suffi- 
ciently sloped. The artillery and baggage drew 
up along the beach and halted until one, when 
the second crossing took place, drums beating, 
fifes playing, and colors flying, as before. When 
all had passed, there Avas again a halt close by 
a small stream called Frazier's Eun, until the 
general arranged the order of march. 

First went the advance, under Gage, preceded 
by the engineers and guides, and six light horse- 
men. 

Then, Sir John St. Clair and the working 
party, with their waggons and the two six- 
pounders. On each side were thrown out four 
flanking parties. 

Then, at some distance, the general was to 
follow with the main body, the artillery and 
baggage preceded and flanked by light horse 
and squads of infantry ; while the Virginian, 
and other provincial troops, were to form the 
rear guard. 

The ground before them was level until 
about half a mile from the river, where a ris- 
ing ground covered with long grass, low bushes, 
and scattered trees, sloped gently up to a range 
of hills. The whole country, generally speak- 
ing, was a forest, with no clear opening but the 
road, which was about twelve feet wide, and 
flanked by two ravines, concealed by trees and 
thickets. 

Had Braddock been schooled in the warfare 
of the woods, or had he adopted the sugges- 
tions of "Washington, which he rejected so im- 
patieiitlj^, he would have thrown out Indian 
scouts or Virginia rangers in the advance, and 
on the flanks, to beat up the woods and ra- 
vines ; but, as has been sarcastically observed, 
he suffered his troops to march forward through 
the centre of the plain, with merely their usual 
guides and flanking parties, " as if in a review 
in St. James's Park." 

It was now near two o'clock. The advanced 
l)arty and the working party had crossed the 
plain, and were ascending the rising ground. 
Braddock was about to follow with the main 
body, and had given the word to march, when 
he heard an excessively quick and heavy firing 
in front! "Washington, who was with the gen- 
eral, surmised that the evil he had apprehended 
had come to pass. For want of scouting parties 
ahead the advance parties were suddenly and 
warmly attacked. Braddock ordered Lieuten- 
ant-Oolonei Burton to hasten to their assistance 
with the vanguard of the main body, eight 



hundred strong. The residue, four hundred, 
were halted, and posted to protect the artillery 
and baggage. 

The firing continued, with fearful yelling. 
There was a terrible uproar. By the general's 
orders, an aide-de-camp spurred forward to 
bring him an account of the nature of the at- 
tack, "Without waiting for his return the gen- 
eral himself, finding the tuiTQoil increase, moved 
forward, leaving Sir Peter Halket with the 
command of the baggage.* 

The van of the advance had indeed been 
taken by surprise. It was composed of two 
companies of carpenters or pioneers to cut the 
road, and two flank companies of grenadiers to 
protect them. Suddenly the engineer who 
preceded them to mark out the road gave the 
alarm, " French and Indians ! " A body of 
them was approaching rapidly, cheered on by 
a Frenchman in gaily fringed hunting-shirt, 
whose gorget showed him to be an oflicer. 
There was sharp firing on both sides at first. 
Several of the enemy fell ; among them their 
leader ; but a murderous fire broke out from 
among trees and a ravine on the right, and the 
woods resounded with unearthly whoops and 
yeUings. The Indian rifle was at work, lev- 
elled by unseen hands. Most of the grenadiers 
and many of the pioneers were shot down. 
The survivors were driven in on the ad- 
vance. 

Gage ordered his men to fix bayonets and 
foriii in order of battle. They did so in hurry 
and trepidation. He would have scaled a hill 
on the right vrhence there was the severest 
firing. Not a platoon would quit the line of 
march. They were more dismayed by the yells 
than by the rifles of the unseen savages. The 
latter extended themselves along the hill and 
in the ravines ; but their whereabouts was only 
known by their demoniac cries and the puflPs 
of smoke from their rifles. The soldiers fired 
wherever they saw the smoke. Their oflicers 
tried in vain to restrain them imtil they should 
see their foe. All orders were unheeded; in 
their fright they shot at random, killing some 
of their own flanking parties, and of the van- 
guard, as they came running in. The covert 
fire grew more intense. In a short time most 
of the officers and many of the men of the ad- 
vance were killed or wounded. Colonel Gage 
himself received a wound. The advance fell 
back in dismay upon Sir John St. Clair's corps, 

* Orme's JournaL 



^T. 23.] 



WASHINGTON IN ACTION. 



67 



which was equally dismayed. The cannon be- 
longing to it were deserted. 

Colonel Burton had come up with the rein- 
forcement, and was forming his men to face 
the rising ground on the right, when both of 
the advanced detachments fell back upon him, 
and all now was confusion. 

By this time the general was upon the 
ground. He tried to rally the men. "They 
would fight," they said, "if they could see 
their enemy ; but it was useless to fire at trees 
and bushes, and they could not stand to be shot 
down by an imnsible foe." 

The colors were advanced in diflferent places 
to separate the men of the two regiments. The 
general ordered the officers to form the men, 
tell them off into small divisions, and advance 
with them ; but the soldiers could not be pre- 
vailed upon either by threats or entreaties. 
The A^irginia troops, accustomed to the Indian 
mode of fighting, scattered themselves, and 
took post behind trees, whence they could pick 
oft" the lurking foe. In this way they, in some 
degree, protected the regiilars. "Washington 
advised General Braddock to adopt the same 
plan with the regulars ; but he persisted in 
forming them into platoons ; consequently they 
were cut down from behind logs and trees as 
fast as they could advance. Several attempted 
to take to the trees, without orders, but the 
general stormed at them, called them cowards, 
and even struck them with the flat of his 
sword. Several of the Virginians who had 
taken post and were doing good service in this 
manner, were slain by the fire of the regulars, 
directed wherever a smoke appeared among 
the trees. 

The officers behaved with consummate brav- 
ery; and "Washington beheld with admiration 
those who, in camp or on the march, had ap- 
peared to him to have an almost effeminate re- 
gard for personal ease and convenience, now 
exposing themselves to imminent death, with a 
courage that kindled with the thickening hor- 
rors. In the vain hope of inspiriting the men 
to drive off the enemy from the flanks and 
regain the cannon, they would dash forward 
singly or in groups. They were invariably shot 
down ; for the Indians aimed from their coverts 
at every one on horseback, or who appeared to 
have command. 

Some were killed by random shot of their 
own men, who, crowded in masses, fired with 
affrighted rapidity, but without aim. Soldiers 
in the front ranks were kiUed by those in the 



rear. Between friend and foe, the slaughter 
of the officers was terrible. All this while the 
woods resounded with the unearthly yellings 
of the savages, and now and then one of them, 
hideously painted, and ruffling with feathered 
crest, would rush forth to scalp an officer who 
had fallen, or seize a horse galloping wildly 
without a rider. 

Throughout this disastrous day, "Washington 
distingrdshed himself by his courage and pres- 
ence of mind. His brother aids, Orme and 
Morris, were wounded and disabled early in the 
action, and the whole duty of carrying the or- 
ders of the general devolved on him. I^s dan- 
ger was imminent and incessant. He was in 
every part of the field, a conspicuous mark for 
the murderous rifle. Two horses were shot un- 
der him. Four bullets passed through his coat. 
His escape without a wound was almost miracu- 
lous. Dr. Craik, who was on the field attending 
to the wounded, watched him with anxiety as 
he rode about in the most exposed manner, and 
used to say that he expected every moment to 
see him fall. At one time he was sent to the 
main body to bring the artillery into action. 
All there was likewise in confusion; for the 
Indians had extended themselves along the ra- 
vine so as to flank the reserve and carry slaugh- 
ter into the ranks. Sir Peter Halket had been 
shot down at the head of his regiment. The 
men who should have served the guns were 
paralyzed. Had they raked the ravines with 
grapeshot the day might have been saved. In 
his ardor "Washington sprang from his horse ; 
wheeled and i)ointed a brass field-piece with his 
own hand, and directed an effective discharge 
into the woods ; but neither his efforts nor ex- 
ample were of avail. The men could not be 
kept to the guns. 

Braddock still remained in the centre of the 
field, in the desperate hope of retrieving the 
fortunes of the day. The "Virginia rangers, 
who had been most efficient in covering his po- 
sition, were nearly all -killed or wounded. His 
secretary, Shirley, had fallen by his side. Many 
of his officers had been slain within his sight, 
and many of his guard of Virginia light horse. 
Five horses had been killed under him ; stiU he ' 
kept his ground, vainly endeavoring to check 
the flight of his men, or at least to effect their 
retreat in good order. At length a bullet passed 
through his right arm, and lodged itself in his 
lungs. He fell from his horse, but was caught 
by Captain Stewart of the Virginia guards, 
who, with the assistance of another American, 



68 



THE RETREAT— DEATH OF BRADDOCK. 



[1755. 



and a servant, placed liim in a tnnibril. It was 
with much diiBculty they got him out of the 
field — in his despair he desired to be left there.* 

The rout now became complete. Baggage, 
stores, artillery, every thing was abandoned. 
The waggoners took each a horse out of his 
team, and fled. The oflacers were swept off 
with the men in this headlong flight. It was 
rendered more precipitate by the shouts and 
yells of the savages, numbers of whom rushed 
forth from their coverts, and pursued the fugi- 
tives to the river side, killing several as they 
dashed across in tumultuous confusion. For- 
tunately for the latter, the victors gave up the 
pursuit in their eagerness to collect the spoil. 

The shattered army continued its flight after 
it had crossed the Monongahela, a wretched 
wreck of the brilliant little force that had re- 
cently gleamed along its banks, confident of 
victory. Out of eighty-six ofiicers, twenty-six 
had been killed, and thirty-six wounded. The 
number of rank and file killed and wounded 
was upwards of seven hundred. The Virginia 
corps had suffered the most ; one company had 
been almost annihilated, another, besides those 
killed and wounded in the ranks, had lost all its 
ofliicers, even to the corporal. 

About a hundred men were brought to a halt 
about a quarter of a mile from the ford of the 
river. Here was Braddock, with his wounded 
aides-de-camp and some of his oflBcers ; Dr. 
Craik dressing his wounds, and Washington at- 
tending him with faithful assiduity. Braddock 
was stiU able to give orders, and had a faint 
hope of being able to keep possession of the 
ground until reinforced. Most of the men were 
stationed in a very advantageous spot about 
two hundred yards from the road ; and Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel Burton posted out small parties 
and sentinels. Before an hour had elapsed, 
most of the men had stolen off. Being thus 
deserted, Braddock and his officers continued 
their retreat ; he would have mounted his horse 
but was unable, and had to be carried by 
soldiers. Orme and Morris were placed on lit- 
ters borne by horses. They were subsequently 
joined by Colonel Gage with eighty men whom 
he had rallied. 

Washington, in the mean time, notwithstand- 
ing his weak state, being found most efficient in 
frontier service, was sent to Colonel Dunbar's 
camp, forty miles distant, with orders for him 
to hurry forward provisions, hospital stores, and 

* Journal of the Seamen's detachment. 



waggons for the wounded, under the escort of 
two grenadier companies. It was a hard and 
a melancholy ride throughout the night and the 
foUowing day. The tidings of the defeat pre- 
ceded him, borne by the waggoners, who had 
mounted their horses, on Braddock's fall, and 
fled from the field of battle. They had arrived, 
haggard, at Dunbar's camp at mid-day ; the In- 
dian yell stiU ringing in their ears. " AH was 
lost ! " they cried. " Braddock was killed ! 
They had seen wounded officers borne off from 
the field in bloody sheets ! The troops were 
all cut to pieces ! " A panic fell upon the 
camp. The drums beat to arms. Many of the 
soldiers, waggoners, and attendants, took to 
flight ; but most of them were forced back by 
the sentinels. 

Washington arrived at the camp in the even- 
ing, and found the agitation still prevailing. 
The orders which he brought were executed 
during the night, and he was in the saddle early 
in the morning accompanying the convoy of 
supplies. At Gist's plantation, about thirteen 
miles off, he met Gage and his scanty force es- 
corting Braddock and his wounded officers. 
Captain Stewart and a sad remnant of the Vir- 
ginia light horse stiU accompanied the general 
as his guard. The captain had been unremitting 
in his attentions to him during the retreat. 
There was a halt of one day at Dunbar's camp 
for the repose and relief of the wounded. On 
the ISth they resumed their melancholy march, 
and that night reached the Great Meadows. 

The proud spirit of Braddock was broken by 
his defeat. He remained silent the first even- 
ing after the battle, only ejaculating at night, 
" Who would have thought it ! " He was 
equally silent the following day ; yet hope still 
seemed to linger in his breast, from another 
ejaculation : " We shall better know how to 
deal with them another time ! " * 

He was grateful for the attentions paid to him 
by Captain Stewart and Washington, and more 
than once, it is said, expressed his admiration 
of the gallantry displayed by the Virginians 
in the action. It is said, moreover, that in his 
last moments, he apologized to Washington for 
the petulance with which he had rejected his 
advice, and bequeathed to him his favorite 



* Captain Orme, who gave these particulars to Dr. 
Franklin, says that Braddock " died a few m.inutes after." 
This, according to his account, was on the second day; 
whereas tlio general survived upwards of four days. 
Orme, being conveyed on a litter at some distance from 
the general, could only speak of his moods from hearsay. 






^T. 23.] 



LETTERS OF WASHINGTON TO HIS FAMILY. 



69 



cliarger and his faithful servant, Bishop, who 
had helped to convey him from the field. 

Some of these facts, it is true, rest on tradi- 
tion, yet we are willing to believe them, as they 
impart a gleam of just and generous feeling to 
his closing scene. He died on the night of the 
13th, at the Great Meadows, the place of "Wash- 
ington's discomfiture in tlie previous year. His 
obsequies were performed before break of day. 
The chaplain having been wounded, Washington 
read the funeral service. All was done in sad- 
ness, and without parade, so as not to attract 
the attention of lurking savages, who might 
discover and outrage his grave. It is doubtful 
even whether a volley was fired over it, that 
last military honor which he had recently paid 
to the remains of an Indian warrior. The place 
of his sepulture, however, is still known, and 
pointed out. 

Reproach spared him not, even when in his 
grave. The failure of the expedition was at- 
tributed both in England and America to his 
obstinacy, his technical pedantry, and his mili- 
tary conceit. He had been continually warned 
to be on his guard against ambush and surprise, 
but without avail. Had he taken the advice 
urged on him by Washington and others to em- 
ploy scouting parties of Indians and rangers, 
he would never have been so signally surprised 
and defeated. 

StiU his dauntless conduct on the field of bat- 
tle shows him to have been a man of fearless 
spirit ; and he was universally allowed to be an 
accomplished disciplinarian. His melancholy 
end, too, disarms censure of its asperity. 
Whatever may have been his faults and errors, 
he, in a manner, expiated them by the hardest 
lot that can befall a brave soldier, ambitious 
of renown — an nnhonored grave in a strange 
land ; a memory clouded by misfortune, and a 
name forever coupled with defeat. 

»• FOTE. 

In narrating the expedition of Braddock, we have 
frequently cited the journals of Captain Oi-me and of 
the "Seamen's Detachment;" they were procured in 
England by the Hon. Joseph E. Ingersoll, while Minis- 
ter at the Court of St. James, and recently published 
by the Historical Society of Pennsylvania: ably edited, 
and illustrated with an admirable Introductory Me- 
moir by Winthrop Sargent, Esq., member of that 
Society. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

The obsequies of the unfortunate Braddock 
being finished, the escort continued its retreat 
with the sick and wounded. Washington, as- 
sisted by Dr. Craik, watched with assiduity 
over his comrades Orme and Morris. As the 
horses which bore their litters were nearly 
knocked up, he despatched messengers to the 
commander of Fort Cumberland, requesting 
that others might be sent on, and that comfort- 
able quarters might be prepared for the recep- 
tion of those officers. 

On the 17th, the sad cavalcade reached the 
fort, and were relieved from the incessant ap- 
prehension of pursuit. Here, too, flying re- 
ports had preceded them, brought by fugitives 
from the battle ; who, with the disposition 
usual in such cases to exaggerate, had repre- 
sented the whole army as massacred. Fearing 
these reports might reach home, and affect his 
family, Washington wrote to his mother, and 
his brother, John Augustine, apprising them of 
his safety. " The Virginia troops," says he, in 
a letter to his mother, " showed a good deal of 
bravery, and were nearly all killed. * * * 
The dastardly behavior of those they called 
regulars, exposed all others that were ordered 
to do their duty, to almost certain death ; and, 
at last, in despite of all the eflforts of the officers 
to the contrary, they ran, as sheep pursued by 
dogs, and it was impossible to rally them." 

To his brother, he writes : " As I have heard, 
since my arrival at this place, a circumstantial 
account of my death and dying speech, I take 
this early opportunity of contradicting the first, 
and of assuring you that I have not composed 
the latter. But, by the aU-powerful dispensa- 
tions of Providence, I have been protected be- 
yond all human probability, or expectation ; for 
I had four bullets through my coat and two 
horses shot under me, yet escaped unhurt, 
though death was levelling my companions on 
every side of me I 

" We have been most scandalously beaten by 
a trifling body of men, but fatigue and want of 
time prevent me from giving you any of the 
details, until I have the happiness of seeing you ■ 
at Mount Vernon, which I now most earnestly 
wish for, since we are driven in thus far. A 
feeble state of health obliges me to halt here 
for two or three days to recover a little strength, 
that I may thereby be enabled to proceed 
homeward with more ease," 



70 



TRIUMPH OF THE FRENCH— COSTS OF CAMPAIGXIXG. 



[lY5o. 



Dunbar arrived shortly afterward with the 
remainder of the army. No one seems to have 
shared more largely in the panic of the vulgar 
than that oflBcer. From the moment he receiv- 
ed tidings of the defeat, his camp became a 
scene of confusion. All the ammunition, stores, 
and artillery were destroyed, to prevent, it was 
said, their faUiug into the hands of the enemy ; 
but, as it was afterwards alleged, to relieve the 
terror-stricken commander from all incum- 
brances, and furnish him with more horses in 
his flight towards the settlements. 

At Cumberland his forces amoimted to fifteen 
hundred etFective men ; enough for a brave 
stand to protect the frontier, and recover some 
of the lost honor; but he merely paused to 
leave the sick and wounded under care of two 
Virginia and Maryland companies, and some of 
the train, and then continued his hasty march, 
or rather flight, through the country, not think- 
ing himself safe, as was sneeringly intimated, 
until he arrived in Philadelphia, where the in- 
habitants could protect him. 

The true reason why the enemy did not pur- 
sue the retreating army was not known until 
some time afterwards, and added to the disgrace 
of the defeat. They were not the main force 
of the French, but a mere detachment of 72 
regulars, 146 Canadians, and C37 Indians, 855 
in all, led by Captain de Beaujeu. De Contre- 
cceur, the commander of Fort Duquesne, had 
received information, through his scouts, that 
the English, three thousand strong, were within 
six leagues of his fort. Despairing of making 
an effectual defence against such a superior 
force, he was balancing in his mind whether to 
abandon his fort without waiting their arrival, 
or to capitulate on honorable terms. In this 
dilemma Beaujeu prevailed on him to let him 
sally forth with a detachment to form an am- 
bush, and give check to the enemy, De Beau- 
jeu was to have taken post at the river, and 
disputed the passage at the ford. For that pur- 
pose he was hurrying forward when discovered 
by the pioneers of Gage's advance party. lie 
was a gallant officer, and fell at the beginning 
of the fight. . The whole number of killed and 
wounded of French and Indians, did not exceed 
seventy. 

Such was the scanty force Avhich the imagina- 
tion of the panic-stricken army had magnified 
into a great host, and from wliich they had fled 
in breathless terror, abandoning the whole fron- 
tier. No one could be more surprised than the 
French commander himself, when the ambus- 



cading party returned in triumph with a long 
train of packhorses laden with booty, the sav- 
ages uncouthly clad in the garments of the 
slain, grenadier caps, officers' gold-laced coats, 
and glittering epaulettes ; flourishing swords 
and sabres, or firing oft' muskets, and uttering 
fiendlike yells of victory. But when De Con- 
trecosur was informed of the utter rout and de- 
struction of the much-dreaded British army, 
his joy was complete. He ordered the guns of 
the fort to be fired in triumph, and sent out 
troops in pursuit of the fugitives. 

The afiair of Braddock remains a memorable 
event in American history, and has been char- 
acterized as " the most extraordinary victory 
ever obtained, and the farthest flight ever 
made." It struck a fatal bloAv to the deference 
for British prowess, which once amounted al- 
most to bigotry, throughout the provinces. 
" This whole transaction," observes Franklin, 
in his autobiography, " gave us the first suspi- 
cion that our exalted ideas of the prowess of 
British regular troops had not been well found- 
ed." 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

Washington arrived at Mount Vernon on the 
26lh of July, still in feeble condition from his 
long illness. His campaigning, thus far, had 
trenched upon his private fortune, and impaired 
one of the best of constitutions. 

In a letter to his brother Augustine, then a ' 
member of Assembly at "Williamsburg, he casts 
up the result of his frontier experience. " I 
was employed," writes he, " to go a journey in 
the winter, when I believe few or none would ( 
have undertaken it, and what did I get by it ? * 
— my expenses borne ! I was then appointed, * 
with trifling pay, to conduct a handful of men 
to the Ohio. What did I get by that ? Why, 
after putting myself to a considerable expense 
in equipping and providing necessaries for the 
campaign, I went out, Avas soundly beaten, and 
lost all! Came in, and had my commission 
taken from me ; or, in other words, my com- 
mand reduced, under pretence of an order from 
liome (England). I then went out a volunteer 
with General Braddock, and lost all my horses, 
and many other things. But this being a vol- 
untary act, I ought not to have mentioned it ; 
nor should I have done it, were it not to show 
that I have been on the losing order ever since 









JEt. 23.] MEASURES FOR PUBLIC SAFETY— WASUINGTON TO HIS MOTHER. 



1 



I entered the service, which is now nearly two 
years." 

"What a striking lesson is furnished by this 
brief summary ! How little was he aware of 
the vast advantages he was acquiring in this 
school of bitter experience ! " In the hand of 
heaven he stood," to be shaped and trained for 
its great purpose ; and every trial and vicissitude 
of his early life, but fitted him to cope with one 
or other of the varied and multifarious duties 
of his future destiny. 

But though, under the saddening influence 
of debility and defeat, he might count the cost 
of his campaigning, the martial spirit still burned 
within him. His connection with the army, it 
is true, had ceased at the death of Braddock, 
but his military duties continued as adjutant- 
general of the northern division of the province, 
and he immediately issued orders for the county 
lieutenants to hold the militia in readiness for 
parade and exercise, foreseeing that, in the 
present defenceless state of the fi'ontier, there 
would be need of their services. 

Tidings of the rout and retreat of the army 
had circulated far and near, and spread conster- 
nation throughout the country. Immediate in- 
cursions both of French and Indians were ap- 
prehended ; and volunteer companies began to 
form, for the purpose of marching across the 
mountains to the scene of danger. It was inti- 
mated to "Washington that his services would 
again be wanted on the frontier. He declared 
instantly that he was ready to serve his country 
to the extent of his powers ; but never on the 
same terms as heretofore. 

On the 4th of August, Governor Dinwiddie 
convened the Assembly, to devise measures for 
the public safety. The sense of danger had 
quickened the slow patriotism of the burgesses ; 
they no longer held back supplies ; forty thou- 
sand pounds were promptly voted, and orders 
issued for the raising of a regiment of one 
thousand men. 

Washington's friends urged him to present 
himself at "Williamsburg as a candidate for the 
command ; they were confident of his success, 
notwithstanding that strong interest was mak- 
ing for the governor's favorite. Colonel Innes. 

"With mingled modesty and pride, "Washington 
declined to be a solicitor. The only terms, he 
said, on which he would accept a command, 
were a certainty as to rank and emoluments, a 
right to appoint his field officers, and the supply 
of a suflicient military chest ; but to sohcit the 
command, and, at the same time, to make stip- 



ulations, would be a little incongruous, and 
carry with it the face of self-sufiiciency. " If," 
added he, " the command should be offered to 
me, the case will then be altered, as I should 
be at liberty to make such objections as reason, 
and my small experience, have pointed out." 

"While this was in agitation, he received let- 
ters from his mother, again imploring him not 
to risk himself in these frontier wars. His an- 
swer was characteristic, blending the filial def- 
erence with which he was accustomed from 
childhood to treat her, with a cahu patriotism 
of the Eoman stamp. 

" Honored Madam : If it is in my power to 
avoid going to the Ohio again, I shall ; biit if 
the command is pressed upon me by the general 
voice of the country, and offered upon such 
terms as cannot be objected against, it would 
reflect dishonor on me to refuse it ; and that, I 
am sure, must, and ought to, give you greater 
uneasiness, than my going in an honorable com- 
mand. Upon no other terms will I accept it. 
At present I have no proposals made to me, nor 
have I any advice of such an intention, except 
from private hands." 

On the very day that this letter was de- 
spatched (Aug. 14), he received intelligence of 
his appointment to the command on the terms 
specified in his letters to his friends. His com- 
mission nominated him commander-in-chief of 
all the forces raised, or to be raised in the colo- 
ny. The Assembly also voted three hundred 
pounds to him, and proportionate sums to the 
other officers, and to the privates of the Vir- 
ginia companies, in consideration of their gal- 
lant conduct, and their losses in the late battle. 

The oflicers next in command under him were 
Lieutenant-Colonel ^am Stephens, and Major 
Andrew Lewis. The former, it wiU be recol- 
lected, had been with him in the unfortunate 
affair at the Great Meadows ; his advance in 
rank shows that his conduct had been meritori- 
ous. 

The appointment of "Washington to his pres- 
ent station was the more gratifying and honor- 
able from being a popular one, made in deference 
to public sentiment ; to which Governor Din- 
widdie was obliged to sacrifice his strong incli- 
nation in favor of Colonel limes. It is thought 
that the governor never afterwards regarded 
"Washington with a friendly eye. His conduct 
towards him subsequently was on vaiious occa- 
sions cold and ungracious.* 



* Sparks' Writings of Washington, vol. ii., p. 161, note. 



72 



WASHINGTON IN COMMAND— HEAD-QUARTEKS AT WINCHESTER. 



[1755. 



It is worthy of note that the early popularity 
of Washington was not the result of brilliant 
achievements nor signal success ; on the contra- 
ry, it rose among trials and reverses, and may 
almost be said to have been the fruit of defeats. 
It remains an honorable testimony of Virginian 
intelligence, that the sterling, enduring, but 
undazzling qualities of Washington, were thus 
early discerned and appreciated, though only 
heralded by misfortunes. The admirable man- 
ner in which he had conducted himself under 
these misfortunes, and the sagacity and practi- 
cal wisdom he had displayed on all occasions, 
were universally acknowledged ; and it was ob- 
served that, had his modest counsels been 
adopted by the unfortunate Braddock, a totally 
diflerent result might have attended the late 
campaign. 

An instance of this high appreciation of his 
merits occurs in a sermon preached on the 17th 
of August by the Rev. Samuel Davis, wherein 
he cites him as " that heroic youth. Colonel 
Washington, whom I cannot 'biit'hofe Providence 
"has Idtherto presevTcd in so signal a manner for 
some important service to his country.'''' The 
expressions of the worthy clergyman may have 
been deemed enthusiastic at the time ; viewed 
in connection with subsequent events they ap- 
pear almost prophetic. 

Having held a conference with Governor 
Dinwiddle at Williamsburg, and received his 
instructions, Wasliington repaired, on the 14th 
of September, to Winchester, where he fixed 
his head-quarters. It was a place as yet of tri- 
fling magnitude, but important from its posi- 
tion ; being a central point where the main 
roads met, leading from north to south, and east 
to west, and commanding*the channels of traffic 
and communication between some of the most 
important colonies and a great extent of fron- 
tier. 

Here he was brought into frequent and cor- 
dial communication with his old friend Lord 
Fairfax. The stir of war had revived the spark 
of that military fire which animated the veteran 
nobleman in the days of his youth, when an 
officer in the cavaliy regiment of the Blues. 
He was lord-lieutenant of the county. Green- 
way Court was his head-quarters. He had or- 
ganized a troop of horse, which occasionally 
was exercised about the lawn of his domain, 
and he was now as prompt to mount his steed 
for a cavalry parade as he ever was for a fox 
chase. The arrival of Washington frequently 
brought the old nobleman to Winchester to aid 



the young commander with his counsels or his 
sword. 

His services were soon put in requisition. 
Washington, having visited the frontier posts, 
established recruiting places, and taken other 
measures of security, had set off for Williams- 
burg on mihtary business, when an express 
arrived at Winchester from Colonel Stephens, 
who commanded at Fort Cumberland, giving 
the alarm that a body of Indians were ravag- 
ing the country, burning the houses, and 
slaughtering the inhabitants. The express was 
instantly forwarded after Washington ; in the 
mean time, Lord Fairfax sent out orders for 
the militia of Fairfax and Prince William coun- 
ties to arm and hasten to the defence of Win- 
chester, where all was confusion and affright. 
One fearful account followed another. The 
whole country beyond it was said to be at the 
mercy of the savages. They had blockaded 
the rangers in the little fortresses or outposts 
provided for the protection of neighborhoods. 
They were advancing upon Winchester with 
fire, tomahawk, and scalping-knife. The coun- 
try people were flocking into the town for 
safety — the townspeople were moving off to 
the settlements beyond the Blue Eidge. The 
beautiful valley of the Shenandoah Vv-as likely 
to become a scene of savage desolation. 

In the height of the confusion Wasliington 
rode into the town. He had been overtaken 
by Colonel Stephens' express. His presence 
inspired some degree of confidence, and he suc- 
ceeded in stopping most of the fugitives. He 
would have taken the field at once against the 
savages, believing their numbers to be few ; 
but not more than twenty-five of the militia 
could be mustered for the service. The rest 
refused to stir — they would rather die with 
their wives and children. 

Expresses were sent off to hurry up the 
militia ordered out by Lord Fairfax. Scouts 
were ordered out to discover the number of 
the foe, and convey assurances of succor to the 
rangers said to be blocked up in the fortresses, 
though Washington suspected the latter to 
be "more encompassed by fear than by the 
enemy." Smiths were set to work to furbish 
up and repair such firearms as were in the 
place, and waggons were sent off" for musket 
balls, flints, and provisions. 

Instead, however, of animated co-operation, 
Washington was encountered by difficulties at 
every step. The waggons in question had to 
be impressed, and the waggoners compelled by 



i 



JEt. 23.] 



PANIC AT WINCHESTER— INDIAN RAVAGES. 



73 



force to assist. " No orders," writes he, " are 
obeyed, but such as a party of soldiers or my 
own drawn sword enforces. Without this, not 
a single horse, for the most earnest occasion, 
can be had, — to such a pitch has the insolence 
of these people arrived, by having every point 
hitherto submitted to them. However, I have 
given up none, where his majesty's service re- 
quires the contrary, and where my proceedings 
are justified by my instructions ; nor will I, 
unless they execute what they threaten — that 
is, blow out our brains." 

One is tempted to smile at this tirade about 
the " insolence of the people," and this zeal for 
" his majesty's service," on the part of Wash- 
ington ; but he was as yet a young man and a 
young oflScer ; loyal to his sovereign, and with 
high notions of military authority, which he 
had acquired in the camp of Braddock. 

What he thus terms insolence was the dawn- 
ing spirit of independence, which he was after- 
wards the foremost to cherish and promote ; 
and which, in the present instance, had been 
provoked by the rough treatment from the 
military, which the waggoners and others of 
the yeomanry had experienced when employed 
in Braddock's campaign, and by the neglect to 
pay them for their services. Much of Wash- 
ington's difficulties also arose, doubtlessly, 
from the inefficiency of the military laws, for 
an amendment of which ho had in vain made 
repeated applications to Governor Dinwiddle. 

In the mean time the panic and confusion 
increased. On Sunday an express hurried into 
town, breathless with haste and terror. The 
Indians, he said, were but twelve miles off; 
they had attacked the house of Isaac Julian ; 
the inhabitants were flying for their lives. 
Washington immediately ordered the town 
guards to be strengthened ; armed some re- 
cruits who had just arrived, and sent out two 
scouts to reconnoitre the enemy. It was a 
sleepless night in Winchester. Horror in- 
creased with the dawn ; before the men could 
be paraded a second express arrived, ten times 
more terrified than the former. The Indians 
were Avithin four miles of the town, killing and 
destroying all before them. He had heard the 
constant firing of the savages and the shrieks of 
their victims. 

The terror of Winchester now passed all 
bounds. Washington put himself at the head 
of about forty men, militia and recruits, and 
pushed for the scene of carnage. 

The result is almost too ludicrous for record. 



The whole cause of the alarm proved to be 
three drunken troopers, carousing, hallooing, 
uttering the most unheard of imprecations, 
and ever and anon firing off their pistols. 
Washington interrupted them in the midst of 
their revel and blasphemy, and conducted them 
prisoners to town. 

The reported attack on the house of Isaac 
Julian proved equally an absurd exaggeration. 
The ferocious party of Indians turned out to 
be a mulatto and a negro in quest of cattle. 
They had been seen by a child of Julian, who 
alarmed his father, who alarmed the neighbor- 
hood. 

"These circumstances," says Washington, 
" show what a panic prevails among the peo- 
ple ; how much they are all alarmed at the 
most usual and customary cries ; and yet how 
impossible it is to get them to act in any re- 
spect for their common safety." 

They certainly present a lively picture of the 
feverish state of a frontier community, hourly 
in danger of Indian ravage and butchery ; than 
which no kind of v^arfare is more fraught with 
real and imaginary horrors. 

The alarm thus originating had spread 
throughout the country. A captain, who ar- 
rived with recruits from Alexandria, reported 
that he had found the road across the Blue 
Ridge obstructed by crowds of people flying 
for their lives, whom he endeavored in vain to 
stop. They declared that Winchester was in 
flames ! 

At length the band of Indians, whose rav- 
ages had produced this consternation through- 
out the land, and whose numbers did not ex- 
ceed one hundred and fifty, being satiated with 
carnage, conflagration, and plunder, retreated, 
bearing off spoils and captives. Intelligent 
scouts sent out by Washington followed their 
traces, and brought back certain intelligence 
that they had recrossed the Allegany Moun- 
tains and returned to their homes on the Ohio. 
This report allayed the public panic, and re- 
stored temporary quiet to the harassed fron- 
tier. 

Most of the Indians engaged in these ravages 
were Delawares and Shawnees, who, since 
Braddock's defeat, had been gained over by 
the French. A principal instigator was said to 
be Washington's old acquaintance, Shengis, and 
a reward was offei'ed for his head. 

Scarooyadi, successor to the half-king, re- 
mained true to the English, and vindicated his 
people to the Governor and Council of Penn- 



74 



OPERATIONS ELSEWHERE— JOHNSON ON LAKE GEORGE. 



[1*755. 



sylvania from the charge of having had any 
share in the late massacres. As to the defeat 
at the Monongahela, " it was owing," he said, 
" to the pride and ignorance of that great gen- 
eral (Braddock) that came fi'om England. He 
is now dead ; but he was a bad man when he 
was alive. He looked upon us as dogs, and 
would never hear any thing that was said to 
Mm, We often endeavored to advise him, and 
teU him of the danger he was in with his sol- 
diers ; but he never appeared pleased with us, 
and that was the reason that a great many of 
our warriors left him." * 

Scarooyadi was ready with his warriors to 
take up the hatchet again with their English 
brothers against the French, " Let us unite 
our strength," said he ; "you are numerous, and 
all the English governors along your sea-shore 
can raise men enough ; but don't let those that 
come from over the great seas be concerned 
any more. Tliey are unfit to fight in. the woods. 
Let its go ourselves — we that came out of this 
ffrouncV 

No one felt more strongly than "Washington 
the importance, at this trying juncture, of se- 
curing the assistance of these forest warriors. 
" It is in their power," said he,' " to be of in- 
finite use to us ; and without Indians, we shall 
never be able to cope with these cruel foes to 
our country," f 

Washington had now time to inform himself 
of the fate of the other enterprises included in 
this year's plan of military operations. We 
shall briefly dispose of them for the sake of 
carrying on the general course of events. The 
history of Washington is linked with the his- 
tory of the colonies. The defeat of Braddock 
paralyzed the expedition against Niagara. Many 
of General Shirley's troop, which were assem- 
bled at Albany, struck Avith the consternation 
which it caused throughout the country, de- 
serted. Most of the bateau men, who were to 
transport stores by various streams, returned 
home. It was near the end of August before 
Shirley was in force at Oswego. Time was 
lost in building boats for the lake. Storms and 
head winds ensued ; then sickness : military 
incapacity in the general completed the list of 
impediments. Deferring the completion of the 
enterprise until the following year, Shirley re- 
turned to Albany with the main part of his 
forces in (October, leaving about seven hundred 



* Hazard's Register of Penn., v., pp. 252, 266. 
t Letter to Dinwiddle. 



men to garrison the fortifications he had com- 
menced at Oswego. 

To General William Johnson, it will be re- 
collected, had been confided the expedition 
against Crown Point, on Lake Champlain. 
Preparations were made for it in Albany, 
whence the troops were to march, and the 
artiUery, ammunition, and stores to be con- 
veyed up the Hudson to the carrying-place be- 
tween that river and Lake St. Sacrament, as it 
was termed by the French, but Lake George, 
as Johnson named it, in honor of his sovereign. 
At the carryiug-place a fort was commenced, 
subsequently called Fort Edward. Part of the 
troops remained under General Lyman, to com- 
plete and garrison it ; the main force proceeded 
under General Johnson to Lake George, the 
plan being to descend that lake to its outlet at 
Ticonderoga, in Lake Champlain. Having to 
attend the arrival of bateaux forwarded for the 
purpose from Albany by the carrying-place, 
Johnson encamped at the south end of the lake. 
He had with him between five and six thou- 
sand troops of New York and New England, 
and a host of Mohawk warriors, loyally devoted 
to him. 

It so happened that a French force of up- 
wards of three thousand men, under the Baron 
de Dieskau, an old general of high reputation, 
had recently arrived at Quebec, destined against 
Oswego. The baron had proceeded to Mont- 
real, and sent forward thence seven hundred of 
his troops, when news arrived of the army 
gathering on Lake George for the attack on 
Crown Point, perhaps for an inroad into Can- 
ada. The public w^ere in consternation ; yield- 
ing to their importunities, the baron took post 
at Crown Point for its defence. Beside his 
regular troops, he had with him eight hundred 
Canadians, and seven hundred Indians of differ- 
ent tribes. The latter were under the general 
command of the Chevaher Legardeur de St. 
Pierre, the veteran officer to whom Washing- 
ton had delivered the despatches of Governor 
Dinwiddle on his diplomatic mission to the 
frontier. The chevalier was a man of great in- 
fluence among the Indians. 

In the mean time Johnson remained encamp- 
ed at the south end of Lake George, awaiting 
the arrival of the bateaux. The camp was pro- 
tected in the rear by the lake, in front by a 
bulwark of felled trees; and was flanked by 
thickly wooded swamps. 

On the 7th of September, the Indian scouts 
brought word that they had discovered three 



•.,«^*«mF"iif^'''^^" ■■' '^ 




Mt. 23.] 



AFFAIR AT LAKE GEORGE— DEATH OF DIESKAU. 



75 



large roads made through the forest toward 
Fort Edward. An attack on that post was ap- 
prehended. Adams, a hardy waggoner, rode 
express with orders to the commander to draw 
all the troops within the works. About mid- 
night came other scouts. They had seen the 
French within four miles of the carrying-place. 
They had heard the report of a musket, and 
the voice of a man crying for mercy, supposed 
to he the unfortunate Adams. In the morning 
Colonel "Williams was detached with one thou- 
sand men, and two hundred Indians, to inter- 
cept the enemy in their retreat. 

Within two hours after their departure a 
heavy fire of musketry, in the midst of the 
forest, about three or four miles ofi', told of a 
warm encounter. The drums beat to arms ; 
all Avere at their posts. The firing grew 
sharper and sharper, and nearer and nearer. 
The detachment under Williams was evidently 
retreating. Colonel Cole was sent with three 
hundred men to cover their retreat. The 
breastwork of trees was manned. Some heavy 
cannon were dragged up to strengthen the 
front. A number of men were stationed with 
a field-piece on an eminence on the left flank. 

In a short time fugitives made their appear- 
ance ; first singly, then in masses, flying in con- 
fusion, with a rattling fire behind them, and 
the horrible Indian war-whoop. Consternation 
seized upon the camp, especially when the 
French emerged from the forest in battle array, 
led by the Baron de Dieskau, the gallant com- 
mander of Crown Point. Had all his troops 
been as daring as himself, the camp might have 
been carried by assault ; but the Canadians and 
Indians held back, posted themselves behind 
trees, and took to bush-fighting. 

The baron was left with his regulars (two 
hundred grenadiers) in front of the camp. He 
kept up a fire by platoons, but at too great a 
distance to do much mischief ; the Canadians 
and Indians fired from their coverts. The ar- 
tillery played on them in return. The camp, 
having recovered from its panic, opened a fire 
of musketry. The engagement became general. 
The French grenadiers stood their ground 
bravely for a long time, but were dreadfully 
cut up by the artillery and small arms. The 
action slackened on the part of the French, 
until, after a long contest, they gave way. 
Johnson's men and the Indians then leaped 
over the breastwork, and a chance medley fight 
ensued, that ended in the slaughter, rout, or 
capture of the enemy. 



The Baron de Dieskau had been disabled by 
a wound in the leg. One of his men, who en- 
deavored to assist him, was shot down by his 
side. The baron, left alone in the retreat, was 
found by the pursuers leaning against the 
stump of a tree. As they approached, he felt 
for his watch . to insure kind treatment by 
delivering it up. A soldier, thinking he was 
drawing forth a pistol to defend himself, shot 
him through the hips. He was conveyed a 
prisoner to the camp, but ultimately died of his 
wounds. 

The baron had really set ofi" from Crown 
Poipt to surprise Fort Edward, and, if success- 
ful, to push on to Albany and Schenectady ; 
lay them in ashes, and cut off aU communication 
with Oswego. The Canadians and Indians, 
however, refused to attack the fort, fearful of 
its cannon ; he had changed his plan, therefore, 
and determined to surprise the camp. In the 
encounter with the detachment under Williams, 
the brave Chevalier. Legardeur de St. Pierre 
lost his life. On the part of the Americans, 
Hendrick, a famous old Mohawk sachem, grand 
ally of General Johnson, was slain. 
' Johnson himself received a slight wound 
early in the action, and retired to his tent. He 
did not follow up the victory as he should have 
done, alleging that it was first necessary to 
build a strong fort at his encampment, by way 
of keeping up a communication with Albany, 
and by the time this was completed, it would 
be too late to advance against Crown Point. 
He accordingly erected a stockaded fort, which 
received the name of William Henry ; and 
having garrisoned it, returned to Albany. His 
services, although they gained him no laurel- 
wreath, were rewarded by government with 
five thousand pounds, and a baronetcy ; and he 
was made Superintendent of Indian Affairs.* 



CHAPTER XIX. 

Mortifying experience had convinced Wash- 
ington of the inefficiency of the militia laws, 
and he now set about effecting a reformation. 
Through his great and persevering efforts, an 
act was passed in the Virginia Legislature giv- 
ing prompt operation to courts-martial ; pun- 
ishing insubordination, mutiny, and desertion 



* Johnson's Letter to the Colonial Governors, Sept. 9th, 
175-3. London Mag., 1755, p. 544. ITolmes' Am. Ann.als, 
vol. ii. p. 63. 4th edit., 1829. 



76 



QUESTION OF PRECEDEXCE— WASHIXGTOX'S JOURNEY TO BOSTON. 



U 



with adequate severity ; strengtlicning the au- 
thority of a commander, so as to enable him to 
enforce order and discipline among otRcers as 
well as privates ; and to avail himself, in time 
of emergency, and for the common safety, of 
the means and services of individuals. 

This being effected, he proceeded to fill up 
his companies and to enforce this newly defined 
authority within his camp. All gaming, drink- 
ing, quarrelling, swearing, and similar excesses, 
were prohibited under severe penalties. 

In disciplining his men, they were instructed 
not merely in ordinary and regular tactics, but 
in all the strategy of Indian warfare, and what 
is called " bush-fighting," — a knowledge indis- 
pensable in the wild wars of the wilderness. 
Stockaded forts, too, were constructed at va- 
rious points, as places of refuge and defence, in 
exposed neighborhoods. Under shelter of 
these, the inhabitants began to return to their 
deserted homes. A shorter and better road, 
also, was opened by him between Winchester 
and Cumberland, for the transmission of rein- 
forcements and supplies. 

His exertions, however, were impeded by. 
one of those questions of precedence, whicfli 
had so often annoyed him, arising from the 
difference between crown and provincial com- 
missions. Maryland having by a scanty ap- 
propriation raised a small militia force, station- 
ed Captain Dagworthy, with a company of 
thirty men, at Fort Cumberland, which stood 
within the boundaries of that province. Dag- 
worth^ had served in Canada in the preceding 
war, and had received a king's commission. 
This he had since commuted for half-pay, and, 
of course, had vu-tually parted with its privi- 
leges. He was nothing more, therefore, than 
a Maryland provincial captain, at the head of 
thirty men. He now, however, assumed to 
act under his royal commission, and refused to 
obey the orders of any officer, however high 
his rank, who merely held his commission from 
a governor. Nay, when Governor, or rather 
Colonel Innes, who commanded at the fort, 
was called away to North Carolina, by his pri- 
vate affairs, the captain took upon himself the 
command, and insisted upon it as his right. 

Parties instantly arose, and quarrels ensued 
among the inferior officers ; grave questions 
were agitated between the Governors of Mary- 
land and Virginia, as to the fort itself; the 
former claiming it as within his province, the 
latter insisting that, as it had been built ac- 
cording to orders sent by the king, it was the 



king's fort, and could not be subject to the au- 
thority of Maryland. 

"Washington refrained from mingling in this 
dispute ; but intimated that if the commander- 
in-chief of the forces of Virginia must yield 
precedence to a Maryland captain of thirty 
men, he should have to resign his commission, 
as he had been compelled to do before, by a 
question of military rank. 

So difficult was it, however, to settle these 
disputes of precedence, especially where the 
claims of two governors came in collision, that 
it was determined to refer the matter to Major- 
General Shirley, who had succeeded Braddock 
in the general command of the colonies. For 
this purpose Washington was to go to Boston, 
obtain a decision from Shirley of the point in 
dispute, and a general regulation, by which 
these difficulties could be prevented in future. 
It was thought, also, that in a conference with 
the commander-in-chief he might inform him- 
self of the military measures in contemplation. 
Accordingly, on the 4th of February (1756), 
leaving Colonel Adam Stephen in command of 
the troops, Washington set out on his mission, 
accompanied by his aide-de-camp. Captain 
George Mercer of Virginia, and Captain Stew- 
art of the Virginia light horse ; the officer 
who had taken care of General Braddock in 
his last moments. 

In those days the conveniences of travelling, 
even between our main cities, were few, and 
the roads execrable. The party,"- therefore, 
travelled in Virginia style, on horseback, at- 
tended by their black servants in livery.* In 
this way they accomplished a journey of five 



* We have hitherto treated of Washington in his cam- 
paigns in the wilderness, frugal and scanty in his equip- 
ments, often, very proliably, in little better than hunter's 
garb, nis present excursion through some of the Atlantic 
cities presents him in a different aspect. His recent inter- 
course with young British officers, had probably elevated 
his notions as to style in dress and appearance ; at least 
wo are inclined to suspect so from the ijpllowing aristo- 
cratical order for clothes, sent shortly before the time in 
question, to his correspondent in London : 

" 2 complete livery suits for servants ; with a spare 
cloak, and all other necessary trimmings for two suits 
more. I would have you choose the livery by our arms, 
only as the field of the arms is white, I think the clothea 
had better not be quite bo, but nearly like the inclosed. 
The trimmings and facings of scarlet, and a scarlet waist- 
coat. If livery lace is not quite disused, I should be glad 
to have the cloaks laced. I like that fashion best, and 
two silvcr-laced hats for the above servants. 

" 1 set of horse furniture, with livery lace, with the 
Washington crest on the housings, &c. Tho cloak to be 
of the same piece and color of the clothes. 

" 3 gold and scarlet sword-kuots. 3 silver and blue da 



1 fashionable gold-laced hat." 



% 



^T. 23.] THE EAJIL OF LOUDOUN— MILITARY RULE FOR THE COLONIES. 



77 



hundred miles in the depth of winter ; stopping 
for some days at PhiladeljAia and New York. 
Those cities were then comparatively small, 
and the arrival of a party of young Southern 
officers attracted attention. The late disastrous 
battle was still the theme of every tongue, and 
the honorable way in which these young offi- 
cers had acquitted themselves in it, made them 
objects of universal interest. Washington's 
fame, especially, had gone before him ; having 
been spread by the officers who had served 
with him, and by the public honors decreed 
him by the Virginia Legislature. " Your name," 
wrote his former fellow-campaigner, Gist, in a 
letter dated in the preceding autiikm, " is more 
talked of in Philadelphia than that of any other 
person in the army, and everybody seems will- 
ing to venture under your command." 

"With these prepossessions in his favor, when 
we consider Washington's noble person and 
demeanor, his consummate horsemanship, the 
admirable horses he was accustomed to ride, 
and the aristocratical style of his equipments, 
we may iipagine the effect produced by himself 
and his little cavalcade, as they clattered 
through the streets of Philadelphia, New York, 
and Boston. It is needless to say, their sojourn 
in each city was a continual fete. 

The mission to General Shirley was entirely 
successful as to the question of rank. A written 
order from the commander-in-chief determined 
that Dagworthy was entitled to the rank of a 
provincial captain only, and, of course, must 
on all occasions give precedence to Colonel 
Washington, as a pro\'incial field officer. The 
latter was disappointed, however, in the hope 
of getting himself and his officers put upon the 
regular establishment, with commissions from 
the king, and had to remain subjected to mor- 
tifying questions of rank and etiquette, when 
serving in company with regular troops. 

From General Shirley he learnt that the 
main objects of the ensuing campaign would be 
the reduction of Fort Niagara, so as to cut off 
the communication between Canada and Louis- 
iana, the capture of Ticonderoga and Crown 
Point as a measure of safety for New York, 
the besieging of Fort Duquesne, and the men- 
acing of Quebec by a body of troops which 
were to advance by the Kennebec River. 

The official career of General Shirley was 
drawing to a close. Though a man of good 
parts, he had always, until recently, acted in a 
civil capacity, and proved incompetent to con- 
duct military operations. He was recalled to 



England, and was to be superseded by General 
Abercrombie, who was coming out with two 
regiments. 

The general command in America, however, 
was to be held by the Earl of Loudoun, who 
was invested with powers almost equal to those 
of a viceroy, being placed above all the colo- 
nial governors. These might claim to be civil 
and military representatives of their sovereign 
within their respective colonies ; but, even 
there, were bound to defer and yield precedence 
to this their official superior. This was part 
of a plan devised long ago, but now first 
brought into operation, by which the ministry 
hoped to unite the colonies under military rule, 
and oblige the Assemblies, magistrates, and 
people, to furnish quarters and provide a gen- 
eral fund subject to the control of this military 
dictator. 

Beside his general command, the Earl of 
Loudoxm was to be governor of Virginia and 
colonel of a royal American regiment of four 
battalions, to be raised in the colonies, but 
furnished with officers who, like himself, had 
seen foreign service. The campaign would open 
on his arrival, which, it was expected, would 
be early in the spring; and brilliant results 
were anticipated. 

Washington remained ten days in Boston, 
attending, with great interest, the meetings of 
the Massachusetts Legislature, in which the 
plan of military operations was ably discussed ; 
and receiving the most hospitable attentions 
from the polite and intelligent society of the 
place, after which he returned to New York. 

Tradition gives very different motives from 
those of business for his two sojourns in the 
latter city. He found there an early friend 
and school-mate, Beverly Robinson, son of 
John Robinson, speaker of the Virginia House 
of Burgesses. He was living happily and pros- 
perously with a young and wealthy bride, hav- 
ing married one of the nieces and heiresses of 
Mr. Adolphus Philipse, a rich landholder, whose 
manor-house is still to be seen on the banks of 
the Hudson. At the house of Mr. Beverly 
Robinson, where Washington was an honored 
guest, he met Miss Mary Philipse, sister of and 
co-heiress with Mrs. Robinson, a yoimg lady 
whose personal attractions are said to have 
rivalled her reputed wealth. 

We have already given an instance of Wash- 
ington's early sensibility to female charms. 
A life, however, of constant activity and care, 
passed for the most part in the wilderness and 



78 



MISS MARY PHILIPSE— TROUBLES IN THE SHENANDOAH VALLEY. 



[1756. 



on the frontier, far from female society, had 
left little mood or leisure for the indulgence of 
the tender sentiment ; hut made him more sen- 
sible, in the present brief interval of gay and 
social life, to the attractions of an elegant 
woman, brought up in the polite circle of New- 
York. 

That he was an open admirer of Miss Philipse 
is an historical fact ; that he sought her hand, 
but was refused, is traditional, and not very 
probable. His military rank, his early laurels 
and distinguished presence, were all calculated 
to win favor in female eyes ; but his sojourn in 
New York was brief ; he may have been diffi- 
dent in urging his suit with a lady accustomed 
to the homage of society and surrounded by 
admirers. The most probable version of the 
story is, that he was called away by his public 
duties before he had made sufficient approaches 
in his siege of the lady's heart to warrant a 
summons to surrender. In the latter part of 
March we find him at Williamsburg attending 
the opening of the Legislature of Virginia, 
eager to promote measures for the protection 
of the frontier and the capture of Fort Du- 
quesne, the leading object of his ambition. 
Maryland and Pennsylvania were erecting forts 
for the defence of their own borders, but 
showed no disposition to co-operate with Vir- 
ginia in the field ; and artillery, artillerymen, 
and engineers were wanting for an attack on 
fortified places. "Washington urged, therefore, 
an augmentation of the provincial forces, and 
various improvements in the militia laws. 

While thus engaged, he received a letter 
from a friend and confidant in New York, 
warnmg him to hasten back to that city before 
it was too late, as Captain Morris, who had 
been his fellow aide-de-camp under Braddock, 
was laying close siege to Miss Philipse. Sterner 
alarms, however, summoned him in another di- 
rection. Expresses from Winchester brought 
word that the French had made another sortie 
from Fort Duquesne, accompanied by a band 
of savages, and were spreading terror and deso- 
lation through the country. In this moment 
of exigency all softer claims were forgotten ; 
Washington repaired in all haste to his post at 
Winchester, and Captain Morris was left to 
urge his suit unrivalled, and carry off the 
prize. 



CHAPTER XX. 

Report had not exaggerated the troubles of 
the frontier. It was marauded by merciless 
bands of savages, led, in some instances, by 
Frenchmen. Travellers were murdered, farm- 
houses bi:rnt down, families butchered, and 
even stockaded forts, or houses of refuge, at- 
tacked in open day. The marauders had crossed 
the mountains and penetrated the valley of the 
Shenandoah ; and several persons had fallen 
beneath the tomahawk in the neighborhood of 
Winchester. 

Washingtcm's old friend. Lord Fairfax, found 
himself no longer safe in his rural abode. 
Greenway Court was in the midst of a wood- 
land region, aflfording a covert approach for 
the stealthy savage. His lordship was con- 
sidered a great chief, whose scalp would be 
an inestimable trophy for an Indian warrior. 
Fears were entertained, therefore, by his friends, 
that an attempt would be made to surprise him 
in his green-wood castle. His nephew. Colonel 
Martin, of the militia, who resided with him, 
suggested the expediency of a removal to the 
lower settlements, beyond the Blue Ridge. The 
high-spirited old nobleman demurred ; his heart 
cleaved to the home which he had fomied for 
himself in the wilderness. " I am an old man," 
said ho, " and it is of little importance whether 
I fall by the tomahawk or die of disease and 
old age ; but you are young, and, it is to be 
hoped, have many years before you, therefore 
decide for us both ; my only fear is, that if we 
retire the whole district wiU break up and take 
to fiight ; and this fine country, which I have 
been at such cost and trouble to improve, will 
again become a wilderness." 

Colonel Martin took but a short time to de- 
liberate. He knew the fearless character of 
his uncle, and perceived what was his inclina- 
tion. Ho considered that his lordship had 
numerous retainers, white and black, with 
hardy himtsmen and foresters to rally round 
him, and that Greenway Court was at no great 
distance from Winchester ; he decided, there- 
fore, that they should remain, and abide the 
course of events. 

Washington, on his arrival at Winchester, 
found the inhabitants in great dismay. He re- 
solved immediately to organize a force, com- 
posed partly of troops from Fort Cumberland, 
partly of militia from Winchester and its vi- 
cinity, to put himself at its head, and " scour 



JEt. 24.] 



WINCHESTER IN TERROR— APPEAL TO THE GOVERNOR. 



79 



the woods and suspected places in all the moun- 
tams and valleys of this part of the frontier, in 
quest of the Indians and their more cruel asso- 
ciates." 

He accordingly despatched an express to 
Fort Cumberland with orders for a detachment 
from the garrison; "but how," said he, "are 
men to be raised at "Winchester, since orders 
are no longer regarded in the county ? " 

Lord Fairfax, and other militia officers with 
whom he consulted, advised that each captain 
should call a private muster of his men, and 
read before them an address, or " exhortation " 
as it was called, being an appeal to their patri- 
otism and fears, and a summons to assemble on 
the 15th of April to enroll themselves for the 
projected mountain foray. 

This measure was adopted ; the private mus- 
terings occurred; the exhortation was read; the 
time and place of assemblage appointed ; but, 
when the day of enrolment arrived, not more 
than fifteen men appeared upon the ground. In 
the mean time the express returned with sad 
accounts from Fort Cumberland. No troops 
could be furnished from that quarter. Tlie 
garrison was scarcely strong enough for self- 
defence, having sent out detachments in differ- 
ent directions. The express had narrowly 
escaped with his life, having been fired upon 
repeatedly, his horse shot under him, and his 
clothes riddled with bullets. The roads, he said, 
were infested by savages ; none but hunters, 
who knew how to thread the forests at night, 
could travel with safety. 

Horrors accumulated at Winchester. Every 
hour brought its tale of terror, true or false, 
of houses burnt, families massacred, or belea- 
guered and famishing in stockaded forts. The 
danger approached. A scouting party had 
been attacked in the Warm Spring Mountain, 
about twenty miles distant, by a large body of 
French and Indians, mostly on horseback. The 
captain of the scouting party and several of 
his men had been slain, and the rest put to 
flight. 

An attack on Winchester was apprehended, 
and the terrors of the people rose to agony. 
They now tu'- ^.d to Washington as their main 



hope. "" 



en siirrounded him, holding up 

xl imploring him with tears 

em from the savages. The 

looked round on the sup- 

. ich a countenance beaming with 

, a heart wrung with anguish. A letter 

vrovernor Dinwiddle shows the conflict of 



his feelings. " I am too little acquainted with 
pathetic language to attempt a description of 
these people's distresses. But what can I do ? 
I see their situation ; I know their danger, and 
participate their sufferings, without having it 
in my power to give them further relief than 
uncertain promises." — " The supplicating teare 
of the women, and moving petitions of the 
men, melt me into such deadly sorrow, that I 
solemnly declare, if I know my own mind, I 
could offer myself a willing sacrifice to the 
butchering enemy, provided that would con- 
tribute to the people's ease." 

The unstudied eloquence of this letter drew 
from the governor an instant order for a militia 
force from the uper counties to his assistance ; 
but the Virginia newspapers, in descanting on 
the frontier troubles, threw discredit on the 
army and its oflicers, and attached blame to 
its commander. Stung to the quick by this 
injustice, Washington publicly declared that 
nothing but the imminent danger of the times 
prevented him from instantly resigning a com- 
mand from Avhich he could never reap cither 
honor or benefit. His sensitiveness called forth 
strong letters from his friends, assuring him of 
the high sense entertained at the seat of gov- 
ernment, and elsewhere, of his merits and ser- 
vices. " Your good health and fortune are the 
toast of every table," wrote his early friend, 
Colonel Fairfax, at that time a member of the 
governor's council. " Your endeavors in the 
service and defence of your country ranat re- 
dound to your honor." 

" Our hopes, dear George," wrote Mr. Eob- 
inson, the speaker of the House of Burgesses, 
" are all fixed on you for bringing our affairs to 
a happy issue. Consider what fatal consequences 
to your country your resigning the command 
at this time may be, especially as there is no 
doubt most of the officers Avill follow your ex- 
ample." 

In fact, the situation and services of the 
youthful commander, shut up in a frontier 
town, destitute of forces, surrounded by savage 
foes, gallantly, though despairingly, devoting 
himself to the safety of a suffering people, were 
properly understood throughout the country, 
and excited a glow of enthusiasm in his favor. 
The Legislature, too, began at length to act, 
but timidly and inefficiently. " The country 
knows her danger," writes one of the members, 
" but such is her parsimony, that she is willing 
to wait for the rains to wet the powder, and 
the rats to eat the bowstrings of the enemy, 



80 



PLAN FOR DEFENCE— SUGGESTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 



[1756. 



rather than attempt to drive them from her 
frontiers." 

The measure of relief voted by the Assembly 
was an additional appropriation of twenty 
tliousand pounds, and an increase of the pro- 
vincial force to fifteen hundred men. With 
this, it was proposed to erect and garrison a 
chain of frontier forts, extending through the 
ranges of the Allegany Mountains, from the 
Potomac to the borders of North Carolina ; a 
distance of between three and four hundred 
miles. This was one of the inconsiderate pro- 
jects devised by Governor Dinwiddle. 

Washington, in letters to the governor and 
to the speaker of the House of Burgesses, urged 
the impolicy of such a plan, with their actual 
force and means. The forts, he observed, ought 
to be within fifteen or eighteen miles of each 
other, that their spies might be able to keep 
watch over the intervening country, otherwise 
the Indians would pass between them unper- 
ceived, efiect their ravages, and escape to the 
mountains, swamps, and ravines, before the 
troops from the forts could be assembled to 
pursue them. They ought each to be garri- 
soned with eighty or a Imndred men, so as to 
afford detachments of sufficient strength, with- 
out leaving the garrison too weak ; for the In- 
dians are the most stealthy and patient of spies 
and lurkers ; wiU he in wait for days together 
about small forts of the kmd, and, if they find, 
by some chance prisoner, that the garrison is 
actually weak, wiU first surprise and cut off 
its scouting parties, and then attack the fort 
itself. It was evident, therefore, observed he, 
that to garrison properly such a line of forts, 
would require, at least, two thousand men. 
And even then, a line of such extent might be 
broken through at one end before the other 
end could yield assistance. Feint attacks, also, 
might be made at one point, while the real 
attack was made at another, quite distarrt ; and 
the country be overrun before its widely-posted 
defenders could be alarmed and concentrated. 
Then must be taken into consideration the im- 
mense cost of building so many forts, and the 
constant and consuming expense of supplies 
and transportation. 

His idea of a defensive plan was to build a 
strong fort at Winchester, the central point, 
where all the main roads met of a wide range 
of scattered settlements, where tidings could 
soonest be collected from every quarter, and 
whence reinforcements and supplies could most 
readily be forwarded. It was to be a grand 



deposit of military stores, a residence for com- 
manding officers, a place of refuge for the 
women and children m time of alarm, when 
the men had suddenly to take the field ; in a 
word, it was to be the citadel of the frontier. 

Beside this, he would have three or four 
large fortresses erected at convenient distances 
upon the frontiers, with powerful garrisons, so 
as to be able to throw out, in constant succes- 
sion, strong scouting parties, to range the coun- 
try. Fort Cumberland he condemned as being 
out of the province, and out of the track of 
Indian incursions ; insomuch that it seldom re- 
ceived an alarm until all the mischief had been 
effected. 

His representations with respect to military 
laws and regulations were equally cogent. In 
the late act of the Assembly for raising a regi- 
ment, it was provided that, in cases of emer- 
gency, if recruits should not offer in sufficient 
number, the militia might be drafted to supply 
the deficiencies, but only to serve until Decem- 
ber, and not to be marched out of the province. 
In this case, said he, before they have entered 
upon service, or got the least smattering of 
duty, they wOl claim a discharge ; if they are 
pursuing an enemy who has committed the 
most unheard-of cruelties, he has only to step 
across the Potomac, and he is safe. Then as 
to the limits of service, they might just as 
easily have been enlisted for seventeen months, 
as seven. They would then have been seasoned 
as weU as disciplined ; " for we find by expe- 
rience," says he, " that our poor ragged soldiers 
would kill the most active militia in five days' 
marching." 

Then, as to punishments : death, it was true, 
had been decreed for mutiny and desertion ; 
but there was no punishment for cowardice ; for 
holding correspondence with the enemy ; for 
quitting, or sleeping on one's post ; all capital 
offences according to the military codes of 
Europe. Neither were there provisions for 
quartering or billeting soldiers, or impressing 
waggons and other conveyances, in times of 
exigency. To crown all, no court-martial could 
sit out of Virginia ; a most embarrassing regu- 
lation, when troops were fifty or a hundred 
miles beyond the frontier. He earnestly sug- 
gested amendments on aH these points, as 
well as with regard to the soldiers' pay ; which 
was less than that of the regular troops, or the 
troops of most of the other provinces. 

All these suggestions, showing at this youth- 
ful age that forethought and circumspection 






^T. 24.] 



EXPEDITIOX AGAINST KITTANNLNG— CAPTAIN HUGH MERCER. 



81 



which distinguished him throughout life, were 
repeatedly and eloquently urged upon Governor 
Dinwiddle, Avith very little effect. The plan 
of a frontier line of twenty-three forts was per- 
sisted in. Fort Oumberlund was pertinaciously 
kept up at a great and useless expense of men 
and money, and the militia laws remained lax 
and inefficient. It was decreed, however, that 
the great central fort at Winchester, recom- 
mended by "Washington, should be erected. 

In the height of the alarm, a company of one 
hundred gentlemen, mounted and equipped, 
volunteered their services to repair to the fron- 
tier. They were headed by Peyton Randolph, 
attorney-general, a man deservedly popular 
throughout the , province. Their offer was 
gladly accepted. They were denominated the 
" Gentlemen Associators," and great expecta- 
tions, of course, were entertained from their 
gallantry and devotion. They were empow- 
ered, also, to aid with their judgment in the 
selection of places for frontier forts. 

The " Gentlemen Associators," like all gen- 
tlemen associators in similar emergencies, turn- 
ed oiit with great zeal and spirit, and immense 
popular effect, but wasted their fire in prepa- 
ration, and on the march, Washington, who 
well understood the value of such aid, obs^l'v- 
ed dryly in a letter to Governor Dinwiddle, 
" I am heartily glad that you have fixed upon 
these gentlemen to point out the places for 
erecting forts, but regret to find their motions 
so slow." There is no doubt that they would 
have conducted themselves gallantly, had they 
been put to the test ; but before they arrived 
near the scene of danger the alarm was over. 
About the beginning of May, scouts brought 
in word that the tracks of the marauding sav- 
ages tended toward Foi't Duquesne, as if on 
the return. In a little while it was ascertained 
that they had recrossed the Allegany Moun- 
tain to the .Ohio in such numbers as to leave a 
beaten track, equal to that made in the preced- 
ing year by the army of Braddock, 

The repeated inroads of the savages called 
for an effectual and permanent check. The 
idea of being constantly subject to the irrup- 
tions of a deadly foe, that moved with stealth 
and mystery, and was only to be traced by its 
ravages, and counted by its footprints, discour- 
aged all settlement of the country. The beau- 
tiful valley of the Shenandoah was fast becom- 
ing a deserted and a silent place. Her people, 
for the most part, had fled to the older settle- 
ments south of the mountains, and the Blue 
6 



Ridge was likely soon to become virtually the 
frontier line of the province. 

We have to record one signal act of retalia- 
tion on the perfidious tribes of the Ohio, in 
which a person whose name subsequently be- 
came dear to Americans, was concerned. Pris- 
oners who had escaped from the savages re- 
ported that Shingis, AYashington's faithless ally, 
and another sachem, called Captain Jacobs, 
were the two heads of the hostile bands that 
had desolated the frontier. That they lived at 
Kittanning, an Indian town, about forty miles 
above Fort Duquesne ; at which their warriors 
were fitted out for incursions, and whither they 
returned with their prisoners and plunder. 
Captain Jacobs was a daring fellow, and scoffed 
at palisadoed forts, " He could take any fort," 
he said, " that would catch fire." 

A party of two hundred and eighty provin- 
cials, resolute men, undertook to surprise, and 
destroy this savage nest. It was commanded 
by Colonel John Armstrong ; and with him 
went Dr, Hugh Mercer, of subsequent renown, 
who had received a captain's commission from 
Pennsylvania, on the 6th of March, 1756. 

Armstrong led his men rapidly, but secretly, 
over mountain, and through forest, until, after 
a long and perilous march, they reached the 
Allegany, It was a moonlight night when 
they arrived in the neighborhood of Kittan- 
ning, They were guided to the village by 
whoops and yells, and the sound of the Indian 
drum. The warriors were celebrating their 
exploits by the triumphant scalp-dance. After 
awhile the revel ceased, and a number of fires 
appeared here and there in a corn-field. They 
were made by such of the Indians as slept in 
the open air, and were intended to drive off 
the gnats, Armstrong and his men lay down 
" quiet and hush," observing every thing nar- 
rowly, and waiting until the moon should set, 
and the warriors be asleep. At length the 
moon Avent down, the fires burned low ; all 
was quiet, Armstrong now roused his men, 
some of whom, wearied by their long march, 
had fallen asleep. He divided his forces ; part 
W' ere to attack the warriors in the corn-field, 
part were despatched to the houses, which 
were dimly seen by the first streak of day. 
There was sharp firing in both quarters, for 
the Indians, though taken by surprise, fought 
bravely, inspired by the war-whoop of their 
chief Captain Jacobs, The women and chil- 
dren fled to the woods. Several of the provin- 
cials were killed and wounded. Captain Hugh 



82 



ESCAPE OF CAPTAIN MERCER— FOUNDING OF FORT LOUDOUN. 



[1756. 



Mercer received a wound in the arm, and was 
taken to the top of a hill. The fierce chieftain, 
Captain Jacobs, was besieged in his house, 
which had port-holes ; whence he and his war- 
riors made havoc among the assailants. The 
adjoining houses were set on fire. The chief 
was summoned to surrender himself. He re- 
plied he was a man, and would not be a prisoner. 
He was told he would be burnt. His reply was, 
"he would kill four or five before he died." 
The flames and smoke approached. " One of 
the besieged warriors, to show his manhood, 
began to sing. A squaw at the same time was 
heard to cry, but was severely rebuked by the 
men." * 

In the end, the warriors were driven out by 
the flames ; some escaped, and some were shot. 
Amopg the latter was Captain Jacobs, and his 
gigantic son, said to be seven feet high. Fire 
was now set to all the houses, thirty in num- 
ber. . " During the burning of the liouses," says 
Colonel Armstrong, " we were agreeably enter- 
tained with a quick succession of charged guns, 
gradually firing off as reached by the fire, but 
much more so with the vast explosion of sundry 
bags, and large kegs of powder, wherewith 
almost every house abounded." The colonel 
was in a strange condition to enjoy such an 
entertainment, having received a wound from 
a large musket-ball in the shoulder. 

The object of the expedition was accom- 
plished. Thirty or forty of the warriors were 
slain; their stronghold was a smoking ruin. 
There was danger of the victors being cut off 
by a detachment from Fort Duquesne. They 
made the best of their way, therefore, to their 
horses, which had been left at a distance, and 
set off rapidly on their march to Fort Lyttle- 
ton, about sixty miles north of Fort Cumber- 
land. 

Colonel Armstrong had reached Fort Lyttle- 
ton on the 14th of September, six days after 
the battle, and fears were entertained that he 
had been intercepted by the Indians and was 
lost. He, with his ensign and eleven men, had 
separated from the main body when they began 
their march, and had taken another and what 
was supposed a safer road. He had with liim 
a woman, a boy, and two little girls, recaptured 
from the Indians. The whole party ultimately 
arrived safe at Fort Lyttleton ; but it would 
seem that Mercer, weak and faint from his 
fractured arm, must have fallen behind, or in 



some way become separated from them, and 
had along, solitary, and painful struggle through 
the wilderness, reaching the fort sick, weary, 
and half famished.* We shall have to speak 
hereafter of his services when under the stand- 
ard of Washington, whose friend and neighbor 
he subsequently became.t 



CHAPTEK XXI. 

Throughout the summer of 1756, Washing- 
ton exerted himself diligently in carrying out 
measures determined ujion for frontier security. 
The great fortress at Winchester was com- 
menced, and the work urged forward as ex- 
peditiously as the delays and perplexities in- 
cident to a badly organized service would per- 
mit. It received the name of Fort Loudoun, 
in honor of the commander-in-chief, whose ar- 
rival in Virginia was hopefully anticipated. 

As to the sites of the frontier posts, they 
were decided upon by Washington and his 
ofiicers, after fi-equent and long consultations ; 
parties were sent out to work on them, and 
men recruited, and militia drafted, to garrison 
them. Washington visited occasionally such 
as were in progress, and near at hand. It was 
a service of some peril, for the mountains and 
forests were stiU infested by prowling savages, 
especially in the neighborhood of these new 
forts. At one time when he was reconnoitring 
a wild part of the country, attended merely by 
a servant and a guide, two men were murdered 
by the Indians in a solitary defile shortly after 
he had passed through it. 

In the autumn, he made a tour of inspection 
along the whole line, accompanied by his friend. 
Captain Hugh Mercer, who had recovered from 
his recent wounds. This tour furnished repeat- 
ed proofs of the inefiSciency of the militia sys- 
tem. In one place he attempted to raise a force 
with which to scour a region infested by roving 
bands of savages. After waiting several days, 



* Letter fsom Col. Armstrong. 



* " Wo hear that Captain Mercer was fourteen days In 
getting to Fort Lyttleton. He had a miraculous escape, 
living ten days on two dried clams and a rattlesnake, with 
the assistance of a few berries." — Neio York Mercury for 
October 4, 1756. 

t Mercer was a Scotchman, about thirty-four years of 
age. Aboxit ten years previously he liad served as assist- 
ant surgeon in the forces of Charles Edward, and followed 
his standard to the disastrous tield of Culloden. After 
the defeat of the " Chevalier," he had escaped by the way 
of Inverness to America, and taken up his residence on 
the frontier of Pennsylvania. 



^Et. 24.] 



INEFFICIENCY OF THE MILITIA— CROSS-PURPOSES. 



83 



but five men answered to his summons. In an- 
other place, where three companies had been 
ordered to the reUef of a fort, attacked by the 
Indians, all that could be mustered were a cap- 
tjiin, a lieutenant, and seven or eight men. 

When the militia were drafted, and appeai'ed 
under arms, the case was not much better. It 
was now late in the autumn ; their term of ser- 
vice, by the act of the Legislature, expired in 
December, — half of the time, therefore, was 
lost in marching out and home. Their waste 
of provisions was enormous. To be put on al- 
lowance, like other soldiers, they considered an 
indignity. They would sooner starve than 
carry a few days' provisions on their backs. On 
the march, when breakfast was wanted, they 
would knock down the first beeves they met 
with, and, after regaling themselves, march on 
till dinner, when they would take the same meth- 
od ; and so for supper, to the great oppression 
of the people. For the want of proper military 
laws, they were obstinate, self-willed, and per- 
verse. Every individual had his own crude no- 
tion of things, and would undertake to direct. 
If his advice were neglected, he would think 
himself slighted, abused, and injured, and, to 
redress himself, would depart for his home. 

The garrisons were weak for want of men, 
but more so from indolence and irregularity. 
Ifot one was in a posture of defence, few but 
might be surprised with the greatest ease. At 
one fort, the Indians rushed from their lurking- 
place, pounced upon several children playing 
under the walls, and bore them off before they 
were discovered. Another fort was surprised, 
and many of the people massacred in the sanie 
manner. In the course of his tour, as he and 
his party approached the fort, he heard a quick 
firing for several minutes ; concluding that it 
was attacked, they hastened to its relief, but 
found the garrison were merely amusing them- 
selves firing at a mark, or for wagers. In this 
way they would waste their ammunition as 
freely as they did their provisions. In the mean 
time, the inhabitants of the country were in a 
wretched situation, feeling the little dependence 
to be put on militia, who were slow in coming 
to their assistance, indifferent about their pres- 
ervation, unwilling to continue, and regardless 
of every thing but of their own ease. In short, 
they wei*e so apprehensive of approaching ruin, 
that the whole back country was in a general 
motion towards the southern colonies. 

From the Catawba he was escorted along a 
range of forts by a colonel, and about thirty 



men, chiefly officers. " "With this small compa- 
ny of irregulars," says he, " with whom order, 
regularity, circumspection, and vigilance were 
matters of derision and contempt, we set out, 
and by the protection of Providence, reached 
Augusta court-house in seven days, without 
meeting the enemy ; otherwise we must have 
fallen a sacrifice, through the indiscretion of 
these whooping, hallooing, gentlemen soldiers ! " 

How lively a picture does this give of the 
militia system at all times, when not subjected 
to strict military law. 

What rendered this year's service peculiarly 
irksome and embarrassing to Washington, was 
the nature of his correspondence with Governor 
Dinwiddie. That gentleman, either from the 
natural hurry and confusion of his mind, or 
from a real disposition to perplex, was ex- 
tremely ambiguous and unsatisfactory in most 
of his orders and replies, " So much am I kept 
in the dark," says Washington, in one of his 
letters, " that I do not know whether to prepare 
for the offensive or defensive. What would be 
absolutely necessary for the one, would be quite 
useless for the other." And again : " The or- 
ders I receive are full of ambiguity. I am left 
like a wanderer in the wilderness, to proceed 
at hazard. I am answerable for consequences, 
and blamed, without the privilege of defence." 

In nothing was this disposition to perplex more 
apparent than in the governor's replies respect- 
ing Fort Cumberland. Washington had repeat- 
edly urged the abandonment of this fort as a 
place of frontier deposit, being within the 
bounds of another province, and out of the 
track of Indian incursion ; so that often the 
alarm would not reach there until after the 
mischief had been effected. He applied, at 
length, for particular and positive directions 
from the governor on this head. " The follow- 
ing," says he, " is an exact copy of his answer: 
' Fort Cumberland is a hing''s fort, and built 
chiefly at the charge of the colony, therefore 
properly under our direction until a new gov- 
ernor is appointed.' Now, whether I am to un- 
derstand this aye or no to the plain simple ques- 
tion asked, Is the fort to be continued or re- 
moved? I know not. But in all important 
matters I am directed in this ambiguous and 
uncertain way." 

Governor Dinwiddie subsequently made him- 
self explicit on this point. Taking offence at 
some of Washington's comments on the military 
affairs of the frontier, he made the stand of a 
self-willed and obstinate man, in the case of 



84 



MILITARY AFFAIRS AT THE NORTH-DELAYS OF LORD LOUDOUX. [iVoO. 



Fort Cumberland ; and represented it in sucli 
light to Lord Londoun, as to draw from his 
lordship an order that it should be kept up ; and 
an implied censure of the conduct of Washing- 
ton in slighting a post of such paramount im- 
portance. " I cannot agree with Colonel Wash- 
ington," writes his lordship, " in not drawing 
in the posts from the stockade forts, in order .to 
defend that advanced one ; and I should imagine 
much more of the frontier will be exposed by 
retiring your advanced posts near Winchester, 
where I understand he is retired ; for, from 
your letter, I take it for granted he has before 
this executed his plan, without waiting for any 
advice. If he leaves any of the great. quantity 
of stores behind, it will be very unfortunate, 
find he ought to consider that it must lie at his 
own door." 

Thus powerfully supported, Dinwiddie went 
so far as to order that the garrisons should be 
withdrawn from the stockades and small fron- 
tier forts, and most of the troops from Win- 
chester, to strengthen Fort Cumberland, v/hich 
was now to become head-quarters ; thus weak- 
ening the most important points and places, to 
concentrate a force where it was not wanted, 
and would be out of the way in most cases of 
alarm. By these meddlesome moves, made by 
Governor Dinwiddie from a distance, without 
knowing any thing of the game, all previous 
arrangements were reversed, every thing was 
thrown into confusion, and enormous losses and 
expenses were incurred. 

" Whence it arises, or why, I am truly igno- 
rant," Avrites Washington to Mr. Speaker Robin- 
son, " but my strongest representations of mat- 
ters relative to the frontiers are disregarded as 
idle and frivolous ; my propositions and meas- 
ures as partial and selfish ; and all my sincerest 
endeavors for the service of my country are 
perverted to the worst purposes. My orders 
are dark and uncertain : to-day approved, to- 
morrow disapproved." 

Whence all this contradiction and embarrass- 
ment arose has since been explained, and with 
apparent reason. Governor Dinwiddie had 
never recovered from the pique caused by the 
popular elevation of Washington to the com- 
mand in preference to his favorite, Colonel 
Innes, His irritation was kept alive by a little 
Scottish faction, who vrere desirous of disgust- 
ing Washington with the service, so as to induce 
him to resign, and make way for his rival. 
They might have carried their point during the 
panic at Winchester, had not his patriotism and 



his sympathy with the public distress been more 
powerful than his self-love. He determined, he 
said, to bear up under these embarrassments in 
the hope of better regulations when Lord Lou- 
doun should arrive ; to whom he looked for tlje 
future fate of Virginia. 

While these events were occurring on the 
Virginia frontier, military affairs went on tar- 
dily and heavily at the north. The campaign 
against Canada, which was to have opened ear- 
ly in the year, hung fire. Tb.e armament com- 
ing out for the purpose, under Lord Loudoun, 
was delayed through the want of energy and 
union in the British cabinet. General Aber- 
crombie, who was to be next in command to 
his lordship, and to succeed to General Shirley, 
set sail in advance for New York with two 
regiments, but did not reach Albany, the head- 
quarters of military operation, untU the 25th 
of June. He billeted his soldiers upon the 
town, much to the disgust of the inhabitants, 
and talked of ditching and stockading it, but 
postponed all exterior enterprises until the ar- 
rival of Lord Loudoun ; then the campaign was 
to open in earnest. 

On the 12th of July, came word that the 
forts Ontario and Oswego, on each side of the 
mouth of the Oswego River, were menaced by 
the French. They had been imperfectly con- 
structed by Shirley, and were insufficiently gar- 
risoned, yet contained a great amount of mili- 
tary and naval stores, and protected the vessels 
which cruised on Lake Ontario. 

Major-General Webb was ordered by Aber- 
crombie to hold himself in readiness to march 
Avith one regiment to the relief of these forts, 
but received no further orders. Every thing 
awaited the arrival at Albany of Lord Loudoun, 
which at length took place on the 29th of July. 
There were now at least ten thousand troops, 
regulars and provincials, loitering in an idle 
camp at Albany, yet relief to Oswego was still 
delayed. Lord Loudoun was in favor of it, but 
the governments of New York and NeAV Eng- 
land urged the immediate reduction of Crown 
Point, as necessary for the security of their 
frontier. After much debate, it was agreed 
that General Webb should march to the relief 
of Oswego. He left Albany on the 12th of 
August, but had scarce reached the carrying- 
place, between the l^fohawk River and Wood 
Creek, when he received nev^'s that Oswego 
was reduced, and its garrison captured. While 
the British commanders had debated, Field- 
Marshal the Marquis de Montcalm, newly ar- 



zEr. 25.] MONTCALM'S ACTIVITY— WASHINGTON'S LETTER TO LORD LOUDOUN. 



85 



rived from France, had acted. He was a diifer- 
ent kind of soldier from Abercrombie or Lou- 
doun. A capacious mind and enterprising spirit 
animated a small, but .active and untiring frame. 
Quick in tliouglit, quick in speech, quicker ,stiU 
in action, he comprehended every thing at a 
glance, and moved from point to point of the 
province with a celerity and secrecy that com- 
pletely baffled his slow and pondering antago- 
nists. Crown Point and Ticonderoga were vis- 
ited, and steps taken to strengthen their works, 
and provide for their security ; then hastening 
to Montreal, he put himself at the head of a 
force of regulars, Canadians, and Indians ; as- 
cended the St. Lawrence to Lake Ontario ; 
blocked up the mouth of the Oswego by his 
A-essels, landed his guns, and besieged the two 
forts ; drove the garrison out of one into the 
other ; killed the commander, Colonel Mercer, 
and compelled the garrisons to surrender pris- 
oners of war. With the forts was taken an 
immense amount of military stores, ammuni- 
tion, and provisions ; one hundred and twenty- 
one cannon, fourteen ^uortars, six vessels of 
war, a vast number of bateaux, and three chests 
of money. His blow achieved, Montcalm re- 
turned in triumph to Montreal, and sent the 
colors of the captured forts to be hung up as 
trophies in the Canadian churches. 

Tiie season was now too far advanced for 
Lord Loudoun to enter upon any g)-eat military 
enterprise ; he postponed, therefore, the great 
northern campaign, so much talked of and de- 
bated, until the following year ; and having ta- 
ken measiares for the protection of his frontiers, 
and for more active operations in the spring, 
returned to New York, hung up his sword, and 
went into comfortable winter-quarters. 



CHAPTER XXII. 

CincTJMSTANCES had led Washington to think 
that Lord Loudoun " had received impressions 
to his prejudice by fcAse representations of facts," 
and that a wrong idea prevailed at head-quar- 
ters respecting the state of military affairs in 
Virginia. He was anxious, therefore, for an 
opportunity of placing all these matters in a 
proper light ; and, miderstanding that there was 
to be a meeting in Philadelphia in the month of 
March, between Lord Loudoun and the southern 
governors, to consult about measures of defence 
for their respective provinces, he wrote to Gov- 
ernor Dinwiddle for permission to attend it. 



" I cannot conceive," writes Dinwiddle in re- 
ply, " what service you can be of in going there, 
as the plan concerted will, in course, be com- 
municated to you and the other officers. How- 
ever, as you seem so earnest to go, I now give 
you leave." 

This ungracious reply seemed to warrant the 
suspicions entertained by some of Washington's 
friends, that it was the busy pen of Governor 
Dinwiddle which had given the " false represen- 
tation of facts " to Lord Loudoun. About a 
month, therefore, before the time of meeting, 
Washington addressed a long letter to his lord- 
ship, explanatory of military affairs in the quar- 
ter where he had commanded. In this he set 
forth the various defects in the militia laws of 
Virginia ; the errors in its system of defence, 
and the inevitable confusion which had thence 
resulted. 

Adverting to his own conduct : " The orders 
I receive," said he, " are full of ambiguity. I 
am left like a wanderer in the wilderness, to 
proceed at hazard. I am answerable for conse- 
quences, and blamed, without the ijrivilege of 
defence. * * * * * It is not to be wondered 
at, if, under such peculiar circumstances, I 
should be sick of a service which promises so 
little of a soldier's reward. 

" I have long been satisfied of the impossi- 
bility of continuing in this service, without loss 
of honor. Indeed, I was fully convinced of rt 
before I accepted the command the second 
time, seeing the cloudy prospect before me ; 
and I did, for this reason, reject the offer, until 
I was ashamed any longer to refuse, not caring 
to expose my character to public censure. The 
solicitations of the country overcame my ob- 
jections, and induced me to accept it. Another 
reason has of late operated to continue me in 
the service until now, and that is, the dawn of 
hope that arose, when I heard your lordship 
was destined, by his majesty, for the important 
command of his armies in America, and ap- 
pointed to the government of his dominion of 
Virginia. Hence it was, that I drew my hopes, 
and fondly pronounced your lordship our pa- 
tron. Although I have not the honor to be 
known to your lordship, yet your name was fa- 
miliar to my ear on account of the important 
services rendered to his majesty in other parts 
of the world." 

The manner in v.'hich Washington was re- 
ceived by Lord Loiidoun on arriving at Phila- 
delphia, showed him at once that his long, ex- 
planatory letter had produced the desired effect, 



86 



MONTCALM ON LAKE GEORGE— HIS TRIUMPHS. 



Zllol. 



and that his character and conduct were justly 
appreciated. During his sojourn in Philadelphia 
he was frequently consulted on points of fron- 
tier service, and his advice was generally adopt- 
ed. On one point it failed. He advised that 
an attack should be made on Fort Duquesne, 
simultaneous with the attempts on Canada. 
At such time a great part of the garrison would 
be drawn away to aid in the defence of that 
province, and a blow might be struck more like- 
ly to insure the peace and safety of the southern 
frontier than all its forts and defences. 

Lord Loudoun, however, was not to be con- 
vinced, or at least persuaded. According to 
his plan, the middle and southern provinces 
were to maintain a merely defensive warfare ; 
and as Virginia would be required to send four 
hundred of her troops to the aid of South Caro- 
lina, she would, in fact, be left weaker than be- 
fore. 

"Washington was also disappointed a second 
time, in the hope of having his regiment placed 
on the same footing as the regular army, and 
of obtaining a king's commission ; the latter he 
was destined never to hold. 

Ilis representations with respect to Fort 
Cumberland, had the desired effect in counter- 
acting the mischievous intermeddling of Din- 
widdle. The Virginia troops and stores were 
ordered to be again removed to Fort Loudoun, 
at "Winchester, which once more became head- 
quarters, while Fort Cumberland was left to be 
occupied by a Maryland garrison. "Washington 
was instructed, likewise, to correspond and co- 
operate, in military affairs, with Colonel Stan- 
wix, who was stationed on the Pennsylvania 
frontier, with five hundred men from the Koyal 
American regiment, and to whom he would be, 
in some measure, subordinate. This proved a 
correspondence of friendship, as well as duty ; 
Colonel Stanwix being a gentleman of high 
moral worth, as well as great ability in military 
affairs. 

The great plan of operations at the north 
was again doomed to failure. The reduction 
of Crown Point, on Lake Champlain, which 
had long been meditated, was laid aside, and 
the capture of Louisbnrg substituted, as an ac- 
quisition of far greater importance. This was 
a place of great consequence, situated on the 
isle of Cape Breton, and strongly fortified. It 
commanded the fisheries of Newfoundland, 
overawed New England, and was a mam bul- 
wark to Acadia. 

In the course of July, Lord Loudoun set sail 



for Halifax with all the troops he could collect, 
amounting to about six thousand men, to join 
with Admiral Holbourne, who had just arrived 
at that port with eleven ships of the line, a 
fire-ship, bomb-ketch, and fleet of transports; 
having on board six thousand men. "With this 
united force Loi'd Loudoun anticipated the cer- 
tain capture of Louisburg. 

Scarce had the tidings of .his lordship's de- 
parture reached Canada, when the active Mont- 
calm again took the field, to follow up the suc- 
cesses of the preceding year. Fort "William 
Henry, which Sir "Wm. Johnson had erected on 
the southern shore of Lake George, was now 
his object ; it commanded the lake, and was an 
important protection to the British frontier. 
A brave old officer, Colonel Monro, with about 
five hundred men, formed the garrison ; more 
than three times that number of militia were 
intrenched near by. Montcalm had, early in 
the season, made three ineffectual attempts 
upon the fort ; he now trusted to be more suc- 
cessful. Collecting his forces from Crown 
Point, Ticonderoga, and the adjacent posts, 
with a considerable number of Canadians and 
Indians, altogether nearly eight thousand men, 
he advanced up the lake, on the 1st of August, 
in a fleet of boats, with swr.rms of Indian ca- 
noes in the advance. The fort came near being 
surprised ; but the troops encamped without it, 
abandoned their tents, and hurried within the 
works. A summons to surrender was answer- 
ed by a brave defiance. Montcalm invested 
the fort, made his approaches, and battered it 
with his artillery. For five days its veteran 
commander kept up a vigorous defence, trusting 
to receive assistance from General "Webb, who 
had failed to relieve Fort Oswego in the preced- 
ing year, and who was now at Fort Edward, 
about fifteen miles distant, with upwards of 
five thousand men. Instead of this, "Webb, 
who overrated the French forces, sent him a 
letter, advising him to capitulate. The letter 
was intercepted by Montcahn, but still forward- 
ed to Monro. The obstinate old soldier, how- 
ever, persisted in his defence, until most of his 
cannon were burst, and his ammunition expend- 
ed. At length, in the month of August, he 
hung out a flag of truce, and obtained honora- 
ble terms from an enemy who knew how to 
appreciate his valor. Montcalm demolished the 
fort, carried off all the artillery and munitions 
of war, with vessels employed in the navigation 
of the lake ; and having thus completed his de- 
struction of the British defences on this frontier. 



Mi\ 25.] 



DISASTERS AT LOUISBURG— OFFICIAL CENSORIOUSNESS. 



87 



returned once more in triumph with the spoils 
of victory, to hang up fresh trophies in the 
churches of Canada. 

Lord Loudoun, in the mean time, formed his 
junction with Admiral Holbourne at Hahfax, 
and the troops were embarked with all dili- 
gence on board of the transports. Unfortu- 
nately, the French were again too quick for 
them. Admiral de Bois de la Mothe had ar- 
rived at Louisburg, with a large naval and land 
force ; it was ascertained that he had seventeen 
ships of the line, and three frigates, quietly 
moored in the harbor; that the place was well 
fortified and supplied with provisions and am- 
munition, and garrisoned with sis thousand 
regular troops, three thousand natives, and thir- 
teen hundred Indians. 

Some hot-heads would have urged an attempt 
against all such array of force, but Lord Lou- 
doun was aware of the probability of defeat, 
and the disgrace and ruin it would bring upon 
British arms in America. He wisely, though 
ingloriously, returned to New York. Admiral 
Holbourne made a silly demonstration of his 
fleet ofl:' the harbor of Louisburg, approaching 
within two miles of the batteries, but retired 
on seeing the French Admiral prepai'ing to un- 
. moor. He afterwards returned with a rein- 
forcement of four ships of the line ; cruised 
before Louisburg, endeavoring to draw the en- 
emy to an engagement, which De la Mothe had 
the wisdom to decline ; was overtaken by a 
hurricane, in which one of his ships was lost, 
eleven were dismasted, others had to throw 
their guns overboard, and aU returned in a shat- 
tered condition to England. Thus ended the 
northern campaign by land and sea, a subject 
of great mortification to the nation, and ridicule 
and triumph to the enemy. 

During these unfortunate operations to the 
north, Washington was stationed at Winchester, 
shorn of part of his force by the detachment 
to South Carolina, and left with seven hundred 
men to defend a frontier of more than three 
hundred and fifty miles in extent. The capture 
and demolition of Oswego by Montcalm had 
produced a disastrous efifect. The whole coun- 
try of the five nations was abandoned to the 
French. The frontiers of Pennsylvania, Mary- 
land, and Virginia were harassed by repeated 
inroad§ of French and Indians, and Washington 
had the mortification to see the noble valley of 
the Shenandoah almost deserted by its inhabit- 
ants, and fast relapsing into a wilderness. 

The year wore away on his part in the har- 



assing service of defending a wide frontier with 
an insufficient and badly organized force, and 
the vexations he experienced were heightened 
by continual misunderstandings with Governor 
Dinwiddle. From the ungracious tenor of seve- 
ral of that gentleman's letters, and from private 
information, he was led to believe that some 
secret enemy had been making false represen- 
tations of his motives and conduct, and preju- 
dicing the governor against him. He vindicat- 
ed himself warmly from the alleged aspersions, 
proudly appealing to the whole course of his 
public career in proof of their falsity. " It is 
uncertain," said he, " in what light my services 
may have appeared to your honor ; but this I 
know, and it is the liighest consolation I am ca- 
pable of feeling, that no man that ever was 
employed in a public capacity has endeavored 
to discharge the trust reposed in him with 
greater honesty and more zeal for the country's 
interest than I have done ; and if there is any 
person living who can say,, with justice, that I 
have offered any intentional wrong to the pub- 
lic, I will cheerfully submit to the most igno- 
minious pimishment that an injured people 
ought to inflict. On the other hand, it is hard 
to have my character arraigned, and my actions 
condemned, without a hearing." 

His magnanimous appeal had but little effect. 
Dinwiddle was evidently actuated by the petty 
pique of a narrow and illiberal mind, impatient 
of contradiction, even when in error. He took 
advantage of his official station to vent his 
spleen and gratify his petulance in a variety of 
ways incompatible with the courtesy of a gen- 
tleman. It may excite a grave smile at the 
present day, to find Washington charged by this 
very small-minded man with looseness in his 
way of writing to him ; with remissness in his 
duty towards him ; and even with impertinence 
in the able and eloquent representations which 
he felt compelled to make of disastrous mis- 
management in military affairs ; and stiU more, 
to find his reasonable request, after a long 
course of severe duty, for a temporary leave 
of absence, to attend to his private concerns, 
peremptorily refused, and that with as little 
courtesy as though he were a mere subaltern 
seeking to absent himself on a party of pleasure. 

The multiplied vexations which Washmgton 
had latterly experienced from this man, had 
preyed upon his spirits, and contributed, with 
his incessant toils and anxieties, to undermine 
his health. For some time he struggled with 
repeated attacks of dysentery and fever, and 



88 



WASIIINGTOX RESUMES COMMAND— ADMIXISTRATION OF PITT. 



[1758. 



cdhtimied in the exercise of his duties ; but the 
increased violence of his malady, and the urgent 
advice of his friend, Dr. Craik, the army sur- 
geon, induced him to relinquish his post tow- 
ards the end of the year and retire to Mount 
Vernon. 

The administration of Dinwiddie, howe-ver, 
was now at an end. He set sail for England in 
January, 1758, very little regretted, excepting 
by his immediate hangers-on, and leaving a 
character overshadowed by the imputation of 
avarice and extortion in the exaction of illegal 
fees, and of downriglit delinquency in regard 
to large sums transmitted to him by government, 
to be paid over to the province in indemnifica- 
tion of its extra expenses ; for the disposition 
of whicfi sums he failed to render an account. 

He was evidently a sordid, narrow-minded, 
and somewhat arrogant man ; bustling rather 
than active ; prone to meddle Avith matters of 
which he was profoundly ignorant, and absurd- 
ly unwiHiug to have his ignorance enlightened. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

For several months "Washington v/as afflicted 
by returns of his malady, accompanied by 
symptoms indicative, as he thought, of a de- 
cline. " My constitution," writes he to his 
friend, Colonel Stanwix, " is much impaired, 
and nothing can retrieve it but the greatest 
care and the most circumspect course of life. 
This being the case, as I have now no prospect 
left of preferment in the military way, and de- 
spair of rendering that immediate service which 
my country may require from the person com- 
manding its troops, I have thoughts of quitting 
my command and retiring from all public busi- 
ness, leaving my post to be filled by some other 
person more capable of the task, and who may, 
perhaps, have his endeavors crowned with bet- 
ter success than mine have been." 

A gradual improvement in his health, and a 
change in his prospects, encouraged him to con- 
tinue in wliat really Avas his favorite career, and 
at tlie beginning of April he was again in com- 
mand at Fort Loudoun. Mr. Francis Fauquier 
had been appointed successor to Dinwiddle, and 
until he should arrive, Mr. John Blair, president 
of the council, "had, from his olBce, charge of 
the government. In the latter Washington had 
a friend who appreciated his character and ser- 
vices, and was disposed to carry out his plans. 



The general aspect of alFairs, also, was more 
animating. Under the able and intrepid ad- 
ministration of William Pitt, who had control 
of the British cabinet, an effort was made to 
retrieve the disgraces of the late American 
campaign, and to carry on the war with greater 
vigor. The instructions for a common fund 
were discontinued ; there was no more talk of 
taxation by Parliament. Lord Loudoun, from 
whom so much had been anticipated, had dis- 
appointed by his inactivity, and been relieved 
from a command in which he had attempted 
much and done so little. His friends alleged 
that his inactivity was owing to a want of una- 
nimity and co-operation in the colonial govern- 
ments, which paralyzed all his weU-meant ef- 
forts. Franklin, it is probable, probed the mat- 
ter with his usual sagacity when he character- 
ized him as a man " entirely made up of inde- 
cision." — " Like St. George on the signs, he 
was always on horseback, but never rode on." 

On the return of his lordship to England, the 
general command in America devolved on Ma- 
jor-General Abercrombie, and the forces were 
divided into three detached bodies ; one, imder 
Major-General Amherst, was to operate in the 
north with the fleet under Boscawen, for the 
reduction of Louisburg and the island of Cape 
Breton ; another, under Abercrombie himself, 
was to proceed against Ticonderoga and Crown 
Point on Lake Champlain ; and the third, under 
Brigadier-General Forbes, who had the charge 
of the middle and southern colonies, was to un- 
dertake the reduction of Fort Duquesne. The 
colonial troops were to be supplied, like the 
regulars, with arms, ammunition, tents, and 
provisions, at the expense of government, but 
clothed and paid by the colonies ; for which 
the king would recommend to Parliament a 
proper compensation. The provincial officers 
appointed by the governors, and of no higher 
rank than colonel, were to be equal in command, 
when united in service with those who held di- 
rect from the king, according to the date of 
their commissions. By these wise provisions 
of ilr. Pitt, a fertile cause of heart-burnings and 
dissensions was removed. 

It was with the greatest satisfaction Wash- 
ington saw his favorite measure at last adopted, 
the reduction of Fort Duquesne ; and he re- 
solved to continue in the seiwice until that ob- 
ject was accomplished. In a letter to Stanwix, 
who was now a brigadier-general, he modestly 
requested to be mentioned in favorable terms 
to General Forbes, " not," said he, " as a person 



^T. 26.] AMHERST AGAINST LOUISBURG— GENERAL WOLFE— MONTGOMERY. 



89 



who would depend upon him for further recom- 
mendation to military preferment (for I have 
long conquered all such inclinations, and shall 
serve this campaign merely for the purpose of 
affording my best endeavors to bring matters 
to a conclusion), but as a person who would 
gladly be distinguished in some measure from 
the common run of provincial officers, as I un- 
derstand there will be a motley herd of us." 
He had the satisfaction subsequently of enjoy- 
ing the fullest confidence of General Forbes, 
who knew too well the sound judgment and 
practical ability evinced by him in the unfortu- 
nate campaign of Braddock not to be desirous 
of availing himself of his counsels. 

"Washington still was commander-in-chief of 
the Virginia ti'oops, now augmented, by an act of 
the Assembly, to two regiments of one thousand 
men each ; one led by himself, the other by 
Colonel Byrd ; the whole destined to make a 
part of the army of General Forbes in the ex- 
pedition against Fort Duquesne. 

Of the animation which he felt at the pros- 
pect of serving in this long-desired campaign, 
and revisiting with an effective force the scene 
of past disasters, we have a proof in short letter, 
written during the excitement of the moment, 
to Major Francis Halket, his former companion 
in arms. 

" My dear Halket : — Are we to have you 
once more among us? And shall we revisit 
together a hapless spot, that proved so fatal to 
many of our former brave companions ? Yes ; 
and I rejoice at it, hoping it will now be in our 
power to testify a just abhorrence of the cruel 
butcheries exercised on our friends in the un- 
fortunate day of General Braddock's defeat ; 
and, moreover, to show our enemies, that we 
can practise all that lenity of which they only 
boast, without affording any adequate proof." 

Before we proceed to narrate the expedition 
against Fort Duquesne, however, we will briefly 
notice the conduct of the two other expeditions, 
which formed important parts in the plan of 
military operations for the year. And first, of 
that against Louisburg and the Island of Cape 
Breton. 

Major-General Amherst, v,^ho conducted this 
expedition, embarked with between ten and 
twelve thousand men, in the fleet of Admiral 
Boscawen, and set sail about the end of May, 
from Halifax, in Nova Scotia. Along with 
him went Brigadier-General James Wolfe, an 
officer young in years, but a veteran in military 
experience, and destined to gain an almost ro- 



mantic celebrity. He may almost be said to 
have been born in the camp, for he was the 
son of Major-General Wolfe, a veteran officer 
of merit, and when a lad had witnessed the 
battles of Dettingen and Fontenoy. While a 
mere youth he had distinguished himself at 
the battle of Laffeldt, in the Netherlands ; and 
now, after having been eighteen years in the 
service, he was but thirty-one years of age. 
In America, however, he was to win his lasting 
laurels. 

On the 2d of June, the fleet arrived at the 
Bay of Gabarus, about seven miles to the west 
of Louisburg. The latter place was garrisoned 
by two thousand five hundred regulars, and 
three hundred militia, and subsequently rein- 
forced by upwards of four hundred Canadians 
and Indians. In the harbor were six ships of 
the hne and five frigates, three of which were 
sunk across the mouth. For several days the 
troops were prevented from landing by boister- 
ous weather, and a heavy surf. The French 
improved that time to strengthen a chain of forts 
along the shore, deepening trenches, and con- 
structing batteries. 

On the 8th of June, preparations for landing 
were made before daybreak. The troops vi^ere 
embarked in boats in three divisions, under 
Brigadiers Wolfe, Whetmore, and Laurens. The 
landing was to be attempted west of the har- 
bor, at a place feebly secured. Several frigates 
and sloops previously scoured the beach with 
their shot, after which Wolfe pulled for shore 
with his division ; the other two divisions dis- 
tracting the attention of the enemy, by making 
a show of landing in other parts. The surf 
stiU ran high, the enemy opened a fire of can- 
non and musketry from their batteries, many 
boats were upset, many men slain, but Wolfe 
pushed forward, sj^rang into the water when 
the boats grounded, dashed though the surf 
with his men, stormed the enemy's breastworks 
and batteries, and drove them from the shore. 
Among the subalterns who stood by Wolfe on 
this occasion, was an Irish youth, twenty-one 
years of age, named Eichard Montgomery, 
whom, for his gallantry, Wolfe promoted to a 
lieutenancy, and who was destined, in after 
years, to gain an imperishable renown. The 
other divisions effected a landing after a severe 
conflict ; artillery and stores were brought on 
shore, and Louisburg was formally invested. 

The weather continued boisterous ; the heavy 
cannon, and the various munitions necessary 
for a siege, were landed with difficulty. Am- 



90 



CAPTURE OF LOUISBURG— DEATH OF LORD HOWE. 



[1758. 



herst, moreover, was a cautious man, and made 
Lis approaches slowly, securing his camp by 
redoubts and epaulements. The Chevalier Dru- 
c«ur, who commanded at Louisburg, called in 
his outposts, and prepared for a desperate de- 
fence; keeping up a heavy fire from his batter- 
ies, and from the ships in the harbor. 

Wolfe, with a strong detachment, surprised 
at night, and took possession of Light-House 
Point, on the north-east side of the entrance 
to the harbor. Here he drew up batteries in 
addition to those already there, from which he 
was enabled greatly to annoy both town and 
shipping, as well as to aid Amherst in his slow, 
but regular and sure approaches. 

On the 21st of July, the three largest of the 
enemy's ships were set on fire by a bombshell. 
On the night of the 25th two other of the ships 
were boarded, sword in hand, from boats of the 
squadron ; one being aground, was burnt, the 
other was towed out of the harbor in triumph. 
The brave Drucour kept up the defence until 
all the ships were either taken or destroyed ; 
forty, out of fifty-two pieces of cannon dis- 
mounted, and his works mere heaps of ruins. 
When driven to capitulate, he refused the 
terms proposed, as being too severe, and, when 
threatened with a general assault, by sea and 
land, determined to abide it, rather than sub- 
mit to what he considered a humiliation. The 
prayers and petitions of the inhabitants, how- 
ever, overcame his obstinacy. The place was 
surrendered, and he and his garrison became 
prisoners of war. Captain Amherst, brother 
to the general, carried home the news to Eng- 
land, with eleven pair of colors, taken at Louis- 
burg. There were rejoicings throughout the 
kingdom. The colors were borne in triumph 
through the streets of London, with a parade 
of horse and foot, kettle-drums and trumpets, 
and the thunder of artillery, and were put up 
as trophies in St. Paul's Cathedral. 

Boscawen, who was a member of Parliament, 
received a unanimous vote of praise from the 
House of Commons, and the youthful "Wolfe, 
who returned shortly after the victory to Eng- 
land, was hailed as the hero of the enterprise. 

We have disposed of one of the three great 
expeditions contemplated in the plan of the 
year's campaign. The second was that against 
the French forts on Lakes George and Cham- 
plain. At the beginning of July, Abercrombie 
was encamped on the borders of Lake George, 
with between six and seven thousand regulars, 
and upwards of nine thousand provincials, from I 



New England, New York, and New Jersey. 
Major Israel Putnam, of Connecticut, who had 
served on this lake, under Sir William Johnson, 
in the campaign in which Dieskau was defeated 
and slain, had been detached with a scouting 
party to reconnoitre the neighborhood. After 
his return and report, Abercrombie prepared 
to proceed against Ticonderoga, situated on a 
tongue of land in Lake Ohamplain, at the 
mouth of the strait communicating with Lake 
George. 

On the 5th of July, the forces were em- 
barked in one hundred and twenty-five whale- 
boats, and nine hundred bateaux, with the ar- 
tillery on rafts. The vast flotilla proceeded 
slowly down the lak^, with banners and pen- 
nons fluttering in the summer breeze ; arms 
glittering in the sunshine, and martial music 
echoing along the wood-clad moimtains. With 
Abercrombie went Lord Howe, a young noble- 
man, brave and enterprising, full of martial en- 
thusiasm, and endeared to the soldiery by the 
generosity of his disposition, and the sweetness 
of his manners. 

On the fii'st night they bivouacked for some 
hours at Sabbath-day Point, but re-embarked 
before midnight. The next day they landed 
on a point on the western shore, just at the 
entrance of the strait leading to Lake Cham- 
plain. Here they were formed into three col- 
umns, and pushed forward. 

They soon came upon the enemy's advanced 
guard, a battalion encamped behind a log breast- 
work. The French set fire to their camp, and 
retreated. The columns kept their form and 
pressed forward, but through ignorance of their 
guides became bewildered in a dense forest, 
fell into confusion, and blundered upon each 
other. 

Lord Howe urged on with the van of the 
right centre column. Putnam, who was with 
him, and more experienced in forest warfare, 
endeavored in vain to inspire him with caution. 
After a time they came upon a detachment of 
the retreating foe, who, like themselves, had 
lost their way. A severe conflict ensued. 
Lord Howe, who gallantly led the van, was 
killed at the onset. His fall gave new ardor 
to his troops. The enemy were routed, some 
slain, some drowned, about one hundred and 
fiftj'' taken prisoners, including five officers. 
Nothing further was done that day. The 
death of Lord Howe more than counterbalanced 
the defeat of the enemy. His loss was bewailed 
not merely by the army, but by the American 



^T. 26.] 



REPULSE OF ABERCROMBIE— BRADSTREET AGAINST OSWEGO. 



91 



people ; for it is singular how mucli this young 
nobleman, in a short time, had made himself 
beloved. The point near which the troops had 
landed still bears his name ; the place where 
he fell is still pointed out ; and Massachusetts 
voted him a monument in Westminster Abbey. 

With Lord Howe expired the master spirit of 
the enterprise. Abercrombie fell back to the 
landing-place. The next day he sent out a 
strong detachment of regulars, royal provincials, 
and bateaux men, under Lieutenant-Colonel 
Bradstreet, of New York, to secure a saw-mill, 
which the enemy had abandoned. This done, 
he followed on the same evening with the main 
forces, and took post at the mill, within two 
miles of the fort. Here he was joined by Sir 
William Johnson, with between four and five 
hundred savage warriors from the Mohawk 
River. 

Montcalm had called in all his forces, be- 
tween three and four thousand men, and was 
strongly posted behind deep intrenchments and 
breastworks eight feet high ; with an abatis, 
or felled trees, in front of his lines, presenting 
a horrid barrier, with their jagged boughs 
pointing outward. Abercrombie was deceived 
as to the strength of the French works ; his 
engineers persuaded him they were formidable 
only in appearance, but really weak and flimsy. 
Without waiting for the arrival of his cannon, 
and against the opinion of his most judicious 
officers, he gave orders to storm the works. 
Never were rash orders more gallantly obeyed. 
The men rushed forward with fixed bayonets, 
and attempted to force their way through, or 
scramble over the abatis, under a sheeted fire 
of swivels and musketry. In the desperation 
of the moment, the officers even tried to cut 
their way through with their swords. Some 
even reached the parapet, where they were 
shot down. The breastwork was too high to 
be surmounted, and gave a secure covert to 
the enemy. Repeated assaults were made, and 
as often repelled, with dreadful havoc. The 
Iroquois warriors, who had arrived with Sir 
William Johnson, took no part, it is said, in 
this fierce conflict, but stood aloof as uncon- 
cerned spectators of the bloody strife of white 
men. 

After four hours of desperate and fruitless 
fighting, Abercrombie, who had all the time 
remained aloof at the saw-mills, gave up the 
ill-judged attempt, and withdrew once more 
to the landing-place, with the loss of nearly two 
thousand in killed and wounded. Had not the 



vastly inferior force of Montcalm prevented 
him from sallying beyond his trenches, the re- 
treat of the British might have been pushed to 
a headlong and disastrous flight. 

Abercrombie had still nearly four times the 
number of the enemy, with cannon, and aU the 
means of carrying on a siege, with every pros- 
pect of success ; but the failure of this rash 
assault seems completely to have dismayed him. 
The next day he re-embarked aU his troops, 
and returned across that lake where his dis- 
graced banners had recently waved so proudly. 

While the general was planning fortifications 
on Lake George, Colonel Bradstreet obtained per-, 
mission to carry into eflect an expedition which 
he had for some time meditated, and which 
had been a favored pi-oject with the lamented 
Howe. This was to reduce Fort Frontenac, 
the stronghold of the French on the north side 
of the entrance of Lake Ontario, commanding 
the mouth of the St. Lawrence. This post was 
a central point of Indian trade, whither the 
tribes resorted from all parts of a vast interior ; 
sometimes a distance of a thousand miles, to 
traffic away their peltries with the fur-traders. 
It was, moreover, a magazine for the more 
southern posts, among which was Fort Du- 
quesne on the Ohio. 

Bradstreet was an officei* of spirit. Pushing 
his way along the valley of the Mohawk and 
by the Oneida, where he was joined by several 
warrisrs of the Six Nations, he arrived at Os- 
wego in August, with nearly three thousand 
men, the greater part of them provincial trooi)s 
of New York and Massachusetts. Embarking at 
Oswego in open boats, he crossed Lake Ontario, 
and landed within a mile of Frontenac. The 
fort mounted sixty guns and several mortars, 
yet though a place of such importance, the 
garrison consisted of merely one hundred and 
ten men, and a few Indians. These either fled, 
or surrendered at discretion. In the fort was 
an immense amount of merchandise and mili- 
tary stores ; part of the latter intended for the 
supply of Fort Duquesne. In the harbor were 
nine armed vessels, some of them carrying 
eighteen guns ; the whole of the enemy's ship- 
ping on the lake. Two of these Colonel Brad- 
street freighted with part of the spoils of the 
fort, the others he destroyed ; then having dis- 
mantled the fortifications, and laid waste every 
thing which he could not carry away, he re- 
crossed the lake to Oswego, and returned with 
his troops to the army on Lake George. 



92 



SLOW OPERATIONS— MRS. MARTHA CTSTIS— A SHORT COURTSHIP. 



[1758, 



CHAPTEE XXIV. 

Operations went on slowly in that part of 
the year's campaign in which Washington was 
immediately engaged— the expedition against 
Fort Duquesne. Brigadier-General Forbes, who 
was commander-in-chief, was detained at Phil- 
adelphia by those delays and cross-purposes 
incident to military afiairs in a new country. 
Colonel Bouquet, who was to command the ad- 
vanced division, took his station, with a corps 
of regulars, at Raystown, in the centre of 
Pennsylvania. There slowly assembled troops 
from various parts. Three thousand Pennsyl- 
vanians, twelve hundred and fifty South Caro- 
linians, and a few hundred men from elsewhere. 

Washington, in the mean time, gathered to- 
gether his scattered regiment at Winchester, 
some from a distance of tAVO hundred miles, 
and diligently disciplined his recruits. He had 
two Virginia regiments under him, amounting, 
when complete, to about nineteen hundred 
men. Seven hundred Indian warriors, also, 
came lagging into his camp, lured by the pros- 
pect of a successful campaign. 

The president of the council had given Wash- 
ington a discretionary power in the present 
j imcture, to order (fut militia for the purpose 
of garrisoning the fort in the absence of the 
regular troops. Washington exercised the 
power with extreme reluctance. lie consider- 
ed it, lie said, an affair of too important and 
delicate a nature for him to manage, and ap- 
prehended the discontent it might occasion. In 
fact, his sympathies were always with the hus- 
bandmen and the laborers of the soil, and he 
deplored the evils imposed upon them by arbi- 
trary drafts for military service ; a scruple not 
often indulged by youthful commanders. 

The force thus assembling was ifi want of 
arms, tents, field-e(iuipage, and almost every 
requisite. Washington had made repeated rep- 
resentations, by letter, of the destitute state 
of the Virginia troops, but without avail ; he 
was now ordered by Sir John St. Clair, the 
quartermaster-general of the forces, under Gen- 
eral Forbes, to repair to Williamsburg, and lay 
the state of the case before the council. lie 
set off promptly on horsebaclc, attended by 
Bishop, the well-trained military servant who 
had served the lato General Braddock. It 
proved an eventful journey, though not in a 
military point of view. In crossing a ferry of 
the Pammikey, a branch of Yurk Pviver he 



fell in company with a Mr. Chamberlayne, who 
lived in the neighborhood, and who, in the spirit 
of Virginian hospitality, claimed him as a 
guest. It was with difliculty Washington 
could be prevailed on to halt for dinner, so 
impatient was he to arrive at Williamsburg, 
and accomplish his mission. 

Among the guests at Mr. Chamberlayne's 
was a young and blooming widow, Mrs. Martha 
Oustis, daughter of Mr. John Dandridge, both 
patrician names in the province. Her hus- 
band, John Parke Custis, had been dead about 
three years, leaving her with two young chil- 
dren, and a large fortune. She is represented 
as being rather below the middle size, but ex- 
tremely weU shaped, with an agreeable counte- 
nance, dark hazel eyes and hair, and those frank, 
engaging manners, so captivating in Southern 
women. "We are not informed whether Wash- 
ington had met with her before ; probably not 
during her widowhood, as during that time he 
had been almost continually on the frontier. 
We have shown that, with aU his gravity and 
reserve, he was quickly susceptible to female 
charms; and they may have had a greater 
effect upon him when thus casually encountei'ed 
in fleeting moments snatched from the cares 
and perplexities and rude scenes of frontier 
warfare. At any rate, his heart appears to 
have been taken by surprise. 

The dinner, which in those days was an ear- 
lier meal than at present, seemed aU too short. 
The afternoon passed away like a dream. Bishop 
was punctual to the orders he had received on 
halting ; the horses pawed at the door ; but 
for once Washington loitered in the path of 
duty. The hor.-es were countermanded, and it 
was not until the next morning that he was 
again in the saddle, spurring for Williamsburg. 
Happily the White House, the residence of 
Mrs. Custis, was in Fev/ Kent County, at no 
great distance from that city, so that he had 
opportunities of visiting her in the intervals of 
business. His time for courtship, however, 
was brief. Military duties called him back 
almost immediately to Winchester ; but he 
feared, should he leave the matter in suspense, 
some more enterprising rival might su])p]ant 
liim during his absence, as in the case of Miss 
Philipse, at New York. He improved, there- 
fore, his brief opportunity to the utmost. The 
blooming widow had many suitors, but Wash- 
ington was graced with that renown so enno- 
bling in the eyes of woman. In a word, before 
they separated, they had maitually pli'j-lited 



M-r. 26.] THE RIFLE DRESS— WASHINGtOX ELECTED TO THE HOUSE OF BURGESSES. 93 



their faith, and the marriage was to take place 
as soon as the campaign against Fort Duquesne 
was at an end. 

Before returning to Winchester, "Washington 
was obliged to hold conferences with Sir John 
St. Clair and Colonel Bouquet, at an interme- 
diate rendezvous, to give them information re- 
specting the frontiers, and arrange about the 
marching of his troops. His constant word to 
them was forward ! forward ! For the pre- 
cious time for action was slipping away, and he 
feared their Indian allies, so important to their 
security while on the march, might, v^^ith their 
usual lickleness, lose patience, and return home. 
On arriving at Winchester, he found his 
troops restless and discontented from pro- 
longed inaction. The inhabitants impatient 
of the burdens imposed on them, and of the 
disturbances of an idle camp ; while the In- 
dians, as he apprehended, had deserted out- 
right. It was a great relief, therefore, when he 
received orders from the commander-in-chief 
to repair to Fort Cumberland. He arrived' 
there on the 2d of July, and proceeded to open 
a road between that post and head-quarters, at 
Raystown, thirty miles distant, where Colonel 
yJouquet was stationed. 

His troops were scantily supplied with regi- 
mental clothing. The weather was oppres- 
sively warm. He now conceived the idea of 
equipping them in the light Indian hunting 
garb, and even of adopting it himself. Two 
companies were accordingly equipped in this 
style, and sent under the command of Major 
Lewis to head-quarters. " It is an unbecoming 
dress, I own, for an officer," writes Washing- 
ton ; " but convenience, rather than show, I 
think, should be consulted. The reduction of 
bat-horses alone would be sufficient to recom- 
mend it ; for nothing is more certain than that 
less baggage would be required." 

The experiment was successful. " The dress 
takes very well here," writes Colonel Bouquet ; 
" and, thank God, we see nothing but shirts 
and blankets. * * * Their dress should be 
one pattern for this expedition." Such was 
probably the origin of the American rifle dress, 
afterwards so much worn in warfare, and mod- 
elled on the Indian costume. 

The army was now annoyed by scouting 
parties of Indians hovering about the neighbor- 
hood. Expresses passing betv/een the posts 
were fired upon ; a waggoner was shot down. 
Washington sent out counter-parties of Chero- 
kees. Colonel Bouquet required that each 



party should be accompanied by an officer and 
a number of white men. Washington complied 
with the order, though he considered them 
an encumbrance rather than an advantage, 
" Small parties of Indians," said he, " will 
more effectually harass the enemy, by keeping 
them under continual alarms, than any parties 
of white men can do. For small parties of the 
latter are not equal to the task, not being so 
dexterous at skulking as Indians ; and large 
parties wiU be discovered by their spies early 
enough to have a superior force opposed to 
them." With all these efforts, however, he 
was never able fully to make the ofiBcers of the 
regular army appreciate the importance of In- 
dian allies in these campaigns in the wilderness. 

On the other hand, he earnestly discounte- 
nanced a proposition of Colonel Bouquet, to 
make an irruption into the enemy's country 
with a strong party of regulars. Such a de- 
tachment, he observed, could not be sent with- 
out a cumbersome train of supplies, which 
would discover it to the enemy, who must at 
that time be collecting his whole force at Fort 
Duquesne ; the enterprise, therefore, would be 
likely to terminate in a miscarriage, if not in 
the destruction of the party. We shall see that 
his opinion was oracular. 

As Washington Intended to retire from mil- 
itary life at the close of this campaign, he had 
proposed himself to the electors of Frederick 
County as their representative in the House of 
Burgesses. The election was coming on at 
Winchester ; his friends pressed him to attend 
it, and Colonel Bouquet gave him leave of ab- 
sence ; but he declined to absent himself from 
his post for the promotion of his political in- 
terests. There were three competitors in the 
field, yet so high was the public opinion of his 
merit, that, though Winchester had been his 
head-quarters for two or three years past, and 
he had occasionally enforced martial law with a 
rigorous hand, he was elected by a large ma- 
jority. The election was carried on somewhat 
in the English style. There was much eating 
and drinking at the expense of the candidate. 
Washington appeared on the hustings by proxy, 
and his representative was chaired about the 
town with enthusiastic applause and huzzaing 
for Colonel Washington. 

On the 21st of July arrived tidings of the 
brilliant success of that part of the scheme of 
the year's campaign conducted by General Am- 
herst and Admiral Boscawen, who had reduced 
the strong town of Louisburg, and gained pos- 



94 



A NEW ROAD TO FORT DUQTJESNE— MARCH FOR THE FORT. 



[1758. 



session of the Island of Cape Breton. This 
intelligence increased Washington's impatience 
at the delays of the expedition with which he 
was connected. He wished to rival these suc- 
cesses by a brilliant blow in the south. Per- 
haps a desire for personal distinction in the 
eyes of the lady of his choice, may have been 
at the bottom of this impatience ; for we are 
told that he kept up a constant correspondence 
with her throughout the campaign. 

Understanding that the commander-in-chief 
had some thoughts of throwing a body of light 
troops in the advance, he wrote to Colonel 
Bouquet, earnestly soliciting his influence to 
have himself and his Virginia regiment in- 
cluded in the detachment. " If any argument 
is needed to obtain this favor," said he, " I hope, 
without vanity, I may be allowed to say, that 
from long intimacy with these woods, and fre- 
quent scouting in them, my men are at least as 
well acquainted with all the passes and difii- 
culties as any troops that will be employed." 

He soon learnt to his surprise, however, that' 
the road to which his men were accustomed, 
and which had been worked by Braddook's 
troops in his campaign, was not to be taken in 
the present expedition, but a new one opened 
through tlie heart of Pennsylvania, from Rays- 
town to Fort Duquesne, on the track generally 
taken by the northern traders. He instantly 
commenced long and repeated remonstrances 
on the subject ; representing that Braddock's 
road, from recent examination, only needed par- 
tial repairs, and showing by clear calculation 
that an army could each Fort Duquesne by 
that route in thirty-four days, so that the whole 
campaign might be effected by the middle of 
October ; whereas the extreme labor of open- 
ing a new road across mountains, swamps, and 
through a densely wooded country, would de- 
tain them so late, that the season would be 
over before they could reach the scene of 
action. His representations were of no avail. 
The officers of the regular service had received 
a fearful idea of Braddock's road from his own 
despatches, wherein he had described it as 
lying " across mountains and rocks of an exces- 
sive height, vastly steep, and divided by tor- 
rents and rivers," whereas the Pennsylvania 
traders, who were anxious for the opening of 
the new road through their province, described 
the country through which it would pass as 
less difficult, and its streams less subject to in- 
undation; above all, it was a direct line, and 
fifty miles nearer. This route, therefore, to 



the great regret of "Washington and the indig- 
nation of the Virginia Assembly, was defini- 
tively adopted, and sixteen himdred men were 
immediately thrown in the advance from Eays- 
town to work upon it. 

The first of September found Washington 
still encamped at Fort Cumberland, his troops 
sickly and dispirited, and the brilliant expedi- 
tion which he had anticipated, dwindling down 
into a tedious operation of road-making. In 
the mean time, his scouts brought him word 
that the whole force at Fort Duquesne on the 
13th of August, Indians included, did not ex- 
ceed eight hundred men : had an early cam- 
paign been pressed forward, as he reconmiended, 
the place by this time would have been cap- 
tured. At length, in the month of September, 
he received orders from General Forbes to join 
him with his troops at Eaystown, where he 
had just arrived, having been detained by, 
severe illness. He was received by the general 
with the highest marks of respect. On all oc- 
casions, both in private and at councils of war, 
that commander treated his opinions with the 
greatest deference. He, moreover, adopted a 
plan drawn out by Washington for the marcli 
of the army ; and an order of battle which still 
exists, furnishing a proof of his skiU in frontier 
warfare. 

It was now the middle of September ; yet 
the great body of men engaged in opening the 
new military road, after incredible toil, had not 
advanced about forty-five miles, to a place 
called Loyal Hannan, a little beyond Laurel 
Hill. Colonel Bouquet, who commanded the 
division of nearly two thousand men sent for- 
ward to open this road, had halted at Loyal 
Hannan to establish a military post and de- 
posit. 

He was upwards of fifty miles from Fort Du- 
quesne, and was tempted to adopt the measure, 
so strongly discountenanced by Washington, 
of sending a party on a foray into the enemy's 
country. He accordingly detached Major Grant 
with eight hundred picked men, some of them 
Highlanders, others in Indian garb, the part 
of Washington's Virginian regiment sent for- 
ward by him from Cumberland under command 
of Major Lewis. 

The instructions given to Major Grant were 
merely to reconnoitre the country in the neigh- 
borhood of Fort Duquesne, and ascertain the 
strength and position of the enemy. He con- 
ducted the enterprise with the foolhardiness 
of a man eager for personal notoriety. His 



^T. 26.] 



FOOLHARDINESS OF GRANT— DISASTROUS CONSEQUENCES. 



95 



whole object seems to have been by open bra- 
vado to provoke an action. The enemy were 
apprised, through their scouts, of his approach, 
but suffered him to advance unmolested. Ar- 
riving at night in the neighborhood of the fort, 
he posted his men on a hill, and sent out a 
party of observation, who set fire to a log house 
near the walls, and returned to the encamp- 
ment. As if this were not sufficient to put the 
enemy on the alert, he ordered the reveille to 
be beaten in the morning in several places ; 
then, posting Major Lewis with his provincial 
troops at a distance in the rear to protect the 
baggage, he marshalled his regulars in battle 
array, and sent an engineer, with a covering 
party, to take a plan of the works in full view 
of the garrison. 

Not a gun was fired by the fort ; the silence 
which was maintained was mistaken for fear, 
and increased the arrogance and blind security 
of the British commander. At length, when 
he was thrown off his guard, there was a sudden 
sally of the garrison, and an attack on the flanks 
by Indians hid in ambush. A scene now oc- 
curred similar to that of the defeat of Brad- 
dock. The British officers marshalled their 
men according to European tactics, and the 
Highlanders for some time stood their ground 
bravely ; but the destructive fire and horrid yells 
of the Indians soon produced panic and con- 
fusion. Major Lewis, at the first noise of the 
attack, left Captain Bullitt, with fifty Virgin- 
ians, to guard the baggage, and hastened with 
the main part of his men to the scene of action. 
The contest was kept up for some time, but the 
confusion was irretrievable. The Indians sal- 
lied from their concealment, and attacked with 
the tomahawk and scalping-knife. Lewis fought 
hand to hand with an Indian brave, whom he 
laid dead at his feet, but was surrounded by 
others, and only saved his life by surrendering 
himself to a French officer. Major Grant sur- 
rendered himself in like manner. The whole 
detachment was put to the rout with dreadful 
carnage. 

Captain Bullitt rallied several of the fugi- 
tives, and prepared to make a forlorn stand, as 
the only chance where the enemy was over- 
whelming and merciless. Despatching the most 
valuable baggage with the strongest horses, he 
made a barricade with the baggage waggons, 
behind which he posted his men; giving them 
orders how they were to act. AU this was the 
thought and the work almost of a moment, for 
the savages, having finished the havoc and 



plunder of the field of battle, were hastening 
in pursuit of the fugitives. Bullitt suftered 
them to come near, when, on a concerted sig- 
nal, a destructive fire was opened from behind 
the baggage waggons. They were checked for 
a time; but were again pressing forward in 
greater numbers, when BuUitt and his men 
held out the signal of capitulation, and ad- 
vanced as if to surrender. When within eight 
yards of the enemy, they suddenly levelled * 
their arms, poured a most efiective volley, and 
then charged with the bayonet. The Indians 
fled in dismay, and Bullitt took advantage of 
this check to retreat with aU speed, collecting 
the wounded and the scattered fugitives as he 
advanced. The routed detachment came back 
in fragments to Colonel Bouquet's camp at 
Loyal Hannan, with the loss of twenty-one 
officers and two hundred and seventy-three 
privates killed and taken. The Highlanders 
and the Virginians were those that fought the 
best and suffered the most in this bloody battle. 
Washington's regiment lost six officers and 
sixty-two privates. 

If Washington could have taken any pride 
in seeing his presages of misfortune verified, he 
might have been gratified by the result of this 
rash " irruption into the enemy's country," 
which was exactly what he had predicted. In 
his letters to Governor Fauquier, however, he 
bears lightly on the error of Col. Bouquet. 
" From all accounts I can collect," says he, 
" it appears very clear that this was a very ill- 
concerted, or a very ill-executed plan, perhaps 
both ; but it seems to be generally acknowl- 
edged that Major Grant exceeded his orders, 
and that no disposition was made for engag- 
ing." 

Washington, who was at Raystown when the 
disastrous news ai-rived, was publicly compli- 
mented by General Forbes, on the gallant con- 
duct of his Virginian troops, and Bullitt's be- 
havior was " a matter of great admiration." 
The latter was soon after rewarded with a 
major's commission. 

As a further mark of the high opinion now 
entertained of provincial troops for frontier 
service, Washington was given the command 
of a division, partly composed of his own men, 
to keep in the advance of the main body, clear 
the roads, throw out scouting parties, and repel 
Indian attacks. 

It was the 5th of November before the whole 
army assembled at Loyal Hannan. Winter was 
now at hand, and upwards of fifty miles of 



96 



PUliT DUQUESNE ABANDOXED— WASHINGTON'S MARRIAGE. 



[1759. 



wilderness vrere yet to be traversecl, bv a road 
not yet formed, before tliey could reach Fort 
Duqnesne. Again, Washington's predictions 
seemed likely to be verified, and the expedition 
to be defeated by delay ; for in a council of 
war, it Avas determined to be impracticable to 
advance further with the army that season. 
Three prisoners, however, who were brouglit 
in, gave such an account of the weak state of 
the garrison at Fort Duquesne, its want of 
provisions, and the defection of the Indians, 
that it was determined to push forward. The 
march was accordingly resumed, but without 
tents or baggage, and with only a light train 
of artillery. 

Washington still kept the advance. After 
leaving Loyal Hannan, the road presented traces 
of the late defeat of Grant ; being strewed 
with human bones, the sad relics of fugitives 
cut down by the Indians, or of woimded soldiers 
who had died on the retreat ; they lay moulder- 
ing in various stages of decay, mingled with 
the bones of horses and of oxen. As they ap- 
proached Fort Duquesne, these mementoes of 
former disasters became more frequent ; and 
the bones of those massacred in the defeat of 
Braddock, stiU lay scattered about the battle 
field, whitening in the sun. 

At length the army arrived in sight of Fort 
Duquesne, advancing with great precaution, 
and expecting a vigorous defence ; but that 
formidable fortress, the terror and scourge of 
the frontier, and the object of such warlike 
enterprise, fell without a blow. The recent 
successes of the English forces in Canada, par- 
ticularly the capture and destruction of Fort 
Frontenac, had left the garrison without hope 
of reinforcements and supplies. The whole 
force, at the time, did not exceed five hundred 
men, and the provisions were nearly exhausted. 
The commander, therefore, waited only until 
the English array was v\-ithin one day's march, 
when he embarked his troops at night in ba- 
teaux, blew up his magazines, set fire to the 
fort, and retreated down the Ohio, by the light 
of the flames. On the 25th of November, 
Washington, with the advanced guard, marched 
in, and planted the British flag on the yet 
smoking ruins. 

One of the first offices of the army was to 
collect and bury, in one common tomb, the 
bones of their fellow-soldiers who had fallen 
in the battles of Braddock and Grant. In this 
pious duty it is said every one joined, from the 
general down to the private soldier ; and some 



veterans assisted, with heavy hearts and fre- 
quent ejaculations of poignant feeling, v/ho had 
been present in the scenes of defeat and car- 
nage. 

The ruins of the fortress were now put in a 
defensible state, and garrisoned by two hundred 
men from Washington's regiment ; the name 
was changed to that of Fort Pitt, in honor of 
the illustrious British minister, whose measures 
had given vigor and eflTect to this year's cam- 
paign ; it has since been modified into Pitts- 
burg, and designates one of the most busy and 
populous cities of the interior. 

The reduction of Fort Duquesne terminated, 
as Washington had foreseen, the troubles and 
dangers of the southern frontier. The French 
domination of the Oiiio was at an end ; tlie In- 
dians, as usual, paid homage to the conquering 
power, and a treaty of peace was concluded 
with all the tribes between the Ohio and the 
lakes. 

With this campaign ended, for the present, 
the military career of Washington. His great 
object was attained, the restoration of quiet 
and security to his native province ; and, hav- 
ing abandoned all hope of attaining rank in the 
regular army, and his health being much im- 
paired, he gave up his commission at the close 
of the year, and retired from the service, fol- 
lowed by the applause of his fellow-soldiers, 
and the gratitude and admiration of all his 
countrymen. 

His marriage with Mrs, Custis took place 
shortly after his return. It was celebrated on 
the 6th of January, 1759, at the White House, 
the residence of the bride, in the good old hos- 
pitable style of Virginia, amid a joyous assem- 
blage of relatives and friends. 



CHAPTER XXV. 

Before following Washington into the retire- 
ment of domestic life, we think it proper to no- 
tice the events whicli closed the great struggle 
between England and France for empire in 
America. In that struggle he had first become 
practised in arms, and schooled m the ways of 
the world ; and its results will be found con- 
nected with the history of his later years. 

General Ai)ercrombie had been superseded 
as commander-in-chief of the forces in America 
by Major-General Amherst, who had gained 
great favor by the reduction of Louisburg. 



Mt. 27.] 



FORT NIAGARA TAKEN— AMHERST AT TICONDEROGA. 



97 



According to the plan of operations for 1759, 
General "Wolfe, who had risen to fame by his 
gallant conduct in the same aftair, was to ascend 
the St. Lawrence in a fleet of ships of war, with 
eight thousand men, as soon as the river should 
be free of ice, and lay siege to Quebec, the 
capital of Canada. General Amherst, in the 
mean time, was to advance, as Abercrombie 
had done, by Lake George, against Ticonderoga 
and Crown Point ; reduce those forts, cross 
Lake Charaplain, push on to the St. Lawrence, 
and co-operate with Wolfe. 

A third expedition, under Brigadier-General 
Prideaux, aided by Sir William Johnson and his 
Indian warriors, was to attack Fort Niagara, 
which controlled the whole country of the Six 
Nations, and commanded the navigation of the 
great lakes, and the intercourse between Canada 
and Louisiana. Having reduced this fort, he 
was to traverse Lake Ontario, descend the St. 
Lawrence, capture Montreal, and joiu his forces 
with those of Amherst. 

The last-mentioned expedition was the first 
executed. General Prideaux embarked at Os- 
wego on the first of July, with a large body of 
troops, regulars and provincials, — the latter 
partly from New York. He was accompanied 
by Sir William Johnson, and his Indian braves 
of the Mohawk. Landing at an inlet of Lake 
Ontario, within a few miles of Fort Niagara, 
he advanced, without being opposed, and pro- 
ceeded to invest it. The garrison, six hundred 
strong, made a resolute defence. The siege 
was carried on by regular approaches, but 
pressed with vigor. On the 20th of July, Pri- 
deaux, in visiting his trenches, was killed by 
the bursting of a cohorn. Informed by express 
of this misfortune, General Amherst detached 
from the main army Brigadier-General Gage, 
the officer who had led Braddock's advance, to 
take the command. 

In the mean time, the siege had been con- 
ducted by Sir William Johnson with courage 
and sagacity. He was destitute of military 
science, but had a natural aptness for warfare, 
especially for the rough kind carried on in the 
wilderness. Being informed by his scouts that 
twelve hundred regular troops, drawn from De- 
troit, Venango, and Presque Isle, and led by 
D'Aubry, with a number of Indian auxiliaries, 
were hastening to the rescue, he detached a 
force of grenadiers and light infantry, with 
some of his Mohawk warriors, to intercept 
them. They came in sight of each other on 
the road between Niagara Falls and the fort, 
7 



within the thundering sound of the one, and 
the distant view of the other. Johnson's 
" braves " advanced to have a parley with the 
hostile redskins. The latter received them with 
a war-whoop, and Frenchman and savage made 
an impetuous onset. Johnson's regulars and 
provincials stood their ground firmly, while his 
red warriors fell on the flanks of the enemy. 
After a sharp conflict, the French were broken, 
routed, and pursued through the woods, with 
great carnage. Among the prisoners taken 
were seventeen oflicers. The next day Sir 
William Johnson sent a trumpet, summoning 
the garrison to surrender, to spare the effusion 
of blood, and prevent outrages by the Indians. 
They had no alternative ; were permitted to 
march out with the honors of war, and were 
protected by Sir WiUiam from his Indian allies. 
Thus was secured the key to the communication 
between Lakes Ontario and Erie, and to the 
vast interior region connected with them. The 
blow alarmed the French for the safety of 
Montreal, and De Levi, the second in command 
of their Canadian forces, hastened up from be- 
fore Quebec, and took post at the fort of Os- 
wegatchie (now Ogdensburg), to defend the 
passes of the St. Lawrence. 

We now proceed to notice the expedition 
against Ticonderoga and Crown Point. In the 
month of July, General Amherst embarked 
with nearly twelve thousand men, at the upper 
part of Lake George, and proceeded down it, 
as Abercrombie had done in the preceding 
year, in a vast fleet of whale-boats, bateaux, 
and rafts, and all the glitter and parade of war. 
On the 22d, the army debarked at the lower 
part of the lake, and advanced toward Ticon- 
deroga. After a slight skirmish with the ad- 
vanced guard, they secured the old post at the 
saw-mill. 

Montcalm was no longer in the fort ; he was 
absent for the protection of Quebec. The gar- 
rison did not exceed four hundred men. Bour- 
lamarque, a brave officer, who commanded, at 
flrst seemed disposed to make defence ; but, 
against such overwhelming force, it would have 
been madness. Dismantling the fortifications, 
therefore, he abandoned them, as he did like- 
wise those at Crown Point, and retreated down 
the lake, to assemble forces, and make a stand 
at the Isle Aux Noix, for the protection of 
Montreal and the province. 

Instead of following him up, and hastening 
to co-operate with Wolfe, General Amherst 
proceeded to repair the works at Ticonderoga, 



98 



GENERAL WOLFE AT QUEBEC. 



[1759. 



and erect a new fort at Crown Point, thongh 
neither was in present danger of being attacked, 
nor would be of use if Canada were conquered. 
Amherst, however, was one of those cautious 
men, who, in seeking to be sure, are apt to be 
fatally slow. His delay enabled the enemy to 
rally their forces at Isle Aux Noix, and call in 
Canadian reinforcements, while it deprived 
Wolfe of that co-operation which, it will be 
shown, was most essential to the general suc- 
cess of the campaign. 

"Wolfe, with his eight thousand men, ascended 
the St. Lawrence in the fleet, in the month of 
June. With him came Brigadiers Monckton, 
Townshend, and Murray, youthful and brave 
like himself, and like himself, already schooled 
in arms. Monckton, it will be recollected, had 
signalized himself, when a colonel, in the expe- 
dition in 1755, in which the French were driv- 
en from Nova Scotia. The grenadiers of the 
army were commanded by Colonel Guy Carle- 
ton, and part of the light infantry by Lieuten- 
ant-Colonel William Howe, both destined to ce- 
lebrity in after years in the annals of the 
American Revolution. Colonel Howe was 
brother of the gallant Lord Howe, whose fall in 
the preceding year was so generally lamented. 
Among the officers of the fleet was Jervis, the 
future admiral, and ultimately Earl St. Vin- 
cent ; and the master of one of the ships was 
James Cook, afterwards renowned as a discov- 
erer. 

About the end of June, the troops debarked 
on the large, populous, and well-cultivated Isle 
of Orleans, a little below Quebec, and encamp- 
ed in its fertile fields. Quebec, the citadel of 
Canada, was strong by nature. It was built 
round the point of a rocky promontory, and 
flanked by precipices. The crystal current of 
the St. Lawrence swept by it on the right, and 
the river St. Charles flowed along on the left, 
before mingling with that mighty stream. The 
place was tolerably fortifled, but art had not 
yet rendered it, as at the present day, impreg- 
nable. 

Montcalm commanded the post. His troops 
were more numerous than the assailants ; but 
the greater part were Canadians, many of them 
inhabitants of Quebec ; and he had a host of 
savages. His forces were drawn out along the 
northern shore below the city, from the river 
St. Charles to the Falls of Montmorency, and 
their position was secured by deep intrench- 
ments. 

The night after the debarkation of Wolfe's 



troops, a furious storm caused great damage to 
the transports, and sank some of the small 
craft. While it was stiU raging, a number of 
fire-ships, sent to destroy the fleet, came driving 
down. They were boarded intrepidly by the 
British seamen, and towed out of the way of 
doing harm. After much resistance, Wolfe es- 
tablished batteries at the west point of the Isle 
of Orleans, and at Point Levi, on the right (or 
south) bank of the St. Lawrence, within cannon 
range of the city. Colonel Guy Carleton com- 
manded at the former battery ; Brigadier Monck- 
ton at the latter. From Point Levi bombshells 
and red-hot shot were discharged ; many houses 
were set on fire in the upper town, the lower 
town was reduced to rubbish ; the main fort, 
however, remained unharmed. 

Anxious for a decisive action, Wolfe, on the 
9th of July, crossed over in boats from the Isle 
of Orleans, to the north bank of the St. Law- 
rence, and encamped below the Montmorency, 
It was an ill-judged position, for there was still 
that tumultuous stream, with its rocky banks, 
between him and the camp of Montcalm ; but 
the ground he had chosen was higher than that 
occupied by tlie latter, and the Montmorency 
had a ford below the falls, passable at low tide. 
Another ford was discovered, three miles with- 
in land, but the banks were steep, and shagged 
with forest. At both fords the vigilant Mont- 
calm had thrown up breastworks, and posted 
troops. 

On the 18th of July, Wolfe made a recon- 
noitring expedition up the river, with two 
armed sloops, and two transports with troops. 
He passed Quebec unharmed, and carefully no- 
ted the shores above it. Rugged cliflfs rose al- 
most from the water's edge. Above them, he 
was told, was an extent of level ground, called 
the Plains of Abraham, by which the upper 
town might be approached on its weakest side ; 
but how was that plain to be attained, when 
the cliffs, for the most part, were inaccessible, 
and every practicable place fortified ? 

He returned to Montmorency disappointed, 
and resolved to attack Montcalm in his camp, 
however difficult to be approached, and how- 
ever strongly posted. Townshend and Murray 
with their brigades, were to cross the Montmo- 
rency at low^ tide, below the falls, and storm 
the redoubt thrown up in front of the ford. 
Monckton, at the same time, was to cross, with 
part of his brigade, in boats from Point Levi. 
The ship Centurion, stationed in the channel, 
was to check the fire of a battery which com- 



Mt. 21.} 



WOLFE BEFORE THE BATTLE. 



99 



manded the ford ; a train of artillery, planted 
on an eminence, was to enfilade the enemy's in- 
trenchments ; and two armed, flat-bottomed 
boats, were to be run on shore near the re- 
doubt, and favor the crossing of the troops. 

As usual, in complicated orders, part were 
misunderstood, or neglected, and confusion was 
the consequence. Many of the boats from 
Point Levi ran aground on a shallow in the riv- 
er, where they were exposed to a severe fire of 
shot and shells. "Wolfe, who was on the shore, 
directing every thing, endeavoi-ed to stop his 
impatient troops until the boats could be got 
afloat, and the men landed. Thirteen compa- 
nies of grenadiers, and two hundred provin- 
cials, wei-e the first to land. Without waiting 
for Brigadier Monckton and his regiments ; 
without waiting for the co-operation of the 
troops under Townshend ; without waiting even 
to be drawn up in form, the grenadiers rushed 
impetuously towards the enemy's intrench- 
ments. A sheeted fire mowed them down, and 
drove them to take shelter behind the redoubt, 
near the ford, which the enemy had abandoned. 
Here they remained, unable to form under the 
galling fire to which they were exposed, when- 
ever they ventured from their covert. Mouck- 
ton's brigade at length was landed, drawn up 
in order, and advanced to their relief, driving 
back the enemy. Thus protected, the grena- 
diers retreated as precipitately as they had ad- 
vanced, leaving many of their comrades wound- 
ed on the field, who were massacred and scalp- 
ed in their sight, by the savages. The delay 
thus caused was fatal to the enterprise. The day 
was advanced ; the weather became stormy ; 
the tide began to make ; at a later hour, re- 
treat, in case of a second repulse, would be im- 
possible. "Wolfe, therefore, gave up the at- 
tack, and withdrew across the river, having lost 
upwards of four hundred men, through this 
headlong impetuosity of the grenadiers. The 
two vessels which had been run aground, were 
set on fire, lest they should fall into the hands 
of the enemy.* 

Brigadier Murray was now detached, with 
twelve hundred men, in transports, to ascend 
above the town, and co-operate with Rear-Ad- 
miral Holmes, in destroying the enemy's ship- 
ping, and making descents upon the north shore. 
The shipping were safe from attack ; some 
stores and ammunition were destroyed ; some 
prisoners taken, and Murray returned with the 



* Wolfe's letter to Pitt, September 2d, 1759. 



news of the capture of Fort Niagara, Ticonde- 
roga, and Crown Point, and that Amherst was 
preparing to attack the Isle Aux Noix. 

Wolfe, of a delicate constitution and sensitive 
nature, had been deeply mortified by the severe 
check sustained at the Falls of Montmorency, 
fancying himself disgraced ; and these successes 
of his fellow-commanders in other parts in- 
creased his self-upbraiding. The difficulties 
multiplying around him, and the delay of Gen- 
eral Amherst in hastening to his aid, preyed in- 
cessantly on his spirits ; he was dejected even 
to despondency, and declared he would never 
return without success, to be exposed, like other 
unfortunate commanders, to the sneers and re- 
proaches of the populace. The agitation of his 
mind, and his acute sensibility, brought on a fe- 
ver, which for some time incapacitated him from 
taking the field. 

In the midst of his illness he called a council 
of war, in which the whole jjlan of operations 
was altered. It was determined to convey 
troops above the town, and endeavor to make 
a diversion in that direction, or draw Montcalm 
mto the open field. Before carrying this plan 
into effect, Wolfe again reconnoitred the town 
in company with Admiral Saunders, but nothing 
better suggested itself. 

The brief Canadian summer was over ; they 
were in the month of September, The camp 
at Montmorency was broken up. The troops 
were transported to Point Levi, leaving a suf- 
ficient number to man the batteries on the Isle 
of Orleans. On the fifth and sixth of Septem- 
ber the embarkation took place above Point 
Levi, in transports which had been sent up for 
the purpose. Montcalm detached De Bougain- 
ville, with fifteen hundred men, to keep along 
the north shore above the town, watch the 
movements of the squadron, and prevent a 
landing. To deceive him. Admiral Holmes 
moved with the ships of war three leagues be- 
yond the place where the landing was to be at- 
tempted. He was to drop down, however, in 
the night, and protect the landing. Cook, the 
future discoverer, also, was employed with oth- 
ers to sound the river, and place buoys opposite 
the camp of Montcalm, as if an attack were 
meditated in that quarter. 

Wolfe was stiU suffering under the effects of 
his late fever. " My constitution," writes he 
to a friend, " is entirely ruined, without the 
consolation of having done any considerable 
service to the state, and without any prospect 
of it." Still he was unremitting in his exer- 



LofC. 



100 



THE BATTLE 02T THE PLAINS OF ABRAHAM. 



[1759. 



tions, seeking to wipe out the fancied disgrace 
incurred at the Falls of Montmorency. It was 
in this mood he is said to have composed and 
simg at his evening mess that little campaigning 
song still linked with his name : 

Why, Boldiers, -vrhy, 
Should we be melancholy, hoys 
VThy, soldiers, why ? 
Whose business 'tis to die 1 

Even when embarked in his midnight enter- 
prise, the presentiment of death seems to have 
cast its shadow over him. A midshipman who 
was present,* used to relate, that as "Wolfe sat 
among his officers, and the boats floated down 
silently with the current, he recited, in low and 
touching tones, Gray's Elegy in a country 
ckurchyard, then just published. One stanza 
may especially have accorded with his melan- 
choly mood. 

" The boast of heraldry, the pomp of power, 

And all that beauty, all that wealth e'er gave, 
Await alike the inevitable hour. 

The paths of glory lead but to the grave." 

"Now, gentlemen," said he, when he had 
finished, " I would rather be the author of that 
poem than take Quebec." 

The descent was made in flat-bottomed boats, 
past midnight, on the 13th of September. They 
dropped down sUently with the swift current. 
" Qui va la ? " (who goes there ?) cried a senti- 
nel from the shore. " La France,'''' replied a 
captain in the first boat, who understood the 
French language. " A quel regiment ? " was 
the demand. " De la Heine " (the queen's), re- 
plied the captain, knowing that regiment was 
in De Bougainville's detachment. Fortunately, 
a convoy of provisions was expected down from 
De Bougainville's, which the sentinel supposed 
this to be, " Posse," cried he, and the boats 
glided on without further challenge. The land- 
ing took place in a cove near Cape Diamond, 
which still bears Wolfe's name. He had mark- 
ed it in reconnoitring, and saw that a cragged 
path straggled up from it to the Heights of 
Abraham, which might be climbed, though with 
difficulty, and that it appeared to be slightly 
guarded at top. "Wolfe was among the first 
that landed and ascended up the steep and nar- 
row path, where not more than two could go 
abreast, and Avhich had been broken up by cross 
ditches. Colonel Howe, at the same time, with 
the light infantry and Highlanders, scrambled 
up the woody precipices, helping themselves by 



♦ Afterwards Professor John Robison, of Edinburgh. 



the roots and branches, and putting to flight a 
sergeant's guard posted at the summit. "Wolfe 
drew up the men in order as they mounted ; 
and by the break of day found himself in pos- 
session of the fateful Plains of Abraham. 

Montcalm was thunderstruck when word was 
brought to him in his camp that the English 
were on the heights, threatening the weakest 
part of the town. Abandoning his intrench- 
ments, he hastened across the river St. Charles 
and ascended the heights, which slope up 
gradually from its banks. His force was equal 
in number to that of the English, but a great 
part was made up of colony troops and savages. 
"When he saw the formidable host of regulars 
he had to contend with, he sent off swift mes- 
sengers to summon De Bougainville with his 
detachment to his aid ; and De Yaudreuil to 
reinforce him with fifteen hundred men from 
the camp. In the mean time he prepared to 
flank the left of the English line and force them 
to the opposite precipices. Wolfe saw his aim, 
and sent Brigadier Townshend to counteract 
him with a regiment, which was formed en 
potence, and supported by two battalions, pre- 
senting on the left a double front. 

The French, in their haste, thinking they were 
to repel a mere scouting party, had brought but 
three light field-pieces with them ; the English 
had but a single gun, which the sailors had 
dragged up the heights. "With these they can- 
nonaded each other for a time, Montcalm still 
waiting for the aid he had summoned. At 
length, about nine o'clock, losing all patience, 
he led on his disciplined troops to a close con- 
flict with small arms, the Indians to support 
them by a galling fire from thickets and corn- 
fields. The French advanced gallantly, but 
irregularly, firing rapidly, b\it with little eftect. 
The English reserved their fire until their as- 
sailants were within forty yards, and then de- 
livered it in deadly volleys. They sufiered, 
however, from the lurking savages, who singled 
out the officers. "Wolfe, who was in front of 
the line, a conspicuous mark, was wounded by 
a ball m the wrist. He bound his handker- 
chief round the wound, and led on the grena- 
diers, with fixed bayonets, to charge the foe, 
who began to waver. Another ball struck him 
in the breast. He felt the wound to be mortal, 
and feared his fall might dishearten the troops. 
Leaning on a lieiitenant for support : " Let not 
my brave fellows see me drop," said he faintly. 
He was borne oflf to the rear ; water was 
brought to quench his thirst, and he was asked 



Mr. 27.] DEATH OF WOLFE AND MONTCALM— CAPITULATION OF QUEBEC. 



101 



if lie would have a surgeon, " It is needless," 
he replied ; " it is all over with me." He de- 
sired those about him to lay him down. The 
lieutenant seated himself on the ground, and 
supported him in his arms. " They run ! they 
run ! see how they run ! " cried one of the 
attendants. "Who run?" demanded Wolfe, 
earnestly, like one aroused from sleep. " The 
enemy, sir ; they give way everywhere." 
The spirit of the expiring hero flashed up. 
" Go, one of you, my lads, to Colonel Burton ; 
tell him to march Webb's regiment with all 
speed down to Charles' River, to cut off the 
retreat by the bridge." Then turning on his 
side ; " Now, God be praised, I will die in 
peace ! " said he, and expired,'^ — soothed in his 
last moments by the idea that victory would 
obliterate the imagined disgrace at Montmo- 
rency. 

Brigadier Murray had indeed broken the cen- 
tre of the enemy, and the Highlanders were 
making deadly havoc with their claymores, 
driving the French into the town or down to 
their works on the river St. Charles. Monck- 
ton, the first brigadier, was disabled by a 
wound in the lungs, and the command devolved 
on Townshend, who hastened to re-form the 
troops of the centre, disordered in pursuing the 
enemy. By this time De Bougainville appeared 
at a distance in the rear, advancing with two 
thousand fresh troops, but he arrived too late 
to retrieve the day. The gallant Montcalm had 
received his death-wound near St. John's Gate, 
while endeavoring to rally his flying troops, 
and had been borne into the town. 

Townshend advanced with a force to receive 
De Bougainville ; but the latter avoided a com- 
bat, and retired into woods and swamps, where 
it was not thought prudent to follow him. The 
English had obtained a complete victory ; slain 
about five hundred of the enemy ; taken above 
a thousand prisoners, and among them several 
ofiicers ; and had a strong position on the Plains 
of Abraham, which they hastened to fortify 
with redoubts, and artillery drawn uj) the 
heights. 

The brave Montcalm wrote a letter to Gen- 
eral Townshend, recommending the prisoners 
to British humanity. When told by his sur- 
geon that he could not survive above a few 
hours ; " So much the better," replied he ; " I 
shall not live to see the surrender of Quebec." 
To De Ramsey, the French king's lieutenant 



Hist. Jour, of C.ipt. John Knox, vol. i., p. 79. 



who commanded the garrison, he consigned the 
defence of the city. " To your keeping," said 
he, "I commend the honor of France. I'll 
neither give orders, nor interfere any further. 
I have business to attend to of greater moment 
than your ruined garrison, and this wretched 
country. My time is short, — I shall pass this 
night with God, and prepare myself for death. 
I wish you all comfort ; and to be happily ex- 
tricated from your present perplexities." He 
then called for his chaplain, who, with the 
bishop of the colony, remained with him through 
the night. He expired early in the morning, 
dying like a brave soldier and a devout Catho- 
lic, Never did two worthier foes mingle their 
life-blood on the battle-field than Wolfe and 
Montcalm,* 

Preparations were now made by the army 
and the fleet to make an attack on both upper 
and lower town ; but the spirit of the garrison 
was broken, and the inhabitants were clamor- 
ous for the safety of their wives and children. 
On the 17th of September, Quebec capitulated, 
and was taken possession of by the British, 
who hastened to put it in a complete posture 
of defence. A garrison of six thousand effec- 
tive men was placed in it, under the command 
of Brigadier-General Murray, and victualled 
from the fleet. General Townshend embarked 
with Admiral Saunders, and returned to Eng- 
land ; and the wounded General Monckton was 
conveyed to New York, of which he afterwards 
became governor. 

Had Amherst followed up his success at 
Ticonderoga the preceding summer, the year's 
campaign would have ended, as had been pro- 
jected, in the subjugation of Canada, His 
cautious delay gave De Levi, the successor of 
Montcalm, time to rally, concentrate the scat- 
tered French forces, and struggle for the salva- 
tion of the province. 

In the following spring, as soon as the river 
St, Lawrence opened, he approached Quebec, 
and landed at Point au Tremble, about twelve 
miles off. The garrison had suffered dreadfully 
during the winter from excessive cold, want of 
vegetables and of fresh provisions. Many had 
died of scurvy, and many more were iU. Mur- 
ray, sanguine and injudicious, on hearing that 
De Levi was advancing with ten thousand men, 
and five hundred Indians, sallied out with his 
diminished forces of not more than three thou- 
sand. English soldiers, he boasted, were ha- 



* Knox ; Hist. Jour., vol. i., p. 77. 



102 



EXPEDITION AGAINST MONTREAL— SURRENDER OF CANADA. 



[1759. 



bitnated to victory ; he had a fine train of ar- 
tillery, and stood a better chance in the field 
than cooped up in a wretched fortification. If 
defeated, he would defend the place to the last 
extremity, and then retreat to the Isle of Or- 
leans, and wait for reinforcements. More 
brave than discreet, he attacked the vanguard 
of the enemy ; the battle which took place was 
fierce and sanguinary. Murray's troops had 
caught his own headlong valor, and fought 
until near a third of their number were slain. 
They were at length driven back into the town, 
leaving their boasted train of artillery on the 
field. 

De Levi opened trenches before the town 
the very evening of the battle. Three French 
ships, which had descended the river, furnished 
him with cannon, mortars, and ammunition. By 
the 11th of May, he had one bomb battery, 
and three batteries of cannon. Murray, equally 
alert within the walls, strengthened his de- 
fences, and kept up a vigorous fire. His garri- 
son was now reduced to two hundred and 
twenty effective men, and he himself, with all 
his vaunting spirit, was driven almost to de- 
spair, when a British fleet arrived in the river. 
The whole scene was now reversed. One of 
the French frigates was driven on the rocks 
above Cape Diamond ; another ran on shore, 
and was burnt ; the rest of their vessels were 
either taken or destroyed. The besieging 
army retreated in the night, leaving provisions, 
implements, and artillery behind them ; and so 
rapid was their flight, that Murray, who salHed 
forth on the following day, could not overtake 
them. 

A last stand foi: the preservation of the colony 
was now made by the French at Montreal, 
where De Vaudreuil fixed his head-quarters, 
fortified himself, and called in all possible aid, 
Canadian and Indian. 

The cautious, but tardy Amherst, was now 
in tlie field to carry out the plan in which he 
had fallen short in the previous year. He sent 
orders to General Murray to advance by water 
against Montreal, with all the force that could 
be spared from Quebec ; he detached a body 
of troops under Colonel Ilaviland from Crown 
Point, to cross Lake Cham])lain, take posses- 
sion of the Isle Aux ISToix, and push on to the 
St. Lawrence, while he took the roundabout 
way with his main army by the Mohawk and 
Oneida rivers to Lake Ontario ; thence to de- 
scend the St, Lawrence to Montreal. 

Murray, according to orders, embarkea his 



troops in a great number of small vessels, and 
ascended the river in characteristic style, pub- 
lishing manifestoes in the Canadian villages, 
disarming the inhabitants, and exacting the 
oath of neutrahty. He looked forward to 
new laurels at Montreal, but the slow and sure 
Amherst had anticipated him. That worthy 
general, after delaying on Lake Ontario to send 
out cruisers, and stopping to repair petty forts 
on the upper part of the St. Lawrence, which 
had been deserted by their garrisons, or sur- 
rendered without firing a gun, arrived on the 
6th of September at the island of Montreal, 
routed some light skirmishing parties, and pre- 
sented himself before the town. Vaudreuil 
found himself threatened by an army of nearly 
ten thousand men, and a host of Indians ; for i 
Amherst had called in the aid of Sir "William 
Johnson and his Mohawk braves. To witli- 
stand a siege in an almost open town against 
such superior force, was out of the question ; 
especially as Murray from Quebec, and Havi- 
land from Crown Point, were at hand with ad- 
ditional troops. A capitulation accordingly 
took place on the 8th ®f September, including 
the surrender not merely of Montreal, but of 
aU Canada. , , 

Thus ended the contest be1^-."ccn France and 
England for dominion in America, in which, as 
has been said, the first gun was fired in "Wash- 
ington's encounter with De Jumonville. A 
French statesman and diplomatist consoled him- 
self by the persuasion that it would be a fatal 
triumph to England. It would remove the 
only check by which her colonics were kept in 
awe. " They will no longer need her protec- 
tion," said he ; " she will call on them to con- 
tribute toward supporting the , burdens they 
have helped to bring on her, and they will an- 
siccr hy siriHng off all dej^cndenccy'-' 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

Foe three months after his marriage, "Wash- 
ington resided with his bride at the " "White 
House." During his sojourn there he repaired 
to Williamsburg, to take his seat in the House 
of Burgesses. By a vote of the House, it had 
been determined to greet his installation by a 
signal testimonial of respect. Accordingly, as 
soon as he took his seat, Mr. Eobinson, the 



* Count dc Vcrgennes, French ambassador at Constan- 
tinople. 



^T. 27-31.] 



RURAL LIFE— ARISTOCRATIC DAYS OF VIRGINIA. 



103 



speaker, in eloquent language, dictated by the 
warmth of private friendship, returned thanks, 
on behalf of the colony, for the distinguished 
military services he had rendered to his coun- 
try. 

"Washington rose to reply ; blushed — stam- 
mered — trembled, and could not utter a word. 
" Sit down, Mr. Washington," said the speaker, 
with a smile, " your modesty equals your valor, 
and that surpasses the power of any language 
I possess." 

Such was Washington's first launch into civil 
life, in which he was to be distinguished by 
the same judgment, devotion, courage, and 
magnanimity exhibited in his military career. 
He attended the Ilouse frequently during the 
remainder of the session, after which he con- 
ducted his bride to his favorite abode of Mount 
Vernon. 

Mr. Custis, the first husband of Mrs. Washing- 
ton, had left large landed property, and forty- 
five tiiousand pounds sterling in money. One- 
third fell to his widow in he: own right ; two- 
thirds were inherited equally by her two chil- 
dren, — a boy of sis, and a girl of four years of 
age. By a decree of the General Court, Wash- 
ington was intrusted with the care of the prop- 
erty inherited by the children ; a sacred and 
delicate trust, which he discharged in the most 
faitliful and judicious manner ; becoming more 
like a parent, than a mere guardian to them. 

From a letter to his correspondent in Eng- 
land, it would appear that he liad long enter- 
tained a desire to visit that country. Had he 
done so, his acknowledged merit and military 
services would have insured him a distinguished 
reception ; and it has been intimated, that the 
signal favor of government might have changed 
the current of his career. We believe him, 
however, to have been too pure a patriot, and 
too clearly possessed of the true interests of 
his country, to be diverted from the course 
which he ultimately adopted. His marriage, 
at any rate, had put an end to all travelling in- 
clinations. In his letter from Mount Vernon, 
he writes : " I am now, I believe, fixed in this 
seat, with an agreeable partner for life, and I 
hope to find more happiness in retirement than 
I ever experienced in the wide and bustling 
world." 

This was no Utopian dream transiently in- 
dulged amid the charms of novelty. It was 
a deliberate purpose with him, the result of 
innate and enduring inclinations. Throughout 
the whole course of his career, agricultural life 



appears to have been liis "beau- ideal of exist- 
ence, whicli haunted his thoughts even amid 
the stern duties of the field, and to which he 
recurred with unflagging interest whenever 
enabled to indulge his natural bias. 

Mount Vernon was his harbor of repose, 
where he repeatedly furled his sail, and fancied 
himself ancliored for life. No impulse of am- 
bition tempted him thence ; nothing but the 
call of his country, and his devotion to the 
public good. The place was endeared to him 
by the remembrance of his brother Lawrence, 
and of the liappy days he had passed here with 
that brother in the days of boyhood ; but it 
was a delightful place in itself, and well calcu- 
lated to inspire the rural feeling. 

The mansion was beautifully situated on a 
swelling height, crowned with wood, and com- 
manding a magnificent view up and down the 
Potomac. The grounds immediately about it 
were laid out somewhat in the English taste. 
The estate was apportioned into separate farms, 
devoted to difierent kinds of culture, each hav- 
ing its allotted laborers. Much, however, was 
still covered with wild woods, seamed with 
deep dells and runs of water, and indented with 
inlets ; haunts of deer, and lurking-places of 
foxes. The whole woody region along the Po- 
tomac from Mount Vernon to Belvoir, and far 
beyond, with its range of forests and hihs, and 
picturesque promontories, afforded sport of 
various kinds, and was a noble hunting-ground. 
Washington had hunted through it with old 
Lord Fairfax, in his stripling days ; we do not 
wonder that his feelings throughout life in- 
cessantly reverted to it. 

" No estate in United America," observes 
he, in one of his letters, " is more pleasantly 
situated. In a high and healthy country ; in a 
latitude between the extremes of heat and 
cold ; on one of the finest I'ivers in the world ; 
a river well stocked with various kinds of fish 
at all seasons of the year, and in the spring with 
shad, herrings, bass, carp, sturgeon, &c,, in great 
abundance. The borders of the estate are 
washed by more than ten miles of tide water ; 
several valuable fisheries appertain to it : the 
whole shore, in fact, is one entire fishery.' 

These were, as yet, the aristocratical days of 
Virginia. The estates were large, and con- 
tinued in the same families by entails. Many 
of the wealthy planters were connected with 
old families in England. The young men, es- 
pecially the elder sons, were often sent to finish 
their education there, and on their return 



104 



MOUNT VERNON AND ITS VICINITY. 



[1759-63. 



brought out the tastes and habits of the mother 
country. The governors of Virginia were from 
the higher ranks of society, and maintained a 
corresponding state. The " estabUshed," or 
Episcopal church, predominated throughout the 
" ancient dominion," as it was termed ; each 
county was divided into parishes, as in Eng- 
land, — each witli its parochial church, its par- 
sonage, and glebe. "Washington was vestry- 
man of two parishes, Fairfax and Truro ; the 
parochial church of the former was at Alex- 
andria, ten miles from Mount Vernon ; of the 
latter, at Pohick, about seven milesl The 
church at Pohick was rebuilt on a plan of his 
own, and in a great measure at his expense. 
At one or other of these churches he attended 
every Sunday, when the weather and the roads 
permitted. His demeanor was reverential and 
devout. Mrs. Washington knelt during the 
prayers ; he always stood, as was the custom 
at that time. Both were communicants. 

Among his occasional visitors and associates 
were Captain Hugh Mercer and Dr. Craik ; the 
former, after his narrow escapes from the toma- 
hawk and scalping-knife, was quietly settled at 
Fredericksburg, the latter, after the campaigns 
on the frontier were over, had taken up his 
residence at Alexandria, and was now Wash- 
ington's family physician. Both were drawn 
to him by campaigning ties and recollections, 
and were ever welcome at Mount Vernon. 

A style of living prevailed among the opu- 
lent Virgmian families in those days that has 
long since faded away. The houses were spa- 
cious, commodious, liberal in all their appoint- 
ments, and fitted to cope with the free-handed, 
open-hearted hospitality of the owners. Noth- 
ing was more common than to see handsome 
services of plate, elegant equipages, and superb 
carriage horses— all imported from England. 

The Virginians have always been noted for 
their love of horses ; a maiJy passion whieli, 
in those days of opulence, they indulged with- 
out regard to expense. The rich planters vied 
with each other in their studs, importing the 
best English stocks. Mention is made of one 
of the Randolphs of Tuckahoe, who built a 
stable for his favorite dapple gray horse, 
Shakespeare, with a recess for the bed of the 
negro groom, who always slept beside liim at 
night. 

Washington, by his marriage, had added 
above one hundred thousand dollars to his 
already considerable fortune, and was enabled 
to live in ample and dignified style. His inti- 



macy with the Fairfaxes, and his intercourse 
with British officers of rank, had perhaps had 
their influence on his mode of living. He had 
his chariot and four, with black postilions in 
livery, for the use of Mrs. Washington and her 
lady visitors. As for himself, he always ap- 
peared on horseback. His stable was well 
filled and admirably regulated. His stud was 
thoroughbred, and in excellent order. His 
household books contain registers of the names, 
ages, and marks of his various horses ; such as 
Ajax, Blueskin, Valiant, Magnolia (an Arab), 
&c. Also his dogs, chiefly fox-hounds, Vul- 
can, Singer, Ringwood, Sweetlips, Forrester, 
Music, Rockwood, Truelove, &c.* 

A large Virginia estate, in those days, was a 
little empire. The mansion-house was the seat 
of government, with its numerous dependen- 
cies, such as kitchens, smoke-house, workshops, 
and stables. In this mansion the planter ruled 
supreme ; his steward or overseer was liis prime 
minister and executive officer ; he had his legion 
of house negroes for domestic service, and his 
host of field negroes for the culture of tobacco, 
Indian corn, and other crops, and for other out- 
of-door labor. Their quarter formed a kind of 
hamlet apart, composed of various huts, with 
little gardens and poultry yards, all well stocked, 
and swarms of little negroes gambolling in the 
sunshine. Then there were large wooden edi- 
fices for curing tobacco, the stajjle and most 
profitable production, and mills for grinding 
wheat and Indian corn, of which large fields 
were cultivated for the supply of the family 
and thp maintenance of the negroes. 

Among the slaves were artificers of all kinds, 
tailors, shoemakers, carpenters, smiths, wheel- 
wrights, and so forth ; so that a plantation pro- 
duced every thing within itself for ordinary use: 
as to articles of fashion and elegance, luxuries, 
and expensive clothing, they were imported 
from London ; for the planters on the main 



* In one of his Ictter-booka wd find orders on his Lon- 
don agent for riding equipments. For example : 

1 Man's riding-saddle, hogskin seat, large plated stirrups 
and every thing complete. Double reined bridle and Pel- 
ham bit, plated. 

A very neat and fashionable Newmarket saddle-cloth. 

A large and best portmanteau, saddle, bridle, and pil- 
lion. 

Cloak-bag surcingle ; checked saddle-cloth, holsters, &c. 

A riding-frock of a handsome drab-colored broadcloth, 
■with plain double gilt buttons. 

A riding wai.stcoat of superfine scarlet cloth and gold 
lace, with buttons like those of the coat. 

A blue surtout coat. 

A neat switch whip, silver cap. 

Black velvet cap for eervant. 



^r. 27-31.] 



WASHINGTON'S DOMESTIC HABITS. 



105 



rivers, especially the Potomac, carried on an 
immediate trade with England. Their tobacco 
was put up by their own negroes, bore their 
own marks, was shipped on board of vessels 
which came up the rivers for the purpose, and 
consigned to some agent in Liverpool or Bristol, 
with whom the planter kept an account. 

The Virginia planters were prone to leave 
the care of their estates too much to their 
overseers, and to think personal labor a degra- 
dation. "Washington carried into his rural 
affairs the same method, activity, and circum- 
spection that had distinguished him in miUtary 
life. He kept his own accounts, posted up his 
books, and balanced them with mercantile ex- 
actness. "We have examined them, as well as 
his diaries recording his daily occupations, and 
his letter-books, containing entries of shipments 
of tobacco, and correspondence with his Lon- 
don agents. They are monuments of his busi- 
ness habits.* 

The products of his estate also became so 
noted for the faithfulness, as to quality and 
quantity, with which they were put up, that it 
is said any barrel of flour that bore the brand 
of George "Washington, Mount Vernon, was 
exempted from the customary inspection in 
the "West India ports.t 

He was an early riser, often before daybreak 
in the winter when the nights were long. On 
such occasions he lit his own fire, and wrote or 
read by candle-light. He breakfasted at seven 
in summer, at eight in winter, Two small cups 
of tea and three or four cakes of Indian meal 
(called hoe cakes), formed his frugal repast. 
Immediately after breakfast he mounted his 
horse, and visited those parts of the estate 
where any work was going on, seeing to every 



* The following letter of Washington to his London 
correspondents -will give an idea of the early intercourse 
of the Virginia planters with the mother countrj'. 

" Our goods by the Liberty, Capt. "Walker, came to 
hand in good order and soon after his arrival, as they gen- 
erally do when shipped in a vessel to this river [the Po- 
tomac], and scarce ever when they go to any others ; for it 
don't often happen that a vessel bound to one river has 
goods of any consequence to another ; and the masters, in 
these cases, keep the packages till an accidental convey- 
ance offers, and for want of better opjiortunities frequently 
commit them to boatmen who care very little for the goods 
so they get their freight, and often land them wherever it 
suits their convenience, not where they have engaged to 
do so. * * * * A ship from London to Virginia may 
be in Rappahannock or any of the other rivers three 
months before I know any thing of their arrival, and may 
make twenty voyages without my seeing or even hearing 
of the captain." 

t Speech of the Hon. Robert C. "Winthrop on laying 
the corner-stone of "Washinston's Monmnent. 



thing with his own eyes, and often aiding with 
his own hand. 

Dinner was served at two o'clock. He ate 
heartily, but was no epicure, nor critical about 
his food. His beverage was small beer or cider, 
and two glasses of old Madeira. He took tea, 
of which he was very fond, early in the even- 
ing, and retired for the night about nine 
o'clock. 

If confined to the house by bad weather, he 
took that occasion to arrange his papers, post 
up his accounts, or write letters ; passing part 
of the time in reading, and occasionally reading 
aloud to the family. 

He treated his negroes with kindness ; at- 
tended to their comforts ; was particularly 
careful of them in sickness ; but never tole- 
rated idleness, and exacted a faithful perform- 
ance of all their allotted tasks. He had a quick 
eye at calculating each man's capabilities. An 
entry in his diary gives a curious instance of 
this. Four of his negroes, employed as car- 
penters, were hewing and shaping timber. It 
appeared to him, in noticing the amount of 
work accomplished between two succeeding 
mornings^ that they loj^ered at their labor. 
Sitting down quietly he timed their operations ; 
how long it took them to get their cross-cut 
saw and other implements ready ; how long to 
clear away the branches from the trunk of a 
fallen tree ; how long to hew and saw it ; what 
time was expended in considering and consult- 
ing, and after all, how much work was effected 
during the time he looked on. From this he 
made h^s computation how much they could 
execute in the course of a day, working entirely 
at their ease. 

At another time we find him working for a 
part of two days with Peter, his smith, to make 
a plough on a new invention of his own. This, 
after two or three failures, he accomplished. 
Then, with less than his usual judgment, he 
put his two chariot horses to the plough, and 
ran a great risk of spoiling them, in giving his 
new invention a trial over ground thickly 
swarded. 

Anon, during a thunderstorm, a frightened 
negro alarms the house with word that the mill 
is giving way, upon which there is a general 
turn out of all the forces, with Washington at 
their head, wheeling and shovelling gravel, dur- 
mg a pelting rain, to check the rushing water. 
Washington delighted in the chase. In the 
hunting season, when he rode out early in the 
morning to visit distant parts of the estate, 



106 



FOX-HUNTING— FISHING AND DUCK-SHOOTING. 



[1769-6a. 



where work was going on, he often took some 
of the dogs with him for the chance of starting 
a fox, which he occasionally did, though he was 
not always snccessfid in killing him. He was 
a bold rider and an admirable horseman, though 
he never claimed the merit of being an accom- 
phshed fox-hunter. In the height of the sea- 
son, however, he would be out with the fox- 
hounds two or three times a week, accompanied 
by his guests at Mount Vernon and the gentle- 
men of the neighborhood, especiaEy the Fair- 
faxes of Belvoir, of which estate his friend 
George William Fairfax was now the proprie- 
tor. On such occasions there would be a hunt- 
ing dinner at one or other of those establish- 
ments, at which convivial repasts Washington 
is said to have enjoyed himself with unwonted 
hilarity. 

Now and then his old friend and instructor 
in the noble art of venery, Lord Fairfax, would 
be on a visit to his relatives at Belvoir, and 
then the hunting was kept up with unusual 
spirit.* 

His lordship, however, since the alarms of 
Indian war had ceased, lived almost entirely at 
Greenway Court, wh^e Washington was occa- 
sionally a guest, when called by public business 
to Winchester. Lord Fairfax had made him- 
self a favorite throughout the neighborhood. 
As lord-lieutenant and custos rotulorum of 
Frederick County, he presided at county courts 
held at Winchester, where, during the sessions, 
he kept open table. He acted also as surveyor 
and overseer of the public roads and highways, 
and was unremitted in his exertions and plans 
for the improvement of the country. Hunting, 
however, was his passion. When the sport 
was poor near home, he would take his hounds 
to a distant part of the coimtry, establish him- 
self at an inn, and keep open house and open 
table to every person of good character and re- 
spectable appearance who chose to join him in 
following the hounds. 

It was probably in quest of sport of the kind 



♦ ITuntin^ memoranda from "Waehington's journal, 
Mount Vornon. 

Nov. 22.— Hunting with Lord Fairfax and his brother, 
and Colonel Fairfax. 

Nov. 25.— Mr. Bryan Fairfax, Mr. Grayson, and Phil. 
Alexander came here by sunrise. Hunted and catohed a 
fox with these, Lord Fairfax, his brother, and Col. Fair- 
fax,— all of whom, with Mr. Fairfax and Mr. Wilson of 
England, dined here. 26th and 29th.— Ilunled again with 
the samo company. 

Dec. 5.— Fox-hunting with Lord Fairfax and his brother, 
and Colonel Fairfax. Started a fox and lost it. Dined at 
Belvoir, and returned in the evening. 



that he now and then, in the hunting season, 
revisited his old haunts and former companions 
on the banks of the Potomac, and then the 
beautiful woodland region about Belvoir and 
Mount Vernon was sure to ring, at early morn 
with the inspiring music of the hound. 

The waters of the Potomac also alForded oc- 
casional amusement in fishing and shooting. 
The fishing was sometimes on a grand scale, 
when the herrings came up the river in shoals, 
and the negroes of Mount Vernon were mar- 
shalled forth to draw the seine, which was gen- 
erally done with great success. Canvas-back 
ducks abounded at the proper season, and the 
shooting of them was one of Washington's 
favorite recreations. The river border of his 
domain, however, was somewhat subject to in- 
vasion. An oysterman once anchored his craft 
at the landing-place, and disturbed the quiet 
of the neighborhood by the insolent and dis- 
orderly conduct of himself and crew. It t-ook 
a campaign of three days to expel these in- 
vaders from the premises. 

A more summary course was pursued with 
another interloper. This was a vagabond who 
infested the creeks and inlets which bordered 
the estate, lurking in a canoe among the reeds 
and bushes, and making great havoc among the 
canvas-back ducks. He had been warned off" 
repeatedly, but without effect. As Washing- 
ton was one day riding about the estate, he 
heard the report of a gun from the margin of 
the river. Spurring in that direction he dashed 
through the bushes, and came upon the culprit 
just as he was pushing his canoe from shore. 
The latter raised his gun with a menacing look ; 
but Washington rode into the stream, seized 
the painter of the canoe, drew it to shore, 
sprang from his horse, wrested the gun from 
the hands of the astonished delinquent, and in- 
flicted on him a lesson in " Lynch law " that 
effectually cured him of all inclination to tres- 
pass again on these forbidden shores. 

The Potomac, in the palmy days of Virginia, 
was occasionally the scene of a little aquatic 
state and ostentation among the rich planters 
who resided on its banks. They had beautiful 
barges, which, like their land equipages, were 
imported from England ; and mention is made 
of a Mr. Digges who always received Washing- 
ton in his barge, rowed by six negroes, arrayed 
in a kind of uniform of check shirts and black 
velvet caps. At one time, according to notes 
in Washington's diary, the whole neighborhood 
is thrown into a j)aroxysm of festivit}-, by the 



jEt. 30-31.] 



LIFE AT ANNAPOLIS— THE DISMAL SWAMP. 



107 



anchoring of a British frigate (the Boston) in 
the river, just in front of the hospitable man- 
sion of the Fairfaxes. A succession of dinners 
and breakfasts takes place at Mount Vernon 
and Belvoir, with occasional tea parties on 
board of the frigate. The commander, Sir 
Thomas Adams, his officers and his midship- 
men, are cherished guests, and have the free- 
dqm of both establishments. 

Occasionally he and Mrs. "Washington would 
pay a visit to Annapolis, at that time the seat 
of government of Maryland, and partake of the 
gayeties which prevailed during the session of 
the legislature. The society of these seats of 
provincial governments was ahvays polite and 
fashionable, and more exclusive than in these 
republican days, being, in a manner, the out- 
posts of the English aristocracy, where all 
places of dignity or profit were secured for 
younger sons, and poor, but proud relatives. 
During the session of the Legislature, dinners 
and balls abounded, and there were occasional 
attempts at theatricals. The latter was an 
amusement for which Washington always had 
a relish, though he never had an opportunity of 
gratifying it effectually. Neither was he disin- 
clined to mingle in the dance, and we remem- 
ber to have heard venerable ladies, who had 
been belles in his day, pride themselves on 
having had him for a partner, though, they 
added, he was apt to be a ceremonious and 
grave one.* 

In this round of rural occupation, rural 
amusements, and social intercourse, Washing- 
ton passed several tranquil years, the halcyon 
season of his life. His already established 
reputation drew many visitors to Mount Ver- 
non ; some of his early companions in arms 
were his occasional guests, and his friendships 
and connections linked him with some of the 
most prominent and worthy people of the 
country, who were sure to be received with 
ciDrdial, but simple and unpretending hospitality. 
His marriage was -unblessed with children ; but 

* We have had an amusing picture of Annapolis, as it 
■was at this period, furnished to ua some years ago by an 
octogenarian who had resided there in his boyhood. " la 
those parts of the country," said he, " where the roads 
were too rough for carriages, the ladies used to ride on 
ponies, followed by black servants ou horseback ; in this 
way his mother, then advanced in life, used to travel, in a 
Bcarlet cloth riding habit, which she had procured from 
England. Nay, in this way, on emergencies," he added, 
"the young ladies from the country used to come to the 
tails at Annapolis, riding with their hoops arranged ' fore 
and aft' like lateen sails; and after dancing all night, 
would ride home again in the morning." 



those of Mrs. Washington experienced from 
him parental care and aflection, and the forma- 
tion of their minds and manners was one of 
the dearest objects of his attention. His do- 
mestic concerns and social enjoyments, how- 
ever, were not permitted to interfere with his 
public duties. He was active by nature, and 
eminently a man of business by habit. As 
judge of the county court, and member of the 
House of Burgesses, he had numerous calls 
upon his time and thoughts, and was often 
drawn from home ; for whatever trust he 
undertook, he was sure to fulfil with scrupulous 
exactness. 

About this time we find him engaged, with 
other men of enterprise, in a project to drain 
the great Dismal Swamp, and render it capable 
of cultivation. This vast morass was about 
thirty miles long, and ten miles wide, and its 
interior but little known. With his usual zeal 
and hardihood he explored it on horseback and 
on foot. In many parts it was covered with 
dark and gloomy woods of cedar, cypress, and 
hemlock, or deciduous trees, the branches of 
Avhich were hung with long drooping moss. 
Other parts were .almost inaccessible, from the 
density of brakes and thickets, entangled with 
vines, briers, and creeping plants, and inter- 
sected by creeks and standing pools. Occa- 
sionally the soil, composed of dead vegetable 
fibre, was over his horse's fetlocks, and some- 
times he had to dismount and n;ake his way on 
foot over a quaking bog that shook beneath his 
tread. 

In the centre of the morass he came to a 
great piece of water, six miles long, and three 
broad, called Drummond's Pond, but more po- 
etically celebrated as the Lake of the Dismal 
Swamp. It was more elevated than any other 
])art of the swamp, and capable of feeding 
canals, by which the whole might be traversed. 
Having made the circuit of it, and noted all its 
characteristics, he encamped for the night upon 
the firm land which bordered it, and finished 
his explorations on the following day. 

In the ensuing session of the Virginia Legis- 
lature, the association in behalf of which he 
had acted, was chartered imder the name of 
the Dismal Swamp Company ; and to his ob- 
servations and forecast may be traced the sub- 
sequent improvement and prosperity of that 
once desolate region. 



108 



TREATY OF PEACE— RESTRICTIVE POLICY OF ENGLAND. 



[1763. 



CHAPTER XXVII. 

Tidings of peace gladdened the colonies in 
the spring of 1763. The definitive treaty be- 
tween England and France had been signed at 
Fontainebleau. Now, it was trusted, there 
would be an end to those horrid ravages that 
had desolated the interior of the country. 
"The desert and the silent place would re- 
joice, and the wilderness would blossom like 
the rose.'" 

The month of May proved the fallacy of 
such hopes. In that month the famous insur- 
rection of the Indian tribes broke out, which, 
from the name of the chief who was its prime 
mover and master spirit, is commonly called 
Pontiac's war. The Delawares and Shawnees, 
and other of those emigrant tribes of the Ohio, 
among whom Washington had mingled, were 
foremost in this conspiracy. Some of the chiefs 
who had been his allies, had now taken up the 
hatchet against the English. The plot was 
deep laid, and conducted with Indian craft and 
secrecy. At a concerted time an attack was 
made upon all the posts froyi Detroit to Fort 
Pitt (late Fort Duquesne). Several of the small 
stockaded forts, the places of refuge of wood- 
land neighborhoods, were surprised and sacked 
with remorseless butchery. The frontiers of 
Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia, were 
laid waste; traders in the wilderness were 
plundered and slain ; hamlets and farm-houses 
were wrapped in flames, and their inhabitants 
massacred. Shingis, with his Delaware war- 
riors, tflockaded Fort Pitt, which, for some 
time, was in imminent danger, Detroit, also, 
came near falhng into the hands of the savages. 
It needed all the influence of Sir William John- 
son, that potentate in savage life, to keep the 
Six Nations from joining this formidable con- 
spiracy ; had they done so, the triumph of the 
tomahawk and scalping-knife would have been 
complete ; as it was, a considerable time elapsed 
before the frontier was restored to tolerable 
tranquillity. 

Fortunately, Washington's retirement from 
the army prevented his being entangled in this 
savage war, which raged throughout the regions 
lie had repeatedly visited, or rather his active 
spirit had been diverted into a more peaceful 
channel, for he was at this time occupied in the 
enterprise just noticed, for draining the great 
Dismal Swamp. 

Public events were now taking a tendency 



which, without any political aspiration or fore- 
thought of his own, Avas destined gradually to 
bear him away from his quiet home and in- 
dividual pursuits, and launch him upon a 
grander and wider sphere of action than any 
in which he had hitherto been engaged. 

The prediction of the Count de Vergennes 
was in the process of fulfilment. The recent 
war of Great Britain for dominion in America, 
though crowned with success, had engendered 
a progeny of discontents in her colonies. Wash- 
ington was among the first to perceive its bitter 
fruits. British merchants had compkiined loudly 
of losses sustained by the depreciation of the 
colonial paper, issued during the late war, in 
times of emergency, and had addressed a me- 
morial on the subject to the Board of Trade. 
Scarce was peace concluded, when an order 
from the board declared that no paper, issued 
by colonial Assemblies, should thenceforward 
be a legal tender in the payment of debts. 
Washington deprecated this " stir of the mer- 
chants " as peculiarly iU-timed ; and expressed 
an apprehension that the order in question 
" would set the whole country in flames." 

W^e do not profess, in this personal memoir, 
to enter into a wide scope of general history, 
but shall content ourselves with a glance at 
the circumstances and events which gradually 
kindled the conflagration thus apprehended by 
the anxious mind of Washington. 

Whatever might be the natural affection of 
the colonies for the mother country, — and there 
are abundant evidences to prove that it was 
deep-rooted and strong, — it had never been 
properly reciprocated. They yearned to be 
considered as children ; they were treated by 
her as changelings. Burke testifies that her 
policy toward them from the beginning had 
been purely commercial, and her commercial 
policy wholly restrictive. " It was the system 
of a monopoly." 

Her navigation laws had shut their ports 
against foreign vessels ; obliged them to export 
their productions only to countries belonging 
to the British crown ; to import European 
goods solely from England, and in English 
ships ; and had subjected the trade between 
the colonies to duties. All manufactures, too, 
in the colonies, that might interfere with those 
of the mother country, had been either totally 
prohibited, or subjected to intolerable re- 
straints. 

The acts of Parliament, imposing these pro- 
hibitions and restrictions, had at various times 



JSt. 31.] 



DISCONTENTS IN NEW ENGLAND— REVENUE BY TAXATION, 



109 



produced sore discontent and opposition on the 
part of the colonies, especially among those of 
New England. The interests of these last were 
chiefly commercial, and among them the repub- 
lican spirit predominated. They had sprung 
into existence during that part of the reign of 
James I. when disputes ran high about kingly 
prerogative and popular privilege. 

The Pilgrims, as they styled themselves, who 
founded Plymouth Colony in 1620, had been 
incensed while in England by what they stig- 
matized as the oppressions of the monarchy, 
and the established church. They had sought 
the wilds of America for the indulgence of 
freedom of opinion, and had brought with 
them the spirit of independence and self-gov- 
ernment. Those who followed them in the 
reign of Charles I. were imbued with the same 
spirit, and gave a lasting character to the peo- 
ple of New England. 

Other colonies, having been formed under 
other circumstances, might be inclined toward 
a monarchical government, and disposed to 
acquiesce in its exactions ; but the republican 
spirit was ever alive in New England, watch- 
ing over " natural and chartered rights," and 
prompt to defend them against any infringe- 
ment. Its example and instigation had gradu- 
ally an effect on the other colonies ; a general 
impatience was evinced from time to time of 
parliamentary interference in colonial affairs, 
and a disposition in the various provincial Leg- 
islatures to think and act for themselves in 
matters of civil and religious, as well as com- 
mercial polity. 

There was nothing, however, to which the 
jealous sensibilities of the colonies were more 
alive, than to any attempt of the mother coun- 
try to draw a revenue from them by taxation. 
From the earliest period of their existence, 
they had maintained the principle that they 
could only be taxed by a Legislature in which 
they were represented. Sir Robert "Walpole, 
when at the head of the British government, 
was aware of their jealous sensibility on this 
I>oint, and cautious of provoking it. "When 
American taxation was suggested, " it must be 
a bolder man than himself," he replied, " and 
one less friendly to commerce, who should 
venture on such an expedient. For his part, 
he would encourage the trade of the colonies 
to the utmost ; one-half of the profits would be 
sure to come into the royal exchequer through 
the increased demand for British manufactures. 
7%is," said he, sagaciously, "is tcmng them 



more agreeably to their own constitution and 
laws." 

Subsequent ministers adopted a widely dif- 
ferent policy. During th e progress of th e French 
war, various projects were discussed in Eng- 
land with regard to the colonies, which were 
to be carried into effect on the return of peace. 
The open avowal of some of these plans, and 
vague rumors of others, more than ever irri- 
tated the jealous feehngs of the colonists, and 
put the dragon spirit of New England on the 
alert. 

In 1760, there was an attempt in Boston to 
collect duties on foreign sugar and molasses 
imported into the colonies. Writs of assist- 
ance were applied for by the custom-house 
officers, authorizing them to break open ships, 
stores, and private dwellings, in quest of articles 
that had paid no duty ; and to caU the assist- 
ance of others in the discharge of their odious 
task. The merchants opposed the execution 
of the writ on constitutional grounds. The 
question was argued in court, where James 
Otis spoke so eloquently in vindication of 
American rights, that all his hearers went 
away ready to take arms against writs of as- 
sistance. " Then and there," says John Adams, 
who was present, " was the first scene of op- 
position to the arbitrary claims of Great Britain. 
Then and there American Independence was 
born." 

Another ministerial measure, was to instruct 
the provincial governors to commission judges. 
Not as heretofore "during good behavior," 
but " during the king's pleasure." New York 
was the first to resent this blow at the inde- 
pendence of the judiciary. The lawyers ap- 
pealed to the public through the press against 
an act which subjected the halls of justice to 
the prerogative. Their appeals were felt be- 
yond the bounds of the province, and awakened 
a general spirit of resistance. 

Thus matters stood at the conclusion of the 
war. One of the first measures of ministers, 
on the return of peace, was to enjoin on all 
naval ofiicers stationed on the coasts of the 
American colonies the performance, under oath, 
of the duties of custom-house officers, for the 
suppression of smuggling. This fell ruinously 
upon a clandestine trade which had long been 
connived at between the EngHsh and Spanish 
colonies, profitable to both, but especially to 
the former, and beneficial to the mother coun- 
try, opening a market to her manufactures. 

" Men-of-war," says Burke, " were for th© 



110 



TAXATION RESISTED— PASSAGE OF THE STAMP ACT. 



[1764-65. 



first time armed with the regular commissions 
of custom-house officers, invested the coasts, 
and gave the collection of revenue the air of 
hostile contribution. * * * * They fell 
so indiscriminately on all sorts of contraband, 
or supposed contraband, that some of the most 
valuable branches of trade were driven vio- 
lently from our ports, which caused an univei*- 
sal consternation throughout the colonies." * 

As a measure of retaliation, the colonists 
resolved not to purchase British fabrics, but to 
clothe themselves as much as possible in home 
manufactures. The demand for British goods 
in Boston alone was diminished upwards of 
£10,000 sterhng in the course of a year. 

In 1764, George Grenville, now at the head 
of government, ventured upon the policy from 
which Walpole had so wisely abstained. Early 
in March the eventful question was debated, 
" whether they had a right to tax America." 
It was decided in the affirmative. Next fol- 
lowed a resolution, declaring it proper to charge 
certain stamp duties in the colonies and plan- 
tations, but no immediate step was taken to 
carry it into effect. Mr. Grenville, however, 
gave notice to the American agents in London, 
that he should introduce such a measure on 
the ensuing session of Parliament. In the 
mean time Parliament perpetuated certain 
duties on sugar and molasses — heretofore sub- 
jects of complaint and opposition — now reduced 
and modified so as to discourage smuggling, 
and thereby to render them more productive. 
Duties, also, were imposed on other articles of 
foreign produce or manufacture imported into 
the colonies. To reconcile the latter to these 
impositions, it was stated that the revenue 
thus raised was to be appropriated to their 
protection and security; in other words, to 
the support of a standing army, intended to be 
quartered upon them. 

"We have here briefly stated but a part of 
what Burke terms an "infinite variety of 
paper chains," extending through no less than 
twenty-nine acts of Parliament from 1660 to 
1764, by which the colonies had been held in 
thraldom. 

The New Englanders were the first to take 
the field against the project of taxation. They 
denounced it as a violation of their rights as 
freemen ; of their chartered rights, by which 
they were to tax themselves for their support 
and defence ; of their rights as British subjects. 



* Burko on tlio state of the nation. 



who ought not to be taxed but by themselves 
or their representatives. They sent petitions 
and remonstrances on the subject to the king, 
the lords, and the commons, in which they were 
seconded by New York and Virginia. Frank- 
lin appeared in London at the head of agents 
from Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and South Car- 
olina, to deprecate, in person, measures so 
fraught with mischief. The most eloquent ar- 
guments were used by British orators and 
statesmen to dissuade Grenville from enforcing 
them. He was warned of the sturdy independ- 
ence of the colonists, and the spirit of resist- 
ance he might provoke. All was in vain. 
Grenville, " great in daring and little in views," 
says Horace "Walpole, " was charmed to have 
an untrodden field before him of calculation 
and experiment." In March, 1765, the act 
was passed, according to which all instruments 
in writing were to be executed on stamped pa- 
per, to be purchased from the agents of the 
British government. "What was more : all of- 
fences against the act could be tried in any 
royal, marine, or admiralty court throughout 
the colonies, however distant from the place 
where the offence had been committed ; thus 
interfering with that most inestimable right, a 
trial by jury. 

It was an ominous sign that the first burst 
of opposition to this act should take place in 
"Virginia. That colony had hitherto been slow 
to accord with the republican spirit of New 
England. Founded at an earlier period of the 
reign of James I., before kingly prerogative 
and ecclesiastical supremacy had been made 
matters of doubt and fierce dispute, it had 
grown up in loyal attachment to king, church, 
and constitution ; was aristocratical in its tastes 
and habits, and had been remarked above all 
the other colonies for its sympathies with the 
mother country. Moreover, it had not so many 
pecuniary interests involved in these questions 
as had the people of New England, being an 
agricultural rather than a commercial province; 
but the Virginians are of a quick and generous 
spirit, readily aroused on all points of honor- 
able pride, and they resented the stamp act as 
an outrage on their rights. 

"Washington occupied his seat in the House 
of Burgesses, when, on the 29th of May, the 
stamp act became a subject of discussion. "We 
have seen no previous opinions of his on the 
subject. His correspondence hitherto had not 
turned on political or speculative themes ; be- 
ing engrossed by either military or agricultural 



Mr. 33.] 



WASHINGTON'S IDEAS CONCERNING THE STAMP ACT. 



Ill 



matters, and evincing little anticipation of the 
vortex of public duties into which he was about 
to be drawn. All his previous conduct and 
writings show a loyal devotion to the crown, 
with a patriotic attachment to his country. It 
ii probable that on the present occasion that 
latent patriotism received its first electric shock. 

Among the Burgesses sat Patrick Henry, a 
young lawyer, who had recently distinguished 
himself by pleading against the exercise of the 
royal prerogative in church matters, and who 
was now for the first time a member of the 
House. Rising in his place, he introduced his 
celebrated resolutions, declaring that the Gen- 
eral Assembly of Virginia had the exclusive 
right and power to lay taxes and impositions 
upon the inhabitants, and that whoever main- 
tained the contrary should be deemed an enemy 
to the colony. 

The speaker, Mr. Robinson, objected to the 
resolutions, as inflammatory. Henry vindicated 
them, as justified by the nature of the case ; 
wont into an able and constitutional discussion 
of colonial rights, and an eloquent exposition 
of the manner in which they had been assailed ; 
wound up by one of those daring fiights of 
declamation for which he was remarkable, and 
startled the House by a warning flash from 
history : " Cffisar had his Brutus ; Charles his 
Cromwell, and George the Third — (' Treason ! 
treason ! ' resounded from the neighborhood of 
the Chair) — may profit by their examples," 
added Henry. " Sir, if this be treason (bowing 
to the speaker), make the most of it ! " 

The resolutions were modified, to accommo- 
date them to the scruples of the speaker and 
some of the members, but their spirit was re- 
tained. The lieutenant-governor (Fauquier), 
startled by this patriotic outbreak, dissolved 
the Assembly, and issued writs for a new elec- 
tion ; but the clarion had sounded. " The re- 
solves of the Assembly of Virginia," says a 
correspondent of the ministry, "gave the signal 
for a general outcry over the continent. The 
movers and supporters of them were applauded 
as the protectors and assertors of American 
liberty." * 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 

Washes GTOJsr returned to Mount Vernon full 
of anxious thoughts inspired by the political 



* Letter to Secretary Conway, New York, Sept. 23. — 
Parliamentary Register. 



events of the day, and the legislative scene 
which he witnessed. His recent letters had 
spoken of the state of peaceful tranquillity in 
which he was living ; those now written from 
his rural home show that he fully participated 
in the popular feeling, and that while he had a 
presentiment of an arduous struggle, his patri- 
otic mind was revolving means of coping with 
it. Such is the tenor of a letter written to his 
wife's uncle, Francis Dandridge, then in Lon- 
don. " The stamp act," said he, " engrosses 
the conversation of the speculative part of the 
colonists, who look upon this unconstitutional 
method of taxation as a direful attack upon 
their liberties, and loudly exclahn against the 
violation. What may be the result of this, and 
of some other (I think I may add ill-judged) 
measures, I will not undertake to determine ; 
but this I may venture to affirm, that the ad- 
vantage accruing to the mother country will 
fall greatly short of the expectation of the 
ministry ; for certain it is, that our whole sub- 
stance already in a manner flows to Great 
Britain, and that whatsoever contributes to 
lessen our importations must be hurtful to her 
manufactures. The eyes of our people already 
begin to be opened ; and they will perceive 
that many luxuries, for which we lavish our 
substance in Great Britain, can well be dis- 
pensed with. This, consequently, will intro- 
duce frugality, and be a necessary incitement 
to industry. ****** Xs ip the 
stamp act, regarded in a single view, one of 
the first bad consequences attending it is, that 
our courts of judicature must inevitably be 
shut up ; for it is impossible, or next to im- 
possible, under our present circumstances, that 
the act of Parliament can be complied with, 
were we ever so willing to enforce its execu- 
tion. And not to say (which alone would be 
sufficient) that we have not money enough to 
pay for the stamps, there are many other 
cogent reasons which prove that it would be 
ineffectual." 

A letter of the same date to his agents in 
London, of ample length and minute in all its 
details, shows that, while deeply interested in 
the course of public affairs, his practical mind 
was enabled thoroughly and ably to manage 
the financial concerns of his estate and of 'the 
estate of Mrs. Washington's son, John Parke 
Custis, towards whom he acted the part of a 
faithful and affectionate guardian. In those 
days, Virginia planters were still in direct and 
frequent correspondence with their London 



112 



POPULAR AGITATION— NULLIFICATION OF THE STAMP ACT. 



[1765. 



factors; aud "Washington's letters respecting 
liis shipments of tobacco, and the returns re- 
quired in various articles for household and 
personal use, are perfect models for a man of 
business. And this may be remarked through- 
out his whole career, that no pressure of events 
nor multiplicity of cares prevented a clear, 
steadfast, under-current of attention to domes- 
tic affairs, and the interest and well-being of 
all dependent upon him. 

In the mean time, from liis quiet abode at 
Mount Vernon, he seemed to hear the patriotic 
voice of Patrick Henry, which had startled the 
House of Burgesses, echoing throughout the 
land, and rousing one legislative body after an- 
other to follow the example of that of Vir- 
ginia. At the instigation of the General Court 
or Assembly of Massachusetts, a Congress was 
held in New York in October, composed of 
delegates from Massachusetts, Khode Island, 
Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsyl- 
vania, Delaware, Maryland, and South Caro- 
lina. In this they denounced the acts of Par- 
liament imposing taxes on them without their 
consent, and extending the jurisdiction of the 
courts of admiralty, as violations of their rights 
and liberties as natural born subjects of Great 
Britain, and prepared an address to the king, 
and a petition to both Houses of Parliament, 
praying for redress. Similar petitions were 
forwarded to England by the colonies not rep- 
resented in the Congress. 

Tlie very preparations for enforcing the stamp 
act called forth popular tumults in various 
places. In Boston the stamp distributor was 
hanged in effigy ; his windows were broken ; 
a house intended for a stamp office was pulled 
down, and the effigy burnt in a bonfire made of 
the fragments. The lieutenant-governor, chief 
justice, and sheriff, attempting to allay the 
tumult, were pelted. The stamp officer thought 
himself happy to be hanged merely in effigy, 
and next day publicly renounced the perilous 
office. 

Various were the proceedings in other places, 
all manifesting public scorn and defiance of the 
act. In Virginia, Mr. George Mercer had been 
appointed distributor of stamps, but on his 
arrival at Williamsburg publicly declined offi- 
ciaftng. It was a fresh triumph to the popular 
cause. The bells were rung for joy ; the town 
was illuminated, and Mercer was hailed with 
acclamations of the people.* 



Holmes's Annals, vol. ii., p. 135 



The 1st of November, the day when the act 
was to go into operation, was ushered in with 
portentous solemnities. There was great toll- 
ing of bells and burning of effigies in the New 
England colonies. At Boston the ships dis- 
played their colors but half-mast high. Many 
shops were shut ; funeral knells resounded from 
the steeples, and there was a grand auto-da-fe, 
in which the promoters of the act were pa- 
raded, and suffered martyrdom in effigy. 

At New York the printed act was carried 
about the streets on a pole, surmounted by a 
death's head, with a scroll bearing the inscrip- 
tion, " The foUy of England and ruin of Amer- 
ica." Golden, the lieutenant-governor, who 
acquired considerable odium by recommending 
to government the taxation of the colonies, the 
institution of hereditary Assemblies, and other 
Tory measures, seeing that a popular storm 
was rising, retired into the fort, taking with 
him the stamp papers, and garrisoned it with 
marines from a ship of war. The mob broke 
into his stable ; drew out his chariot ; put his 
effigy into it ; paraded it through the streets 
to the common (now the Park), where they 
hung it on a gallows. In the evening it was 
taken down, put again in the chariot, with the 
devil for a companion, and escorted back by 
torchlight to the Bowling Green ; where the 
whole pageant, chariot and aU, was burnt under 
the very guns of the fort. 

These are specimens of the marks of popular 
reprobation with which the stamp act was uni- 
versally nullified. No one would venture to 
carry it Into execution. In fact, no stamped 
paper was to be seen ; all had been either de- 
stroyed or concealed. All transactions which 
required stamps to give them validity were 
suspended, or were executed by private com- 
pact. The courts of justice were closed, until 
at length some conducted their business with- 
out stamps. Union was becoming the watch- 
word. The merchants of New York, Phila- 
delphia, Boston, and such other colonies as had 
ventured publicly to oppose the stamp act, 
agreed to import no more British manufactures 
after the 1st of January, unless it should be re- 
pealed. So passed away the year 1765, 

As yet Washington took no prominent part 
in the public agitation. Indeed he was never 
disposed to put himself forward on popular 
occasions, his innate modesty forbade it ; it 
was others who knew his worth that called 
him forth ; but when once he engaged in any 
public measure, he devoted himself to it with 



^T. 34.] 



REPEAL OF THE STAMP ACT— JOY OF WASHINGTON. 



IK 



conscientiousness and persevering zeal.' At 
present he remained a quiet but vigilant ob- 
server of events from bis eagle nest at Mount 
Vernon. lie had some few intimates in his 
neighborhood who accorded with him in senti- 
ment. One of the ablest and most efficient of 
these was Mr, George Mason, with whom he 
had occasional conversations on the state of 
affairs. His friends the Fairfaxes, though lib- 
eral in feelings and opinions, were too strong 
in their devotion to the crown not to regard 
with an uneasy eye the tendency of the pop- 
ular bias. From one motive or otlier, the ear- 
nest attention of all the inmates and visitors at 
Mount Vernon, -was turned to England, watch- 
ing the movements of the ministry. 

The dismissal of Mr. Grenville from the cabi- 
net gave a temporary change to public affairs. 
Perhaps nothing had a greater effect in favor 
of the colonies than an examination of Dr. 
Franklin before the House of Commons, on 
the subject of the stamp act. 

" "What," he was asked, " was the temper of 
America towards Great Britain, before the 
year 1763 ? " 

" The best in the world. They submitted 
willingly to the government of the crown, and 
paid, in all their courts, obedience to the acts 
of Parliament. Numerous as the people are 
in the several old provinces, they cost you 
nothing in forts, citadels, garrisons, or armies, 
to keep them in subjection. They were gov- 
erned by this country at the expense only of a 
little pen, ink, and paper. They were led by 
a thread. They had not only a respect, but 
an affection for Great Britain, for its laws, its 
customs, and manners, and even a fondness for 
its fashions, that greatly increased the com- 
merce. Natives of Great Britain were always 
treated with particular regard ; to bo an Old- 
England man was, of itself, a character of 
some respect, and gave a kind of rank among 
us," 

" And what is their temper now ? " 

" Oh ! very much altered." 

"If the act is not repealed, what do you 
think will be the consequences ? " 

" A total loss of the respect and affection 
the people of America bear to this country, 
and of all the commerce that depends on that 
respect and affection," 

" Do you think the people of America would 
submit to pay the stamp duty if it was mod- 
erated ? " 
8 



"No, never; unless compelled by force of 
arms." * 

The act was repealed on the 18th of March, 
1766, to the great joy of the sincere friends of 
both countries, and to no one more than to 
Washington. In one of his letters he observes : 
" Had the Parliament of Great Britain resolved 
upon enforcing it, the consequences, I conceive, 
would have been more direful than is generally 
apprehended, both to the mother country and 
her colonies. All, therefore, who were instru- 
mental in procuring the repeal, are entitled to 
the thanks of every British subject, and have 
mine cordially." t 

Still, there was a fatal clause in the repeal, 
which declared that the king, with the consent 
of Parliament, had power and authority to 
make laws and statutes of siifficient force and 
validity to " bind the colonies, and people of 
America, in all cases whatsoever," 

As the people of America were contending 
for principles, not merely pecuniary interests, 
this reserved power of the crown and Parlia- 
ment left the dispute still open, and chiUed the 
feeling of gratitude which the repeal might 
otherwise have inspired. Further aliment for 
public discontent was furnished by other acts 
of Parliament. One imposed duties on glass, 
pasteboard, white and red lead, painters' colors, 
and tea ; the duties to be collected on the ar- 
rival of the articles in the colonies ; another 
empowered naval officers to enforce the acts 
of trade and navigation. Another wounded 
to the quick the pride and sensibilities of New 
York. The mutiny act had recently been ex- 
tended to America, with an additional clause, 
requiring the provincial Assemblies to provide 
the troops sent out with quarters, and to fur- 
nish them with fire, beds, candles, and other 
ne«.essaries, at the expense of the colonies. 
The Governor and Assembly of New York re- 
fused to comply with this requisition as to sta- 
tionary forces, insisting that it applied only to 
troops on a march. An act of Parliament now 
suspended the powers of the Governor and 
Assembly until they should comply. Chatham 
attributed this opposition of the colonists to 
the mutiny act to "their jealousy of being 
somehow or other taxed internally by the Par- 
liament ; the act," said he, " asserting the right 
of Parliament, has certainly spread a most un- 
fortunate jealousy and diffidence of govern- 
ment here throughout America, and makes 



♦ Parliamentary Register, 1766. 

t Sparks. Writings of Washington, ii. 345, note. 



114 



MILITARY DEMONSTRATIONS AT BOSTON— LIFE AT MOUNT VERNON. [1V66. 



them jealous of the least distinction between 
this country and that, lest the same principle 
may be extended to taxing them."* 

Boston continued to he the focus of what 
the ministerialists termed sedition. The Gen- 
eral Court of Massachusetts, not content with 
petitioning the king for relief against the re- 
cent measures of Parliament, especially those 
imposing taxes as a means of revenue, drew 
up a circular, calling on the other colonial Leg- 
islatures to join with them in suitable efforts 
to obtain redress. In the ensuing session. 
Governor Sir Francis Bernard called upon them 
to rescind the resolution on which the circular 
was founded, — they refused to comply, and 
the General Court was consequently dissolved. 
The governors of other colonies required of 
their Legislatures an assurance that they would 
not reply to the Massachusetts circular, — these 
Legislatures likewise refused compliance, and 
Avere dissolved. All this added to the growing 
excitement. 

Memorials were addressed to the Lords, spir- 
itual and temporal, and remonstrances to the 
House of Commons, against taxation for rev- 
enue, as destructive to the liberties of the col- 
onists ; and against the act suspending the 
legislative power of the province of New 
York, as menacing the welfare of the colonies 
in general. 

Nothing, however, produced a more power- 
ful eflfect upon the public sensibilities through- 
out the country, than certain military demon- 
strations at Boston. In consequence of re- 
peated collisions between the people of that 
place and the commissioners of customs, two 
regiments were held in readiness at Halifax to 
embark for Boston in the ships of Commodore 
Hood, whenever Governor Bernard, or the gen- 
eral, should give the word. " Had this force 
been landed in Boston six months ago," writes 
the commodore, " I am perfectly persuaded no 
address or remonstrances would have been sent 
from the other colonies, and that all would 
have been tolerably quiet and orderly at this 
time throughout America." t 

Tidings reached Boston that these troops 
were embarked, and that they were coming to 
overawe the people. What was to be done ? 
The General Court had been dissolved, and the 
governor refused to convene it without the 
royal command. A convention, therefore, from 
various towns, met at Boston, on the 22d of 

* Chatham's Correspondence, vol. lii., pp. 189-192. 

♦ Grenville Papers, vol. iv., p. 362. 



September, to devise measf.res for the public 
safety ; but disclaiming all pretensions to legis- 
lative powers. "While the convention was yet 
in session (September 2Sth), the two regiments 
arrived, with seven armed vessels. "I am 
very confident," writes Commodore Hood from 
Halifax, " the spirited measures now pursuing 
will soon effect order in America." 

On the contrary, these " spirited measures " 
added fuel to the fire they were intended to 
quench. It was resolved in a town meeting, 
that the king had no right to send troops thither 
without the consent of the Assembly ; that 
Great Britain had broken the original compact, 
and that, therefore, the king's olBcers had no 
longer any business there.* 

The " selectmen " accordingly refused to find 
quarters for the soldiers in the town; the 
council refused to find barracks for them, lest 
it should be construed into a compliance with 
the disputed clause of the mutiny act. Some 
of the troops, therefore, which had tents, were 
encamped on the common ; others, by the gov- 
ernor's orders, were quartered in the state- 
house, and others in Faneuil Hall, to the great 
indignation of the public, who were grievously 
scandalized at seeing field-pieces planted in 
front of the state-house ; sentinels stationed at 
the doors, challenging every one who passed ; 
and, above aD, at having the sacred quiet ot 
the Sabbath disturbed by drum and fife, and 
other military music. 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

THEOTGnouT these public agitations, "Wash- 
ington endeavored to preserve his equanimity. 
Removed from the heated throngs of cities, his 
diary denotes a cheerful and healthful life at 
Mount Vernon, devoted to those rural occupa- 
tions in which he delighted, and varied occa- 
sionally by his favorite field sports. Sometimes 
he is duck-shooting on the Potomac. Repeat- 
edly we find note of his being out at sunrise 
with the hounds, in company with old Lord 
Fairfax, Biyan Fairfax, and others ; and end- 
ing the day's sport by a dinner at Mount Ver- 
non, or Belvoir. 

Still he was too true a patriot not to sympa- 
thize in the struggle for colonial rights which 
now agitated the whole country, and we find 



■ Whately to Grenville. Grcn. Papers, vol. iv., p. 38 



JEt. 3*7.] 



WASHINGTON AND GEORGE MASON— CORRESPONDENCE. 



115 



him gradually carried more and more into the 
current of political affairs. 

A letter written on the 5th of April, 1769, 
to his friend, George Mason, shows the impor- 
tant stand he was disposed to take. In the 
previous year, the merchants and traders of 
Boston, Salem, Connecticut, and New York, 
had agreed to suspend for a time the impor- 
tation of all articles subject to taxation. Sim- 
ilar resolutions had recently been adopted by 
the merchants of Philadelphia. Washington's 
letter is emphatic in support of the measure. 
"At a time," writes he, "when our lordly mas- 
ters in Great Britain will be satisfied with noth- 
ing less than the deprivation of American free- 
dom, it seems highly necessary that something 
should be done to avert the stroke, and main- 
tain the liberty which we have derived from 
our ancestors. But the manner of doing it, to 
answer the purpose cfl'ectually, is the point in 
question. That no man should scruple, or hes- 
itate a moment in defence of so valuable a bless- 
ing, is clearly my opinion ; yet arms should 
be the last resource — the dernier ressort. We 
have already, it is said, proved the inefficacy of 
addresses to the throne, and remonstrances to 
Parliament. How far their attention to our 
rights and interests is to be awakened, or 
alarmed, by starving their trade and manufac- 
tures, remains to be tried. 

" The northern colonies, it appears, are en- 
deavoring to adopt this scheme. In my opin- 
ion, it is a good one, and must be attended 
with salutary effects, provided it can be car- 
ried pretty generally into execution. * * * 
That there will be a difficulty attending it every- 
where from clashing interests, and selfish, de- 
signing men, ever attentive to their own gain, 
and watchful of every turn that can assist their 
lucrative views, cannot be denied ; and in the 
tobacco colonies, where the trade is so diftused, 
and in a manner wholly conducted by factors 
for their principals at home, these difficulties 
are certainly enhanced, but I think not insur- 
mountably increased, if the gentlemen in their 
several counties will be at some pains to ex- 
plain matters to the people, and stimulate 
them to cordial agreements to purchase none 
but certain enumerated articles out of any of 
the stores, after a definite period, and neither 
import, nor purchase any themselves, * * * 
I can see but one class of people, the mer- 
chants excepted, who will not or ought not to 
Avish well to the scheme, — namely, they who 
live genteelly and hospitably on clear estates. 



Such as these, were they not to consider the 
valuable object in view, and the good of others 
might thi»iv it hard to be curtailed in their liv- 
ing and enjoyments." 

This was precisely the class to which Wash- 
ington belonged ; but he was ready and wiUing 
to make the sacrifices required. "I think the 
scheme a good one," added he, " and that it 
ought to be tried here, with such alterations as 
our circumstances render absolutely necessary." 

Mason, in his reply, concurred with him in 
opinion. " Our all is at stake," said he, " and 
the little conveniences and comforts of life, 
when set in competition with our liberty, 
ought to be rejected, not with reluctance, but 
with pleasure. Yet it is plain that, in the to- 
bacco colonies, we cannot at present confine 
our importations within such narrow bounds as 
the northern colonies. A plan of this kind, to 
be practicable, must be adapted to our circum- 
stances ; for if not steadily executed it had 
better have remained unattempted. We may 
retrench all manner of superfluities, finery of 
all descriptions, and confine ourselves to linens, 
woollens, &c., not exceeding a certain price. 
It is amazing how mucli this practice, if adopt- 
ed in all the colonies, would lessen the Ameri- 
can imports, and distress the various trades 
and manufactures of Great Britain. This would 
awaken their attention. They would see, they 
would feel, the oppressions we groan under, 
and exert themselves to procure us redress. 
This, once obtained, we should no longer dis- 
continue our importations, confining ourselves 
still not to import any article that should here- 
after be taxed by act of Parliament for raising 
a revenue in America ; for, however singular 1 
may be in the opinion, I arn tlioroughly con- 
tinced., that, justice and harmony hapxnly re- 
stored, it is not the interest of these colonies to 
refuse British, manvfactures. Our supplying 
our mother country with gross materials, and 
talcing her manvfactures in return, is the true 
chain of connection between its. These are the 
hands which, if not hrolm ly opp7-ession, must 
long hold us together, ly maintaining a con- 
stant reciprocation of interests^ 

The latter part of the above quotation shows 
the spirit which actuated Washington and the 
friends of his confidence ; as yet there was no 
thought nor desire of alienation from the mother 
country, but only a fixed determination to be 
placed on an equality of rights and privileges 
with her other children. 
A single word in the passage cited from 



116 



LORD BOTETOURT— ADDRESS TO THE KING. 



[1769. 



Washington's letter, evinces the chord which 
still vibrated in the American bosom ; he inci- 
dentally speaks of England as liome. It was 
the familiar term with which she was usually 
indicated by those of English descent ; and the 
writer of these pages remembers when the en- 
dearing phrase still lingered on Anglo-Ameri- 
can lips even after the Revohition. How easy 
would it have been, before that era, for the 
mother country to have rallied back the affec- 
tions of her colonial children, by a proper at- 
tention to their complaints ! They asked for 
nothing but what they were entitled to, and 
what she liad taught them to prize as their 
dearest inheritance. The spirit of liberty which 
they manifested had been derived from her own 
precept and example. 

The result of the correspondence between 
"Washington and Mason, was the draft by the 
latter of a plan of association, the members of 
which were to pledge themselves not to im- 
port or use any articles of British merchandise 
or manufacture subject to duty. This paper 
Washington was to submit to the consideration 
of the House of Burgesses at the approaching 
session in the month of May. 

The Legislature of Virginia opened on this 
occasion with a brilliant pageant. While mili- 
tary force was arrayed to overawe the republi- 
can Puritans of the east, it was thought to daz- 
zle the aristocratical descendants of the cava- 
liers by the reilex of regal splendor. Lord 
Botetourt, one of the king's lords of the bed- 
chamber, had recently come out as governor of 
the province. Junius described him as " a 
cringing, bowing, fawning, sword-bearing cour- 
tier." Horace Walpole predicted that he would 
turn the heads of the Virginians in one way or 
other. " If his graces do not captivate them, 
he will enrage them to fury ; for I take all his 
douceur to be enamelled on iron." * The words 
of political satirists and court wits, however, 
are always to be taken with great distrust. 
However his lordship may have bowed in 
presence of royalty, he elsewhere conducted 
himself with dignity, and won general favor by 
his endearing manners. He certainly showed 
promptness of spirit in his reply to the king on 
being informed of his appointment. "When 
Avill you be ready to go ? " asked George III. 
" To-night, sir." 

Ho had come out, however, with a wrong 
idea of the Americans. They had been repre- 



* Grenvillo papers, iv., note to p. 330. 



sented to him as factious, immoral, and prone 
to sedition ; but vain and luxurious, and easily 
captivated by parade and splendor. The latter 
foibles were aimed at in his appointment and 
fitting out. It was supposed that his titled 
rank would have its effect. Then to prepare 
him for occasions of ceremony, a coach of state 
was presented to him by the king. He was 
allowed, moreover, the quantity of plate usual- 
ly given to ambassadors, whereupon the joke 
was circulated that he was going "plenipo to 
the Oherokees." * 

His opening of the session was in the style 
of the royal opening of Parliament. He pro- 
ceeded in due parade from his dwelling to the 
capitol, in his state coach, drawn by six milk- 
white horses. Having delivered his speech ac- 
cording to royal form, he returned home with 
the same pomp and circumstance. 

The time had' gone by, however, for such 
display to have the anticipated effect. The 
Virginian legislators penetrated the intention 
of this pompous ceremonial, and regarded it 
with a depreciating smile. Sterner matters 
occupied their thoughts ; they had come pre- 
pared to battle for their rights, and their pro- 
ceedings soon showed Lord Botetourt how 
much he had mistaken them. Si)irited resolu- 
tions were passed, denouncing the recent act 
of Parliament imposing taxes ; the power to 
do which, on the inhabitants of this colony, 
" was legally and constitutionally vested in the 
House of Burgesses, with consent of the coun- 
cil and of the king, or of his governor, for the 
time being." Copies of these resolutions were 
ordered to be forwarded by the speaker to the 
Legislatures of the other colonies, with a re- 
quest for their concurrence. 

Other proceedings of the Burgesses showed 
their sympathy with their fehow-patriots of 
New England. A joint address of both Houses 
of Parliament had recently been made to the 
king, assuring him of their support in any fur- 
ther measures for the due execution of tlio 
laws in Massachusetts, and beseeching him that 
aU persons charged with treason, or misprision 
of treason, committed within that colony since 
the 30th of December, 1T67, might be sent to 
Great Britain for trial. 

As Massachusetts had no General Assembly 
at this time, having been dissolved by govern- 
ment, the Legislature of Virginia generously 
took up the cause. An address to the king 



* "Whately to Geo. Grcnville. Gronvillc papers. 



JEi. S7.] WASHIXGTOX AND THE ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION— HOOD AT BOSTON. 117 



TTas resolved on, stating, that all trials for 
treason, or misprision of treason, or for any 
crime whatever committed by any person re- 
siding in a colony, ought to be in and before 
his majesty's courts within said colony ; and 
beseeching the king to avert from his loyal 
subjects, those dangers and miseries which 
would ensue from seizing and carrying beyond 
sea any person residing in America suspected 
of any crime whatever, thereby depriving them 
of the inestimable privilege of being tried by a 
jury from the vicinage, as well as the liberty of 
producing witnesses on such trial. 

Disdaining any further application to Parlia- 
ment, the House ordered the speaker to trans- 
mit this address to the colonies' agent in Eng- 
land, with directions to cause it to be presented 
to the king, and afterwards to be printed and 
published in the English papers. 

Lord Botetourt was astonished and dismayed 
when he heard of these high-toned proceed- 
ings. Repairing to the capitol on the follow- 
ing day at noon, he summoned the speaker and 
members to the council chamber, and address- 
ed them in the following words : " Mr. Speak- 
er, and gentlemen of the House of Burgesses, I 
have heard of your resolves, and augur ill of 
their effects. You have made it my duty to 
dissolve you, and you are dissolved accord- 
ingly." 

The spirit conjured iip by the late decrees 
of Parliament was not so easily allayed. The 
Burgesses adjourned to a pi'ivate house. Pey- 
ton Randolph, their late speaker, was elected 
moderator. Washington now brought forward 
a draft of the articles of association, concerted 
between him and George Mason. They form- 
ed the groundwork of an instrument signed by 
all present, pledging themselves neither to im- 
port, nor use any goods, merchandise, or man- 
ufactures taxed by Parliament to raise a reve- 
nue in America. This instrument was sent 
throjighout the country for signature, and the 
scheme of non-importation, hitherto confined 
to a few northern colonies, was soon universal- 
ly adopted. For his OAvn part, Wasiiington 
adhered to it rigorously throughout the year. 
The articles proscribed by it were never to be 
seen in his house, and his agent in London was 
enjoined to ship nothing for him Avhile subject 
to taxation. 

The popular ferment in Virginia was gradu- 
ally allayed by the amiable and conciliatory 
conduct of Lord Botetourt. His lordship soon 
became aware of the erroneous notions with 



which he had entered upon office. His semi- 
royal equipage and state were laid aside. He 
examined into public grievances ; became a 
strenuous advocate for the repeal of taxes ; and, 
authorized by his despatches from the minis- 
try, assured the public that such repeal would 
speedily take place. His assurance was receiv- 
ed with implicit faith, and for a while Virginia 
was quieted. 



CHAPTER XXX. 

" The worst is past, and the spirit of sedition 
broken," writes Hood to GrenviUe, early in 
the spring of 1769.* "When the commodore 
wrote this, his ships were in the harbor, and 
troops occupied the town, and he flattered 
himself that at length turbulent Boston was 
quelled. But it only waited its time to be se- 
ditious accoi'ding to rule ; there was always an 
irresistible " method in its madness." 

In the month of May, the General Court, 
hitherto prorogued, met according to charter. 
A committee immediately waited on the gov- 
ernor, stating it was impossible to do business 
with dignity and freedom while the town was 
invested by sea and land, and a military guard 
was stationed at the state-house, with cannon 
pointed at the door ; and they requested the 
governor, as his majesty's representative, to 
have such forces removed out of the port and 
gates of the city during the session of the As- 
sembly. 

The governor replied, that he had no author- 
ity over either the ships or troops. The court 
persisted in refusing to transact business while 
so circumstanced, and the governor was obliged 
to transfer the session to Cambridge. There 
he addressed a message to that body m July, 
requiring funds for the payment of the troops, 
and quarters for their accommodation. The 
Assembly, after ample discussion of past griev- 
ances, resolved, that the establishment of a 
standing army in the colony in a time of peace 
was an invasion of natural rights; that a 
standing army was not known as a part of the 
British constitution, and that the sending an 
armed force to aid the civil authority was xin- 
precedented, and highly dangerous to the peo- 
ple. 

After waiting some days without receiving 
an answer to his message, the governor sent 

* GrenvUlu Papers, vol. iii. 



118 



THE DUTY ON TEA— DEATH OF LORD BOTETOURT. 



[1*770. 



to know whether the Assembly would, or 
would not, make provision for the troops. In 
their reply, they followed the example of the 
Legislature of Few York, in commenting on 
the mutiny, or billeting act, and ended by de- 
clining to furnish funds for the purposes spe- 
cified, "being incompatible with their own 
honor and interest, and their duty to their 
constituents." They were in consequence 
again prorogued, to meet in Boston on the 
10th of January. 

So stood alFairs in Massachusetts. In the 
mean time, the non-importation associations, 
being generally observed throughout the colo- 
nies, produced the effect on British commerce 
which Washington had anticipated, and Parlia- 
ment was incessantly importuned by petitions 
from British merchants, imploring its interven- 
tion to save them from ruin. 

Early in 1770, an important change took 
r>lace in the British cabinet. The Duke of 
Grafton suddenly resigned, and the reins of 
government passed into the hands of Lord 
North. He was a man of limited capacity, but 
a favorite of the king, and subservient to his 
narrow colonial policy. His administration, so 
eventful to America, commenced with an error. 
In the month of March, an act was passed, re- 
voking all the duties laid in 1767, excepting 
that on tea. This single tax was continued, as 
he observed, " to maintain the parliamentary 
right of taxation," — the very right which was 
the grand object of contest. In this, however, 
he was in fact yielding, against his better judg- 
ment, to the stubborn tenacity of the king. 

He endeavored to reconcile the opposition 
and perhaps himself, to the measure, by plaus- 
ible reasoning. An impost of three pence on 
the pound could never, he alleged, be opposed 
by the colonists, unless they were determined 
to rebel against Great Britain. Besides, a duty 
on that article, payable in England, and amount- 
ing to nearly one shilling on the pound, was 
taken off on its exportation to America, so 
that the inhabitants of the colonies saved nine 
pence on the pound. 

Here was the stumbling-block at the thresh- 
old of Lord North's admmist ration. In vain 
the members of the opposition urged that thi^ 
single exception, Avhile it would produce no 
revenue, would keep alive the whole cause of 
contention; that so long as a single^external 
duty was enforced, the colonies would'consider 
their rights invaded, and would remain unap- 
peased. Lord North was not to be convinced • 



or rather he knew the royal wiU was inflexible, 
and he complied with its behests. " The prop- 
erest time to exert our right of taxation," said 
he, " is when the right is refused. To tempor- 
ize is to yield ; and the authority of the mother 
country, if it is now unsupported, will be relin- 
quished forever : a total repeal cannot he 
thought of, till America is j^rostrate at our 
feet:' * 

On the very day in which this ominons bill 
was passed in Parliament, a sinister occurrence 
took place in Boston. Some of the young men 
of the place insulted the military while under 
arms ; the latter resented it ; the young men, 
after a scuffle, were put to flight, and pursued. 
The alarm bells rang, — a mob assembled ; the 
custom-house was threatened ; the troops, in 
protecting it, were assailed with clubs and 
stones, and obliged to nse their fire-arms be- 
fore the tumult could be quelled. Four of the 
populace were killed and several wounded. 
The troops were now removed from the town, 
which remained in the highest state of exaspe- 
ration ; and this untoward occurrence received 
the opprobrious and somewhat extravagant 
name of " the Boston massacre." 

The colonists, as a matter of convenience, 
resumed the consumption of those ar'.icles on 
which the duties had been repealed ; but con- 
tinued, on principle, the rigorous disuse of tea, 
excepting such as had been smuggled in. New 
England was particularly earnest in the mat- 
ter ; many of the inhabitants, in the spirit of 
their Puritan progenitors, made a covenant to 
drink no more of the forbidden beverage until 
the duty on tea should be repealed. 

In Virginia the public discontents, which 
had been allayed by the conciliatory conduct 
of Lord Botetourt, and by his assurances made 
on the strength of letters received from the 
ministry, that the grievances complained of 
would be speedily redressed, now broke out 
with more violence than ever. The Virginians 
spurned the mock-remedy which left the real 
cause of complaint untouched. His lordship 
also felt deeply wounded by the disingenuousness 
of ministers which had led him into such a pre- 
dicament, and wrote home demanding his dis- 
charge. Before it arrived, an attack of bilious 
fever, acting upon a delicate and sensitive 
frame, enfeebled by anxiety and chagrin, laid 
him in his grave. He left behind him a name 
endeared to the Virginians by his amiable man- 



* Holmes's Amer. Annals, vol. ii., p. 173. 



^Et. 38.] 



EXPEDITION OF WASHINGTOX TO THE OHIO. 



119 



nerp, his liberal patronage of the arts, and, 
above all, by his zealous intercession for their 
rights. "Washington himself testifies that he 
was inclined " to render every just and reason- 
able service to the people whom he governed." 
A statue to his memory was decreed by the 
House of Burgesses, to be erected in the area 
of the Capitol. It is still to be seen, though in 
a mutilated condition, in "Williamsburg, the old 
seat of government, and a county in Virginia 
continues to bear his honored name. 



CHAPTER XXXI. 

In the midst of these popular turmoils, "Wash- 
ington was induced, by public as well as private 
considerations, to make another expedition to 
the Ohio. He was one of the "Virginia Board 
of Commissioners, appointed, at the close of 
the late war, to settle the military accounts of 
the colony. Among the claims which came be- 
fore the board, were those of the officers and 
soldiers who had engaged to serve until peace, 
under the proclamation of Governor Dinwiddle, 
holding forth a bounty of two hundred thousand 
acres of land, to be apportioned among them 
according to rank. Those claims were yet un- 
satisfied, for governments, like individuals, are 
slow to pay off in peaceful times the debts in- 
curred while in the fighting mood. Washington 
became the champion of those claims, and an 
opportunity now presented itself for their liq- 
uidation. The Six Nations, by a treaty in 
1V68, had ceded to the British crown, in con- 
sideration of a sum of money, all the lands pos- 
sessed by them south of the Ohio. Land ofiices 
would soon be opened for the sale of them. 
Squatters and speculators were already prepar- 
ing to swarm in, set up their marks on the 
choicest spots, and establish what were called 
pre-emption rights. "Washington determined 
at once to visit the lands thus ceded ; affix his 
mark on such tracts as he should select, and ap- 
ply for a grant from government in behalf of 
the " soldier's claim." 

The expedition would be attended with some 
degree of danger. The frontier was yet in an 
uneasy state. It is true some time had elapsed 
since the war of Pontiac, but some of the In- 
dian tribes were almost ready to resume the 
hatchet. The DelaAvares, Shawnees, and Min- 
goes, complained that the Six Nations had not 
given them their full share of the consideration 



money of the late sale, and they talked of ex- 
acting the deficiency from the white men who 
came to settle in what had been their hunting- 
grounds. Traders, squatters, and other adven- 
turers into the wilderness, were occasionally 
murdered, and further troubles were appre- 
hended. 

Washington had for a companion in this ex- 
pedition his friend and neighbor. Dr. Craik, and 
it was with strong community of feeling they 
looked forward peaceably to revisit the scenes 
of their military experience. They set out on 
the 5th of October, with three negro attend- 
ants, two belonging to "Washington, and one to 
the doctor. The whole party was mounted, 
and there was a led horse for the baggage. 

After twelve days' travelling they arrived at 
Fort Pitt (late Fort Duquesne). It was garri- 
soned by two companies of royal Irish, com- 
manded by a Captain Edmonson. A hamlet 
of about twenty log-houses, inhabited by Indian 
traders, had sprung up within three hundred 
yards of the fort, and was called " the town." 
It was the embryo city of Pittsburg, now so 
populous. At one of the houses, a tolerable 
frontier inn, they took up their quarters ; but 
during their brief sojourn, they were entertain- 
ed with great hospitality at the fort. 

Here at dinner "Washington met his old ac- 
quaintance, George Croghan, who had figured 
in so many capacities, and experienced so many 
vicissitudes on the frontier. He was now Colo- 
nel Croghan, deputy-agent to Sir William John- 
son, and had his residence — or seat, as Washing- 
ton terms it — on the banks of the Allegany 
Eiver, about four miles from the fort. 

Croghan had experienced troubles and dan- 
gers during the Pontiac vrar, bo'th from white 
man and savage. At one time, while he was 
convoying presents from Sir William to the 
Delawares and Shawnees, his caravan was set 
upon and plundered by a hand of backwoods- 
men of Pennsylvania — men resembling Indians 
in garb and habits, and fully as lawless. At 
another time, when encamped at the mouth of 
the Wabash with some of his Indian allies, a 
band of Kickapoos, siipposing the latter to be 
Cherokees, their deadly enemies, rushed forth 
from the woods with horrid yells, shot down 
several of his companions, and wounded him- 
self. It must be added, that no white men 
could have made more ample apologies than did 
the Kickapoos, when they discovered that they 
had fired upon friends. 

Another of Croghan's perils was from the re- 



120 



VOYAGE DOWX THE OHIO— ADVENTURES ^VLOXG THE RIVER. 



[1770. 



doubtable Pontine himself. That chieftain had 
heard of his being on a mission to win off, by- 
dint of presents, the other sachems of the con- 
spiracy, and declared, significantly, that he had 
a large kettle boiling, in which he intended to 
seethe the ambassador. It was fortunate for 
Croghan that he did not meet with the formida- 
ble chieftain while in this exasperated mood. 
He subsequently encountered him when Pon- 
tiac's spirits were broken by reverses. They 
smoked the pipe of peace together, and the 
colonel claimed the credit of having, by his dip- 
lomacy, persuaded the sachem to bury the 
hatchet. 

On the day following the repast at the fort, 
"Washington visited Croghan at his abode on the 
Allegany Eiver, where he found several of the 
chiefs of the Six Nations assembled. One of 
them, the "White Mingo by name, made him a 
speech, accompanied, as usual, by a belt of 
wampum. Some of his companions, he said, 
remembered to have seen him in 1753, when 
he came on his embassy to the French com- 
mander ; most of them had heard of him. 
They had now come to welcome him to their 
country. They wished the people of Virginia 
to consider them as friends and brothers, linked 
together in one chain, and requested him to in- 
form the governor of their desire to live in 
peace and harmony with the white men. As 
to certain unhappy differences which had taken 
place between them on the frontiers, they were 
all made up, and, they hoped, forgotten. 

"Washington accepted the " speech belt," and 
made a suitable reply, assuring the chiefs that 
nothing was more desired by the people of Vir- 
ginia than to live with them on terms of the 
strictest friendship. 

At Pittsburg the travellers left their horses, 
and embarked in a large canoe, to make a voy- 
age down the Ohio as far as the Great Kana- 
wha. Colonel Croghan engaged two Indians for 
their servnce, and an interpreter named John 
Nicholson. The colonel and some of the officers 
of the garrison accompanied them as far as 
Logstown, the scene of Washington's early dip- 
lomacy, and his first interview with the half- 
king. Here they breakfasted together ; after 
which they separated, the colonel and his com- 
panions cheering the voyagers from the shore, 
as the canoe was borne off by the current of 
the beautiful Ohio. 

It was now the hunting season, vchcn the In- 
dians leave their towns, set off with their fami- 
lies, and lead a roving life in cabins and hunt- 



ing-camjis along the river ; ^shifting from place 
to place, as game abounds or decreases, and 
often extending their migrations two or three 
hundred miles down the stream. The women 
were as dexterous as the men in the manage- 
ment of the canoe, but were generally engaged 
in the domestic labors of the lodge while their 
husbands were abroad hunting. 

"Washington's propensities as a sportsman had 
here full play. Deer were continually to be 
seen coming down to the water's edge to drink, 
or browsing along the shore ; there were innu- 
merable flocks of wild turkeys, and streaming 
flights of ducks and geese ; so that as the voy- 
agers floated along, they were enabled to load 
their canoe with game. At night they encamp- 
ed on the river bank, lit their fire, and made a 
sumptuous himter's repast. "Washington always 
relished this wild-wood life ; and the present 
had that spice of danger in it, which has a pe- 
culiar charm for adventurous minds. The great 
object of his expedition, however, is evinced 
in his constant notes on the features and char- 
acter of the country ; the quality of the soil 
as indicated by the nature of the trees, and the 
level tracts fitted for settlements. 

About seventy-five miles below Pittsburg, 
the voyagers landed at a Mingo town, which 
they found in a stir of warlike preparation — 
sixty of the warriors being about to set off on 
a foray into the Cherokee country against the 
Catawbas. 

Here the voyagers were brought to a pause 
by a report that two white men, traders, had 
been murdered about thirty-eight miles further 
down the river. Reports of the kind were not 
to be treated lightly. Indian faith was uncer- 
tain along the frontier, and white men were 
often shot down in the wilderness for plunder 
or revenge. On the following day the repoi't 
moderated. Only one man was said to have 
been killed, and that not by Indians ; so "Wash- 
ington determined to continue forward until he 
could obtain correct information in the matter. 

On the 24th, about 3 o'clock in the afternoon, 
the voyagers arrived at Captema Creek, at the 
mouth of which the trader was said to have 
been killed. As all was quiet and no one to be 
seen, they agreed to encamp, while Nicholson, 
the interpretei', and one of the Indians, repaired 
to a village a few miles up the creek to inquire 
about the murder. They found but two old 
women at the village. The men were all ab- 
sent, hunting. Tlie interpreter returned to camp 
in the evening, bringing the truth of the mur- 



iET. 88.] 



KIASHUTA'S HUNTING CAMP— A CHARMED LIFE. 



121 



derou3 tale. A trader had fallen a victim to 
his temerity, having been drowned in attempt- 
ing, in company with another, to swim his horse 
across the Ohig. 

Two days more of voyaging bronght them to 
an Indian hunting camp, near the mouth of the 
Muskingum. Here it was necessary to land, 
and make a ceremonious visit, for the chief of 
the hunting party was Kiashuta, a Seneca sa- 
chem, the head of the river tribes. He was 
noted to have been among the first to raise the 
hatchet in Pontiac's conspiracy, and almost 
equally vindictive with that potent warrior. 
As "Washington approached the chieftain, he 
recognized him for one of the Indians who had 
accompanied him on his mission to the French 
in 1753. 

Kiashuta retained a perfect recollection of 
the youthful ambassador, though seventeen 
years had matured him into thoughtful man- 
hood. With hunter's hospitality he gave him 
a quarter of a fine buffalo just slain, but insisted 
that they should encamp together for the night ; 
and in order not to retard him, moved with his 
own party to a good camping place some dis- 
tance down the river. Here they had long talks 
and council-fires over night and in the morning, 
with aU the " tedious ceremony," says "Wash- 
ington, " which the Indians observe in their 
counscllings and speeches." Kiashuta had 
heard of what had passed between "Washington 
and the ""White Mingo," and other sachems, 
at Colonel Croghan's, and was eager to express 
his own desii-e for peace and friendship with 
Virginia, and fair dealings with her traders; all 
which Washington promised to report faithfully 
to the governor. It was not until a late hour 
in the morning that he was enabled to bring 
these conferences to a close, and pursue his 
voyage. 

At the mouth of the Great Kanawha the 
voyagers encamped for a day or two to examine 
tlie lands in the neighborhood, and "Washington 
set up his mark upon such as he intended to 
claim on behalf of the soldiers' grant. It was 
a, fine sporting country, having small lakes or 
grassy ponds abounding with water-fowl, such 
as ducks, geese, and swans. Flocks of turkeys, 
as usual ; and for larger game, deer and buffalo ; 
so that tlieir camp abounded with provisions. 

Here Washington was visited by an old sa- 
chem, who approached him with great rever- 
ence, at the head of several of his tribe, and 
addressed him through Nicholson, the inter- 
pr.eter. He had heard, he said, of his being in 



that part of the country, and had come from a 
great distance to see him. On further dis- 
course, the sachem made known that he was 
one of the warriors in the service of the French, 
who lay in ambush on the banks of the Monon- 
gahela, and wrought such havoc in Braddock's 
army. He declared that he and his young men 
had singled out Washington, as he made him- 
self conspicuous riding about the field of battle 
with the general's orders, and had fired at him 
repeatedly, but without success ; whence they 
had concluded that he was under the protection 
of the Great Spirit, had a charmed life, and 
could not be slain in battle. 

At the Great I^nawha, Washington's expe- 
dition down the Ohio terminated ; having visit- 
ed all the points he wished to examine. His 
return to Fort Pitt, and thence homeward, af- 
fords no incident worthy of note. The whole 
expedition, however, was one of that hardy 
and adventurous kind, minj^od with practical 
purposes, in which he delighted. This winter 
voyage down the Ohio in a canoe, with the 
doctor for a companion, and two Indians for 
crew, through regions yet insecure from the ca- 
pricious hostility of prowling savages, is not 
one of the least striking of his frontier " ex- 
periences." The hazardous nature of it was 
made apparent shortly afterwards, by another 
outbreak of the Ohio tribes ; one of its bloodiest 
actions took place on the very banks of the 
Great Kanawha, in which Colonel Lewis and 
a number of brave Virginians lost their lives. 

NOTE. 

In the final adjustment of claims under Governor 
Dinwiddle's proclamation, Washington, acting on be- 
half of the officers and soldiers, obtained grants for 
the lands he had marked out in the course of his visit 
to the Ohio. Fifteen thousand acres were awarded to 
a field-officer, nine thousand to a captain, six thousand 
to a subaltern, and so on. Among the claims which 
he entered were those of Stobo and Van Braam, the 
hostages in the capitulation at the Great Meadows. 
After many vicissitudes they were now in London, and 
nine thousand acres were awarded to each of them. 
Their domains were ultimately purchased by Wash- 
ington through his London agent. 

Another claimant was Colonel George Muse, Wash- 
ington's early instructor in military science. His 
claim was admitted with diSiculty, for he stood ac- 
cused of having acted the part of a poltroon in the 
campaign, and Washington seems to have considered 
the charge well founded. Still he appears to have 
• been dissatisfied with the share of land assigned him, 
and to have written to Washington somewhat rudely 
on the subject. His letter is not extant, but we sub- 
join Washington's reply almost entire, as a specimen 



122 



LORD DOHORE GOVERNOR OF YIRGIXIA. 



[nva 



of the caustic pen he could wield under a mingled 
emotion of scorn and indignation. 

" Sir, — Tour impertinent letter was delivered to me 
vesterdav. As I am not accustomed to receive such 
fix»m any man, nor would have taken the same language 
from you personally, without letting you feel some 
marks of my resentment, I advise you to be cautious 
in writing me a second of the same tenor ; for though 
I understand you were dnmk when you did it, yet give 
me leave to tell you that drunkenness is no excuse 
for rudeness. But for your stupidity and sottlshness 
you might have known, by attending to the public 
gazette, that you had your fuU quantity of ten thou- 
sand acres of land allowed you : that is, nine thousand 
and seventy-three acres in the great tract, and the re- 
mainder in the small tract. 

"But suppose you had really fallen short, do you 
think your superlative merit entitles you to greater 
indulgence than others? Or, if it did, that I was to 
make it good to you, when it was at the option of the 
governor and council to allow but five hundred acres 
in the whole, if they had been so inclined ? If either 
of these should happen to be your opinion, I am very 
well convinced that you will be singular in it ; and all 
my concern is that Lever engaged myself in behalf of 
so ungrateful and dirty a fellow as you are." 

>". B. — The above is from the letter as it exists in 
the archives of the Department of State at Washing- 
ton. It differs in two or three particulars from that 
published among Washington's writings. 



CHAPTER XXXII. 

The discontents of Virginia, -wliich had been 
partially soothed by the amiable administra- 
tion of Lord Botetomt, were irritated anew 
Tinder his successor, the Earl of Dunmore. 
This nobleman had for a short time held the 
government of Xew Tork. When appointed 
to that of Virginia, he lingered for several 
months at his former post. In the mean time, 
he sent his mihtarv secretary. Captain Fov, to 
attend to the despatch of business until his 
arrival ; awarding to him a salary and fees to 
be paid by the colony. 

The pride of the Virginians was piqned at 
his lingering at New York, as if he preferred 
its gayety and luxury to the comparative quiet 
and simplicity of Williamsburg. Their pride 
was still more piqued on his arrival, bv what 
they considered haughtiness on his part. The 
spirit of the " Ancient Dominion " was roused, 
and his lordship experienced opposition at his 
very outset. 

The first measure of the Assembly, at its 
opening, was to demand by what right he had 
awarded a salary and fees to his secretary with- 



out consulting it ; and to question whether it 
was authorized by the crown. 

His lordship had the good policy to rescind 
the unauthorized act, and in so doing mitigated 
the ire of the Assembly ; but he lost no time 
in proroguing a body, which, from various 
symptoms, appeared to be too independent, 
and disposed to be untractable. 

He continued to prorogue it from time to 
time, seeking in the interim to conciliate the 
Virginians, and soothe their irritated pride. 
At length, after repeated prorogations, he was 
compelled by circumstances to convene it on 
the 1st of March, 1T73. 

Washington was prompt in. his attendance 
on the occasion ; and foremost among the pa- 
triotic members, who eagerly availed them- 
selves of this long-wished for opportunity to 
legislate upon the general affairs of the colonies. 
One of their most important measures was the 
appointment of a committee of eleven persons, 
" whose business it should be to obtain the 
most clear and authentic intelligence of all such 
acts and resolutions of the British Parliament, 
or proceedings of administration, as may relate 
to or affect the British colonies, and to main- 
tain with their sister colonies a correspondence 
and communication." 

The plan thus prop)osed by their "noble, 
patriotic sister colony of Virginia,"* was 
promptly adopted by the people of Massachu- 
setts, and soon met with general concurrence. 
These corresponding committees, in effect, be- 
came the executive jjower of the patriot party, 
producing the happiest concert of design and 
action throughout the colonies. 

Notwithstanding the decided part taken by 
Washington in the popular movement, very- 
friendly relations existed between him and 
Lord Dunmore. The latter appreciated his 
character, and sought to avaU himself of his 
experience in the affairs of the province. It 
was even concerted that Washington should 
accompany his lordship on an extensive tour, 
which the latter intended to make in the 
course of the summer along the western fron- 
tier. A melancholy circumstance occurred to 
defeat this arrangement. 

We have spoken of Washington's paternal 
conduct towards the two children of Mrs. 
Washington. The daughter. Miss Custis, had 
long been an object of extreme solicitude. She 
was of a fragile constitution, and for some time 



' Boston Town Records. 



JEt. 41.] 



GUARDIANSHIP OF JOHN PAKKE CUSTIS— EARLY TRAVEL. 



123 



past had been in very declining health. Early 
in the present summer, symptoms indicated a 
rapid change for the worse. "Washington was 
absent from home at the time. On his retm-n 
to Mount Vernon, he found her in the last 
stage of consumption. 

Though not a man given to bursts of sensi- 
bility, he is said on the present occasion to 
have evinced the deepest affliction ; kneeling 
by her bedside, and pouring out earnest prayers 
for her recovery. She expired on the 19th of 
June, in the seventeenth year of her age. This, 
of coarse, put an end to "Washington's intention 
of accompanying Lord Dunmore to the fron- 
tier; he remained at home to console Mrs. 
"Washington in her affliction, — furnishing his 
lordship, however, with travelling hints and 
directions, and recommending proper guides. 
And here we will take occasion to give a few 
brief particulars of domestic affairs at Mount 
Vernon. 

For a long time previous to the death of 
Miss Oustis, her mother, despairing of her re- 
covery, had centred her hopes in her son, John 
Parke Custis. This rendered "Washington's 
guardianship of him a delicate and difficult 
task. He was lively, susceptible, and impul- 
sive ; had an independent fortune in his own 
right, and an indulgent mother, ever ready to 
plead in his behalf against wholesome discipline. 
He had been placed under the care and instruc- 
tion of an Episcopal clergyman at Annapolis, 
but was occasionally at home, mounting his 
horse, and taking a part, while yet a boy, in 
/ the fox-hunts at Mount Vernon. His educa- 
tion had consequently been irregular and im- 
perfect, and not such as "Washington would 
have enforced had he possessed over him the 
absolute authority of a father. Shortly after 
the return of the latter from his tour to the 
Ohio, he was concerned to find that there was 
an idea entertained of sending the lad abroad, 
though but little more than sixteen years of 
age, to travel under the care of his clerical 
tutor. Through his judicious interference, the 
travelling scheme was postponed, and it was 
resolved to give the young gentleman's mind 
the benefit of a little preparatory home culture. 

Little more than a year elapsed before the 
sallying impulses of the youth had taken a new 
direction. He was in love ; what was more, 
he was engaged to the object of his passion, 
and on the high road to matrimony. 

"Washington now opposed himself to prema- 
ture marriage as he had done to premature 



travel. A correspondence ensued between him 
and the young lady's father, Benedict Calvert, 
Esq. The match was a satisfactory one to all 
parties, but it was agreed that it was expe- 
dient for the youth to pass a year or two pre- 
viously at college. "Washington accordingly 
accompanied him to New York, and placed him 
under the care of the Eev. Dr. Cooper, presi- 
dent of King's (now Columbia) College, to 
pursue his studies in that institution. All this 
occurred before the death of his sister. "With- 
in a year after that melancholy event, he be- 
came impatient for a union with the object of 
his choice. His mother, now more indulgent 
than ever to this, her only child, yielded her 
consent, and "Washington no longer made op- 
position. 

" It has been against my wishes," writes the 
latter to President Cooper, " that he should 
quit college in order that he may soon enter 
into a new scene of life, which I think he would 
be much fitter for some years hence than now. 
But having his own inclination, the desires of 
his mother, and the acquiescence of almost all 
his relatives to encounter, I did not care, as he 
is the last of the family, to push my opposition 
too far ; I have, therefore, submitted to a kind 
of necessity." 

The marriage was celebrated on the 3d of 
February, 1774, before the bridegroom was 
twenty-one years of age. 



We are induced to subjoin extracts of two letters 
from Washington relative to young Custis. The first 
gives his objections to premature travel ; the second 
to premature matrimony. Both are worthy of con- 
sideration in this country, where our young people 
have such a general disposition to " go ahead." 

To the Rev. Jonathan Boucher (the tutor of young Custis). 
* « * * <i J cannot help giving it as my opinion, 
that his education, however advanced it may be for a 
youth of his age, is by no means ripe enough for a 
travelling tonr ; not that I think his becoming a mere 
scholar is a desirable education for a gentleman, but I 
conceive a knowledge of books is the basis upon which 
all other knowledge is to bo built, and in travelling he 
is to become acquainted with men and things, rather 
than books. At present, however well versed he may 
be in the principles of the Latin language (which is 
not to be wondered at, as he began the study of it as 
soon as he could speak), he is unacquainted with sev- 
eral of the classic authors that might be useful to him. 
He is ignorant of Greek, the advantages of learning 
which I do not pretend to judge of; and he knows 
nothing of French, which is absolutely necessary to 
him as a traveller. He has little or no acquaintance 
with arithmetic, and is totally ignorant of the mathe- 



124 



EARLY MARRIAGE— TEA DESTROYED AT BOSTON. 



[Ills. 



matics— than which, at least, so much of them as re- 
lates to surveying, nothing can be more essentially 
necessary to any man possessed of a large lauded 
estate, the bounds of some part or other of which arc 
always in controversy. Now whether he has time be- 
tween this and next spring to acquire a sufficient 
knowledge of these studies, I leave you to judge ; as, 
Ulso, whether a boy of seventeen years old (which 
will be his age next November), can have any just 
notions of the end and design of travelling. I have 
alreadj- given it as my opinion that it would be pre- 
cipitating this event, unless he were to go immediately 
to the university for a couple of years ; in which case 
he could see nothing of America ; which might be a 
disadvantage to him, as it is to be expected that every 
man, who travels with a view of observing the laws 
and customs of other countries, should be able to give 
some description of the situation and government of 
his own." 

The following are extracts from the letter to Bene- 
dict Calvert, Esq., the young lady's father : 

" I write to you on a subject of importance, and of 
no small embarrassment to me. My son-in-law and 
ward, Jlr. Custis, has, as I have been informed, paid 
his addresses to your second daughter ; and having 
made some progress in her affections, has solicited her 
in marriage. How far a union of this sort may be 
agreeable to you, you best can tell ; but I should think 
myself wanting in candor, were I not to confess that 
Miss Nelly's amiable qualities are acknowledged on all 
hands, and that an alliance with your family will be 
pleasing to his. 

" This acknowledgment being made, you must per- 
mit me to add, sir, that at this, or in any short time, 
his youth, inexperience, and unripened education are, 
and will be, insuperable obstacles, in my opinion, to 
the completion of the marriage. As his guardian, I 
conceive it my indispensable duty to endeavor to 
carry him through a regular course of education 
(many branches of which, I am sorry to say, he is 
totally deficient in), and to guide his youth to a more 
advanced age, before an event, on which his own 
peace and the happiness of another are to depend, 
takes place. * * * If the affection which they 
have avowed for each other is fixed upon a solid basis, 
it will receive no diminution in the course of two or 
three years ; in which time he may prosecute his stu- 
dies, and thereby render himself more deserving of 
the lady, and useful to society. If, unfortunately, as 
they are both young, there should be an abatement of 
alFection on either side, or both, it had better precede 
than follow marriage. 

" Delivering my sentiments thus freely, will not, I 
hope, lead you into a belief that I am desirous of 
breaking off the match. To postpone it is all I have 
in view ; for I shall recommend to the young gentle- 
man, with the warmth that becomes a man of honor, 
to consider himself as much engaged to your daugh- 
ter, as if the indissoluble knot were tied;' and as the 
surest means of effecting this, to apply himself closely 
to his studies, by which he will, in a great measure, 
avoid those little flirtations with other young ladies^ 
that may, by dividing the attention, coutribuUi not a 
little to divide the affection." 



CHAPTER XXXIII. 

The general covenant throughout the colonies 
against the use of taxed tea, had operated dis- 
astrously against the interests of the East India 
Company, and produced an immense aocumula- 
tion of the proscribed article in their ware- 
houses. To remedy this, Lord North brought 
in a bill (1773), by which the company were 
allowed to export their teas from England to 
any part whatever, without paying export 
duty. This, by enabling them to offer their 
teas at a low price in the colonies would, he 
supposed, tempt the Americans to purchase 
large quantities, thus relieving the company, 
and at the same time benefiting the revenue 
by the impost duty. Confiding in the wisdom 
of this policy the company disgorged their ware- 
houses, freighted several ships with tea, and 
sent them to various parts of the colonies. 
This brought matters to a crisis. One senti- 
ment, one determination, pervaded the whole 
continent. Taxation was to receive its definitive 
blow. Whoever submitted to it was an enemy 
to his country. From New York and Phila- 
delphia the ships were sent back, unladen, to 
London. In Charleston the tea was unloaded, 
and stored away in cellars and other places, 
where it perished. At Boston the action was 
still more decisive. The ships anchored in the 
harbor. Some small parcels of tea were brought 
on shore, but the sale of them was prohibited. 
The captains of the ships, seeing the desperate 
state of the case, would have made sail back 
for England, but they could not obtain the 
consent of the consignees, a clearance at the 
custom-house, or a passport fi'om the governor 
to clear the fort. It Avas evident the tea was 
to be forced upon the people of Boston, and 
the principle of taxation established. 

To settle the matter completely, and prove 
that, on a point of principle, they were not to 
be trifled with, a number of the inhabitants, 
disguised as Indians, boarded the ships in the 
night (18th December), broke open all the 
chests of tea, and emptied the contents into 
the sea. This was no rash and intemperate 
proceeding of a mob, but the well-considered, 
though resolute act of sober, respectable citi- 
zens, men of reflection, but determination. 
The whole was done calmly, and in perfect 
order ; after which the actors in the scene 
dispersed without tumult, and returned quietly 
to their homes. 



^T. 42.] INDIGNATION AT THE PORT BILL— A GENERAL CONGRESS PROPOSED. 125 



The general opposition of the colonies to the 
principle of taxation had given great annoy- 
ance to government, but this individual act 
concentrated aU its wrath upon Boston. A 
bill was forthwith passed in Parliament (com- 
monly called the Boston port bill), by which 
all lading and unlading of goods, wares, and 
merchandise, were to cease in that town and 
harbor, on and after the 1st of June, and the 
officers of the customs to be transferred to 
Salem. 

Another law, passed soon after, altered the 
charter of the province, decreeing that all 
counsellors, judges, and magistrates, should be 
appointed by the crown, and hold office during 
the royal pleasure. 

This was followed by a third, intended for 
the suppression of riots ; and providing that 
any person indicted for murder, or other cap- 
ital oifence, committed in aiding the magis- 
tracy, might be sent by the governor to some 
other colony, or to Great Britain, for trial. 

Such was the bolt of Parliamentary wrath 
fulminated against the devoted town of Bos- 
ton. Before it fell there was a session iu May, 
of the Virginia House of Burgesses. The 
social position of Lord Dunmore had been 
strengthened in the province by the arrival of 
his lady, and a numerous family of sons and 
daughters. The old Virginia aristocracy had 
vied with each other in hospitable attentions 
to the family. A court circle had sprung up. 
Regulations had been drawn up by a herald, 
and published officially, determining the rank 
and precedence of civil and military officers, 
and their wives. The aristocracy of the An- 
cient Dominion was furbishing up its former 
splendor. Carriages and four rolled into the 
streets of Williamsburg, with horses hand- 
somely caparisoned, bringing the wealthy plant- 
ers and their families to the scat of govern- 
ment. 

"Washington arrived in "Williamsburg on the 
16th, and dined with the governor on the day 
of his arrival, having a distinguished position 
in the court circle, and being still on terms of 
intimacy with his lordship. The House of 
Burgesses was opened in form, and one of its 
first measures was an addrcvss of congratulation 
to the governor, on the arrival of his lady. It 
was followed up by an agreement among the 
members to give her ladyship a splendid ball, 
on the 27th of the month. 

AU things were going on smoothly and smil- 
ingly, when a letter, received through the cor- 



responding committee, brought intelligence of 
the vindictive measure of Parliament, by which 
the port of Boston was to be closed on the ap- 
proaching 1st of June. 

The letter was read in the House of Bur- 
gesses, and produced a general burst of indig- 
nation. All other business was thrown aside, 
and this became the sole subject of discussion, 
A protest against this and other recent acts of 
Parliament was entered upon the journal of 
the House, and a resolution was adopted, on 
the 24th of May, setting apart the 1st of June 
as a day of fasting, prayer, and humiliation ; in 
which the divine interposition Avas to be im- 
plored, to avert the heavy calamity threatening 
destruction to their rights, and all the evils of 
civil war; and to give the people one heart 
and one mind in firmly opposing every injury 
to American liberties. 

On the following morning, while the Bur- 
gesses were engaged in animated debate, they 
were summoned to attend Lord Dunmore in 
the council chamber, where he made them the 
following laconic speech : " Mr. Speaker, and 
Gentlemen of the House of Burgesses : I have 
in my hand a paper, published by order of your 
House, conceived in such terms, as reflect higldy 
upon his majesty, and the Parliament of Great 
Britain, which makes it necessary for me to 
dissolve you, and you are dissolved accord- 
ingly." 

As on a former occasion, the Assembly, 
though dissolved, was not dispersed. The 
members ailjourned to the long room of the 
old Raleigh tavern, and passed resolutions, de- 
nouncing the Boston port bill as a most dan- 
gerous attempt to destroy the constitutional 
liberty and rights of all North America; re- 
commending their countrymen to desist from 
the use, not merely of tea, but of all kinds of 
East India commodities ; pronouncing an attack 
on one of the colonies, to enforce arbitrary 
taxes, an attack on all ; and ordering the com- 
mittee of correspondence to communicate with 
the other corresponding committees, on the 
expediency of appointing deputies from the 
several colonies of British America, to meet 
annually in General Congress, at such place 
as might be deemed expedient, to deliberate 
on such measures as the united interests of the 
colonies might require. 

This was the first recommendation of a Gen- 
eral Congress by any public assembly, though 
it had been previously proposed in town meet- 
ings at New York and Boston. A resolution 



126 



THE BOSTON PORT BILL CARRIED INTO EFFECT. 



[1114. 



to the same effect -n-as passed in the Assembly 
of Massachusetts before it was aware of the 
proceedings of the Virginia Legislature. The 
measure recommended met with prompt and 
general concurrence throughout the colonies, 
and the fifth day of September next ensuing 
was fixed upon for the meeting of the first 
Congress, which was to be held at Philadel- 
phia. 

Notwithstanding Lord Dunmore's abrupt dis- 
solution of the House of Burgesses, the mem- 
bers still continued on courteous terms with 
him, and the ball which they had decreed early 
in the session in honor of Lady Dunmore, was 
celebrated on the 27th with unwavering gal- 
lantry. 

As to Washington, widely as he differed 
from Lord Dunmore ou important points of 
policy, his intimacy with him remained unin- 
terrupted. By memorandums in his diary it 
appears that he dined and passed the evening 
at his lordship's on the 25th, the very day of 
the meeting at the Raleigh tavern. That he 
rode out with him to his farm, and breakfasted 
there with him on the 26th, and on the even- 
ing of the 27th attended the ball given to her 
ladyship. Such v\-as the well-bred decorum 
that seemed to quiet the turbulence of popular 
excitement, without checking the full and firm 
expression of popular opinion. 

On the 29th, two days after the ball, letters 
arrived from Boston giving the proceedings of 
a town meeting, recommending that a general 
league should be formed throughout the col- 
onies suspending all trade with Great Britain. 
But twenty-five members of the late House of 
Burgesses, including Washington, were at that 
time remaining in Williamsburg, They held a 
meeting on the following day, at which Peyton 
Ptandolph presided as moderator. After some 
discussion it was determined to issue a printed 
circular, bearing their signatures, and calling a 
meeting of all the members of the late House 
of Burgesses, on the 1st of August, to take 
into consideration this measure of a general 
league. The circular recommended them, also, 
to collect, in the mean time, the sense of their 
respective counties. 

Washington was still at Williamsburg on the 
1st of June, the day when the port bill was to 
be enforced at Boston. It was ushered in by 
the tolling of bells, and observed by all true 
I)atriots as a day of fasting and humiliation. 
Washington notes in his diary that he fasted 
rigidly, and attended the services appointed in 



the church. Still his friendly intercourse with 
the Dunmore family was continued during the 
remainder of his sojourn in Williamsburg, where 
he was detained by business until the 20th, 
when he set out ou his return to Mount Ver- 
non. 

In the mean time the Boston port bill had 
been carried into effect. On the 1st of June 
the harbor of Boston was closed at noon, and 
all business ceased. The two other parliament- 
ary acts altering the charter of Massachusetts 
were to be enforced. No public meetings, ex- 
cepting the annual town meetings in March and 
May, were to be held without permission of 
the governoh 

General Thomas Gage had recently been ap- 
pointed to the military command of Massachu- 
setts, and the carrying out of these offensive 
acts. He was the same officer who, as lieuten- 
ant-colonel, had led the advance guard on the 
field of Braddock's defeat. Fortune had since 
gone well with him. Rising in the service, he 
had been governor of Montreal, and had suc- 
ceeded Amherst in the command of the British 
forces on this continent. He was linked to 
the country also by domestic ties, having mar- 
ried into one of the most respectable families 
of NeAv Jersey. In the various situations in 
which he had hitherto been placed he had won 
esteem, and rendered himself popular. Not 
much was expected from him in his present 
post by those who knew him well. William 
Smith, the historian, speaking of him to Adams, 
" Gage," said he, " was a good-natured, peace- 
able, sociable man while here (in New York), 
but altogether unfit for a governor of Massa- 
chusetts. He will lose all the character he has 
acquired as a man, a gentleman, and a general, 
and dwindle down into a mere scribbling gov- 
ernor — a mere Bernard or Hutchinson." 

With all Gage's experience in America, he 
had formed a most erroneous opinion of the 
character of the people. " The Americans," 
said he to the king, " will be lions only as 
long as the English are lambs ; " and he en- 
gaged, with five regiments, to keep Boston 
quiet ! 

The manner in which his attemjjts to enforce 
the recent acts of Parliament were resented, 
showed bow egregiously he was in error. At 
the suggestion of the Assembly, a paper was 
circulated through the province by the com- 
mittee of correspondence, entitled " a solemn 
league and covenant," the subscribers to which 
bound themselves to break off all intercourse 



Mr. 42.] 



LEAGUE AND COVENANT— PATRIOTIC RESOLUTIONS, 



137 



with Great Britain from the 1st of August, 
until the colony should be restored to the en- 
joyment of its chartered rights ; and to re- 
nounce all dealings with those who should re- 
fuse to enter into this compact. 

The very title of league and covenant had 
an ominous sound, and startled General Gage. 
He issued a proclamation, denouncing it as ille- 
gal and traitorous. Furthermore, he encamped 
a force of infantry and artillery on Boston 
Common, as if prepared to enact the lion. An 
alarm spread through the adjacent country. 
'' Boston is to be blockaded ! Boston is to be 
reduced to obedience by force or famine ! " 
The spirit of the yeomanry was aroused. They 
sent in word to tlie inhabitants promising to 
come to their aid if necessary ; and urging 
them to stand fast to the faith. Affairs were 
coming to a crisis. It was predicted that the 
new acts of Parliament would bring on " a 
most important and decisive trial." 



CHAPTER XXXIV. 

Shortly after "Washington's return to Mount 
Vernon, in the latter part of June, he presided 
as moderator at a meeting of the inhabitants 
of Fairfax County, wherein, after the recent 
acts of Parliament had been discussed, a com- 
mittee was appointed, with himself as chair- 
man, to draw up resolutions expressive of the 
sentiments of the present meeting, and to re- 
port the same at a general meeting of the 
county, to be held in the court-house on the 
18th of July. 

The course that public measures were taking 
shocked the loyal feelings of Washington's 
valued friend, Bryan Fairfax, of Tarlston Hall, 
a younger brother of George William, who was 
absent in England. He was a man of liberal 
sentiments, but attached to the ancient rule ; 
and, in a letter to Washington, advised a 
petition to the throne, which would give Par- 
liament an opportunity to repeal the offensive 
acts. 

" I would heartily join you in your political 
sentiments," wi'ites Washington in reply, " as 
far as relates to a humble and dutiful petition 
to the throne, provided there was the most dis- 
tant hope of success. But have we not tried 
this already ? Have we not addressed the lords, 
and remonstrated to the commons ? And to 



what end ? Does it not appear as clear as the 
sun in its meridian brightness that tliere is a 
regular, systematic plan to fix the right and 
practice of taxation upon us ? * * * * * 
Is not the attack upon the liberty and property 
of the people of Boston, before restitution of 
the loss to tlie India Company was demanded, 
a plain and self-evident proof of what they are 
aiming at? Do not the subsequent bills for 
depriving the Massachusetts Bay of its charter, 
and for transporting offenders to other colonies 
or to Great Britain for trial, where it is im- 
possible, from the nature of things, that justice 
can be obtained, convince us that the adminis- 
tration is determined to stick at nothing to 
carry its point ? Ought we not, then, to put 
our virtue and fortitude to the severest 
tests?" 

The committee met accordingly to appoint- 
ment, with Washington as chairman. Tlie res- 
olutions framed at the meeting insisted, as 
usual, on the right of self-government, and the 
principle that taxation and representation were 
in their nature inseparable. That the various 
acts of Parliament for raising reveiuie ; taking 
away trials by jury ; ordering that persons 
might be tried in a different country from that 
in which the cause of accusation originated ; 
closing the port of Boston ; abrogating the 
charter of Massachusetts Bay, &c., &c., — were 
all part of a premeditated design and system to 
introduce arbitrary government into the col- 
onies. That the sudden and repeated dissolu- 
tions of Assemblies whenever they presumed 
to examine tlie illegality of ministerial man- 
dates, or deliberated on the violated rights of 
their constituents, were part of the same sys- 
tem, and calculated and intended to drive the 
people of the colonies to a state of desperation, 
and to dissolve the compact by which their 
ancestors bound themselves and their posterity, 
to remain dependent on the British crown. 
The resolutions, furthermore, recommended the 
most perfect union and co-operation among the 
colonies ; solemn covenants with respect to 
non-importation and non-intercourse, and a re- 
nunciation of all dealings with any colony, 
town, or province, that should refuse to agree 
to the plan adopted by the General Congress. 

They also recommended a dutiful petition 
and I'emonstrance from the Congress to the 
king, asserting their constitutional rights and 
privileges ; lamenting the necessity of entering 
into measures that might be displeasing ; de- 
claring their attachment to his person, family, 



128 



WASHINGTON A DELEGATE TO THE GENERAL CONVENTION. 



[1774. 



and government, and their desire to continue 
in dependence upon Great Britain ; beseeching 
him not to reduce his faithful siibjects of 
America to desperation, and to reflect, that 
from our sovereign there can ie but one appeal. 

These resohitions are the more worthy of 
note, as expressive of the opinions and feelings 
of Washmgton at this eventful time, if not 
being entirely dictated by him. The last sen- 
tence is of awful import, suggesting the possi- 
bility of being driven to an appeal to arms. 

Bryan Fairfax, who was aware of their pur- 
port, addressed a long letter to "Washington, on 
the 17th of July, the day preceding that in 
which they were to be reported by the com- 
mittee, stating his objections to several of them, 
and requesting that his letter might be publicly 
read. The letter was not received until after 
the committee had gone to the court-house on 
the 18th, with the resolutions revised, cor- 
rected, and ready to be reported. "Washington 
glanced over the letter hastily, and handed it 
round to several of the gentlemen present. 
They, with one exception, advised that it should 
not be publicly read, as it was not likely to 
make any converts, and was repugnant, as 
some thought, to every principle they were 
contending foi*. "Washington forbore, there- 
fore, to give it any further publicity. 

The resolutions reported by the committee 
were adopted, and "Washington was chosen a 
delegate to represent the county at the General 
Convention of the province, to be held at "Wil- 
liamsburg on the 1st of August. After the meet- 
ing had adjourned, lie felt doubtful whether 
Fairfax might not be dissatisfied that his letter 
had not been read, as he requested, to the 
county at large ; he wrote to him, therefore, 
explaining the circumstances which prevented 
it ; at the same time replying to some of the 
objections which Fairfax had made to certain 
of the resolutions. He reiterated his belief 
that an appeal would be ineffectual. ""What 
is it we are contending against?" asked he; 
" Is it against paying the duty of threepence 
j)er pound on tea because burdensome? No, 
it is the right only, that we have all along dis- 
puted ; and to this end, we have already pe- 
titioned his majesty in as humble and dutiful a 
manner as sulyccts could do. Nay, more, we 
applied to the House of Lords and House of 
Commons in their different legislative capaci- 
ties, setting forth that, as Englishmen, we 
could not be deprived of this essential and val- 
uable part of our constitution. ***** 



" The conduct of the Boston peopile could 
not justify the rigor of theu* measures, unless 
there had been a requisition of payment, and 
refusal of it ; nor did that conduct require an 
act to deprive the government of Massachu- 
setts Bay of their charter, or to exempt offend- 
ers from trial in the places where offences were 
committed, as there was not, nor could there 
be, a single instance produced to manifest the 
necessity of it. Are not all these things evi- 
dent proofs of a fixed and uniform plan to tax 
us ? If we want further proofs, do not all the 
debates in the House of Commons serve to 
confirm this? And has not General Gage's 
conduct since his arrival, in stopping the ad- 
dress of his council, and publishing a proclama- 
tion, more becoming a Turkish bashaw than an 
English governor, declaring it treason to asso- 
ciate in any manner by which the commerce 
of Great Britain is to be affected, — has not 
this exhibited an unexampled testimony of the 
most despotic system of tyranny that ever was 
practised in a free government ? " 

The popular measure on which "Washington 
laid the greatest stress as a means of obtaining 
redress from government, was the non-Impor- 
tation scheme ; " for I am convinced," said he, 
" as much as of my existence, that there is no 
relief for us but in their distress ; and I think 
— at least I hope — that there is public virtue 
enough left among us to deny ourselves every 
thing but the bare necessaries of life to accom- 
plish this end." At the same time he forcibly 
condemned a suggestion that remittances to 
England should be withheld, " "While wo are 
accusing others of injustice," said he, " we 
should be just ourselves; and how this can be 
whilst we owe a considerable debt, and refuse 
payment of it to Great Britain, is to me incon- 
ceivable : nothing but the last extremity can 
justify it." 

On the 1st of August, the convention of 
representatives from all parts of Virginia as- 
sembled at "\Yilliamsburg, "Washington ap- 
peared on behalf of Fairfax County, and pre- 
sented the resolutions already cited, as the 
sense of his constituents. He is said, by one 
who was present, to have spoken in support of 
them in a strain of uncommon eloquence, which 
shows how his latent ardor had been excited 
on the occasion, as eloquence was not in gen- 
eral among his attributes. It is evident, how- 
ever, that he was roused to an unusual pitch 
of enthusiasm, for he is said to have declared 
that he was ready to raise one thousand men. 



^T. 42.] 



VIRGINIA CONVENTION— TOWN MEETINGS KEPT ALIVE. 



129 



subsist them at his own expense, and march at 
their head to the relief of Boston.* 

The Convention was six days in session. 
Resolutions, in the same spirit with those 
passed in Fairfax County, were adopted, and 
Peyton Randolph, Richard Henry Lee, George 
Washington, Patrick Henry, Richard Bland, 
Benjamin Harrison, and Edmund Pendleton, 
were appointed delegates, to represent the peo- 
ple of Virginia in the General Congress. 

Shortly alter Washington's return from Wil- 
liamsburg, he received a reply from Bryan Fair- 
fax, to his last letter. Fairfax, who was really 
a man of liberal views, seemed anxious to vin- 
dicate himself from any suspicions of the con- 
trary. In adverting to the partial suppression 
of his letter by some of the gentlemen of the 
committee : " I am uneasy to find," writes he, 
" that any one should look upon the letter sent 
down as repugnant to the principles we are 
contending for ; and, therefore, when you have 
leisui'e, I shall take it as a favor if you will let 
me know wherein it was thought so. I beg 
leave to look upon you as a friend, and it is a 
great relief to unbosom one's thoughts to a 
friend. Besides, the information, and the cor- 
rection of my errors, which I may obtain from 
a correspondence, are great inducements to it. 
For I am convinced that no man in the colony 
wishes its prosperity more, would go greater 
lengths to serve it, or is, at the same time, a 
better subject to the crown. Pray excuse 
these compliments, they may be tolerable from 
a friend. "t 

The hurry of various occupations prevented 
Washington, in his reply, from entering into 
any further discussion of the popular theme. 
" I can only in general add," said he, " that an 
innate spirit of fi'eedom first told me that the 
measures which the administration have for 
some time been, and now are violently pursuing, 
are opposed to every principle of natural jus- 
tice ; whilst much abler heads than my own 
have fully convinced me, that they are not 
only repugnant to natural right, but subversive 
of the laws and constitution of Great Britain 
itself. * * * * J si^all conclude with re- 
marking, that if you disavow the right of Par- 
liament to tax us, unrepresented as we are, we 
only differ in the mode of opposition, and this 
difference principally arises from your belief 
that they (the Parliament I mean) want a de- 



* See information given to the elder Adams, by Mr. 
Lynch, of South Carolina. — Adorns^ Diary. 

t Sparks. Washington's Writings, vol. ii., p. 329. 

9 



cent opportunity to repeal the acts ; whilst I 
am fully convinced that there has been a regu- 
lar systematic plan to enforce them, and that 
nothing but unanimity and firmness in the 
colonies which they did not expect, can prevent 
it. By the best advices from Boston, it seems 
that General Gage is exceedingly disconcerted 
at the quiet and steady conduct of the people 
of the Massachusetts Baj', and at the measures 
pursuing by the other governments. I dare 
say he expected to force those oppressed people 
into compliance, or irritate them to acts of 
violence before this, for a more colorable pre- 
tence of ruling that, and the other colonies, 
with a high hand." 

Washington had formed a correct opinion of 
the ])osition of General Gage. From the time 
of taking command at Boston, he had been 
perplexed how to manage its inhabitants. Had 
they been hot-headed, impulsive, and prone to 
paroxysm, his task would have been compara- 
tively easy ; but it was the cool, shrewd com- 
mon sense, by which all their movements were 
regulated, that confounded him. 

High-handed measures had failed of the antici- 
pated effect. Their harbor had been thronged 
with ships ; their town with troops. The port 
biU had put an end to commerce ; wharves 
were deserted, warehouses closed ; streets 
grass-grown and silent. The rich were grow- 
ing poor, and the poor were without employ ; 
yet the spirit of the people was unbroken. 
There was no uproar, however ; no riots ; 
every thing was awfully systematic and ac- 
cording to rule. Town meetings were held, in 
which public rights and public measures were 
eloquentfy discussed by John Adams, Josiah 
Quincy, and other eminent men. Over these 
meetings Samuel Adams presided as moder- 
ator; a man clear in judgment, calm in con- 
duct, inflexible in resolution ; deejily grounded 
in civil and political history, and infallible on 
all points of constitutional law. 

Alarmed at the powerful influence of these 
assemblages, government issued an act prohib- 
iting them after the 1st of August. The act 
was evaded by convoking the meetings before 
that day, and Iceepmg them alive indefinitely. 
Gage was at a loss how to act. It would not 
do to disperse these assemblages by force of 
arms ; for, the people who composed them 
mingled the soldier with the polemic, and, like 
their prototypes, the convenanters of yore, if 
prone to argue, were as ready to fight. So the 
meetings continued to be held pertinaciously. 



130 



MEETING OF THE FIRST CONGRESS— OPENING CEREMONIES. 



[1774. 



Fanueil Hall -n\as at times unable to hold them, 
and they swarmed from that revolutionary 
hive into old South Church. The liberty tree 
became a rallying place for any popular move- 
ment, and a flag hoisted on it was saluted by 
all processions as the emblem of the popular 
cause. 

Opposition to the new plan of government 
assumed a more violent aspect at the extremity 
of the province, and was abetted by Connecti- 
cut. " It is very high," writes Gage, (August 
27th,) " in Berkshire County, and makes way 
rapidly to the rest. At Worcester they 
threaten resistance, purchase arms, provide 
powder, cast baljs, and threaten, to attack any 
troops who may oppose them. I apprehend I 
shall soon have to march a body of troops into 
that township." 

The time appointed for the meeting of the 
General Congress at Philadelphia was now at 
Land. Delegates had already gone on from 
Massachusetts. " It is not possible to guess," 
writes Gage, " what a body composed of such 
heterogeneous matter will determine ; but the 
members from hence, I am assured, will pro- 
mote the most haughty and insolent resolves ; 
for their plan has ever been, by threats and 
high-sounding sedition, to terrify and intimi- 
date." 



CHAPTER XXXV. 

"WnEN- the time approached for the meeting 
of the General Congress at Philadelphia, Wash- 
ington was joined at Mount Vernon by Patrick 
Henry and Edmund Pendleton, and they per- 
formed the journey together on horseback. It 
was a noble companionship. Henry was then 
m the youthful vigor and elasticity of his 
bounding genius; ardent, acute, fanciful, elo- 
quent. Pendleton, sclioolcd in public life, a 
veteran in council, with native force of intel- 
lect, and habits of deep reflection. Washing- 
ton, in the meridian of his days, mature in wis- 
dom, comprehensive in mind, sagacious in fore- 
sight. Such were the apostles of liberty, re- 
pairing on their august pilgrimage to Philadel- 
phia from all parts of the land, to lay the 
foundations of a mighty empire. Well may we 
say of that eventful period, " There were giants 
in those days." 

Congress assembled on Monday, the 5th of 
September, in a large room in Carpenter's Hall. 



There were fifty-one delegates, representing all 
the colonies excepting Georgia. 

The meeting has been described as ".awfully 
solemn." The most eminent men from the va- 
rious colonies, were now for the first time 
brought together ; they were known to each 
other by fame, but were, personally, strangers. 
The object which had called them together, 
was of incalculable magnitude. The liberties 
of no less than three millions of people, with 
that of all their posterity, were staked on the 
wisdom and energy of their councils.* 

" It is such an assembly," writes John Adams, 
who was present, " as never before came to- 
gether on a sudden, in any part of the world. 
Here are fortunes, abilities, learning, eloquence, 
acuteness, equal to any I ever met with in my 
life. Here is a diversity of religions, educa- 
tions, manners, interests, such as it would seem 
impossible to unite in one plan of conduct." 

There being an inequality in the number of 
delegates from the different colonies, a question 
arose as to the mode of voting ; whether by 
colonies, by the poll, or by interests. 

Patrick Henry scouted the idea of sectional 
distinctions or individual interests. " All Ameri- 
ca," said he, " is thrown into one mass. Where 
are your landmarks — your boundaries of colo- 
nies? They are all thrown down. The dis- 
tinctions between Virginians, Pennsylvanians, 
New Yorkers, and New E^glanders, are no 
more. lam not a Virginian^ tut an American^ t 

After some debate, it was determined that 
each colony should have but one vote, whatever 
might be the number of its delegates. The 
deliberations of the House were to be with 
closed doors, and nothing but the resolves pro- 
mulgated, unless by order of the majority. 

To give proper dignity and solemnity to the 
proceedings of the House, it was moved on the 
following day, that each morning the session 
should be opened by prayer. To this it was de- 
murred, that as the delegates were of different 
religious sects, they might not consent to join 
in the same form of worship. 

Upon this, Mr. Samuel Adams arose and said : 
" He would willingly join in prayer with any 
gentleman of piety and virtue, whatever might 
be his cloth, provided he was a friend of his 
country ; " and he moved that the reverend 
Mr. Duclie, of Philadelphia, who answered to 
that description, might be invited to officiate 
as chaplain. This was one step towards una- 

♦ Wirt's Life of Patrick Henry, p. 224. 
t J. Adams' Diary. 



^T. 42.] 



PRAYERS IN CONGRESS— ELOQUENCE OF HENRY AND LEE. 



131 



nimity of feeling, Mr. Adams being a strong 
Congregationalist, and Mr. Duche an eminent 
Episcopalian clergyman. The motion was car- 
ried into effect ; the invitation was given and 
accepted. 

In the course of the day, a rumor reached 
Philadelphia that Boston had been cannonaded 
by the British. It produced a strong sensation ; 
and when Congress met on the following morn- 
ing (7th), the effect was visible in every coun- 
tenance. The delegates from the east were 
greeted with a warmer grasp of the hand by 
their associates from the south. 

The reverend Mr. Duche, according to invita- 
tion, appeared in his canonicals, attended by 
his clerk. The morning service of the Episco- 
pal church was read with great solemnity, the 
clerk making the responses. The Psalter for 
the 7th day of the month includes the 35th 
Psalm, wherein David prays for protection 
against his enemies. " Plead my cause, O Lord, 
with them that strive with me : fight against 
them that fight against me. 

" Take hold of shield and buckler, and stand 
up for my help. 

" Draw out, also, the spear, and stop the way 
of them that persecute me. Say unto my soul, 
I am thy salvation," &c., &c. 

The imploring words of this psalm spoke the 
feelings of all hearts present ; but especially 
of those from New England. John Adams 
writes in a letter to his wife : " You must re- 
member this was the morning after we heard 
the horrible rumor of the cannonade of Bos- 
ton. I never saw a greater effect upon an au- 
dience. It seemed as if Heaven had ordained 
that psalm to be read on that morning. After 
this, Mr. Duche unexpectedly struck out into 
an extemporary prayer, which filled the bosom 
of every man present. Episcopalian as he is, 
Dr. Cooper himself never prayed with such fer- 
vor, such ardor, such earnestness and pathos, 
and in language so eloquent and sublime, for 
America, for the Congress, for the province of 
Massachusetts Bay, and especially the town of 
Boston. It has had an excellent effect upon 
everybody here." * 

It has been remarked that Washington was 
especially devout on this occasion — kneeling, 
while others stood up. In this, however, each, 
no doubt, observed the attitude in prayer to 
which he was accustomed. Washington knelt, 
being an Episcopalian. 

* John Adams' Correspondence and Diary. 



The rumored attack upon Boston rendered 
the service of the day deeply affecting to all 
present. They were one political family, actu- 
ated by one feeling, and sympathizing with the 
weal and woe of each individual member. The 
rumor proved to be erroneous ; but it had pro- 
duced a most beneficial effect in calling forth 
and quickening the spirit of union, so vitally 
important in that assemblage. 

Owing to closed doors, and the want of re- 
porters, no record exists of the discussions and 
speeches made in the first Congress. Mr. Wirt, 
speaking from tradition, informs us that a long 
and deep silence followed the organization of 
that august body ; the members looking round 
upon each other, individually reluctant to open 
a business so fearfully momentous. This " deep 
and deathlike silence " was beginning to be- 
come painfully embarrassing, when Patrick 
Henry arose. He faltered at first, as was his 
habit ; but his exordium was impressive ; and 
as he launched forth into a recital of colonial 
wrongs, he kindled with his subject, until he 
poured forth one of those eloquent appeals 
which had so often shaken the House of Bur- 
gesses, and gained him the fame of being the 
greatest orator of Virginia. He sat down, ac- 
cording to Mr. Wirt, amidst murmurs of aston- 
ishment and applause, and was now admitted, 
on every hand, to be the greatest orator of 
America. He was followed by Richard Henry 
Lee, who, according to the same writer, charm- 
ed the House with a different kind of eloquence, 
chaste and classical ; contrasting, in its culti- 
vated graces, with the wild and grand effusions 
of Henry. " The superior powers of these 
groat men, however," adds he, " were manifest- 
ed only in debate, and while general grievances 
were the topic ; when called down from the 
heights of declamation to that severer test of 
intellectual excellence, the details of business, 
they found themselves in a body of cool-head- 
ed, reflecting, and most able men, by whom 
they were, in their turn, completely thrown into 
the shade." * 

The first public measure of Congress was a 
resolution declaratory of their feelings with re- 
gard to the recent acts of Parliament, violating 
the rights of the people of Massachusetts, and 
of their determination to combine in resisting 
any force that might attempt to carry those 
acts into execution. 

A committee of two from each province 

* Wirt'B Life of Patrick Henry. 



132 



STATE PAPERS— CHATHAM'S OPIXIONS OF CONGRESS. 



[1774. 



reported a series of resolutions, whicli were 
adopted and promulgated by Congress, as a 
" declaration of colonial rights." In this were 
enumerated their natural rights to the enjoy- 
ment of life, liberty, and property ; and their 
rights as British subjects. Among the latter 
was participation in legislative councils. This 
they could not exercise through representatives 
in Parliament ; they claimed, therefore, the 
power of legislating in their provincial assem- 
blies ; consenting, however, to such acts of 
Parliament as might be essential to the regula- 
tion of trade ; but excluding all taxation, inter- 
nal or external, for raising revenue in America. 

The common law of England was claimed as 
a birthright, including the right of trial by a 
jury of the vicinage ; of holding public meetings 
to consider grievances ; and of petitioning the 
king. The benefits of all such statutes as ex- 
isted at the time of the colonization were like- 
wise claimed ; together with the immunities 
and privileges granted by royal charters, or se- 
cured by provincial laws. 

The maintenance of a standing army in any 
colony in time of peace, without the consent of 
its legislature, was pronounced contrary to law. 
The exercise of the legislative power in the 
colonies by a council appointed during pleasure 
by the crown, was declared to be unconstitu- 
tional, and destructive to the freedom of Ameri- 
can legislation. 

Then followed a specification of the acts of 
Parliament, passed during the reign of George 
III., infringing and violating these rights. 
These were : the sugar act ; the stamp act ; 
the two acts for quartering troops ; the tea 
act ; the act suspending the New York legisla- 
ture ; the two acts for the trial in Great Britain 
of offences committed in America ; the Boston 
port bill ; the act for regulating the government 
of Massachusetts, and the Quebec act. 

"To these grievous acts and .leasures," it 
was added, " Americans cannot submit ; but in 
hopes their fellow subjects in Great Britain will, 
on a revision bf them, restore us to that state 
iu which both countries found happiness and 
prosperity, we have, for the present, only re- 
solved to pursue the following peaceable meas- 
ures : 

" 1st. To enter into a non-importation, non- 
consumption, and non-exportation agreement, 
or association. 

" 2d. To prepare an address to the people of 
Great Britain, and a memorial to the inhabitants 
of British America. 



" 3d. To prepare a loyal address to his 
Majesty." 

The above-mentioned association was accord- 
ingly formed, and committees were to be ap- 
pointed in every county, city, and town, to 
maintain it vigilantly and strictly. 

Masterly state papers were issued by Congress 
in conformity to the resolutions : viz., a petition 
to the king, drafted by Mr. Dickinson, of Phila- 
delphia ; an address to the people of Canada 
by the same hand, inviting them to join the 
league of the colonies ; another to the people 
of Great Britain, drafted by John Jay, of New 
York ; and a memorial to the inhabitants of the 
British colonies by Eichard Henry Lee, of Vir- 
ginia.* 

The Congress remained in session fifty-one 
days. Every subject, according to Adams, was 
discussed " with a moderation, an acuteness, 
and a minuteness equal to Queen Elizabeth's 
privy council." t The papers issued by it have 
deservedly been pronounced masterpieces of 
practical talent and political wisdom. Chatham, 
when speaking on the subject in the House 
of Lords, could not restrain his enthusiasm. 
" When your lordships," said he, " look at the 
papers transmitted to us from America ; when 
you consider their decency, firmness, and wis- 
dom, you cannot but respect their cause, and 
wish to make it your own. For myself, I must 
declare and avow that, in the master states of 
the world, I know not the people, or senate, 
who, in such a complication of difficult circum- 
stances, can stand in preference to the dele- 
gates of America assembled in General Con- 
gress at Philadelphia." 

From the secrecy that enveloped its discus- 
sions, we are ignorant of the part taken by 
Washington in the debates ; the similarity of . 
the resolutions, however, in spirit and sub- 
stance, to those of the Fairfax County meeting, 
in which he presided, ftnd the coincidence, of 
the measures adopted with those therein recom- 
mended, show that he had a powerful agency 
in the whole proceedings of this eventful as- 
sembly. Patrick Henry, being asked, on his 
return home, whom he considered the greatest 
man in Congress, replied : " If you speak of 
eloquence, Mr. Piutledge, of South Carolina, is 
by far the greatest orator ; but if you speak of 
solid information and sound judgment, Colonel 



* See Correspondence and diarj- of J. Adams, vols. ii. 
and ix. 

t Letter to William Tudor, 29t.h Sept., 1774. 



JEt. 42.] 



WASHINGTON'S CORRESrONDENCE WITH CAPT. MACKENZIE. 



Washington is unquestionably the greatest man 
on that floor." 

How thoroughly and zealously he participated 
in the feelings which actuated Congress in this 
memorable session, may be gathered from his 
correspondence with a friend enlisted in the 
royal cause. This was Captain Robert Mac- 
kenzie, who had formerly served under him in 
his Virginia regiment during the French war, 
but now held a commission in the regular army, 
and was stationed among the British troops at 
Boston. 

Mackenzie, in a letter, had spoken with loyal 
abhorrence of the state of aftairs in the " un- 
happy province " of Massachusetts, and the 
fixed aim of its inhabitants at " total independ- 
ence." " The rebellious and numerous meet- 
ings of men in arms," said he, " their scandalous 
and ungenerous attacks upon the best charac- 
ters in the province, obliging them to save 
themselves by flight, and their repeated, but 
feeble threats, to dispossess the troops, have 
furnished sufiicient reasons to General Gage to 
put the town in a formidable state of defence, 
about which we are now fully employed, and 
which will be shortly accomplished to their 
great mortification." 

" Permit me," writes Washington in reply, 
" with the freedom of a friend (for you know 
I always esteemed you), to express my sorrow 
that fortune should place you in a service that 
must fix cui'ses, to the latest posterity, upon 
the contrivers, and, if success (which, by the 
by, is impossible) accompanies it, execrations 
upon all those who have been instrumental in 
the execution. * * * * When you con- 
demn the conduct of the Massachusetts people, 
3'ou reason from efibcts, not causes, otherwise 
you would not wonder at a people, who are 
every day receiving fresh proofs of a systematic 
assertion of an arbitrary power, deeply planned 
to overturn the laws and constitution of their 
country, and to violate the most essential and 
valuable rights of mankind, being irritated, 
and with difliculty restrained, from acts of the 
greatest violence and intemperance. 

" For my own part, I view things in a very 
diff'erent point of light from the one in which 
you seem to consider them ; and though you 
are led to believe, by venal men, that the peo- 
ple of Massachusetts are rebellious, setting up 
for independency, and what not, give me leave, 
my good friend, to tell you that you are abused, 
grossly abused. * =^- -^ * I think I can 
announce it as a fact, that it is not the wish or 



interest of that government, or any other upon 
this continent, separately or collectively, to 
set up for independence ; but this you may at 
the same time rely on, that none of them will 
ever submit to the loss of their valuable rights 
and privileges, which are essential to the happi- 
ness of every free state, and without which, 
life, liberty, and property, are rendered totally 
insecure. 

" These, sir, being certain consequences, 
which must naturally result from the late acts 
of Parliament relative to America in general, 
and the government of Massachusetts in par- 
ticular, is it to be wondered at that men who 
wish to avert the impending blow, should 
attempt to oppose its progress, or prepare for 
their defence, if it cannot be averted ? Surely 
I may be allowed to answer in the negative ; 
and give me leave to add, as my opinion, that 
more blood will be spilled on this occasion, if 
the ministry are determined to push matters to 
extremity, than history has ever yet furnished 
instances of in the annals of North America ; 
and such a vital wound will be given to the 
peace of tVis great country, as time itself can- 
not cure, or eradicate the remembrance of." 

In concluding, he repeats his views with re- 
spect to independence : " I am well satisfied 
that no such thing is desired by any thinking 
man in all North America; on the contrary, 
that it is the ardent wish of the warmest advo- 
cates for liberty, that peace and tranquillity, 
upon constitutional grounds, may be restored, 
and the horrors of civil discord prevented." * 

This letter we have considered especially 
worthy of citation, from its being so full and 
explicit a declaration of Washington's senti- 
ments and opinions at this critical juncture. 
His views on the question of independence are 
particularly noteworthy, from his being at this 
time in daily and confidential communication 
with the leaders of tlie popular movement, and 
among them with the delegates from Boston. 
It is evident that the filial feeling still throbbed 
toward the mother country, and a complete 
separation from her had not yet entered into 
the alternatives of her colonial children. 

On the breaking up of Congress, Washington 
hastened back to Mount Vernon, where liis- 
presence was more than usually important to 
the happiness of Mrs. Washington, from the 
loneliness caused by the recent deatli of her 
daughter, and the absence of her son. The 



* Sparks. Wa.-hingtou's WritiiiL's, vol. ii., p. 898. 



134 



GAGE'S MILITARY MEASURES— ISRAEL PUTISTAM AND CHARLES LEE. 



[1774. 



cheerfulness of the neighborhood had been 
diminished of late by the departure of George 
William Fairfax for England, to take possession 
of estates which had devolved to him in that 
kingdom. His estate of Belvoir, so closely 
allied with that of Mount Vernon by family 
ties and reciprocal hospitality, was left in 
charge of a steward, or overseer. Through 
some accident the house took fire, and was 
burnt to the ground. It was never rebuilt. 
The course of political events which swept 
Washington from his quiet home into the cur- 
rent of public and military life, prevented Wil- 
liam Fairfax, who was a royalist, though a lib- 
eral one, from returning to his. once happy 
abode, and the hospitable intercommunion of 
Mount Vernon and Belvoir was at an end for- 
ever. 



CHAPTER XXXVI. 

The rumor of the cannonading of Boston, 
which had thrown such a gloom over the re- 
ligious ceremonial at the opening of Congress, 
had been caused by measures of Governor 
Gage. The public mind, in Boston and its vi- 
cinity, had been rendered excessively jealous 
and sensitive by the landing and encamping of 
artillery upon the Common, and Welsh Fusiliers 
on Fort Hill, and by the planting of four large 
field-pieces on Boston Xeck, the only entrance 
to the town by land. The country peoj^le were 
arming and disciplining themselves "In every di- 
rection, and collecting and depositing arms and 
ammunition in places where they would be at 
hand in case of emergency. Gage, on the 
other hand, issued orders that the munitions 
of war in all the public magazines should be 
brought to Boston. One of these magazines 
was tlie arsenal in the north-west part of 
Charlestown, between Medford and Cambridge. 
Two companies of the king's troops passed 
silently in boats up Mystic Eiver in the night ; 
took possession of a large quantity of gun- 
powder deposited there, and conveyed it to 
Castle Williams. Intelligence of this sack- 
ing of the arsenal flew with lightning speed 
through tlie neighborhood. In the morning 
several thousands of patriots were assembled at 
Cambridge, weapon in hand, and were with 
difficulty prevented from marching upon Bos- 
ton to compel restitution of the powder. In 
the confusion and agitation, a rumor stole out 



into the country that Boston was to be attacked: 
followed by another that the ships were can- 
nonading the town, and the soldiers shooting 
down the inhabitants. The whole country was 
forthwith in arms. Numerous bodies of the 
Connecticut people had made some marches 
before the report was contradicted.'^ 

To guard against any irruption from the 
country, Gage encamped the 59th regiment on 
Boston Neck, and employed the soldiers in in- 
trenching and fortifying it. 

In the mean time the belligerent feelings of 
the inhabitants were encouraged, by learning 
how the rumor of their being cannonaded had 
been received in the General- Congress, and by 
assurances from all parts that the cause of Bos- 
ton would be made the common cause of Amer- 
ica. " It is surprising," writes General Gage, 
" that so many of the other provinces Interest 
themselves so much in this. They have some 
warm friends in New York, and I learn that 
the people of Charleston, South Carolina, are 
as mad as they are here." f 

The commissions had arrived for those civil 
officers appointed by the crown under the new 
modifications of the charter : many, however, 
were afraid to accept of them. Those who did 
soon resigned, finding it impossible to with- 
stand the odium of the people. The civil gov- 
ernment throughout the province became ob- 
structed in all its operations. It was enough for 
a man to be supposed of the governmental 
party to incur popular ill-will. 

Among other portentous signs, war-hawks 
began to appear above the horizon. Mrs. 
Gushing, wife to a member of Congress, writes 
to her husband, " Two of the greatest military 
characters of the day are visiting this distressed 
town. General Charles Lee, who has served 
in Poland, and Colonel Israel Putnam, whose 
bravery and character need no description." 
As these two men wiU take a prominent part 
in coming events, we pause to give a word or 
two concerning them. 

Israel Putnam was a soldier of native growth. 
One of the military productions of the French 
war; seasoned and proved in frontier cam- 
paigning. He had served at Louisburg, Fort 
Duquesne, and Crown Point ; had signalized 
himself in Indian warfare ; been captured by 
the savages, tied to a stake to be tortured and 
burnt, and had only been rescued by the inter- 



* nolmes'B Aunals, ii. 191.— Letter of G.igc to Lord 
Dartmoutli 

t Gage to Dartmouth, Sept. 20. 



^T. 42.] 



GENERAL CHARLES LEE. 



135 



ference, at the eleventh hour, of a Trench par- 
tisan of the Indians. 

Since the peace, he had returned to agricul- 
tural life, and was now a farmer at Pomfret, 
in Connecticut, where the scars of his wounds 
, and the tales of his exploits rendered him a 
hero in popular estimation. The war spirit 
yet hurned within him. He was now chair- 
man of a committee of vigilance, and had come 
to Boston in discharge of his political and 
semi-belligerent functions. 

General Charles Lee was a military man of 
a different stamp ; an Englishman by birth, 
and a highly cultivated production of European 
warfare. He was the son of a British officer, 
Lieutenant-Colonel John Lee, of the dragoons, 
who married the daughter of Sir Henry Bun- 
bury, Bart., and afterwards rose to be a gen- 
eral. Lee was born in 1731, and may almost 
be said to have been cradled in the army, for 
he received a commission by the time he was 
eleven years of age. He had an irregular edu- 
cation ; part of the time in England, part on 
the continent, and must have scrambled his 
way into knowledge ; yet by aptness, diligence, 
and ambition, he had acquired a considerable 
portion, being a Greek and Latin scholar, and 
acquainted with modern languages. The art 
of war was his especial study from his boy- 
hood, acfQ he had early opportunities of prac- 
tical experience. At the age of twenty-four, 
he commanded a company of grenadiers in the 
44th regiment, and served in the French war 
in America, where he was brought into mili- 
tary companionship with Sir "William Johnson's 
Mohawk warriors, whom he used to extol for 
their manly beauty, their dress, their graceful 
carriage, and good-breeding. In fact, he ren- 
dered himself so much of a favorite among them, 
that they admitted him to smoke in their 
coimcils, and adopted him into the tribe of the 
Bear, giving him an Indian name, signifying 
" Boiling Water." 

At the battle of Ticonderoga, where Aber- 
crombie was defeated, he was shot through 
the body, while leading his men agaitst the 
French breastworks. In the next campaign, 
he was present at the siege of Fort Niagara, 
where General Prideaux fell, and where Sir 
"William Johnson, with his British troops and 
Mohawk warriors, eventually won the fortress. 
Lee had, probably, an opportunity on this oc- 
casion of fighting side by side with some of his 
adopted brethren of the Bear tribe, as we are 
told he was much exposed during the engage- 



ment with the French and Indians, and that 
two balls grazed his hair. A military errand, 
afterwards, took him across Lake Erie, and 
down the northern branch of the Ohio to 
Fort Duquesne, and thence by a long march of 
seven hundred miles to Crown Point, where he 
joined General Amherst. In 1760, he was 
among the forces which followed that general 
from Lake Ontario down the St. Lawrence ; 
and was present at the surrender of Montreal, 
which completed the conquest of Canada, 

In 1762, he bore a colonel's commission, anc* 
served under Brigadier-General Burgoyne ic 
Portugal, where he was intrusted with an en- 
terprise against a Spanish post at the old Moor- 
ish castle of ViUa "Velha, on the banks of the 
Tagus. He forded the river in the night, 
pushed his way through mountain passes, and 
at 2 o'clock in the morning, rushed with his 
grenadiers into the enemy's camp before day- 
light, where every thing was carried at the 
point of the bayonet, assisted by a charge of 
dragoons. The war over, he returned to Eng- 
land, bearing testimonials of bravery and good 
conduct from his commander-in-chief, the Count 
de la Lippe, and from the king of Portugal.* 

"Wielding the pen as well as the sword, Lee 
undertook to write on questions of colonial 
policy, relative to Pontiac's war, in which he 
took the opposition side. This lost him the 
favor of the ministry, and with it all hope of 
further promotion. 

He now determined to offer his services to 
Poland, supposed to be on the verge of a war. 
Recommendations from his old commander, 
the Count de la Lippe, procured him access to 
some of the continental courts. He was well 
received by Frederick the Great, and had sev- 
eral conversations with him, chiefly on Amer- 
ican affixirs. At "Warsaw, his military reputa- 
tion secured him the favor of Poniatowsky, 
recently elected king of Poland, with the name 
of Stanislaus Augustus, who admitted him to 
his table, and made him one of his aides-de- 
camp. Lee was disappointed in his hope of 
active service. There was agitation in the 
country, but the power of the king was not 
adequate to raise forces sufficient for its sup- 
pression. He had few troops, and those not 
trustworthy ; and the town was full of the dis- 
affected. ""We have frequent alarms," said 
Lee, " and the pleasure of sleeping every night 
with our pistols on our pillows." 



* Life of Charles Lee, by Jared Sparks. Also, Memoir* 
of Charles Lee ; published in London, 1792. 



136 



GEjS:ERAL CHARLES LEE. 



[1Y74. 



By way of relieving Ins restlessness, Lee, at 
the suggestion of the king, set off to accom- 
pany the Polish ambassador to Constantinople. 
The latter travelled too slow for him ; so he 
dashed ahead when on the frontiers of Turkey, 
with an escort of the grand seignior's treasure ; 
came near perishing with cold and hunger 
among the Bulgarian Mountains, and after his 
arrival at the Turkish capital, ran a risk of be- 
ing buried under the ruins of his house in an 
earthquake. 

Late in the same year (1766), he was again 
in England, an applicant for military appoint- 
ment, bearing a letter from king Stanislaus to 
king George. His meddling pen is supposed 
again to have marred his fortunes, havhig in- 
dulged in sarcastic comments on the military 
character of General Townshend and Lord 
George Sackville. " I am not at all surprised," 
said a friend to him, " that you find the door 
shut against you by a person who has such un- 
bounded credit, as you have ever too freely in- 
dulged in a liberty of declaiming, which many 
invidious persons have not failed to inform him 
of. The principle on which you thus freely 
speak your mind, is honest and patriotic, but 
not politic." 

The disappointments which Lee met with 
during a residence of two years in England, 
and a protracted attendance on people in pow- 
er, rankled in his bosom, and embittered his 
subsequent resentment against the king and his 
ministers. 

In 1768, he was again on his way to Poland, 
with the design of performing a campaign in 
the Prussian service. "I flatter myself," said 
he, " that a little more practice will make me a 
good soldier. If not, it will serve to talk over 
my kitchen fire in my old age, which will soon 
come upon us all." 

He now looked forward to spirited service. 
" I am to have a command of Cossacks and 
Wallacks," writes he, " a kind of people I have 
a good opinion of. I am determined not to 
serve in the line. One might as well be a 
churchwarden." 

The friendship of king Stanislaus continued. 
" He treats me more like a brother than a pa- 
tron," said Lee. In 1769, the latter was raised 
to the rank of major-general in the Polish 
army, and left "W'arsaw to join the Russian 
force, which was crossing the Dniester and 
advancing into Moldavia. He arrived in time 
to take part in a severe action between the 
Prussians and Turks, in which the Cossacks and 



hussars were terribly cut up by the Turkish 
cavalry, in a ravine near the city of Chotzim. 
It was a long and doubtful conflict, with va- 
rious changes ; but the rumored approach of 
the grand vizier, with a hundred and seventy 
thousand men, compelled the Russians to aban- 
don the enterprise and recross the Dniester. 

Lee never returned to Poland, though he 
ever retained a devoted attachment to Stanis- 
laus. He for some time led a restless life about 
Europe — visiting Italy, Sicily, Malta, and the 
south of Spain ; troubled with attacks of rheu- 
matism, gout, and the eflfects of a " Hungarian 
fever." He had become more and more cyni- 
cal and irascible, and had more than one "afiair 
of honor," in one of which he killed his antag- 
onist. His splenetic feelings, as well as his 
political sentiments, were occasionally vented 
in severe attacks upon the ministry, full of 
irony and sarcasm. They appeared in the pub- 
lic journals, and gained him such reputation, 
that even the papers of Junius were by some 
attributed to him. 

In the questions which had risen between 
England and her colonies, he had strongly ad- 
vocated the cause of the latter ; and it was the 
feelings thus excited, and the recollections, 
perhajjs, of his early campaigns, that had re- 
cently brought him to America. Here he had 
arrived in the latter part of 1773, had visited 
various parts of Pennsylvania, Maryland, and 
Virginia, taking an active part in the political 
agitations of the country. His caustic attacks 
upon the ministry ; his conversational powers 
and his poignant sallies, had gained him great 
reputation ; but his military renown rendered 
him especially interesting at the present junc- 
ture. A general, who had served in the famous 
campaigns of Europe, commanded Cossacks, 
fought with Turks, talked with Frederick the 
Great, and been aide-de-camp to the king of 
Poland, was a prodigious acquisition to the 
patriot cause ! On the other hand, his visit to 
Boston was looked upon with uneasiness by 
the British oflBcers, who knew his adventurous 
character. It was surmised that he was excit- 
ing a spirit of revolt, with a view to putting 
himself at its head. These suspicions found 
their way into the London papers, and alarmed 
the British cabinet. " Have an attention to 
his conduct," writes Lord Dartmouth to Gage, 
" and take every legal method to prevent his 
effecting any of those dangerous purposes he 
is said to have in view." 
Lee, when subsequently informed of these 



^T. 42.] SELF-CONSTITUTED CONGRESS AT CONCORD, HANCOCK PRESIDENT. 



137 



suspicions, scoffed at tliem in a letter to his 
friend Edmund Burke, and declared that he 
had not the " temerity and vanity " to aspire to 
the aims imputed to him, 

" To think myself qualified for the most im- 
portant charge that ever was committed to 
mortal man," writes he, " is the last stage of 
presumption ; nor do I think the Americans 
would, or ought to confide in a man, let his 
qualifications be ever so great, who has no 
property among them. It is true, I most de- 
voutly wish them success in the glorious 
struggle ; that I have expressed my wishes 
both in writing and mva toce ; but my errand 
to Boston was mere curiosity to see a people in 
so singular circumstances ; and I had likewise 
an ambition to be acquainted with some of 
their leading men ; with them only I associated 
during my stay in Boston. Our ingenious gen- 
tlemen in the camp, therefore, very naturally, 
concluded my design was to put myself at their 
head." 

To resume the course of events at Boston. 
Gage on the 1st of September, before this pop- 
ular agitation, had issued writs for an election 
•of an Assembly to meet at Salem in October ; 
seeing, however, the irritated state of the pub- 
lic mind, he now countermanded the same by 
proclamation. The people, disregarding the 
countermand, carried the election, and ninety 
of the new members thus elected met at the 
appointed time. They waited a whole day for 
the governor to attend, administer the oaths, 
and open the session ; but as he did not make 
his appearance, they voted themselves a pro- 
vincial Congress, and chose for president of it 
John Hancock, — a man of great wealth, pop- 
ular, and somewhat showy talents, and ardent 
patriotism; and eminent from his social po- 
sition. 

This self-constituted body adjourned to Con- 
cord, about twenty miles from Boston ; quietly 
assumed supreme authority, and issued a re- 
monstrance to the governor, virtually calling 
him to account for his military operations in 
fortifying Boston JSTcck, and collecting warlike 
stores about him, thereby alarming the fears 
of the whole province, and menacing the lives 
and property of the Bostonians. 

General Gage, overlooking the irregularity 
of its organization, entered into explanations 
with the Assembly, but failed to give satisfac- 
tion. As winter approached, he found his 
situation more and more critical. Boston was 
the only place in Massachusetts that now con- 



tained British forces, and it had become the 
refuge of all the " tories " of the province ; 
that is to say, of all those devoted to the British 
government. There was animosity between 
them apd the principal inhabitants, among 
whom revolutionary principles prevailed. The 
town itself, almost insulated by nature, and 
surrounded by a hostile country, was like a 
place besieged. 

The provincial Congress conducted its affairs 
with the order and system so formidable to 
General Gage. Having adopted a plan for or- 
ganizing the militia, it had nominated general 
officers, two of whom, Artemas Ward and Seth 
Pomeroy, had accepted. 

The executive powers were vested in a com- 
mittee of safety. This was to determine when 
the services of the militia were necessary ; was 
to call them forth, — to nominate their officers 
to the Congress, — to commission them, and 
direct the operations of the army. Another 
committee was appointed to furnish supplies 
to the forces when called out ; hence, named 
the Committee of Supplies. 

Under such auspices, the militia went on 
arming and disciplining itself in every direc- 
tion. They associated themselves in large 
bodies, and engaged, verbally or by writing, 
to assemble in arms at the shortest notice for 
the common defence, subject to the orders of 
the committee of safety. 

Arrangements had been made for keeping 
up an active correspondence between diflferent 
parts of the country, and spreading an alarm in 
case of any threatening danger. Under the 
direction of the committees just mentioned, 
large quantities of military stores had been col- 
lected and deposited at Concord and "Wor- 
cester. 

This semi-belligerent state of affairs in Massa- 
chusetts produced a general restlessness through- 
out the land. The weak -hearted apprehended 
coming troubles ; the resolute prepared to brave 
them. Military measures, hitherto confined to 
New England, extended to the middle and 
southern provinces, and the roll of the drum 
resounded through the villages. 

Virginia was among the first to buckle on 
its armor. It had long, been a custom among 
its inhabitants to form themselves into inde- 
pendent companies, equipped at their own ex- 
pense, having their own peculiar i;niform, and 
electing their own officers, though holding 
themselves subject to militia law. They had 
hitherto been self-disciplined ; but now they 



i; 



MAJOR HORATIO GATES AlsD GENERAL CHARLES LEE. 



[1114. 



continually resorted to Washington for instruc- 
tion and advice ; considering him the highest 
authority on military affairs. He was fre- 
quently called from home, therefore, in the 
course of the winter and spring, to different 
parts of the country to review independent 
companies ; aU of which were anxious to put 
themselves under his command as field-officer. 

Mount Vernon, therefore, again assumed a 
military tone as in former days, when he took 
his first lessons there in the art of war. He 
had his old campaigning associates with him 
occasionally, Dr. Craik and Captain Hugh 
Mercer, to talk of past scenes and discuss the 
possibility of future service. Mercer was al- 
ready bestirring himself in disciplining the 
militia about Fredericksburg, where he re- 
sided. 

Two occasional and important guests at 
Mount Vernon, in this momentous crisis, were 
General Charles Lee, of whom we have just 
spoken, and Major Horatio Gates. As the 
latter is destined to occupy an important page 
in tliis memoir, we will give a few particulars 
concerning him. He was an Englishman by 
birth, the son of a captain in the British army. 
Horace Walpole, whose christian name he bore, 
speaks of him in one of his letters as his god- 
son, though some have insinuated that he stood 
in filial relationship of a less sanctified charac- 
ter. He had received a liberal education, and 
when but twenty-one years of age, had served 
as a volunteer under General Edward Corn- 
wallis. Governor of Halifax. He was after- 
wards captain of a New York independent 
company, with which, it may be' remembered, 
he marched in the campaign of Braddock, in 
which he was severely wounded. For two or 
three subsequent years he was witli his com- 
pany in the western part of the province of 
New York, receiving the appointment of bri- 
gade-major. He accompanied General Monck- 
ton as aide-de-camp to the "West Indies, and 
gained credit at tlie capture of Marti nico. 
Being despatclied to London with tidings of 
the victory, he was rewarded by the appoint- 
ment of major to a regiment of foot ; and after- 
wards, as a special mark of royal favor, a 
majority in the Royal Americans. His promo- 
tion did not equal his expectations and fancied 
deserts. He was married, and wanted some- 
thing more lucrative ; so he sold out on half- 
pay and became an applicant for some profitable 
post under government, which he hoped to 
obtain through the influence of General Monck- 



ton and some friends in the aristocracy. Thus 
several years were passed, partly with his 
family in retirement, partly in London, paying 
court to patrons and men in power, until, find- 
ing there was no likelihood of success, and 
having sold his commission and half-pay, he 
emigrated to Virginia in 1772, a disappointed 
man ; purchased an estate in Berkeley County, 
beyond the Blue Eidge ; espoused the popular 
cause, and renewed his old campaigning ac- 
quaintance with Washington, 

He was now about forty-six years of age, of 
a florid complexion and goodly presence, though 
a little inclined to corpulency ; social, insinuat- 
ing, and somewhat specious in his manners, 
with a strong degree of self-approbation. A 
long course of solicitation ; haunting public 
offices and antechambers, and " knocking about 
town," had taught him, it was said, how to 
wheedle and flatter, and accommodate himself 
to the humors of others, so as to be the boon 
companion of gentlemen, and " hail fellow well 
met " with the vulgar, 

Lee, who was an old friend and former asso- 
ciate in arms, had recently been induced by 
him to purchase an estate in his neighborhood 
in Berkeley County, with a view to making it 
his abode, having a moderate competency, a 
claim to land on the Ohio, and the half-pay of 
a British colonel. Both of these officers, dis- 
appointed in the British service, looked forward 
probably to greater success in the patriot 
cause. 

Lee had been at Philadelphia since his visit 
to Boston, and had made himself acquainted 
with the leading members of Congress during 
the session. He was evidently cultivating an 
intimacy with every one likely to have influence 
in the approaching struggle. 

To Washington the visits of these gentlemen 
were extremely welcome at this juncture, from 
their military knowledge and experience, espe- 
cially as much of it had been acquired in Amer- 
ica, in the same kind of warfare, if not the 
very same campaigns in which he himself had 
mingled. Both were interested in the popular 
cause. Lee was full of plans for the organiza- 
tion and disciplining of the militia, and occa- 
sionally accompanied Washington in las at- 
tendance on provincial reviews. He was 
subsequently very efficient at Annapolis in pro- 
moting and superintending the organization of 
the Maryland militia. 

It is doubtful whether the visits of Lee were 
as interesting to Mrs, Washington as to the 



^T. 42.] WAR SPEECH OF PATRICK HENRY— COLONEL GRANT, THE BRAGGART. 139 



general. He was whimsical, eccentric, and at 
times almost rude ; negligent also, and slovenly 
in person and attire ; for though he had occa- 
sionally associated with kings and princes, he 
had also campaigned with Mohawks and Cos- 
sacks, and seems to have relished their " good 
breeding." What was stiU more annoying in 
a well-regulated mansion, he was always fol- 
lowed by a legion of dogs, which shared his 
affections with his horses, and took their seats 
by him when at table. " I must have some 
object to embrace," said he misanthropically. 
" When I can be convinced tliat men are as 
worthy objects as dogs, I shall transfer my 
benevolence, and become as staunch a philan- 
thropist as the canting Addison affected to 
be." * 

In his passion for horses and dogs, Washing- 
ton, to a certain degree, could sympathize with 
him, and had noble specimens of both, in his 
stable and kennel, which Lee doubtless inspected 
with a learned eye. During the season in 
question, Washington, according to his diary, 
"was occasionally in the saddle at an early hour 
following the fox-hounds. It was the last time 
for many a year that he was to gallop about 
his beloved hunting-grounds of Mount Vernon 
and Belvoir. 

In the month of March the second Virginia 
convention was held at Eichmond. Washing- 
ton attended as delegate from Fairfax County. 
In this assembly, Patrick Henry, with his usual 
ardor and eloquence, advocated rneasures for 
embodying, arming, and disciplining a militia 
force, and providing for the defence of the 
colony. " It is useless," said he, " to address 
farther petitions to government, or to await the 
elfect of those already addressed to the throne. 
Tlie time for supplication is past ; the time for 
action is at hand. We must fight, Mr. Speak- 
er," exclaimed he emphatically; "I repeat it, 
sir, we must fight ! An appeal to arms, and to 
the God of Hosts, is all that is left us ! " 

Washington joined him in the conviction, and 
was one of a committee that reported a plan 
for carrying those measures into effect. He 
was not an impulsive man to raise the battle- 
cry, but the executive man to marshal the 
troops into the field, and carry on the war. 

His brother, John Augustine, was raising and 
disciplining an independent company ; Wash- 
ington off'ered to accept the command of it, 
sliould occasion require it to ie drawn out. 



* Leo to Adams. Life and Works of Adams, ii. 414. 



He did the same with respect to an independ- 
ent company at Richmond. " It is my full 
intention, if needful," writes he to his brother, 
" to devote my life and fortune to the cause.'''' * 



CHAPTER XXXVII. 

While the spirit of revolt was daily gaining 
strength and deterndnation in America, a 
strange infatuation reigned in the British coun- 
cils. While the wisdom and eloquence of 
Chatham were exerted in vain in behalf of 
American rights, an empty braggadocio, ele- 
vated to a seat in Parliament, was able to cap- 
tivate the attention of the members, and in- 
fluence their votes by gross misrepresentations 
of the Americans and their cause. This was 
no other than Colonel Grant, the same shallow 
soldier who, exceeding his instructions, had 
been guilty of a foolhardy bravado before the 
walls of Fort Duquesne, which brought slaugh- 
ter and defeat upon his troops. From mislead- 
ing the army, he was now promoted to a station 
where he might mislead the councils of his 
country. We are told that he entertained 
Parliament, especially the ministerial side of 
the House, with ludicrous stories of the cow- 
ardice of Americans. He had served with 
them, he said, and knew them well, and would 
venture to say they would never dare to face 
an English army ; that they were destitute of 
every requisite to make good soldiers, and that 
a very slight force would be sufBcient for their 
complete reduction. With five regiments, he 
could march through all America ! 

How often has England been misled, to her 
cost, by such slanderous misrepresentations of 
the American character ! Grant talked of 
having served with the Americans ; had he 
already forgotten that in the field of Brad- 
dock's defeat, when the British regulars fled, 
it was alone the desperate stand of a handful 
of Virginians which covered their disgraceful 
flight, and saved them from being overtaken 
and massacred by the savages ? 

This taunting and braggart speech of Grant 
was made in the face of the conciliatory bill 
of tlie venerable Cliatham, devised with a view 
to redress the Avrongs of America. The coun- 
cils of the arrogant and scornful prevailed ; and 
instead of the proposed bill, further measures 

* Letter to John Augustine. Sparks, ii. 405. 



140 



DESIGN ON THE MAGAZINE AT CONCORD— BATTLE OF LEXINGTON. [1775. 



of a stringent nature were adopted, coercive 
of some of the middle and southern colonies, 
but ruinous to the trade and fisheries of New 
England. 

At length the bolt, so long suspended, fell ! 
Tlie troops at Boston had been augmented to 
about four thousand men. Goaded on by tlie 
instigations of the tories, and alarmed by the 
energetic measures of the whigs. General Gage 
now resolved to deal the latter a crippling 
blow. This was to surprise and destroy their 
magazine of military stores at Concord, about 
twenty miles from Boston. It was to be effect- 
ed on the night of the 18th of April, by a force 
detached for the purpose. 

Preparations were made with great secrecy. 
Boats for the transportation of the troops were 
launched, and moored under the sterns of the 
men-of-war. Grenadiers and light infantry 
were relieved from duty, and held in readiness. 
On the 18th, officers were stationed on the 
roads leading from Boston, to prevent any in- 
telligence of the expedition getting into the 
country. At night orders were issued by Gen- 
eral Gage that no person should leave the 
town. About ten o'clock, from eight to nine 
hundfed men, grenadiers, light infantry, and 
marines, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel 
Smith, embarked in the boats at the foot of 
Boston Common, and crossed to Lechmere 
Point, in Cambridge, whence they were to 
march silently, and without beat of drum, to 
the place of destination. 

The measures of General Gage had not been 
shrouded in all the secrecy he imagined. Mys- 
tery often defeats itself by the suspicions it 
awakens. Dr. Joseph "Warren, one of the 
committee of safety, had observed the prepara- 
tory disposition of the boats and troops, and 
surmised some sinister intention, lie sent 
notice of these movements to John Hancock 
and Samuel Adams, both members of the pro- 
vincial Congress, but at that time privately 
sojourning with a friend at Lexington. A de- 
sign on the magazine at Concord was suspected, 
and the committee of safety ordered that the 
cannon collected there should be secreted, and 
part of the stores removed. 

On the night of the 18th, Dr. Warren sent 
off two messengers by different routes to give 
the alarm that the king's troops were actually 
sallying forth. The messengers got out of 
Boston just before the order of General Gage 
went into effect, to prevent any one from leav- 
ing the town. About the same time a lantern 



was hung out of an upper window of the north 
church, in the direction of Charlestown. This 
was a preconcerted signal to the patriots of 
that place, who instantly despatched quick mes- 
sengers to rouse the country. 

In the mean time. Colonel Smith set out on 
his nocturnal march from Lechmere Point, 
by an unfrequented path across marshes, where 
at times tlie troops had to wade through water. 
He had proceeded but a few miles when alarm 
guns, booming through the night air, and the 
clang of village bells, showed that the news of 
his approach was travelling before him, and 
the people were rising, lie now sent back to 
General Gage for a reinforcement, while Major 
Pitcairne was detached with six companies to 
press forward, and secure the bridges at Con- 
cord. 

Pitcairne advanced rapidly, capturing every 
one that he met, or overtook. Within a mile 
and a half of Lexington, however, a horseman 
was too quick on the spur for him, and gallop- 
ing to the village, gave the alarm that the red- 
coats were coming. Drums were beaten ; guns 
fired. By the time that Pitcairne entered the 
village, about seventy or eighty of the yeo- 
manry, in military array, were mustered on the 
green near the church. It was a part of the 
" constitutional army," pledged to resist by 
force any open hostility of British troops. Be- 
sides these, there were a number of lookers on, 
armed and unarmed. 

The sound of drum, and the array of men in 
arms, indicated a hostile determination. Pit- 
cairne halted his men within a short distance 
of the church, and ordered them to prime and 
load. They then advanced at double quick 
time. The major, riding forward, waved his 
sword, and ordered the rebels, as he termed 
them, to disperse. Other of the officers echoed 
his words as they advanced : " Disperse, ye 
villains ! Lay down your arms, ye rebels, and 
disperse ! " The orders were disregarded. A 
scene of confusion ensued, with firing on both 
sides ; which party commenced it, has been a 
matter of dispute. Pitcairne always maintained 
that, finding the militia would not disperse, he 
turned to order his men to draw out, and sur- 
round them, when he saw a flash in the pan 
from the gun of a countryman posted behind a 
wall, and almost instantly the report of two or 
three muskets. These he supposed to be from 
the Americans, as his horse was Avounded, as 
was also a soldier close by him. His troops 
rushed on, and a promiscuous fire took place, 



^T. 43.] 



A DISASTROUS TRIUMPH— RETALIATION. 



141 



though, as he declared, he made repeated sig- 
nals with his sword for his men to forbear. 

The firing of the Americans was irregular, 
and without much effect ; that of the British 
was more fatal. Eight of the patriots were 
killed, and ten wounded, and the whole put to 
flight. The victors formed on tlie common, 
fired a volley, and gave three cheers for one of 
the most Inglorious and disastrous triumphs 
ever achieved by British arms. 

Colonel Smith soon arrived with the residue 
of the detachment, and they all marched on 
towards Concord, about six miles distant. 

The alarm had reached that place in the dead 
hour of the preceding night. Tlie church bell 
roused the inhabitants. They gathered together 
in anxious consultation. The militia and minute 
men seized their arms, and repaired to the 
parade ground, near the church. Here they 
were subsequently joined by armed yeomanry 
from Lincoln, and elsewhere. Exertions were 
now made to remove and conceal the military 
stores. A scout, who had been sent out for 
intelligence, brought word that the British had 
filed upon the people at Lexington, and were 
advancing upon Concord. There was great 
excitement and indignation. Part of the militia 
marched down the Lexington road to meet 
them, but returned, reporting their force to be 
three times that of the Americans. The whole 
of the militia now retired to an eminence about 
a mile from the centre of the town, and formed 
themselves into two battalions. 

About seven o'clock the British came in 
sight, advancing with quick step, their arms 
glittering in the morning sun. They entered 
in two divisions by different roads. Concord 
is traversed by a river of the same name, having 
two bridges, the north and the south. The 
grenadiers and light infantry took post in the 
centre of the town, while strong parties of light 
troops were detached to secure the bridges, 
and destroy the military stores. Two hours 
were expended in' the work of destruction with- 
out much success, so much of the stores having 
been removed, or concealed. During all this 
time the yeomanry from the neighboring towns 
were hurrying in with such weapons as were 
at hand, and joining the militia on the height, 
until the little clo'iid of war gathering there 
numbered about four hundred and fifty. 

About ten o'clock, a body of three hundred 
undertook to dislodge the British from the 
north bridge. As they approached, the latter 
fired upon them, killing two, and wounding a 



third. The patriots returned the fire with 
spirit and effect. The British retreated to the 
main body, the Americans pursuing them 
across the bridge. 

By this time all the military stores which 
could be found had been desti-oyed ; Colonel 
Smith, therefore, made preparations for a 
retreat. The scattered troops were collected, 
the dead were buried, and conveyances pro- 
cured for the wounded. About noon he com- 
menced his retrograde march for Boston. It 
was high time. His troops were jaded by the 
night march, and the morning's toils and 
skirmishings. 

The country was thoroughly alarmed. The 
yeomanry were hurrying from every quarter to 
the scene of action. As the British began their 
retreat, the Americans began the work of sore 
and galling retaliation. Along the open road, 
the former were harassed incessantly by rustic 
marksmen, who took deliberate aim from behind 
trees, or over stone fence^. "Where the road 
passed through woods, the British found them- 
selves between two fires dealt by unseen foes, 
the minute men having posted themselves on 
each side among the bushes. It was in A'ain 
they threw out flankers, and endeavored* to dis- 
lodge their assailants ; each pause gave time 
for other pursuers to come within reach, and 
open attacks from different quarters. Foi* sev- 
eral miles they urged their way along woody 
defiles, or roads skirted with fences and stone 
walls, the retreat growing more and more dis- 
astrous ; some were shot down, some gave out 
through mere exhaustion ; the rest hurried on, 
without stopping to aid the fatigued, or Avound- 
ed. Before reaching Lexington, Colonel Smitli 
received a severe wound in the leg, and the 
situation of the retreating troops was becoming 
extremely critical, when, about two o'clock, 
they were met by Lord Percy, with a brigade 
of one thousand men, and two field-pieces. His 
lordship had been detached from Boston about 
nine o'clock by General Cage, in compliance 
with Colonel Smith's urgent call for a reinforce- 
ment, and had marched gayly through Roxbury 
to the tune of " Yankee Doodle," in derision 
of the " rebels." He now found the latter a 
more formidable foe than he had anticipated. 
Opening his brigade to the right and left, ho 
received the retreating troops into a hollow 
square ; where, fainting and exhausted, they 
threw themselves on the ground to rest. His 
lordship showed no disposition to advance upon 
their assailants, but contented himself with 



142 HARASSMENT OF THE BRITISH ON THEIR RETREAT FROM CONCORD. [lllo. 



keeping them at bay with his field-pieces, which 
opened a vigorous fire from an eminence. 

Hitherto the provincials, being hasty levies, 
without a leader, had acted from individual im- 
pulse, without much concert ; but now General 
Heath was upon the ground. He was one of 
those authorized to take the command when 
the minute men should be called out. That 
class of combatants promptly obeyed his orders, 
and he was efiicacious in rallying them, and 
bringing them into military order, when checked 
and scattered by the fire of the field-pieces. 

Dr. Warren, also, arrived on horseback, hav- 
ing spurred from Boston on receiving news of 
the skirmishing. In the subsequent part of the 
day, he was one of the most active and eflicient 
men in the field. His presence, like that of 
General Heath, regulated the infuriated ardor 
of the militia, and brought it into system. 

Lord Percy, having allowed the troops a short 
interval for repose and refreshment, continued 
the retreat toward Boston. As soon as he got 
under march, the galling assault by the pursuing 
yeomanry was recommenced in flank and rear. 
The British soldiery, irritated in turn, acted as 
if in an enemy's country. Houses and shops 
were burnt down in Lexington ; private dwell- 
ings along the road were plundered, and their 
inhabitants maltreated. In one instance, an 
unoflfending invalid was wantonly slain in his 
own house. All this increased the exasperation 
of the yeomanry. There was occasional sharp 
sklrmisliing, with bloodshed on both sides, but 
in general a dogged pursuit, where the retreating 
troops were galled at every step. Their march 
became more and more impeded by the number 
of their wounded. Lord Percy narrowly es- 
caped death from a musket-ball, which struck 
ofi" a button of his waistcoat. One of his offi- 
cers remained behind wounded in West Cam- 
bridge. His ammunition was failing as he ap- 
proached Charlestown. The provincials pressed 
upon him in the rear, others were advancing 
from Roxbury, Dorchester, and Milton; Colo- 
nel Pickering, with the Essex militia, seven 
hundred strong, was at hand ; there was danger 
of being intercepted in the retreat to Charles- 
town. The field-pieces were again brought 
into play, to clieck the ardor of the pursuit ; 
but they were no longer objects of terror. The 
sharpest firing of the provincials was near Pros- 
pect Hill, as the harassed enemy hurried along 
the Charlestown road, eager to reach the Neck, 
and get under cover of their ships. The pursuit 
terminated a little after sunset, at Cliarlestown 



Common, where General Heath brought the 
minute men to a lialt. Within half an hour 
more, a powerful body of men, from Marblehead 
and Salem, came up to join in the chase. " If 
the retreat," writes Washington, " had not been 
as precipitate as it was, — and God knows it 
could not well have been more so, — the minis- 
terial troops must have surrendered, or been 
totally cut oftV 

The distant firing from the mainland had 
reached the British at Boston. The troops 
■\v;liich, in the morning, had marched through 
Eoxbury to the tune of Yankee Doodle, might 
have been seen at sunset, hounding along the 
old Cambridge road to Charlestown Neck, pur- 
sued by mere armed yeomanry. Gage was as- 
tounded at the catastrophe. It was but a short 
time previous that one of his ofiicers, in writing 
to friends in England, scoffed at the idea of 
the Americans taking up arms. " Whenever it 
comes to blows," said he, " he that can run the 
fastest, will think himself well off, believe me. 
Any two regiments here ought to be decimated, 
if they did not beat in the field the whole force 
of the Massachusetts province." How fre- 
quently, throughout this Eevolution, had the 
English to pay the penalty of thus undervaluing 
the spirit they were provoking ! 

In this memorable affair, the British loss was 
seventy-three killed, one hundred and seventy- 
four Avoundcd, and twenty-six missing. Among 
the slain were eighteen officers. The loss of 
the Americans Avas forty-nine killed, thirty-nine 
wounded, and five missing. This was the first 
blood shed in the revolutionary struggle ; a 
mere drop in amount, but a deluge in its ef- 
fects, — rending the colonies forever from the 
mother country. 

The cry of blood from the field of Lexington 
went through the land. None felt thf appeal 
more than the old soldiers of the French war. 
It roused John Stark, of New Hampshire — a 
trapper and hunter in his youth, a veteran in 
Indian warfare, a campaigner under Abercrom- 
bie and Amherst, now the military oracle of a 
rustic neighborhood. Within ten minutes after 
receiving the alarm, he was spurring towards 
the sea-coast, and on the way stirring up the 
voluntci^rs of the Massachusetts borders, to as- 
semble forthwith at Bedford, in the vicinity of 
Boston. 

Equally alert was his old comrade in frontier 
exploits. Colonel Israel Putnam. A man on 
horseback, with a drum, passed through his 
neighborhood in Connecticut, proclaiming Brit- 



^T. 43.] 



VIRGINIA IN COMBUSTION— CAMF AT BOSTON. 



143 



ish violence at Lexingtou. Putnam was in the 
field ploughing, assisted by his son. In an in- 
stant the team was unyoked ; the plough left 
in the furrow ; the lad sent home to give word 
of his father's departure; and Putnam, on 
horseback, in his working garb, urging with all 
speed to the camp. Such was the spirit aroused 
throughout the country. The sturdy yeoman- 
ry, from all parts, were hastening toward Bos- 
ton with such weapons as were at hand ; and 
happy was he who could command a rusty fowl- 
ing-piece and a powder-horn. 

The news reached Virginia at a critical mo- 
ment. Lord Dunmore, obeying a general order 
issued by the ministry to all the provincial 
governors, had seized upon the military muni- 
tions of the province. Here was a similar 
measure to that of Gage. The cry went forth 
that the subjugation of the colonies was to be 
attempted. All Virginia was in combustion. 
The standard of liberty was reared in every 
coimty ; there was a general cry to arms. 
Washington was looked to, from various quar- 
ters, to take the command. His old comrade 
in arms, Hugh Mercer, Avas about marching 
lown to "Williamsburg, at the head of a body 
jf resolute men, seven- hundred strong, entitled 
" The friends of constitutional liberty and 
America," whom he had organized and drilled 
in Fredericksburg, and nothing but a timely 
concession of Lord Dunmore, with respect to 
some powder which he had seized, prevented 
his being beset in his palace. 

Before Hugh Mercer and the Friends of Lib- 
erty disbanded themselves, they exchanged a 
mutual pledge to reassemble at a moment's 
warning, whenever called on to defend the lib- 
erty and rights of this or any other sister colony. 

Washington was at Mount Vernon, preparing 
to set out for Philadelphia as a delegate to the 
second Congress, when he received tidings of 
the affair at Lexington. Bryan Fairfax and 
Major Horatio Gates were his guests at the 
time. They all regarded the event as decisive 
in its consequences ; but they regarded it with 
different feelings. The worthy and gentle- 
spirited Fairfax deplored it deeply. He fore- 
saw that it must break up all his pleasant rela- 
tions in life ; arraying his dearest friends against 
the government to which, notwithstanding the 
errors of its policy, he was loyally attached, 
and resolved to adhere. 

Gates, on the contrary, viewed it with the 
eye of a soldier and a place-hunter — hitherto 
disappointed in both capacities. This event 



promised to open a new avenue to importance 
and command, and he determined to enter upon 
it. 

Washington's feelings were of a mingled na- 
ture. They may be gatli^red from a letter to 
his friend and neighbor, George William Fair- 
fax, then in England, in which he lays the blame 
of this "deplorable affair" on the ministry and 
their military agents ; and concludes with the 
following words, in which the yearnings of the 
patriot give affecting solemnity to the implied 
resolve of the soldier : " Unhappy it is to reflect 
that a brother's sword has been sheathed in a 
brother's breast ; and that the once happy and 
peaceful plains of America, are to be either 
drenched with blood or inhabited by slaves. 
Sad alternative ! But can a virtuous man hesi- 
tate in his choice ? " 



CHAPTER XXX.VIII. 

At the eastward, the march of the Revolu- 
tion went on with accelerated speed. Thirty 
thousand men had been deemed necessary for 
the defence of the country. The provincial 
Congress of Massachusetts resolved to raise 
thirteen thousand six hundred, as its quota. 
Circular letters, also, were issued by the com- 
mittee of safety, urging the towns to enlist 
troops with all speed, and calling for military 
aid from the other New England provinces. 

Their appeals were promptly answered. 
Bodies of militia, and parties of volunteers 
from New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Con- 
necticut, hastened to join the minute men of 
Massachusetts in forming a camp in the neigh- 
borhood of Boston. With the troops of Con- 
necticut, came Israel Putnam ; having recently 
raised a regiment in that province, and received 
from its Assembly the commission of brigadier- 
general. Some of his old comrades in French 
and Indian warfare, had hastened to join his 
standard. Such were two of his captains, Dur- 
kee and Knowlton. The latter, who was his 
especial favorite, had fought by his side when 
a mere boy. 

The command of the camp was given to 
General Artemas Ward, already mentioned. 
He was a native of Shrewsbury, in Massachu- 
setts, and a veteran of the seven years' war — 
having served as lieutenant-colonel under Aber- 
crombie. He had, likewise, been a member of 
the legislative bodies, and had recentK been 



144 ETHAN ALLEN AND THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS— BENEDICT ARNOLD. [1775. 



made, by the provincial Congress of Massachu- 
setts, commander-in-chief of its forces. 

As affairs were now drawing to a crisis, and 
war was considered inevitable, some bold spirits 
in Connecticut conceived a project for the out- 
set. This was the surprisal of the old forts of 
Ticonderoga and Crovrn Point, already famous 
in the French war. Their situation on Lake 
Champlain gave them the command of the 
main route to Canada ; so that the possession 
of. them would T)e all-important in case of hos- 
tilities. They were feebly garrisoned and 
negligently guarded, and abundantly furnished 
with artillery and military stores, so much 
needed by the patriot army. 

This scheme was set on foot in the purlieus, 
as it were, of the provincial Legislature of 
Connecticut, then in session. It was not openly 
sanctioned by that body, but secretly favored, 
and money lent from the treasury to those en- 
gaged in it. A committee was appointed, also, 
to accompany ^em to the frontier, aid them 
in raising troops, and exercise over them a de- 
gree of superintendence and control. 

Sixteen men were thus enlisted in Connecti- 
cut, a greater number in Massachusetts, but 
the greatest accession of force, was from what 
was called the " New Hampshire Grants." 
This was a region having the Connecticut 
River on one side, and Lake Champlain and 
the Hudson River on the other — being, in fact, 
the country forming the present State of Ver- 
mont. It had long been a disputed territory, 
claimed by New York and New Hampshire. 
George II. had decided in favor of New York ; 
but the Governor of I'Tew Hampshire had made 
grants of between one and two hundred town- 
ships in it, whence it had acquired the name 
of the New Hampshire Grants. The settlers 
on those grants resisted the attempts of New 
York to eject them, and formed themselves 
into an association called " The Green Moun- 
tain Boys." Resolute, strong-handed fellows 
they were, with Ethan Allen at their head, a 
native of Connecticut, but brought up among 
the Green Mountains. He and his lieutenants, 
Seth Warner and Remember Baker, were out- 
lawed by the Legislature of New York, and re- 
wards offered for their apprehension. They 
and their associates armed themselves, set New 
York at defiance, and swore they would be the 
death of any one who should attempt their 
arrest. 

Thus Ethan Allen was becoming a kind of 
Robin Hood among the mountains, when the 



present crisis changed the relative position of 
things as if by magic. Boundary feuds were 
forgotten amid the great questions of colonial 
rights. Ethan Allen at once stepped forward, 
a patriot, and volunteered with his Green 
Mountain Boys to serve in the popular cause. 
He was well fitted for the enter[)rise in qiies- 
tion, by his experience as a frontier champion, 
his robustness of mind and body, and his fear- 
less spirit. He had a kind of rough eloquence, 
also, that was very effective with his followers. 
" His style," says one, who knew him jjerson- 
aUy, " was a singular compound of local bar- 
barisms, scriptural j)hrases, and oriental wild- 
ness ; and though unclassic, and sometimes un- 
grammatical, was highly animated and forcible." 
Washington, in one of his letters, says there 
was " an original something in him which com- 
manded admiration." 

Thus reinforced, the party, now two hun- 
dred and seventy strong, pushed forward to 
Castleton, a place within a few miles of the 
head of Lake Champlain. Here a conncil of 
war was held on the 2d of May. Ethan Allen 
was placed at the head of the expedition, with 
James Easton and Seth Warner as second and 
third in command. Detachments were sent 
off to Skenesborough (now Whitehall), and an- 
other place on the lake, with orders to seize all 
the boats they could find and bring them to 
Slioreham, opposite Ticonderoga, whither Allen 
prepared to proceed with the main body. 

At this juncture, another adventurous spirit 
arrived at Castleton. This was Benedict Ar- 
nold, since so sadly renowned. He, too, had 
conceived the project of surprising Ticonderoga 
and Crown Point ; or, perhaps, had caught the 
idea from its first agitators in Connecticut, — 
in the militia of which province he held a 
captain's commission. He had proposed the 
scheme to the Massachusetts committee of 
safety. It had met with their approbation. 
They had given him a colonel's commission, au- 
thorized him to raise a force in Western Massa- 
chusetts, not exceeding four hundred men, and 
furnished him with money and means. Arnold 
had enlisted but a few officers and men when 
he heard of the expedition from Connecticut 
being on the march. He instantly hurried on 
with one attendant to overtake it, leaving his 
few recruits to follow, as best they could : in 
this way he reached Castleton just after the 
council of war. 

Producing the colonel's commission received 
from the Massachusetts committee of safety, 



JEi. 43.] 



CAPTURE OF TICONDEROGA AND CROWN POINT. 



145 



he now aspired to the supreme command. His 
claims were disregarded by the Green Moun- 
tain Boys ; they would follow no leader but 
Ethan Allen. As they formed the majority of 
the p- rty, Arnold was fain to acquiesce, and 
serve as a volunteer, with the rank, but not 
the command of colonel. 

Tlie party arrived at Shoreham, opposite 
Ticonderoga, on the night of the 9th of May. 
The detachment sent in quest of boats had 
failed to arrive. There were a few boats at 
hand, with which the transportation was com- 
menced. It was slow "work ; the night wore 
away ; day was about to break, and but eighty- 
three men, with Allen and Arnold, had crossed. 
Should they wait for the residue, day would 
dawn, the garrison wake, and their enterprise 
might fail. Allen drew up his men, addressed 
them in his own emphatic style, and announced 
his intention to make a dash at the fort, with- 
out waiting for more force. " It is a desperate 
attempt," said he, " and I ask no man to go 
against his will. I wiU take the lead, and be 
the first to advance. You that are willing to 
follow, poise your firelocks." Not a firelock 
but was poised. 

They mounted the hill briskly, but in silence, 
guided by a boy from the neighborhood. The 
day dawned as Allen arrived at a sally port. 
A sentry pulled trigger on him, but his piece 
missed fire. He retreated through a covered 
way. Allen and his men followed. Another 
sentry thrust at Easton with his bayonet, but 
was struck down by Allen, and begged for 
quarter. It was granted on condition of his 
leading the way instantly to the quarters of 
the commandant. Captain Delaplace, who was 
yet in bed. Being arrived there, Allen thun- 
dered at the door, and demanded a surrender 
of the fort. By this time his followers had 
formed into two lines on the parade-ground, 
and given three hearty cheers. The command- 
ant appeared at his door half-dressed, "the 
frightened face of his pretty wife peering over 
his shoulder." He gazed at Allen in bewilder- 
ed astonishment. " By whose authority do 
you act ? " exclaimed he. " In the name of the 
great Jehovah, and the Continental Congress ! " 
replied Allen, with a flourish of his sword, and 
an oath which we do not care to subjoin. 

There was no disputing the point. The gar- 
rison, like the commander, had been startled 
from sleep, and made prisoners as they rushed 
forth in their confusion, A surrender accord- 
ingly took place. The captain, and forty-eight 
10 



men, which composed his gari-ison, were sent 
prisoners to Hartford, in Connecticut. A great 
supply of military and naval stores, so impor- 
tant in the present crisis, was found in the for- 
tress. 

Colonel Seth "Warner, who had brought over 
the residue of the party from Shoreham, was 
now sent with a detachment against Crown 
Point, which surrendered on the 12th of May, 
without firing a gun ; the whole garrison being 
a sergeant and twelve men. Here were taken 
upward of a hundred cannon. 

Arnold now insisted vehemently on his right 
to command Ticonderoga; being, as he said, 
the only ofiicer invested with legal authority. 
His claims had again to yield to the superior 
popularity of Ethan Allan, to whom the Con- 
necticut committee, which had accompanied 
the enterprise, gave an instrument in writing, 
investing him with the command of the for- 
tress, and its dependencies, until he should re- 
ceive the orders of the Connecticut Assembly, 
or the Continental Congress. Arnold, while 
forced to acquiesce, sent a protest, and a state- 
ment of his grievances, to the Massachusetts 
Legislature. In the mean time, his chagrin 
was appeased by a new project. The detach- 
ment originally sent to seize upon boats at 
Skenesborough, arrived with a schooner, and 
several bateaux. It was immediately concert- 
ed between Allen and Arnold to cruise in them 
down the lake, and surprise St. John's, on the 
Sorel River, the frontier post of Canada. The 
schooner was accordingly armed with cannon 
from the fort. Arnold, who had been a sea- 
man in his youth, took the command of her, 
while Allen and his Green Mountain Boys em- 
barked in the bateaux. 

Arnold outsailed the other craft, and arriv- 
ing at St. John's, surprised and made prisoners 
of a sergeant and twelve men ; captured a 
king's sloop of seventy tons, with two brass 
six-pounders and seven men ; took four bateaux, 
destroyed several others, and then, learning 
that troops were on the way from Montreal 
and Chamblee, spread all his sails to a favoring 
breeze, and swept up the lake with his prizes 
and prisoners, and some valuable stores, which 
he had secured. 

He had not sailed f;U" when he met Ethan 
Allen and the bateaux. Salutes were ex- 
changed ; cannon on one side, musketry on the 
other. Allen boarded the sloop ; learnt from 
Arnold the particulars of his success, and de 
termined to push on take possession of SL 



14G A FEDERAL UNION FORMED— QUESTION AS TO COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF. [1775. 



John's, and garrison it with one hundred of his 
Green Mountain Boys. He was foiled in the 
attempt by the superior force which had ar- 
rived ; so he returned to his station at Ticon- 
deroga. 

Thus a partisan baud, unpractised in the art 
of war, had, by a series of daring exploits, and 
almost without the loss of a man, won for the 
])atriots the command of Lakes George and 
Champlain, and thrown open the great high- 
way to Canada. 



CHAPTER XXXIX. 

The second General Congress assembled at 
Philadelphia on the 10th of May. Peyton 
Randolph was again elected as president ; but 
being obhged to return, and occupy his place 
as speaker of the Virginia Assembly, John 
Hancock, of Massachusetts, was elevated to 
the chair. 

A lingering feeling of attachment to the 
mother country, struggling with the growing 
spirit of self-government, was manifested in 
the proceedings of this remarkable body. 
Many of those most active in vindicating colo- 
nial rights, and "Washington among the num- 
ber, still indulged the hope of an eventual re- 
conciliation, while few entertained, or, at least, 
avowed the idea of complete independence. 

A second " humble and dutiful " petition to 
the king was moved, but met with strong op- 
position. John Adams condemned it as an 
imbecile measure, calculated to embarrass the 
proceedings of Congress. He was for prompt 
and vigorous action. Other members concur- 
red with him. Indeed, the measure itself 
seemed but a mere form, intended to reconcile 
the half scrupulous ; for subsequently, when 
it was carried. Congress, in face of it, went on 
to assume and exercise the powers of a sover- 
eign authority. A federal union was formed, 
leaving to each colony the right of regulating 
its internal aftairs according to its own indi- 
vidual constitution, but vesting in Congress the 
power of making peace or war; of entering 
into treaties and alliances ; of regulating gen- 
eral commerce ; in a word, of legislating on 
all such matters as regarded the security and 
welfare of the whole community. 

The executive power was to be vested in a 
council of twelve, chosen by Congress from 
among its own members, and to hold office for 



a limited time. Such colonies as had not sent 
delegates to Congress, might yet become mem- 
bers of the confederacy by agreeing to its con- 
ditions. Georgia, which had hitherto hesi- 
tated, soon joined the league, which thus ex- 
teuded from Nova Scotia to Florida. 

Congress lost no time in exercising their 
federated powers. In virtue of them, they 
ordered the enlistment of troops, the construc- 
tion of forts in various parts of the colonies, 
the provision of arms, ammunition, and mili- 
tary stores ; while to defray the expense of 
these, and other measures, avowedly of self- 
defence, they authorized the emission of notes 
to the amount of three millions of dollars, bear- 
ing the inscription of " The United Colonies ; " 
the faith of the confederacy being pledged for 
their redemption. 

A retaliating decree was passed, prohibiting 
all supplies of provisions to the British fisher- 
ies ; and another, declaring the province of 
Massachusetts Bay absolved from its compact 
with the crown, by the violation of its charter ; 
and recommending it to form an internal gov- 
ernment for itself. 

The public sense of "Washington's military 
talents and experience was evinced in his being 
chairman of aU the committees appointed for 
military affairs. Most of the rules and regu- 
lations for the army, and the measures for de- 
fence, were devised by him. 

The situation of the New England army, act- 
ually besieging Boston, became an early and ab- 
soi'bing consideration. It was without munitions 
of war, without arms, clothing, or pay ; in fact, 
without legislative countenance or encourage- 
ment. Unless sanctioned and assisted by Con- 
gress there was danger of its dissolution. If 
dissolved, how could another be collected ? If 
dissolved, what would there be to prevent the 
British from sallying out of Boston, and spread- 
ing desolation throughout the country ? 

All this was the subject of much discussion 
out of doors. The disposition to uphold the 
army was general ; but the difficult question 
was, who should be commander-in-chief? 
Adams, in his diary, gives us glimpses of the 
conflict of opinions and interests within doors. 
There was a southern party, he said, which 
could not brook the idea of a New England 
army, commanded by a New England general. 
" "Whether this jealousy was sincere," writes 
he, " or whether it Avas mere pride, and a 
haughty ambition of furnishing a southern gen- 
eral to command the northern army, I cannot 



Mt. 43.] 



APPOINTMENT OF COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF. 



147 



say ; but the intention was very visible to me, 
that Colonel "Washington was their object ; and 
so many of our stanchest men were in the plan, 
that we could carry nothing without conced- 
ing to it. There was another embarrassment, 
which was never publicly known, and which 
was carefully concealed by those who knew it : 
the Massachusetts and other New England 
delegates were divided. Mr. Hancock and Mr. 
Gushing hung back ; Mr. Paine did not come 
forward, and even Mr. Samuel Adams was 
irresolute. Mr. Hancock liimself had an am- 
bition to be appointed commander-in-chief. 
Whether he thought an election a compliment 
due to him, and intended to have the honor 
of declining it, or whether he would have ac- 
cepted it, I know not. To the compliment, he 
had some pretensions; for, at that time, his 
exertions, sacrifices, and general merits in the 
cause of his country, had been incomparably 
greater than those of Colonel "Washington. 
But the delicacy of his health, and his entire 
want of experience in actual service, though 
an excellent militia oflScer, were decisive ob- 
jections to him in my mind." 

General Charles Lee was at that time in 
Philadelphia. His former visit had made him 
well acquainted with the leading members of 
Congress. The active interest he had mani- 
fested in the cause was weU known, and the 
public had an almost extravagant idea of his 
military qualifications. He was of foreign 
birth, however, and it was deemed improper 
to confide the supreme command to any but a 
native-born American. In fact, if he was sin- 
cere in what Ave have quoted from his letter to 
Burke, he did not aspire to such a signal mark 
of confidence. 

The opinion evidently inclined in favor of 
"Washington ; yet it was promoted by no clique 
of partisans or admirers. More than one of 
the Virginia delegates, says Adams, were cool 
on the subject of this appointment ; and par- 
ticularly Mr. Pendleton, was clear and full 
against it. It is scarcely necessary to add, 
that "Washington in this, as in every other 
situation in life, made no step in advance to 
clutch the impending honor. 

Adams, in his diary, claims the credit of 
bringing the members of Congress to a decision. 
Rising in his place, one day, and stating briefly, 
but earnestly, the exigencies of the case, he 
moved that Congress should adopt the army at 
Cambridge, and appoint a general. Though 
this was not the time to nominate the person, 



" yet," adds he, " as I had reason to believe 
this was a point of some difficulty, I had no 
hesitation to declare, that I had but one gen- 
tleman in my mind for that important com- 
mand, and that was a gentleman from Virginia, 
who was among us and very well known to all 
of us ; a gentleman, whose skill and experience 
as an officer, Avhose independent fortune, great 
talents, -and excellent universal character, would 
command the approbation of all America, and 
unite the cordial exertions of all the colonies 
better than any other person in the Union. 
Mr. "Washington, who happened to sit near the 
door, as soon as he heard me allude to him, 
from his usual modesty, darted into the library- 
room. Mr. Hancock, who was our president, 
which gave me an opportunity to observe his 
countenance, while I was speaking on the state 
of the colonies, the army at Cambridge, and 
the enemy, heard me with visible pleasure ; 
but when I came to describe "Washington for 
the commander, I never remarked a more sud- 
den and striking change of countenance. Mor- 
tification and resentment were expressed as 
forcibly as his face could exhibit them." 

" "When the subject came under debate, sev- 
eral delegates opposed the appointment of 
"Washington ; not from personal objections, but 
because the army were aU from New England, 
and had a general of their own. General Arte- 
mas "Ward, with whom they appeared well 
satisfied ; and under whose command they had 
proved themselves able to imprison the British 
army in Boston ; which was all that was to be 
expected or desired." 

The subject was postponed to a future day. 
In the interim, pains were taken out of doors 
to obtain a unanimity, and the voices were in 
general so clearly in favor of "Washington, that 
the dissentient members were persuaded to 
withdraw their opposition. 

On the 15th of June, the army was regularly 
adopted by Congress, and the pay of the com- 
mander-in-chief fixed at five hundred dollars a 
month. Many still clung to the idea, that in 
all these proceedings they were merely oppos- 
ing the measures of the ministry, and not the 
authority of the crown, and thus the army be- 
fore Boston was designated as the Continental 
Army, In contradistinction to that under Gen- 
eral Gage, which was called the Ministerial 
Army. 

In this stage of the business Mr. Johnson, of 
Maryland, rose, and nominated "Washington for 
the station of commander-in-chief. The elec- 



14S 



APPOINTMENT OF WASHINGTON— OTHER APPOINTMENTS. 



[1115. 



tiou was by ballot, and was unanimous. It 
was formally announced to him by the presi- 
dent, on the foUowmg day, when he had taken 
his seat in Congress. Rising in his place, he 
briefly expressed his high and grateful sense 
of the honor conferred on him, and his sincere 
devotion to the cause. "But," added he, " lest 
some unlucky event should happen unfavorable 
to my reputation, I beg it may be renlembered 
by every gentleman in the room, that I this day 
declare, with the utmost sincerity, I do not 
think myself equal to the command I am hon- 
ored with. As to pay, I beg leave to assure 
the Congress that, as no. pecuniary considera- 
tion could have tempted me to accept this 
arduouil emplo;fment, at the expense of my 
domestic ease and happiness, I do not wish to 
make any profit of it. I will keep an exact 
account of my expenses. Those, I doubt not, 
they will discharge, and that is all I desire." 

" There is something charming to me in the 
conduct of Washington," writes Adams to a 
friend ; " a gentleman of one of the first for- 
tunes upon the continent, leaving his delicious 
retirement, his family and friends, sacrificing 
his ease, and hazarding all, in the cause of his 
country. His views are noble and disinterested. 
He declared, when he accepted the mighty 
trust, that he would lay before us an exact 
account of his expenses, and not accept a shil- 
Ihig of pay." 

Four major-generals were to be appointed. 
Among those specified were General Charles 
Lee and General Ward. Mr. MifBin, of Phila- 
delphia, who was Lee's especial friend and 
admirer, urged that he should be second in 
command. " General Lee," said he, " would 
serve cheerfully under Washington ; but con- 
sidering his rank, character, and experience, 
could not be expected to serve under any other. 
He must be aut secundus, aut nullusy 

Adams, on the other hand, as strenuously 
objected that it would be a great deal to expect 
that General Ward, who was actually in com- 
mand of the army in Boston, should serve under 
any man ; but under a stranger he ought not 
to serve. General Ward, accordingly, was 
elected the second in command, and Lee the 
third. The other two major-generals were 
Philip Schuyler, of New York, and Israel Put- 
nam, of Connecticut. Eight brigadier-generals 
were likewise appointed; Seth Poraeroy, 
Richard Montgomery, David Wooster, William 
Heath, Joseph Spencer, John Thomas, John 
Sullivan, and Nathaniel Greene. 



Notwithstanding Mr. Mifflin's objection to 
having Lee ranked under Ward, as being be- 
neath his dignity and merits, he himself made 
no scruple to acquiesce ; though, judging from 
his supercilious character, and from circum- 
stances in his subsequent conduct, he no doubt 
considered himself vastly superior to the pro- 
vincial officers placed over him. 

At Washington's express request, his old 
friend. Major Horatio Gates, then absent at his 
estate in Virginia, was appointed adjutant-gen- 
eral, with the rank of brigadier. 

Adams, according to his own account, was 
extremely loth to admit either Lee or Gates 
into the American service, although he consid- 
ered them officers of great experience and con- 
fessed abilities. He apprehended difficulties, 
he said, from the " natural prejudices and vir- 
tuous attachment of our countrymen to their 
own officers," "But," adds he, "considering 
the earnest desire of General Washington to 
have the assistance of those officers, the 
extreme attachment of many of our best 
friends in the southern colonies to them, the 
reputation they would give to our arras in 
Europe, and especially with the ministerial 
generals and army in Boston, as well as the 
real American merit of both, I could not with- 
hold my vote from either." 

The reader will possibly call these circum- 
stances to mind when, on a future page, he 
finds how Lee and Gates requited the friend- 
ship to which chiefiy they owed their appoint- 
ments. 

In this momentous change in his condition, 
which suddenly altered all his course of life, 
and called him immediately to the camp, 
Washington's thoughts recurred to Mount 
Vernon, and its rural delights, so dear to his 
heart, whence he was to be again exiled. His 
chief concern, however, was on account of the 
distress it might cause to his Avife. His letter 
to her on the subject is written in a tone of 
manly tenderness, " You may believe me," 
writes he, " Avhen I assure you, in the most 
solemn manner, that, so far from seeking this 
appointment, I have used every endeavor in 
my power to avoid it, not only from my un- 
willingness to part with you and the family, 
but from a consciousness of its being a trust 
too great for my capacity ; and I should enjoy 
more real happiness in one month with you at 
home, than I have the most distant prospect 
of finding abroad, if my stay were to be seven 
times seven years. But as it has been a kind 



.Et. 43.] LETTERS OF WASHINGTON— NATURE OF THE AMERICAN ARMY. 



149 



of destiny that has thrown me upon this service, 
I shall hope that my undertaking it, is de- 
signed to answer some good purpose. * * * 

" I shall rely confidently on that Providence 
which has heretofore preserved, and been 
honutiful to me, not doubting but that I shall 
return safe to you in the Fall. I shall feel no 
pain from the toil or danger of the campaign ; 
my unhappiness will flow from the uneasiness 
I know you will feel from being left alone. I 
therefore beg that you will summon your whole 
fortitude, and pass your time as agreeably as 
possible. Nothing will give me so much sin- 
cere satisfaction as to hear this, and to hear it 
from your own pen." 

And to his favorite brother, John Augustine, 
he writes : " I am now to bid adieu to you, and 
to every kind of domestic ease, for a while. I 
am embarked on a v/ide ocean, boundless in its 
prospect, and in which, perhaps, no safe harbor 
is to be found. I have been called upon by the 
unanimous voice of the colonies, to take com- 
mand of the continental army ; an honor I 
neither sought after, nor desired ; as I am 
thoroughly convinced that it requires great 
abilities, and much more experience than I am 
master of." And subsequently, referring to 
his wife : " I shall hope that my friends will 
visit, and endeavor to keep up the spirits of 
my Avife as much as they can, for my departure 
will, I know, be a cutting stroke upon her ; and 
on this account alone I have many disagreeable 
sensations." 

On the 20th of June, he received his com- 
mission from the president of Congress. The 
following day was fixed upon for his departure 
for the array. He reviewed previously, at the 
request of their ofiicers, several militia com- 
panies of horse and foot. Every one was anx- 
ious to see the new commander, and rarely 
has the public beau ideal of a commander been 
so fully answered. He was now in the vigor 
of his days, forty-three years of age, stately in 
person, noble in his demeanor, calm and digni- 
fied in his deportment ; as he sat his horse, 
with manly grace, his military presence delight- 
ed every eye, and wherever he went, the air 
rang with acclamations. 



CHAPTER XL. "^ 

"While Congress had been deliberating on 
the adoption of the array, and the nomination 
of a commander4n-chief, events had been 



thickening and drawing to a crisis in the ex- 
cited region about Boston. The provincial 
troops which blockaded the town prevented 
supplies by land, the neighboring comitry re- 
fused to furnish them by water ; fresh pro- 
visions and vegetables were no longer to be 
procured, and Boston began to experience the 
privations of a besieged city. 

On the 25th of May, arrived ships of war and 
transports from England, bringing large rein- 
forcements under Generals Howe, Burgoyne, 
and Henry Clinton, commanders of high repu- 
tation. 

As the ships entered the harbor, and the 
" rebel camp " was pointed out, ten thousand 
yeomanry beleaguering a town garrisoned by 
.five thousand regulars, Burgoyne could not 
restrain a burst of surprise and scorn. " What ! " 
cried he, " ten thousand peasants keep five 
thousand king's troops shut up ! Well, let us 
get in, and we'll soon find elbow-room." 

Inspirited by these reinforcements, General 
Gage determined to take the field. Previously, 
however, in conformity to instructions from 
Lo.rd Dartmouth, the head of tlie war depart- 
ment, he issued a proclamation (12th June), 
putting the province under martial law, threat- 
ening to treat as rebels and traitors all malcon- 
tents who should continue under arms, together 
with their aiders and abettors ; but offering 
pardon to all who should lay down their arms, 
and return to their allegiance. From this 
prolFered amnesty, however, John Hancock and 
Samuel Adams were especially excepted ; their 
oflfences being pronounced " too flagitious not 
to meet with condign punishment." 

This proclamation only served to put the 
patriots on the alert against such measures as 
might be expected to follow, and of which their 
friends in Boston stood ready to apprise them. 
The besieging force, in the mean time, was 
daily augmented by recruits and volunteers, 
and now amounted to about fifteen thousand 
men distributed at various points. Its character 
and organization were peculiar. As has well 
been observed, it could not be called a national 
army, for, as yet, there was no nation to own 
it ; it was not under the authority of the Con- 
tinental Congi-ess, the act of that body recog- 
nizing it not having as yet been passed, and the 
authority of that body itself not having been 
acknowledged. It was, in fact, a fortuj>rns 
assemblage of four distinct bodie^-cf^roops, 
belonging to diflTerent proviuisC^and each hav-, 
ina; a leader of its own election. About ten 



150 



PROJECT OF THE AMERICANS TO SEIZE UPON BREED'S HILL. 



[17V5. 



thousand belonged to Massachusetts, and were 
under the command of General Artemas Ward, 
whose head-quarters were at Cambridge. An- 
other body of troops, under Colonel John Stark, 
already mentioned, came from New Hampshire. 
Rhode Island furnished a third, under the com- 
mand of General ISTathaniel Greene. A fourth 
was from Connecticut, under the veteran Put- 
nam. 

These bodies of troops, being from different 
colonies, were independent of each other, and 
had their several commanders. Those from 
New Hampshire were instructed to obey Gen- 
eral Ward as commander-in-chief; with the 
rest, it was a voluntary act, rendered in con- 
sideration of his being military chief of Massa- 
chusetts, the province which, as allies, they 
came to defend. There was, in fact, but little 
organization in the array. Nothing kept it 
together, and gave it unity of action, but a 
common feeling of exasperated patriotism. 

The troops knew but little of military dis- 
cipline. Almost all Avere familiar with the use 
of fire-arms in Imnting and fowling ; many had 
served in frontier campaigns against the 
French, and in " bush-fighting " with the In- 
dians ; but none were acquainted with regular 
service or the discipline of European armies. 
There was a regiment of artillery, partly or- 
ganized by Colonel Gridley, a skilful engineer, 
and furnished with nine field-pieces ; but the 
greater part of tlie troops were without mili- 
tary dress or accoutrements ; most of them 
were hasty levies of yeomanry, some of whom 
bad seized their rifles and fowling-pieces, and 
turned out in their working clothes and home- 
spun country garbs. It was an army of volun- 
teers, subordinate through inclination and 
respect to officers of their own choice, and de- 
pending for sustenance on supplies sent from 
their several towns. 

Such was the army spread over an extent of 
ten or twelve miles, and keeping watch upon 
the town of Boston, containing at tbat time a 
population of seventeen thousand souls, and 
garrisoned with more than ten thousand British 
troops, disciplined and experienced in the wars 
of Europe. 

In the disposition of these forces. General 
Ward had stationed himself at Cambridge, with 
the main body, of about nine thousand men and 
four companies of artillery. Lieutenant-General 
Thomas, second in command, with five thousand 
Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Ehode Island 
troops, and tbree or four companies of artillery. 



at Eoxbury and Dorchester, forming the right 
wing of the army ; while the left, composed in 
a great measure of New Hampshire troops, 
stretched through Medford to the hills of Chel- 
sea. 

It was a great annoyance to the British 
ofiicers and soldiers, to be thus hemmed in by 
what they termed a rustic rout with calico 
frocks and fowling-pieces. The same scornful 
and taunting spirit prevailed among them, that 
the cavaliers of yore indulged toward the Cov- 
enanters. Considering Episcopacy as the only 
loyal and royal faith, they insulted and dese- 
crated the " sectarian " places of worship. One 
was turned into a riding school for the cavalry, 
and the fire in the stove was kindled with books 
from the library of its pastor. The Provincials 
retaliated by turning the Episcopal church at 
Cambridge into a barrack, and melting down 
its organ-pipes into bullets. 

Both parties panted for action ; the British 
through impatience of their humiliating posi- 
tion, and an eagerness to chastise what they 
considered the presiunption of their besiegers ; 
the Provincials through enthusiasm in their 
cause, a thirst for enterprise and exploit, and, 
it must be added, an unconsciousness of their 
own military deficiencies. 

We have already mentioned the peninsula 
of Charlestown (called from a village of the 
same name), which lies opposite to the north 
side of Boston. The heights, which sweU up 
in rear of the village, overlook the town and 
shipping. The project was conceived in the 
besieging camp to seize and occupy those 
heights. A council of war was held upon the 
subject. The arguments in favor of the attempt 
were, that the army was anxious to be employ- 
ed ; that the country was dissatisfied with its 
inactivity, and that the enemy might thus be 
drawn out to ground where they might be 
fought to advantage. General Putnam was 
one of the most strenuous in favor of the 
measure. 

Some of the more wary and judicious, among 
whom were General Ward and Dr. Warren, 
doubted the expediency of intrenching them- 
selves on those heights, and the possibility of 
maintaining so exposed a post, scantily furnished, 
as they were, with ordnance and ammunition. 
Besides, it might bring on a general engage- 
ment, which it was not safe to risk. 

Putnam made light of the danger. He was 
confident of the bravery of the militia if in- 
trenched, having seen it tried in the old French 



^T. 43.] 



PROJECT TO SEIZE THE HEIGHTS— OPERATIONS AT NIGHT. 



151 



war. " The Americans," said he, " are never 
afraid of their heads ; they only think of their 
legs ; shelter them, and they'll fight forever," 
He was seconded hy General Pomeroy, a leader 
of like stamp, and another veteran of the French 
war. He had been a hunter in his time ; a 
dead shot with a rifle, and was ready to lead 
troops against the enemy, "with five cartridges 
to a man." 

The daring counsels of such men are always 
captivating to the inexperienced ; but in the 
present instance, they were sanctioned by one 
whose opinion in such matters, and in this 
vicinity, possessed peculiar weight. This was 
Colonel "William Prescott, of Pepperell, who 
commanded a regiment of minute men. He, 
too, had seen service in the French war, and 
acquired reputation as a lieutenant of infantry 
at the capture of Cape Breton. This was sufii- 
cient to constitute him an oracle in the present 
instance. He was now about fifty years of age, 
tall and commanding in his appearance, and 
retaining the port of a soldier. "What was 
more, he had a military garb ; being equipped 
with a three-cornered hat, a top wig, and a 
single-breasted blue coat, with facings and lap- 
ped up at the skirts. All this served to give 
him consequence among the rustic militia 
ofiicers with whom he was in council. 

His opinion, probably, settled the question ; 
and it was determined to seize on and fortify 
Bunker's Hill and Dorchester Heights. In 
deference, however, to the suggestions of the 
more cautious, it was agreed to 'postpone the 
measure until they were sufficiently supplied 
with the munitions of war to be able to main- 
tain the heights when seized. 

Secret intelligence hurried forward the pro- 
ject. General Gage, it was said, intended to 
take possession of Dorchester Heights on the 
night of the 18th of June. These heights lay 
on the opposite side of Boston, and the com- 
mittee were ignorant of their localities. Those 
on Charlestown Neck, being near at hand, had 
some time before been reconnoitred by Colonel 
Eichard Gridley, and other of the engineers. 
It was determined to seize and fortify these 
heights on the night of Friday, the 16th of 
June, in anticipation of the movement of Gen- 
eral Gage. Troops were drafted for the pur- 
pose from the Massachusetts regiments of 
Colonels Prescott, Frye, and Bridges. There 
was also a fatigue party of about two hundred 
men from Putnam's Connecticut troops, led by 
his favorite officer. Captain Knowlton ; together 



with a company of forty-nine artillery men, 
with two field-pieces, commanded by Captain 
Samuel Gridley. 

A little before sunset the troops, about twelve 
hundred in all, assembled on the common, in 
front of General Ward's quarters. They came 
provided with packs, blankets, and provisions 
for four-and-twenty hours, but ignorant of the 
object of the expedition. Being all paraded, 
prayers were offered up by the reverend Presi- 
dent Langdon, of Harvard College ; after which 
they all set forward on their silent march. 

Colonel Prescott, from his experience in 
military matters, and his being an officer in the 
Massachusetts Hne, had been chosen by General 
"Ward to conduct the enterprise. His written 
orders were to fortify Bunker's Hill, and defend 
the works until he should be relieved. Colonel 
Eichard Gridley, the chief engineer, who had 
likewise served in the French war, was to ac- 
company him, and plan the fortifications. It 
was understood that reinforcements and re- 
freshments would be sent to the fatigue party 
in the morning. 

The detachment left Cambridge about nine 
o'clock. Colonel Prescott taking the lead, pre- 
ceded by two sergeants with dark lanterns. 
At Charlestown Neck they were joined by 
Major Brooks, of Bridges' regiment, and Gen- 
eral Putnam ; and here were the waggons laden 
with intrenching tools, which first gave the 
men an indication of the nature of the enter- 
prise. 

Charlestown Neck is a narrow isthmus, con- 
necting the peninsula with the main land ; hav- 
ing the Mystic Eiver, about half a mile wide, 
on the north, and a large embayment of Charles 
Eiver on the south or I'ight side. 

It was now necessary to proceed with the 
utmost caution, for they were coming on 
ground over which the British kept jealous 
watch. They had erected a battery at Boston on 
Copp's Hill, immediately opposite to Charles- 
town. Five of their vessels of war were 
stationed so as to bear upon the peninsula from 
diflferent directions, and the guns of one of 
them swept the isthmus, or narrow neck just 
mentioned. 

Across this isthmus. Colonel Prescott con- 
ducted the detachment undiscovered, and up 
the ascent of Bunker's Hill. This commences 
at the Neck, and slopes up for about three hun- 
dred yards to its summit, which is about one 
hundred and twelve feet high. It then declines 
towards the south, and is connected by a ridge 



152 



FORTIFyiNG OF BUNKER'S HILL— ASTONISHMENT OF THE ENEMY. 



[1115. 



with Breed's Hill, about sixty or seventy feet 
high. The crests of the two hills are about 
seven hundred yards apart. 

On attaining the heights, a question arose 
which of the two they should proceed to forti- 
fy. Bunker's HiU was specified in the written 
orders given to Colonel Prescott by General 
Ward, but Breed's HUl was much nearer to 
Boston, and had a better command of the town 
and shipping. Bunker's Hill, also, being on the 
upper and narrower part of the peninsula, was 
itself commanded by the same ship which raked 
the Neck. Putnam was clear for commencing 
at Breed's Hill, and making the principal work 
there, while a minor work might be thrown up 
at Bunker's Hill, as a protection in the rear, 
and a rallying point, in case of being driven out 
of the main work. Others concurred with this 
opinion, yet there was a hesitation in deviating 
from the letter of their orders. At length 
Colonel Gridley became impatient; the night 
was waning ; delay might prostrate the whole 
enterprise. Breed's HiU was then determined 
on. Gridley marked out the lines for the forti- 
fications ; the men stacked their guns ; threw 
off their packs; seized their trenching tools, 
and set to work with great spirit ; but so much 
time had been wasted in discussion, that i^ was 
midnight before they struck the first spade into 
the ground. 

Prescott, who felt the responsibility of his 
charge, almost despaired of carrying on these 
operations undiscovered. A party was sent out 
by him silently to patrol the shore at the foot 
of the heights, and watch for any movement 
of the enemy. Not willing to trust entirely to 
the vigilance of others, he twice went down 
during the night to the water's edge; recon- 
noitring every thing scrupulously, and noting 
every sight and sound. It was a warm, still, 
summer's night ; the stars shone brightly, but 
every thing was quiet. Boston was buried in 
sleep, the sentry's cry of " All's well "-could 
be heard distinctly from its shores, together 
with the drowsy calling of the watch on board 
of the ships of war, and then all would relapse 
into silence. Satisfied that the enemy were 
perfectly unconscious of what was going on 
upon the hill, he returned to the works, and a 
little before daybreak called in the patrolling 
party. 

So spiritedly, though silently, had the labor 
been carried on, that by riorning a strong re- 
doubt was thrown up as a main work, flanked 
on the left by a breastwork, partly cannon- 



proof, extending down the crest of Breed's Hill 
to a piece of marshy ground called the Slough. 
To support the right of the redoubt, some troops 
were thrown into the village of Charlestown, 
at the southern foot of the hill. The great ob- 
ject of Prescott's solicitude was now attained, 
a suflicient bulwark to screen his men before 
they should be discovered ; for he doubted the 
possibility of keeping raw recruits to their post, 
if openly exposed to the fire of artillery, and 
the attack of disciplined troops. 

At dawn of day, the Americans at work were 
espied by the sailors on board of the ships of 
war, and the alann was given. The captain of 
the Lively, the nearest ship, without waiting 
for orders, put a spring upon her cable, and 
bringing her guns to bear, opened a fire upon 
the hill. The other ships and a floating battery 
followed his example. Their shot did no mis- 
chief to the works, but one man, among a 
number who had incautiously ventured outside, 
was killed. A subaltern reported his death to 
Colonel Prescott, and asked what was to be 
done. " Bury him," was the reply. The chap- 
lain gathered some of his military flock around 
him, and was proceeding to perform suitable 
obsequies over the "first martyr," but Prescott 
ordered that the men should disperse to their 
work, and the deceased be buried immediately. 
It seemed shocking to men accustomed to the 
funeral solemnities of peaceful life, to bury a 
man without prayers, but Prescott saw that the 
sight of this man suddenly shot down had agi- 
tated the nerf es of his comrades, unaccustomed 
to scenes of war. Some of them, in fact, qui- 
etly left the hiU, and did not return to it. 

To inspire confidence by example, Prescott 
now mounted the parapet, and walked leisurely 
about, inspecting the Avorks, giving directions, 
and talking cheerfully with the men. In a little 
while they got over their dread of cannon-balls, 
and some even made them a subject of joke, or 
rather bravado ; a species of sham courage oc- 
casionally manifested by young soldiers, but 
never by veterans. 

The cannonading roused the town of Boston. 
General Gage could scarcely believe his eyes 
when he beheld on the opposite hill a fortifica- 
tion fuU of men, which had sprung up in the 
course of tho night. As he reconnoitred it 
through a ghvs from Copp's Hill, the tall figure 
of Prescott, ; i military garb, walking the para- 
pet, caught I .s eye. " Who is that officer who 
appears in c-: mmand ? " asked he. The question 
was answeicd by Counsellor WUlard, Prescott's 



^T. 43.] 



APPROACH OF THE ENEMY TO BUNKER'S HILL. 



153 



brother-in-]a-v7, who was at hand, and recog- 
nized his relative. " Will he fight ? " demanded 
Gage, quicldy. " Yes, sir ! he is an old soldier, 
and will fight to the last drop of blood ; but 
I cannot answer for his men." 

" The works must be carried ! " exclaimed 
Gage. 

He called a council of war. The Americans 
might intend to cannonade Boston from this 
new fortification ; it was unanimously resolved 
to dislodge them. How was this to be done ? 
A majority of the council, including Clinton 
and Grant, advised that a force should be land- 
ed on Charlestown Neck, under the protection 
of their batteries, so as to attack the Americans 
in rear, and cut off their retreat. General Gage 
objected that it would place his troops between 
two armies ; one at Cambridge, superior in 
numbers, the other on the heights, strongly 
fortified. He was for landing in front of the 
works, and pushing directly up the hill ; a plan 
adopted through a confidence that raw militia 
would never stand their ground against the as- 
sault of regular troops; another instance of 
undervaluing the American spirit, which was 
to cost the enemy a lamentable loss of life. 



CHAPTEK XLI. 

The sound of drum and trumpet, the clatter 
of hoofs, the rattling of gun-carriages, and all 
the other military din and bustle in the streets 
of Boston, soon apprised the Americans on their 
rudely fortified height of an impending attack. 
They were ill fitted to withstand it, being jaded 
by the night's labor, and want of sleep ; hun- 
gry and thirsty, having brought but scanty sup- 
plies, and oppressed by the heat of the weather. 
Prescott sent repeated messages to General 
Ward, asking reinforcements and provisions. 
Putnam seconded the request in person, urging 
the exigencies of the case. Ward hesitated. 
He feared to weaken his main body at Cam- 
bridge, as his military stores were deposited 
there, and it might have to sustain the principal 
attack. At length, having taken advice of the 
council of safety, he issued orders for Colonels 
Stark and Read, then at Medford, to march to 
the relief of Prescott with their New Hamp- 
shire regiments. The orders reached Medford 
about 11 o'clock. Ammunition was distributed 
in all haste ; two flints, a gill of powder, and 
fifteen baUs to each man. The balls had to be 



suited to the different calibres of the guns ; the 
powder to be carried in powder-horns, or loose 
in the pocket, for there were no cartridges pre- 
pared. It was the rude turn out of yeoman 
soldiery, destitute of regular accoutrements. 

In the mean time, the Americans on Breed's 
Hill were sustaining the fire from the ships, and 
from the battery on Copp's HiU, which opened 
upon them about ten o'clock. They returned 
an occasional shot from one corner of the re- 
doubt, without much harm to the enemy, and 
continued strengthening then- position until 
about 11 o'clock, when they ceased to work, 
piled their intrenching tools in the rear, and 
looked out anxiously and impatiently for the 
anticipated reinforcements and supplies. 

About this time General Putnam, who had 
been to head-quarters, arrived at the redoubt 
on horseback. Some words passed between 
him and Prescott with regard to the intrenching 
tools, which have been variously reported. The 
most probable version is, that he urged to have 
them taken from their present place, where 
they might fall into the hands of the enemy, 
and carried to Bunker's HiU, to be employed in 
throwing up a redoubt, which was part of the 
original plan, and which would be very impor- 
tant should the troops be obhged to retreat from 
Breed's Hill. To this Prescott demurred that 
those employed to convey them, and who were 
already jaded with toil, might not return to his 
redoubt, A large part of the tools were ulti- 
mately carried to Bunker's Hill, and a breast- 
work commenced by order of General Putnam. 
The importance of such a work was afterwards 
made apparent. 

About noon, the Americans descried twenty- 
eight barges crossing from Boston in parallel 
lines. They contained a large detachment of 
grenadiers, rangers, and light infantry, admira- 
bly equipped, and commanded by Major-General 
Howe. They made a splendid and formidable 
appearance with their scarlet uniforms, and the 
sun flashing upon muskets and bayonets, and 
brass field-pieces. A heavy fire from the ships 
and batteries covered their advance, but no at- 
tempt was made to oppose them, and they 
landed about one o'clock at Moulton's Point, a 
little to the north of Breed's HiU. 

Here General Howe made a pause. On re- 
connoitring the works from this point, the 
Americans appeared to be much more strongly 
posted than he had imagined. He descried 
troops also hastening to their assistance. These 
were the New Hampshire troops, led on by 



154 



BATTLE OF BUNKER'S HILL. 



[1775. 



Stark. Howe immediately sent over to General 
Gage for more forces, and a supply of cannon- 
balls ; those brought by him being found, 
through some egregrious oversight, too large 
for the ordnance. WhUe awaiting their arrival, 
refreshments were served out to the troops, 
with "grog," by the bucketful ; and tantalizing 
it was, to the hungry and thirsty Provincials, to 
look down from their ramparts of earth, and 
see their invaders seated in groups on the grass 
eating and drinking, and preparing themselves 
by a hearty meal for the coming encounter. 
Their only consolation was to take advantage 
of the delay, while the enemy were carousing, 
to strengthen their position. The breastwork 
on the left of the redoubt extended to what 
was called the Slough, but beyond this, the 
ridge of the hill, and the slope toward Mystic 
Eiver, were undefended, leaving a pass by which 
the enemy might turn the left flank of the posi- 
tion, and seize upon Bunker's Hill. Putnam 
ordered his chosen officer, Captain Knowlton, 
to cover this pass with the Connecticut troops 
under his command. A novel kind of rampart, 
savoring of rural device, was suggested by the 
rustic general. About six hundred feet in the 
rear of the redoubt, and about one hundred 
feet to the left of the breastwork, was a post 
and rail-fence, set in a low foot-wall of stone, 
and extending down to Mystic Eiver. The 
posts and rails of another fence were hastily 
pulled up, and set a few feet in behiud this, and 
the intermediate space was filled up with new- 
mown hay from the adjacent meadows. This 
double fence, it will be found, proved an im- 
portant protection to the redoubt, although 
there still remained an improtected interval of 
about seven hundred feet. 

While Knowlton and his men were putting 
up this fence, Putnam proceeded with other of 
his troops to throw up the work on Bunker's 
Hill, despatching his son. Captain Putnam, on 
horseback, to hurry up the remainder of his 
men from Cambridge. By this time, his com- 
peer in French and Indian warfare, the veteran 
Stark, made his appearance with the New 
Hampshire troops, five hundred strong. He 
had grown cool and wary with age, and his 
march from Medford, a distance of five or six 
miles, had been in character. He led his men 
at a moderate pace, to bring them into action 
fresh and vigorous. In crossing the Neck, 
which was enfiladed by the enemy's ships and 
batteries, Captain Dearborn, who was by his 
Bide, suggested a quick step. The veteran 



shook his head : " One fresh man in action is 
worth ten tired ones," replied he, and marched 
steadily on. 

Putnam detained some of Stark's men to aid 
in throwing up the works on Bunker's Hill, 
and directed him to reinforce Knowlton with 
the rest. Stark made a short speech to his 
men, now that they were likely to have warm 
work. He then pushed on, and did good ser- 
vice that day at the rustic bulwark. 

About two o'clock, Warren arrived on the 
heights, ready to engage in their perilous de- 
fence, although he had opposed the scheme of 
their occupation. He had recently been elected 
a major-general, but had not received his com- 
mission ; like Pomeroy, he came to serve in the 
ranks with a musket on his shoulder. Putnam 
offered him the command of the fence ; he de- 
clined it, and merely asked where he could be 
of most service as a volunteer. Putnam point- 
ed to the redoubt, observing that there he 
wordd be under cover. " Don't think I seek a 
place of safety," replied "Warren, quickly ; 
" where will the attack be hottest ? " Putnam 
still pointed to the redoubt. " That is the ene- 
my's object ; if that can be maintained, the day 
is ours." 

Warren was cheered by the troops as he 
entered the redoubt. Colonel Prescott tender- 
ed him the command. He again declined. " I 
have come to serve only as a volunteer, and 
shall be happy to learn from a soldier of your 
experience." Such were the noble spirits as- 
sembled on these perilous heights. 

The British now prepared for a general as- 
sault. An easy victory was anticipated ; the 
main thought was, how to make it most efliect- 
ual. The left wing, commanded by General 
Pigot, was to mount the hill and force the re- 
doubt, while General Howe, with the right 
wing, was to push on between the fort and 
Mystic River, turn the left flank of the Ameri- 
cans, and cut off their retreat. 

General Pigot, accordingly, advanced up the 
hill, under cover of a fire from field-pieces and 
howitzers planted on a small height near the 
landing-place on Moulton's Point. His troops 
commenced a discharge of musketry wliile yet at 
a long distance from the redoubts. The Amer- 
icans within the works, obedient to strict com- 
mand, retained their fire until the enemy were 
within thirty or forty paces, when they opened 
upon them with a tremendous volley. Being 
all marksmen, accustomed to take deliberate 
aim, the slaughter was immense, and especially 



Mt. 43.] 



BATTLE OF BUNKER'S HILL. 



155 



fatal to oflBcers. The assailants fell back in 
some confusion ; but, rallied on by their officers, 
advanced within pistol shot. Another volley, 
more effective than the first, made them again 
recoil. To add to their confusion, they were 
galled by a flanking fire from the handful of 
Provincials posted in Oharlestown. Shocked 
at the carnage, and seeing the confusion of his 
troops. General Pigot was urged to give the 
word for a retreat. 

In the mean time, General Howe, with the 
right wing, advanced along Mystic Eiver tow- 
ard the fence where Stark, Eead, and Knowl- 
ton were stationed, thinking to carry this slight 
breastwork with ease, and so get in the rear 
of the fortress. His artillery proved of little 
avail, being stopped by a swampy piece of 
ground, while his columns suffered from two or 
three field-pieces with which Putnam had forti- 
fied the fence. Howe's men kept up a fire of 
musketry as they advanced ; but, not taking 
aim, their shot passed over the heads of the 
Americans. The latter had received the same 
orders with those in the redoubt, not to fire 
until the enemy should be within thirty paces. 
Some few transgressed the command. Putnam 
rode up and swore he would cut down the next 
man that fired contrary to orders. When the 
British arrived within the stated distance, a 
sheeted fire opened upon them from rifles, 
muskets, and fowling-pieces, all levelled with 
deadly aim. The carnage, as in the other in- 
stance, was horrible. The British were thrown 
into confusion, and fell back ; some even re- 
treated to their boats. 

There was a general pause on the part of the 
British. The American officers availed them- 
selves of it to prepare for another attack, which 
must soon be made. Prescott mingled among 
his men in the redoubt, who were all in high 
spirits at the severe check they had given 
"the regulars." He praised them for their 
steadfastness in maintaining their post, and 
their good conduct in reserving their fire until 
the word of command, and exhorted them to 
do the same in the next attack. 

Putnam rode about Bunker's Hill and its 
skirts, to rally and bring on reinforcements 
which had been checked or scattered in cross- 
ing Oharlestown Neck by the raking fire from 
the ships and batteries. Before many could be 
brought to the scene of action the British had 
commenced their second attack. They again 
ascended the hill to storm the redoubt ; their 
advance was covered as before by discharges 



of artillery. Oharlestown, which had annoyed 
them on their first attack by a flanking fire, 
was in fiames, by shells thrown from Oopp's 
HiU, and by marines from the ships. Being 
built of wood, the place was soon wrapped in 
a general confiagration. The thunder of ar- 
tillery from batteries and ships ; the bursting 
of bomb-shells ; the sharp discharges of mus- 
ketry ; the shouts and yells of the combatants ; 
the crash of burning buildings, and the dense 
volumes of smoke, which obscured the summer 
sun, all formed a tremendous spectacle. " Sure 
I am," said Burgoyne in one of his letters, — 
" Sure I am nothing ever has or ever can be 
more dreadfully terrible than what was to be 
seen or heard at this time. The most incessant 
discharge of guns thit ever was heard by mor- 
tal ears." 

The American troops, although unused to 
war, stood undismayed Rmidst a scene where 
it was bursting upon thera with all its horrors. 
Keserving their fire, as before, imtil the enemy 
was close at hand, they again poured forth re- 
peated volleys with the fatal aim of sharp- 
shooters. The British stood the first shock, 
and continued to advance ; but the incessant 
stream of fire staggered them. Their otficers 
remonstrated, threatened, and even attempted 
to goad them on with their swords, but the 
havoc was too deadly ; whole ranks were 
mowed down ; many of the officers were either 
slain or wounded, and among them several of 
the staff of General Howe. The troops again 
gave way and retreated down the hill. 

All this passed under the eye of thousands 
of spectators of both sexes and all ages, watch- 
ing from afar every turn of a battle in which 
the lives of those most dear to them were at 
hazard. The British soldiery in Boston gazed 
with astonishment, and almost inci'^edulity, at 
the resolute and protracted stand of raw militia 
whom they had been taught to despise, and 
at the havoc made among their own veteran 
troops. Every convoy of wounded brought 
over to the town increased their consternation, 
and General OHnton, who had watched the ac- 
tion from Oopp's Hill, embarking in a boat, 
hurried over as a volunteer, taking with him 
reinforcements. 

A third attack was now determined on, 
though some of Howe's officers remonstrated, 
declaring it would be downright butchery. A 
different plan was adopted. Instead of ad- 
vancing in front of the redoubt, it was to be 
taken in flank on the left, where the open space 



156 



BATTLE OF BUNKER'S HILL. 



llllo. 



between the breastwork and the fortified fence 
presented a weak point. It having been acci- 
dentally discovered that the ammunition of the 
Americans was nearly expended, preparations 
were made to carry the works at the point of 
the bayonet ; and the soldiery threw off their 
knapsacks, and some even their coats, to be 
more light for action. 

General Howe, with the main body, now 
made a feint of attacking the fortified fence ; 
but, while a part of his force was thus engaged, 
the rest brought some of the field-pieces to 
enfilade the breastwork on the left of the re- 
doubt. A raking fire soon drove the Ameri- 
cans out of this exposed place into the enclo- 
sure. Much damage, too, was done in the 
latter by balls which entered the sallyport. 

The troops were now led on to assail the 
works ; those who flinched were, as before, 
goaded on by the swords of the ofiicers. The 
Americans again reserved their fire until their 
assailants were close at hand, and then made a 
murderous volley, by which several oflncers 
were laid low, and General Howe himself was 
wounded in the foot. The British soldiery this 
time likewise reserved their fire and rushed on 
with fixed bayonet. Clinton and Pigot had 
reached the southern and eastern sides of the 
redoubt, and it was now assailed on three sides 
at once. Prescott ordered those who had no 
bayonets to retire to the back part of the re- 
doubt, and fire on the enemy as they showed 
themselves on the parapet. The first who 
mounted exclaimed in triumph, " The day is 
ours ! " lie was instantly shot down, and so 
were several others who mounted about the 
same time. The Americans, however, had 
fired their last round, their ammunition was 
exhausted ; and now succeeded a desperate 
and deadly struggle, hand to hand, with bay- 
onets, stones, and the stocks of their muskets. 
At length as the British continued to pour in, 
Prescott gave the order to retreat. His men 
had to cut their way through two divisions rf 
the enemy who were getting in the rear of the 
redoubt, and they received a destructive volley 
from those who had formed on the captured 
works. By that volley fell the patriot Warren, 
who had distinguished himself throughout the 
action. He was among the last to leave the 
redoubt, and had scarce done so when he was 
shot tlirough the head with a musket-ball, and 
fell dead on the spot. 

"While the Americans were thus slowly dis- 
lodged from the redoubt. Stark, Read, and 



Knowlton maintained their ground at the for- 
tified fence ; which indeed had been nobly de- 
fended throughout the action. Pomeroy dis- 
tinguished himself here by his sharp shooting 
until his musket was shattered by a ball. The 
resistance at this last hastily constructed work 
was kept up after the troops in the redoubt 
had given way, and until Colonel Prescott had 
left the hill ; thus defeating General Howe's 
design of cutting off the retreat of the main 
body ; which would have produced a scene of 
'direful confusion and slaughter. Having effect- 
ed their purpose, the brave associates at the 
fence abandoned their weak outpost, retiring 
slowly, and disputing the ground inch by inch, 
with a regularity remarkable in troops many 
of Avhom had never before been in action. 

The main retreat was across Bunker's Hill, 
where Putnam had endeavored to throw up a 
breastwork. The veteran, sword in hand, rode 
to the rear of the retreating troops, regardless 
of the balls whistling about him. His only 
thought was to rally them at the unfinished 
works. " Halt ! make a stand here ! " cried 
he, " we can check them yet. In God's name, 
form, and give them one shot more." 

Pomeroy, wielding his shattered musket as 
a truncheon, seconded him in his efforts to 
stay the torrent. It was impossible, however, 
to bring the troops to a stand. They continued 
on down the hill to the Neck and across it to 
Cambridge, exposed to a raking fire from the 
ships and batteries, and only protected by a 
single piece of ordnance. The British were 
too exhausted to pursue them ; they contented 
themselves with taking possession of Bunker's 
Hill, were reinforced from Boston, and threw 
up additional works during the night. 

We have collected the preceding facts from 
various sources, examining them carefully, and 
endeavoring to arrange them with scrupulous 
fidelity. We may appear to have been more 
minute in the account of the battle than the 
number of troops engaged would warrant ; but 
it was one of the most momentous conflicts in 
our revolutionary history. It was the first 
regular battle between the British and Ameri- 
cans, and most eventful in its consequences. 
The former had gained the groimd for which 
they contended ; but, if a victory, it was more 
disastrous and humiliating to them than an 
ordinary defeat. They had ridiculed and de- 
spised their enemy, representing them as das- 
tardly and inefficient ; yet here their best 
troops, led on by experienced officers, had re- 



^T. 43.] 



RESULTS OF THE BATTLE— DEPASTURE FROM PHILADELPHIA. 



157 



peatedly been repulsed by an inferior force of 
that enemy, — mere yeomanry, — from works 
thrown up in a single night, and had suffered 
a loss rarely paralleled in battle with the most 
veteran soldiery ; for, according to their own 
returns, their killed and wounded, out of a de- 
tachment of two thousand men, amounted to 
one thousand and fifty-four, and a large pro- 
portion of them ofilcers. The loss of the Amer- 
icans did not exceed four hundred and fifty. 

To the latter this defeat, if defeat it might 
be called, had the effect of a triumph. It gave 
them confidence in themselves and consequence 
in the eyes of their enemies. They had proved 
to themselves and to others that they could 
measure weapons with the disciplined soldiers 
of Europe, and inflict the most harm in the 
conflict. 

Among the British officers slain was Major 
Pitcairn, who, at Lexington, had shed the first 
blood in the Eevolutionary war. 

In the death of "Warren the Americans had 
to lament the loss of a distinguished patriot 
and a most estimable man. It was deplored as 
a pubhc calamity. His friend Elbridge Gerry 
had endeavored to dissuade him from risking 
his life in this perilous conflict ; " Dulce et de- 
corum est pro patria mori," replied "Warren, as 
if he had foreseen his fate — a fate to be envied 
by those ambitious of an honorable fame. He 
was one of the first who fell in the glorious 
cause of his country, and his name has become 
consecrated in its history. 

There has been much discussion of the rela- 
tive merits of the American ofiiccrs engaged in 
this affair — a difliicult question where no one 
appears to have had the general command. 
Prescott conducted the troops in the night en- 
terprise ; he superintended the building of the 
redoubt, and defended it throughout the battle ; 
his name, therefore, will ever shine most con- 
spicuous, and deservedly so, on this bright page 
of our Eevolutionary liistory. 

Putnam also was a leading spirit throughout 
the affair ; one of the first to prompt, and of 
the last to maintain it. He appears to have 
.been active and efficient at every point ; some- 
times fortifying ; sometimes hurrying up rein- 
forcements ; inspiriting the men by his pres- 
ence while they were able to maintain their 
ground, and fighting gallantly at the fcutpost 
to cover their retreat. The brave old man, 
riding about in the heat of the action, on this 
sultry day, " with a hanger belted across his 
brawny shoulders, over a waistcoat without 



sleeves," has been sneered at by a contempo- 
rary, as " much fitter to head a band of sickle 
men or ditchers than musketeers." But this 
very description illustrates his character, and 
identifies him with the times and the service. 
A yeoman warrior fresh from the plough, in 
the garb of rural labor ; a patriot brave and 
generous, but rough and ready, who thought 
not of himself in time of danger, but was ready 
to serve in any way, and to sacrifice oflicial 
rank and self-glorification to the good of the 
cause. He was eminently a soldier for the 
occasion. His name has long been a favorite 
one with young and old ; one of the talismanic 
names of the Revolution, the very mention of 
which is like the sound of a trumpet. Such 
names are the precious jewels of our history, 
to be garnered up among the treasures of the 
nation, and kept immaculate from the tarnish- 
ing breath of the cynic and the doubter. 

NOTE. 
In treating of the battle of Bunker's Hill, and of 
other occnrrcnccs about Boston at this period of the 
Revolution, we have had repeated occasio-n to consult 
the History of the Siege of Boston, by Richard Froth- 
ingham, Jr. ; a work abounding with facts as to per- 
sons and events, and full of interest for the American 
reader. 



CHAPTER XLII. 

Ix a preceding chapter we left "Washington 
preparing to depart from Philadelphia for the 
army, before Boston. He set Out on horse- 
back on the 21st of June, having for military 
companions of his journey Major- Generals Lee 
and Schuyler, and being accompanied for a dis- 
tance by several private friends. As an escort 
he had a " gentleman troop " of Philadelphia, 
commanded by Captain Markoe ; the ,, whole 
formed a brilliant cavalcade. 

General Schuyler was a man eminently cal- 
culated to sympathize with "Washington in all 
his patriotic views and feelings, and became 
one of his most faithful coadjutors. Sprung 
from one of the earliest and most respectable 
Dutch families which colonized New York, aU 
his interests and affections were identified with 
the country. He had received a good educa- 
tion ; applied himself at an early age to the 
exact sciences, and became versed in finance, 
military engineering, and political economy. 
He was one of those native-born soldiers who 
had acquired experience in that American 



158 



GENERALS SCHUYLER AND LEE— TIDINGS OF BUNKER'S HILL. 



[1775. 



school of arms, the old Frencli war. When 
but twenty-two years of age he commanded a 
company of New York levies imder Sir William 
Johnson, of Mohawk renown, which gave him 
an early opportunity of becoming acquainted 
with the Indian tribes, their country and their 
poHcy. In 1758 he was in Abercrombie's ex- 
pedition against Ticonderoga, accompanying 
Lord Viscount Howe as chief of the commis- 
sariat department ; a post well qualified to give 
him experience in the business part of Avar. 
When that gallant young nobleman fell on the 
banks of Lake George, Schuyler conveyed his 
corpse back to Albany, and attended to his 
honorable obsequies. Since the close of the 
French war he had served his country in va- 
rious civil stations, and been one of the most 
zealous and eloquent vindicators of colonial 
rights. He was one of thB " glorious minority " 
of the New York General Assembly ; George 
Clinton, Colonel Woodhull, Colonel Philip Liv- 
ingston, and others ; who, when that body 
was timid and wavering, battled nobly against 
British influence and oppression. His last stand 
had been recently as a delegate to Congress, 
where he had served with Washington on the 
committee to prepare rules and regulations for 
the army, and where the latter had witnessed 
his judgment, activity, practical science, and 
sincere devotion to the cause. 

Many things concurred to produce perfect 
harmony of operation between these distin- 
guished men. They were nearly of the same 
age, Schuyler being one year the youngest. 
Both were men of agricultural, as well as mili- 
tary tastes. Both were men of property, living 
at their ease in little rural paradises ; Wash- 
ington on the grove-clad heights of Mount Ver- 
non, Schuyler on the pastoral banks of the 
upper Hudson, where he had a noble estate at 
Saratoga, inherited from an uncle ; and the old 
family mansion, near the city of Albany, half 
hid among ancestral trees. Yet both were 
exiling themselves from these happy abodes, 
and putting life and fortune at hazard in the 
service of their country. 

Schuyler and Lee had early military recol- 
lections to draw them together. Both had 
served under Abercrombie in the expedition 
against Ticonderoga. There was some part of 
Lcc's conduct in that expedition which both 
he and Schuyler might deem it expedient at 
this moment to forget. Lee was at that time 
a young captain, naturally presumptuous, and 
flushed with the arrogance of military power. 



On his march along the banks of the Hudson, 
he acted as if in a conquered country, impress- 
ing horses and oxen, and seizing upon supplies, 
without exhibiting any proper warrant. It 
was enough for him, " they were necessary for 
the service of his troops." Should any one 
question his right, the reply was a voUey of 
execrations. 

Among those who experienced this unsol- 
dierly treatment was Mrs. Schuyler, the aunt 
of the general ; a lady of aristocratical station, 
revered throughout her neighborhood. Her 
cattle were impressed, herself insulted. She 
had her revenge. After the unfortunate affair 
at Ticonderoga, a number of the wounded were 
brought down along the Hudson to the Schuy- 
ler mansion. Lee was among the number. 
The high-minded mistress of the house never 
alluded to his past conduct. He was received 
like his brother officers with the kindest sym- 
pathy. Sheets and table-cloths were torn up 
to serve as bandages. Every thing was done 
to alleviate their sufferings. Lee's cynic heart 
was conquered. " He swore in his vehement 
manner that he was sure there would be a 
place reserved for Mrs. Schuyler in heaven, 
though no other woman should be there, and 
that he should wish for nothing better than to 
share her final destiny ! " * 

Seventeen years had since elapsed, and Lee 
and the nephew of Mrs. Schuyler were again 
allied in militaiy service, but under a different 
banner ; and recollections of past times must 
have given peculiar interest to their present 
intercourse. In fact, the journey of Washing- 
ton with his associate generals, experienced like 
him in the wild expeditions of the old French 
wav, was a revival of early campaigning feel- 
ings. 

They had scarcely proceeded twenty miles 
from Philadelphia when they were met by 
a courier, spurring with all speed, bearing 
despatches from the army to Congress, com- 
municating tidings of the battle of Bunker's 
Hill. Washington eagerly inquired particulars ; 
above all, how acted the militia ? When told 
that they stood their ground bravely ; sustained 
the enemy's fire — reserved their own until at 
close quarters, and then delivered it with deadly 
effect ; it seemed as if a weight of doubt and 
solicitude were lifted from his heart. " The 
liberties of the country are safe I " exclaimed 
he. 



* Memoirs of an American Lady (Mrs. Grant, of Dag- 
gan), vol. ii., chap. is. 



^T. 43.] 



THE PEOPLE OF NEW YORK— THE JOHNSON FAMILY. 



159 



The news of the battle of Bunker's Hill had 
startled the whole country ; and this clattering 
cavalcade escorting the commander-in-chief to 
the army, was the gaze and wonder of every 
town and village. 

The journey may be said to have been a con- 
tinual council of war between "Washington and 
the two generals. Even the contrast in charac- 
ter of the two latter made them regard ques- 
tions from different points of view. Schuyler, 
a warm-hearted patriot, with every thing 
staked on the cause ; Lee, a soldier of fortune, 
indifferent to the ties of home and country, 
drawing his sword without enthusiasm ; more 
through resentment against a government 
which had disappointed him, than zeal for 
liberty or for colonial rights. 

One of the most frequent subjects of conver- 
sation was the province of New York. Its 
power and position rendered it the great link 
of the confederacy ; what measures were ne- 
cessary for its defence, and most calculated to 
secure its adherence to the cause ? A lingering 
attachment to the crown, kept up by the influ- 
ence of British merchants, and military and 
civil functionaries in royal pay, had rendered 
it slow in coming into the colonial compact ; 
and it was only on the contemptuous dismissal 
of their statement of grievances, unheard, that 
its people had thrown oft" their allegiance as 
much in sorrow as in anger. 

No person was better fitted to give an account 
of the interior of New York than General 
Schuyler ; and the hawk-eyed Lee during a 
recent sojourn had made its capital somewhat 
of a study ; but there was much yet for both 
of them to learn. 

The population of New York was more varied 
in its elements than that of almost any other 
of the provinces, and had to be cautiously 
studied. The New Yorkers were of a mixed 
origin, and stamped with the peculiarities of 
their respective ancestors. The descendants 
of the old Dutch and Huguenot families, the 
earliest settlers, were still among the soundest 
and best of the population. They inherited 
the love of liberty, civil and religious, of their 
forefathers, and were those who stood foremost 
in the present struggle for popular rights. Such 
were the Jays, the Bensons, the Beekmans, the 
Hoffmans, the Van Homes, the Eoosevelts, 
the Duyckinks, the Pintards, the Yateses, and 
'others whose names figure in the patriotic 
documents of the day. Some of them, doubt- 
less, cherished a remembrance of the time when 



their forefathers were lords of the land, and 
felt an innate propensity to join in resistance 
to the government by which their supremacy 
had been overturned. A great proportion of 
the more modern families, dating from the 
downfall of the Dutch government in 1664, 
were English and Scotch, and among these 
were many loyal adherents to the crown. Then 
there was a mixture of the whole, produced by 
the intermarriages of upwards of a century, 
which partook of every shade of character and 
sentiment. The operations of foreign com- 
merce, and the regular communications with 
the mother country through packets and ships 
of war, kept these elements in constant action, 
and contributed to produce that mercurial tem- 
perament, that fondness for excitement, and 
proneness to pleasure, which distinguished them 
from their neighbors on either side — the aus- 
tere Puritans of New England, and the quiet 
" Friends " of Pennsylvania. 

There was a power, too, of a formidable kind 
within the interior of the province, which was 
an object of much solicitude. This was the 
" Johnson Family." We have repeatedly had 
occasion to speak of Sir William Johnson, his 
majesty's general agent for Indian affairs, of his 
great wealth, and his almost sovereign sway 
over the Six Nations. He had originally re- 
ceived that appointment through the influence 
of the Schuyler family. Both Generals Schuy- 
ler and Lee, when young men, had campaigned 
with him ; and it was among the Mohawk 
warriors, who rallied under his standard, that 
Lee had beheld his vaunted models of good- 
breeding. 

In the recent difliculties between the crown 
and colonies. Sir William had naturally been in 
favor of the government which had enriched 
and honored him, but he had viewed with deep 
concern the acts of Parliament which were 
goading the colonies to armed resistance. In 
the height of his solicitude, he received de- 
spatches ordering him, in case of hostilities, to 
enlist the Indians in the cause of government. 
To the agitation of feelings produced by these 
orders many have attributed a stroke of apo- 
plexy, of which he died, on the 11th of July, 
1774, about a year before the time of which 
we are treating. 

His son and heir, Sir John Johnson, and his 
sons-in-law. Colonel Guy Johnson and Colonel 
Clause, felt none of the reluctance of Sir Wil- 
liam to use harsh measures in support of royal- 
ty. They lived in a degree of rude feudal style 



160 



GOVERNOR TRYON— ARRIVAL AT NEW YORK. 



[ir, 



in stone mansions capable of defence, situated 
on the Moliawk Pdver and in its vicinity ; they 
had many Scottish Highlanders for tenants; 
and among their adherents were violent men, 
such as the Butlers of Tryon County, and Brant, 
the* Mohawk sachem, since famous in Indian 
warfare. They had recently gone about with 
armed retainers, overawing and breaking up 
patriotic assemblages, and it was known they 
could at any time bring a force of warriors in 
the field. 

Eecent accounts stated that Sir John was 
fortifying the old family hall at Johnstown 
with swivels, and had a hundred and fifty 
Eoman Catholic Highlanders quartered in and 
about it, all armed and ready to obey his orders. 

Colonel Guy Johnson, however, was the 
most active and zealous of the family. Pre- 
tending to apprehend a design on the part of 
the New England people to surprise and carry 
him oft", he fortified his stone mansion on the 
Mohawk, called Guy's Park, and assembled 
there a part of his militia regiment, and other 
of his adherents, to the number of five hun- 
dred. He held a great Indian council there, 
likewise, in which the chiefs of the Six Nations 
recalled the friendship and good deeds of the 
late Sir William Johnson, and avowed their 
determination to stand by and defend every 
branch of his family. 

As yet it was uncertain whether Colonel 
Guy really intended to take an open part in 
the appeal to arms. Should he do so, he would 
carry with him a great force of the native 
tribes, and might almost domineer over the 
frontier. 

Tryon, the governor of New York, Avas at 
present absent in England, having been called 
home by the ministry to give an account of the 
afiairs of the province, and to receive instruc- 
tions for its management. He was a tory in 
heart, and had been a zealous opponent of all 
colonial movements, and his talents and ad- 
dress gave him great influence over an impor- 
tant part of the community. Should he return 
with hostile instructions, and should he and 
the Johnsons co-operate, the one controlling 
the bay and harbor of New York and the 
waters of the Hudson by means of ships and 
land forces ; the others overrmming the valley 
of the Mohawk and the regions beyond Albany 
with savage hordes, this great central province 
might be wrested from the confederacy, and 
all intercourse broken off between the eastern 
and southern colonies. 



All these circumstances and considerations, 
many of which came under discussion in the 
course of this military journey, rendered the 
command of New York a post of especial trust 
and importance, and deterftiined Washington' 
to confide it to General Schuyler. He , was 
peculiarly fitted for it by his military talents, 
his intimate knowledge of the province and its 
concerns, especially what related to the upper 
parts of it, and Ms experience in Indian affairs. 

At Newark, in the Jerseys, Washington was 
met on the 25th by a committee of the provin- 
cial Congress, sent to conduct him to the city. 
The Congress was in a perplexity. It had in a 
manner usurped and exercised the powers of 
Governor Tryon during his absence, while at 
the same time it professed allegiance to the 
crown which had appointed him. He was 
now in the harbor, just arrived from England, 
and hourly expected to land. Washington, 
too, was approaching. How were these double 
claims to ceremonious respect, happening at the 
same time, to be managed ? 

In this dilemma a regiment of militia was 
turned out, and the colonel instructed to pay 
military honors to whichever of the distin- 
guished functionaries should first arrive. Wash- 
ington was earlier than the governor by several 
hours, and received those honors. Peter Van 
Burgh Livingston, president of the New York 
Congress, next delivered a congratulatory ad- 
dress, the latter part of which evinces the cau- 
tious reserve with which, in these revolution- 
ary times, military power was intrusted to an 
individual : 

" Confiding in you, sir, and in the worthy 
generals immediately under your command, we 
have the most flattering hopes of success in the 
glorious struggle for American liberty, and the 
fullest assurance that whenever tJiis important 
contest shall ie decided hy that fondest zcish of 
each American soul, an accommodation with 
our mother country., you will cheerfully resign 
the important deposit committed into your 
hands, and reassume the character of our 
wortJiiest citizen.'''' 

The following Was Washington's reply, in 
behalf of himself and his generals, to this part 
of the address : 

" As to the fatal, but necessary operations 
of war, when we assumed the soldier,, we did 
not lay aside the citizen ; and we shall most 
sincerely rejoice with you in that happy hour, 
when the establishment of American liberty 
on the most firm and solid foundations, shall 



^T. 43.] 



INSTRUCTIONS TO SCHUYLER— ARRIVAL AT THE CAMP. 



161 



enable us to return to our private stations, in 
the bosom of a free, peaceful, and happy coun- 
try." 

The landing of Governor Tryon took place 
about eight o'clock in the evening. The mili- 
tary honors were repeated ; he was received 
with great respect by the mayor and common 
council, and transports of loyalty by those de- 
voted to the crown. It was unknown what 
instructions he had received from the ministry, 
but it was rumored that a large force would 
soon M'rive from England, subject to his direc- 
tions. At this very moment a ship of war, 
the Asia, lay anchored opposite the city ; its 
grim batteries bearing upon it, greatly to the 
disquiet of the faint-hearted among its inhabi- 
tants. 

In this situation of affairs "Washington was 
happy to leave such an efficient person as Gen- 
eral Schuyler in command of the place. Ac- 
cording to his Instructions, the latter was to 
make returns once a month, and oftener, should 
circumstances require it, to "Washington, as 
commander-in-chief, and to the Continental 
Congress, of the forces under him, and the 
state of his supplies ; and to send the earliest 
advices of all events of importance. He was 
to keep a wary eye on Colonel Guy Johnson, 
and to counteract any prejudicial influence he 
might exercise over the Indians. "With re- 
spect to Governor Tryon, "Washington hinted 
at a bold and decided line of conduct. "If 
forcible measures are judged necessary respect- 
ing the person of the governor, I should have 
no difficulty in ordering them, if the Conti- 
nental Congress were not sitting ; but as that 
is the case, andj the seizing of a governor quite 
a new tiling^ I must refer you to that body for 
direction." 

Had Congress thought proper to direct such 
a measure, Schuyler certainly would have been 
the man to execute it. 

At New York, "Washington had learned all 
the details of the battle of Bunker's Hill ; they 
quickened his impatience to arrive at the camp. 
He departed, therefore, on the 26th, accom- 
panied by General Lee, and escorted as far as 
Kingsbridge, the termination of New York 
Island, by Markoe's Philadelphia light horse, 
and several companies of militia. 

In the mean time the provincial Congress of 
Massachusetts, then in session at Watertown, 
had made aiTangements for the expected ar- 
rival of "Washington. According to a resolve 
of that body, " the president's house in 0am- 
11 



bridge, excepting one room reserved by the 
president for his own use, was to be taken, 
cleared, prepared, and furnished for the recep- 
tion of the Commander-in-Chief and General 
Lee. The Congress had likewise sent on a 
deputation which met "Washington at Spring- 
field, on the frontiers of the province, and pro- 
vided escorts and accommodations for him 
along the road. Thus honorably attended from 
town to town, and escorted by volunteer com- 
panies and cavalcades of gentlemen, he arrived 
at "Watertown on the 2d of July, where he 
was greeted by Congress with a congratulatory 
addx'ess, in which, however, was frankly stated 
the undisciplined state of the army he was 
summoned to command. An address of cordial 
welcome was likewise made to General Lee. 

The ceremony over, "Washington was again 
in the saddle, and, escorted by a troop of light 
horse and a cavalcade of citizens, proceeded to 
the head-quarters provided for him at Cam- 
bridge, three miles distant. As he entered the 
confines of the camp, the shouts of the multi- 
tude and the thundering of artillery gave note 
to the enemy beleaguered in Boston of his ar- 
rival. 

His military reputation had preceded him, 
and excited great expectations. They were not 
disappointed. His personal appearance, not- 
withstanding the dust of travel, was calcu- 
lated to captivate the public eye. As he rode 
through the camp, amidst a throng of officers, 
he was the admiration of the soldiery, and of a 
curious throng collected from the surrounding 
country. Happy was the countryman who 
could get a full view of him, to carry home an 
account of it to his neighbors. " I have been 
much gratified this day with a view of General 
"Washington," writes a contemporary chron- 
icler. " His Excellency was on horseback, in 
company with several military gentlemen. It 
was not difficult to distinguish him from all 
others. He is tall and well-proportioned, and 
his personal appearance truly noble and majes- 
tic."* 

The fair sex were still more enthusiastic in 
their admiration, if we may judge from the 
following passage of a letter written by the in 
telligent and accomplished wife of John Adams 
to her husband : " Dignity, ease, and compla- 
cency, the gentleman and the soldier, look 
agreeably blended in him. Modesty marks 
every line and feature of his face. Those lines 
of Dryden instantly occurred to me : 



* Thacher.— Military Journal. 



162 



WASHINGTON'S REFLECTIONS ON ARRIVING AT THE CAMP. 



[1115. 



' Mark his majestic fabric ! He's a temple 
Sacred by birth, and built by hands divine ; 
His soul's the deity that lodges there ; 
Nor is the pile unworthy of the tjod.' " 

"With Washington, modest at all times, there 
■was no false excitement on the present occa- 
sion; nothing to call forth emotions of self- 
glorification. The honors and congratulations 
with whicli he was received, the acclamations 
of the public, the cheerings of the army, only 
told him how much Avas expected from him ; 
and when he looked round upon the raw and 
rustic levies he was to command, " a mixed 
multitude of people, under very little disci- 
pline, order, or government," scattered in rough 
encampments about hiU and dale, beleaguering 
a city garrisoned by veteran troops, with ships 



of war anchored about its harbor, and strong 
outposts guarding it, he felt the awful respon- 
sibility of his situation, and the complicated 
and stupendous task before him. He spoke of 
it, however, not despondingly, nor boastfully 
and with defiance ; but with that solemn and 
sedate resolution, and that hopeful reliance on 
Supreme Goodness, which belonged to his mag- 
nanimous nature. The cause of his country, 
he observed, had called him to an active and 
dangerous duty, but he trusted that Divine 
Providence^ which wisely orders the affairs of 
meji, would enable him to discharge it with fidel- 
ity and success.* 



* Letter to Governor Trumbull. — Sparks, iii. 31. 



END OF VOL. I. 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 



VOLUME SECOND, 



CHAPTER I. 

Ox the 3(1 of July, the morning after his 
arrival at Cambridge, "Washington took formal 
command of the army. It was drawn up on 
the Common about half a mile from head- 
quarters. A multitude had assembled there, 
for as yet military spectacles were novelties, 
and the camp was full of visitors, men, women, 
and children, from all parts of the country, 
who had relatives among the yeoman soldiery. 

An ancient elm is stiU pointed out, under 
which Washington, as he arrived from head- 
quarters accompanied by General Lee and a 
numerous suite, wheeled his horse, and drew 
his sword as commander-in-chief of the armies. 
"We have cited the poetical description of him 
furnished by the pen of Mrs. Adams ; we give 
her sketch of his military compeer — less po- 
etical, but no less graphic. 

" General Lee looks like a careless, hardy 
veteran ; and by his appeai'ance brought to my 
mind his namesake, Charles XII. of Sweden. 
The elegance of his pen far exceeds that of his 
person." * 

Accompanied by this veteran campaigner, 
on whose military judgment he had great re- 
liance, "Washington visited the different Ameri- 
can posts, and rode to the heights, command- 
ing views over Boston and its environs, being 
anxious to make himself acquainted with the 
strength and relative position of both armies : 
and here we will give a few particulars con- 
cerning the distinguished commanders with 
whom he was brought immediately in com- 
petition. 

Congress, speaking of them reproachfully. 



Mrs. Adams to John Adams, 1775. 



observed, "Three of England's most expe- 
rienced generals are sent to wage war with 
their fellow-subjects." The first here alluded 
to was the Honorable "WiUiam Howe, next in 
command to Gage. He was a man of a fine 
presence, six feet high, well proportioned, and 
of graceful deportment. He is said to have 
been not unlike "Washington i-n appearance, 
though wanting his energy and activity. He 
lacked also his air of authority ; but aftability 
of manners, and a generous disposition, made 
him popular with both ofiicers and soldiers. 

There was a sentiment in his favor even 
among Americans at the time when he arrived 
at Boston. It was remembered that he was 
brother to the gallant and generous youth, 
Lord Howe, who fell in the flower of his days, 
on the'banks of Lake George, and whose un- 
timely death had been lamented throughout 
the colonies. It was remembered that the 
general himself had won reputation in the 
same campaign, commanding the light infantry 
under "Wolfe, on the famous plains of Abra- 
ham. A mournful feeling had therefore gone 
through the country, when General Howe was 
cited as one of the British commanders who had 
most distinguished themselves in the bloody 
battle of Bunker's Hill. Congress spoke of it 
with generous sensibility, in their address to 
the people of Ireland already quoted. " Amer- 
ica is amazed," said they, "to find the name 
of Howe on the catalogue of her enemies — she 
loved Ms brother ! " 

General Henry Clinton, the next in com- 
mand, was grandson of the Earl of Lincoln, 
and son of George Clinton, who had been 
Governor of the province of New York for 
ten years, from 1743. The general had seen^ 



164 



GENERAL BUEGOYNE— SURVEY FROM PROSPECT HILL. 



[1775. 



service on the continent in the Seven Years' 
War. He was of short stature, and inclined 
to corpulency ; with a full face^nd prominent 
nose. His manners were reserved, and alto- 
gether he was in strong contrast with Howe, 
and l)y no means so popular. 

Burgoyne, the other British general of note, 
was natural son of Lord Bingley, and had 
entered the army at an early age. While yet 
a suhaltern, he had made a runaway match 
with a daughter of the Earl of Derby, who 
threatened never to admit the offenders to his 
presence. In 1758, Burgoyne was a lieutenant- 
colonel of light dragoons. In 1761, he was sent 
with a force to aid the Portuguese against the 
Spaniards, joined the army commanded by the 
Count de la Lippe, and signalized himself by 
surprising and capturing the town of xilcantara. 
He had since been elected to Parliament for 
the borough of Middlesex, and displayed con- 
siderable parliamentary talents. In 1727, he 
was made a major-general. His taste, wit, 
and intelligence, antl his aptness at devising 
and promoting elegant amusements, made him 
for a time a leader in the gay world ; though 
Junius accuses him of unfair practices at the 
gaming table. His reputation for talents and 
services had gradually mollified the heart of 
his father-in-law, the Earl of Derby. In 1774, 
he gave celebrity to the marriage of a son of 
the Earl with Lady Betty Hamilton, by pro- 
ducing an elegant dramatic trifle, entitled, 
" The Maid of the Oaks," -afterwards perform- 
ed at Drury Lane, and honored with a biting 
sarcasm by Horace Walpole. " There is a new 
puppet-show at Drury Lane," writes the wit, 
" as fine as the scenes can make it, and as 
dull as the author could not help making it." * 

It is but justice to Burgoyne's memory to 
add, that in after years he produced a dramatic 
work, "The Heiress," which extorted even 
Walpole's approbation, who pronounced it the 
genteelest comedy in the English language. 

Such were the three British commanders at 
Boston, who were considered especially formi- 
dable ; and they had with them eleven thou- 
sand veteran troops, Avell appointed and dis- 
ciplined. 

In visiting the different posts, Washington 
halted for a time at Prospect Hill, which as its 
name denotes, commanded a wide view over 
Boston and the surrounding country. Here 
Putnam had taken his position after the battle 

■ Walpole to the Hon. W. S. Cornvay. 



of Bunker's Hill, fortifying himself with works 
which he deemed impregnable ; and here the 
veteran was enabled to point out to the com- 
mander-in-chief, and to Lee, the main features 
of the belligerent region, which lay spread out 
like a map before them. 

Bunker's Hill was but a mile distant to the 
west ; the British standard floating as if in tri- 
umph on its summit. The main force under 
General Howe was intrenching itself strongly 
about half a mile beyond the place of the re- 
cent battle. Scarlet uniforms gleamed about 
the hill ; tents and marquees whitened its sides. 
All up there was bright, brilliant, and triumph- 
ant. At the base of the hiU lay Charlestown 
in ashes, " nothing to be seen of that fine town 
but chimneys and rubbish." 

Howe's sentries extended a hundred and fifty 
yards beyond the neck or isthmus, over which 
the Americans retreated after the battle. Three 
floating batteries in Mystic Eiver commanded 
this isthmus, and a twenty-gun ship was an- 
chored between the peninsula and Boston. 

General Gage, the commander-in-chief, still 
had his head-quarters in the town, but there 
were few troops there besides Burgoyne's light- 
horse. A large force, however, was intrenched 
south of the town on the neck leading to Rox- 
bury, — the only entrance to Boston by land. 

The American troops were irregularly dis- 
tributed in a kind of semicircle eight or nine 
miles in extent; the left resting on Winter 
Hill, the most northern post; the right ex- 
tending on the south to Eoxbury and Dor- 
chester Neck. 

Washington reconnoitred the British posts 
from various points of view. Every thing 
about them was in admirable order. The 
works appeared to be constructed with military 
science, the troops to be in a high state of dis- 
cipline. The American camp, on the contrary, 
disappointed him. He had expected to find 
eighteen or twenty thousand men under arms ; 
there were not much more than fourteen thou- 
sand. He had expected to find some degree of 
system and discipline ; whereas all were raw 
militia. He had expected to find works scien- 
tifically constructed, and proofs of knowledge 
and skill in engineering ; whereas, what he 
saw of the latter was very imperfect, and con- 
fined to the mere manual exercise of cannon. 
There was abundant evidence of aptness at 
trenching and throwing up rough defences; 
and in that way General Thomas had fortified 
Eoxbury Neck, and Putnam had strengthened 



^T. 43.] 



DESCRIPTION OF THE AMERICAN ARMY— GENERAL GREENE. 



165 



Prospect Hill, But the semicircular line which 
linked the extreme posts, was formed of rudely 
constructed works, far too extensive for the 
troops which were at hand to man them. 

Within this attenuated semicircle, the British 
forces lay concentrated and compact ; and hav- 
ing command of the water, might suddenly 
bring their main strength to bear upon some 
weak point, force it, and sever the American 
camp. 

In fact, when we consider the scanty, ill- 
conditioned, and irregular force which had thus 
stretched itself out to beleaguer town and har- 
bor defended by ships and floating batteries, 
and garrisoned by eleven thousand strongly 
posted veterans, we are at a loss whether to 
attribute its hazardous position to ignorance, 
or to that daring self-confidence, which at 
times, in our military history, has snatched 
success in defiance of scientific rules. It was 
revenge for the slaughter at Lexington which, 
we are told, first prompted the investment of 
Boston, " The universal voice," says a con- 
temporary, "is, starve them out. Drive them 
from the town, and let His Majesty's ships be 
their only place of refuge." • 

In riding throughout the camp, "Washington 
observed that nine thousand of the troops be- 
longed to Massachusetts ; the rest were from 
other provinces. They were encamped in 
separate bodies, each with its own regulations, 
'and officers of its own appointment. Some 
had tents, others were in barracks, and others 
sheltered themselves as best they might. Many 
were sadly in want of clothing, and all, said 
Washington, were strongly imbued with the 
spirit of insubordination, which they mistook 
for independence. 

A chaplain of one of the regiments * has left 
on record a graphic sketch of this primitive 
army of the Eevolution. "It is very divert- 
ing," writes he, " to walk among the camps. 
They are as ditferent in their forms, as the 
owners are in their dress ; and every tent is a 
portraiture of the temper and taste of the per- 
sons who encamp in it. Some are made of 
boards, and some are made of sail-cloth ; some 
are partly of one, and partly of the other. 
Again others are made of stone and turf, brick 
and brush. Some are thrown up in a hurry, 
others curiously wrought with wreaths and 
withes," 

One of the encampments, however, was in 

* The Rev. William Emerson. 



striking contrast with the rest, and might vie 
with those of the British for order and exact- 
ness. Here were tents and marquees pitched 
in the English style ; soldiers well drilled and 
well equipped ; every thing had an air of dis- 
cipline and subordination. It was a body of 
Rhode Island troops, which had been raised, 
drilled, and brought to the camp hy Brigadier- 
General Greene, of that province, whose sub- 
sequent renown entitles him to an introduction 
to the reader. 

Nathaniel Greene was born in Rhode Island, 
on the 26th of May, 1742. His father was a 
miller, an anchor-smith, and a Quaker preacher. 
The waters of the Potowhammet turned the 
wheels of the mOl, and raised the ponderous 
sledge-hammer of the forge, Greene, in his 
boyhood, followed the plough, and occasionally 
worked at the forge of his father. His educa- 
tion was of an ordinary kind ; but having an 
early thirst for knowledge, he applied himself 
sedulously to various studies, while subsisting 
by the labor of his hands. Nature had en- 
dowed him with quick parts, and a sound judg- 
ment, and his assiduity was crowned with -suc- 
cess. He became fluent and instructive in 
conversation, and his letters, still extant, show 
that he held an able pen. 

In the late turn of public affairs, he had 
caught the belligerent spirit prevalent through- 
out the country. Plutarch and Caesar's Com- 
mentaries became his delight. He applied him- 
self to military studies, for which he was pre- 
pared by some knowledge of mathematics. 
His ambition was to organize and discipline a 
corps of militia to* which he belonged. For 
this purpose, during a visit to Boston, he had 
taken note of every thing about the discipline 
of the British troops. In the month of May, 
he had been elected commander of the Rhode 
Island contingent of the army of observation, 
and in June had conducted to the lines before 
Boston, three regiments, whose encampment 
we have just described, and who were pro- 
nounced the best disciplined and appointed 
troops in the army. 

Greene made a soldierlike address to Wash- 
ington, welcoming him to the camp. His ap- 
pearance and manner were calculated to make 
a favorable impression. He was about thirty- 
nine years of age, nearly six feet high, well 
built and vigorous, with an open, animated, 
intelligent countenance, and a frank, manly de- 
meanor. He may be said to have stepped at 
once into the confidence of the commander-iu- 



166 DEFICIENCIES OF THE ARMY— GOVERNOR TRUMBULL— OR AGIE HOUSE. [1775. 



chief, which he never forfeited, but became 
one of his most attached, faithful, and efficient 
coadjutors throughout the war. 

Having taken his survey of the army, "Wash- 
ington wrote to the President of Congress, 
representing its various deficiencies, and, among 
other things, urging the appointment of a com- 
missary-general, a quartermaster-general, a com- 
missary of musters, and a commissary of ar- 
tillery. Above all things, lie requested a sup- 
ply of money as soon as possible. " I find my- 
self already much embarrassed for want of a 
military chest." 

In one of his recommendations we have an 
instance of frontier expediency, learnt in his 
early campaigns. Speaking of the ragged con- 
dition of the army, and the difficulty of pro- 
curing the requisite kind of clothing, he advises 
that a number of hunting-shirts, not less than 
ten thousand, should be provided; as being 
the cheapest and quickest mode of supplying 
this necessity. " I know nothing in a specula- 
tive view more trivial," observes he, " yet 
Avhich, if put in practice, would have a happier 
tendency to unite the men, and abolish those 
provincial distinctions that lead to jealousy and 
dissatisfaction." 

Among the troops most destitute, were those 
belonging to Massachusetts, m-hich formed the 
larger part of the army. "Washington made a 
noble apology for them. " This unhappy and 
devoted province," said he, " has been so long 
in a state of anarchy, and the yoke has been 
laid so heavily on it, that great allowances are 
to be made for troops raised under such cir- 
cumstances. The deficiency of numbers, dis- 
cipline, and stores, can only lead to this con- 
clusion, that their sj^irit has exceeded their 
strength.-'' 

This apology was the more generous, coming 
from a Southerner, for there was a disposition 
among the Southern officers to regard the 
Eastern troops disparagingly. But "Washing- 
ton already felt as commander-in-chief, who 
looked with an equal eye on all ; or rather as 
a true patriot, who was above all sectional pre- 
judices. 

One of the most efficient co-operators of 
Washington at this time, and throughout the 
war, was Jonathan Trumbull, the Governor of 
Connecticut. He was a well-educated man, 
experienced in public business, who had sat for 
many years in the legislative councils of his 
native province. Misfortune had cast him 
down from affluence, at an advanced period of 



life, but had not subdued his native energy. 
He had been one of the leading spirits of the 
Revolution, and the only colonial governor 
who, at its commencement, proved true to the 
popular cause. He was now sixty-five years 
of age, active, zealous, devout, a patriot of the 
primitive New England stamp, whose religion 
sanctified his patriotism. A letter addressed 
by him to "Washington, just after the latter had 
entered upon the command, is worthy of the 
purest days of the Covenanters. " Congress," 
writes he, " have, with one united voice, ap- 
pointed you to the high station you possess. 
The Supreme Director of all events hath caused 
a wonderful union of hearts and counsels to 
subsist among us. 

" Now, therefore, be strong and very cour- 
ageous. May the God of the armies of Israel 
shower down the blessings of his Divine provi- 
dence on you ; give you wisdom and fortitude, 
cover your head in the day of battle and dan- 
ger, add success, convince our enemies of their 
mistaken measures, and that all their attempts 
to deprive these colonies of their inestimable 
constitutional rights and liberties, are injurious 
and vain." 

NOTE. 

We are obliged to Professor Felton, of Cambridge, 
for correcting an error in our first volume in regard 
to Washington's head-quarters, and for some partic- 
ulars concerning a house, associated with the history 
and literature of our country. 

The house assigned to Washington for head-quar- 
ters, was that of the president of the Provincial Con- 
gress, not of the University. It had been one of those 
tory mansions noticed by the Baroness Rcidesel, in 
her mention of Cambridge. " Seven families, who 
were connected by relationship, or lived in great in- 
timacy, had here farms, gardens, and splendid man- 
sions, and not far off, orchards ; and the buildings 
were at a quarter of a mile distant frofh each other. 
The owners had been in the habit of assembling every 
afternoon in one or other of these houses, and of 
diverting themselves with music or dancing ; and lived 
in affluence, in good humor, and without care, until 
this unfortunate war dispersed them, and transformed 
all these houses into solitary abodes. 

The house in question was confiscated by Govern- 
ment. It stood on the Watertown road, about half a 
mile west of the college, and has long been known as 
the Cragie House, from the name of Andrew Cragie, a 
wealthy gentleman, who purchased it after the war, 
and revived its former hospitality. He is said to have 
acquired great influence among the leading members 
of the "great and general court," by dint of jovial 
dinners. He died long ago, but his widow survived 
until within fifteen years. She was a woman of much 
talent and singularity. She refused to liave the canker 
worms destroyed, when they were making sad ravages 



iET. 43.] 



POPULARITY OF PUTNAM— "WASHINGTON'S FAMILY. 



167 



among tlie beautiful trees on the lawn before the 
house. "We are all worms," said she, "and they 
have as good a right here as I have." The conse- 
quence was that more than half of the trees perished. 
The Cragie House is associated with American liter- 
ature through some of its subsequent occupants. Mr. 
Edward Everett resided in it the first year or two 
after his marriage. Later, Mr. Jared Sparks, during 
part of the time that he was preparing his collection 
of "Washington's writings ; editing a volume or two 
of his letters in the very room from which they were 
written. Next came Mr. Worcester, author of the 
pugnacious dictionary, and of many excellent books, 
and lastly Longfellow, the poet, who, having married 
the heroine of Hyperion, purchased the house of the 
heirs of Mr. Cragie, and refitted it. 



CHAPTER II. 

The justice and impartiality of Washington 
were called into exercise as soon as he entered 
upon his command, in allaying discontents 
among his general officers, caused by the re- 
cent appointments and promotions made by 
the Continental Congress. General Spencer 
was so offended that Putnam should be pro- 
moted over his head, that he left the army, 
without visiting the commander-in-chief; but 
was subsequently induced to return. General 
Thomas felt aggrieved by being outranked by 
the veteran Pomeroy ; the latter, however, de- 
clining to serve, he found himself senior brig- 
adier, and was appeased. 

The sterling merits of Putnam soon made 
every one acquiesce in his promotion. There 
was a generosity and buoyancy about the brave 
old man that made him a favorite throughout 
the army ; especially with the younger officers, 
who spoke of him familiarly and fondly as " Old 
Put ; " a^obriquet by which he is called even 
in one of the private letters of the commander- 
in-chief. 

The Congress of Massachusetts manifested 
considerate liberality with respect to head- 
quarters. According to their minutes, a com- 
mittee was charged to procure a steward, a 
housekeeper, and two or three women cooks ; 
"Washington, no doubt, having brought with 
him none but the black servants who had ac- 
companied him to Philadelphia, and who were 
but little fitted for New England housekeeping. 
His wishes were to be consulted in regard to 
the supply of his table. This his station, as 
commander-in-chief, required should be kept 
up in ample and hospitable style. Every day 



a number of his officers dined with him. As 
he was in the neighborhood of the seat of the 
Provincial Government, he would occasionally 
have members of Congress and other function- 
aries at his board. Though social, however, 
he was not convivial in his habits. He re- 
ceived his guests with courtesy ; but his mind 
and time were too much occupied by grave 
and anxious concerns, to permit him the genial 
indulgence of the table. His own diet was ex- 
tremely simple. Sometimes nothing but baked 
apples or berries, with cream and milk. He 
would retire early from the board, leaving an 
aide-de-camp or one of his officers to take his 
place. Colonel Mifflin was the first person who 
officiated as aide-de-camp. He was a Philadel- 
phia gentleman of high respectability, who had 
accompanied him from that city, and received 
his appointment shortly after their arrival at 
Cambridge. The second aide-de-camp was 
John Trumbull,* son of the Governor of Con- 
necticut. He had accompanied General Spen- 
cer to the camp, and had caught the favorable 
notice of Washington by some drawings which 
he had made of the enemy's works. " I now 
suddenly found myself," writes Trumbull, " in 
the family of one of the most distinguished and 
dignified men of the age ; surrounded at his 
table by the principal officers of the army, and 
in constant intercourse with them — it was fur- 
ther my duty to receive company, and do the 
honors of the house to many of the first people 
of th.e country of both sexes." Trumbull was 
young, and unaccustomed to society, and soon 
found himself, he says, unequal to the elegant 
duties of his situation ; he gladly exchanged 
it, therefore, for that of major of brigade. 

TliG member of Washington's family most 
deserving of mention at present, was liis secre- 
tary, Mr. Joseph Eeed. With this* gentleman 
he had formed an intimacy in the course of his 
visits to Philadelphia, to attend the sessions of 
the Continental Congress. Mr. Reed was an 
accomplished man, had studied law in America, 
and at the Temple in London, and liad gained 
a liigh reputation at ibo Pliiladelphia bar. In 
the dawning of the Revolution he had em- 
braced the popular cause, and carried on a cor- 
respondence with the Earl of Dartmouth, en- 
deavoring to enlighten that minister on the sub- 
ject of colonial afi'airs. He had since been 
highly instrumental in rousing the Philadel- 
phians to co-operate with the patriots of Bos- 



* In after years distinguished as a Listoricnl pninter 



168 



JOSEPH KEED, WASHINGTON'S SECRETARY— GENERAL GATES. 



[i*??; 



ton. A sympathy of views and feelings had 
attached him to Washington, and induced him 
to accompany him to the camp. He had no 
definite purpose when he left home, and his 
friends in Philadelphia were surprised, on re- 
ceiving a letter from him written from Cam- 
bridge, to find that he had accepted the post 
of secretary to the commander-in-chief. 

They expostulated with him by letter. That 
a man in the thirty-fifth year of his age, with 
a lucrative profession, a young wife and growing 
family, and a happy home, should suddenly 
abandon all to join the hazardous fortunes of a 
i-evolutionary camp, appeared to them the 
height of infatuation. They remonstrated on 
the peril of the step. " I have no inclination," 
replied Reed, " to be hanged for half treason. 
"When a subject draws his sword against his 
prince, he must cut his way through, if he 
means to sit down in safety. I have taken too 
active a part in what may be called the civil 
part of opposition, to renounce, without dis- 
grace, the public cause when it seems to lead 
to danger; and have a most sovereign con- 
tempt for the man who can plan measures he 
has not the spirit to execute." 

Washington has occasionally been represent- 
ed as cold and reserved ; yet his intercourse 
with Mr. Eeed is a proof to the contrary. His 
friendship towards him was frank and cordial, 
and the confidence he reposed in him full and 
implicit. Eeed, in fact, became, in a little time, 
the intimate companion of his thoughts^ his 
bosom counsellor. lie felt the need of such a 
friend in the present exigency, placed as he 
was in a new and untried situation, and hav- 
ing to act with persons hitherto unknown to 
him. 

In military matters, it is true he had a 
shrewd counsellor in General Lee ; but Lee 
was a wayward character ; a cosmopolite, 
without attachment to country, somewhat 
splenetic, and prone to follow the bent of his 
whims and humors, which often clashed with 
propriety and sound policy. Eeed, on the con- 
trary, though less informed on military matters, 
had a strong common sense, unclouded by pas- 
sion or prejudice, and a pure patriotism, which 
regarded every thing as it bore upon the wel- 
fare of his country, 

Washington's confidence in Lee had always 
to be measured and guarded in matters of civil 
policy. 

The arrival of Gates in camp, was heartily 
n-elcomed by the commander-in-chief, Avho had 



received a letter from that ofiicer, gratefully 
acknowledging his friendly influence in procur- 
ing him the appointment of adjutant-general. 
Washington may have promised himself much 
cordial co-operation from him, recollecting the 
warm friendship professed by him when he 
visited at Mount Vernon, and they talked to- 
gether over their early companionship in arms ; 
but of that kind of friendship there was no 
further manifestation. Gates was certainly of 
great service, from his practical knowledge and 
military experience at this juncture, when the 
whole army had in a manner to be organized ; 
but from the familiar intimacy of Washington 
he gradually estranged himself. A contempo- 
rary has accounted for this, by alleging that he 
was secretly chagrined at not having received 
the appointment of major-general, to which he 
considered himself well fitted by his military 
knowledge and experience, and Avhich he 
thought Washington might have obtained for 
him had he used his influence with Congress. 
We shall have to advert to this estrangement 
of Gates on subsequent occasions. 

The hazardous position of the army, from 
the great extent and weakness of its lines, was 
what most pressed on the immediate attention 
of Washington ; and he summoned a council 
of war, to take the matter into consideration. 
In this it was urged that, to abandon the line 
of works, after the great labor and expense of 
their construction, would be dispiriting to the 
troops and encouraging to the enemy, while it 
would expose a wide extent of the surrounding 
country to maraud and ravage. Beside, no 
safer position presented itself, on which to fall 
back. This being generally admitted, it was 
determined to hold on to the works, and de- 
fend them as long as possible ; and, in the 
mean time, to augment the anny t# at least 
twenty thousand men. 

Washington now hastened to improve the 
defences of the camp, strengthen the weak 
parts of the line, and throw up additional 
works round the main forts. No one seconded 
him more eflfectually in this matter than Gen- 
eral Putnam. No works were thrown up with 
equal rapidity to those under his superintend- 
ence. " You seem, general," said Washington, 
" to have the faculty of infusing your own 
spirit into all the workmen you employ ; "— 
and it was the fact. 

The observing chaplain already cited, gazed 
with wonder at the rapid effects soon produced 
by tlie labors of an army. " It is surprising," 



Ml. 43.] 



NEW DISTRIBUTION OF THE ARMY— MORGAN'S RIFLEMEN. , 



169 



writes he, " how much work has heen done. 
The lines are extended ahnost from Cambridge 
to Mystic River ; very soon it will be morally 
impossible for the enemy to get between the 
works, except in one place, which is supposed 
to be left purposely unfortified, to entice the 
enemy out of their fortresses. Who would 
have thought, twelve months past, that all 
Cambridge and Oharlestown would be covered 
over with American camps, and cut up into forts 
and intrenchments, and aU the lands, fields, 
orchards, laid common, — horses and cattle feed- 
ing on the choicest mowing land, whole fields 
of corn eaten down to the ground, and large 
parks of well-regulated forest trees cut down 
for fire-wood and other public uses." 

Beside the main dispositions above mention- 
ed, about seven himdred men were distributed 
in the small towns and villages along the coast, 
to prevent depredations by water ; and horses 
were kept ready saddled at various points of 
the widely extended lines, to convey to head- 
quarters intelligence of any special movement 
of the enemy. 

The army was distributed by Washington 
into three grand divisions. One, forming the 
right wing, was stationed on the heights of 
Roxbury. It was commanded by Major-Gen- 
eral Ward, who had under him Brigadier-Gen- 
erals Spencer and Thomas. Another, forming 
the left wing, under Major-General Lee, hav- 
ing with him Brigadier-Generals Sullivan and 
Greene, was stationed on Winter and Prospect 
Hills ; while the centre, under Major-General 
Putnam and Brigadier-General Heath, was 
stationed at Cambridge. With Putnam was 
encamped his favorite officer Knowlton, Avho 
had been promoted by Congress to the rank 
of major for his gallantry at Bunker's Hill, 

At Wa^ington's recommendation, Joseph 
Trumbull, the eldest son of the governor, re- 
ceived on the 24:th of July the appointment of 
commissary-general of the continental army. 
He had already officiated with talent in that 
capacity in the Connecticut militia. " There 
is a great overturning in the camp as to order 
and regularity," writes the military chaplain ; 
" new lords, new laws. The generals Wash- 
ington and Lee are upon the lines every day. 
New orders from his Excellency are read to 
the respective regiments every morning after 
prayers. The strictest government is taking 
place, and great distinction is made between 
officers and soldiers. Every one is made to 
know his place and keep it, or be tied up and 



receive thirty or forty lashes according to his 
crime. Thousands are at work every day from 
four till eleven o'clock in the morning." 

Lee was supposed to have been at the bot- 
tom of this rigid discipline ; the result of his 
experience in European campaigning. His no- 
tions of military authority were acquired in 
the armies of the North. Quite a sensation 
was, on one occasion, produced in camp by his 
threatening to cane an oflicer for unsoldierly 
conduct. His laxity in other matters occa- 
sioned ahnost equal scandal. He scofied, we 
are told, " with his usual profaneness," at a 
resolution of Congress appointing a day of fast- 
ing and prayer, to obtain the favor of Heaven 
upon their cause, "Heaven," he observed, 
"was ever found favorable to strong battal- 
ions."* 

Washington diflfered from him in this re- 
spect. By his orders the resolution of Con- 
gress was scrupulously enforced. All labor, 
excepting that absolutely necessary, was sus- 
pended on the appointed day, and oflicers and 
soldiers were required to attend divine service, 
armed and equipped, and ready for immediate 
action. 

Nothing excited more gaze and wonder 
among the rustic visitors to the camp, than 
the arrival of several rifle companies, fourteen 
hundred men in all, from Pennsylvania, Mary- 
land, and Virginia; such stalwart fellows as 
Washington had known in his early campaigns. 
Stark hunters and bush fighters ; many of 
them upwards of six feet high, and of vigorous 
frame ; dressed in fringed frocks, or rifle shirts, 
and round hats. Their displays of sharp shoot- 
ing were soon among the marvels of the camp. 
We are told that while advancing at quick 
step, they could hit a mark of seven inches 
diameter, at the distance of two hundred and 
fifty yards.f 

One of these companies was commanded by 
Captain Daniel Morgan, a native of New Jer- 
sey, whose first experience in war had been to 
accompany Braddock's army as a waggoner. 
He had since carried arms on the frontier, and 
obtained a command. He and his riflemen in 
coming to the camp had marched six hundred 
miles in three weeks. They will be found of 
signal efficiency in the sharpest conflicts of the 
revolutionary war. 

While all his forces were required for the in- 
vestment of Boston, Washington was impor- 



* Graydon's Momoirs, p. 138. 

t Thacher's Military Journal, p. 37. 



170 



A VITAL QUESTION SETTLED— OBJECT IN DISTRESSING BOSTON. 



[1115. 



timed by the Legislature of Massachusetts and 
the Governor of Connecticut, to detach troops 
for the protection of different points of the 
sea-coast, where depredations by armed vessels 
were apprehended. The case of New London 
was specified by Governor Trumbull, where 
Captain Wallace of the Eose frigate, with two 
other ships of war, had entered the harbor, 
landed men, spiked the cannon, and gone off 
threatening future visits. 

"Washington referred to his instructions, and 
consulted with his general officers and such 
members of the Continental Congress as hap- 
pened to be in camp, before he replied to these 
requests; he then respectfully declined com- 
pliance. 

In his reply to the General Assembly of 
Massachusetts, he stated frankly and explicitly 
the policy and system on which the war was 
to be conducted, and according to which he 
was to act as commander-in-chief. "It has 
been debated in Congress and settled," writes 
he, " that the militia, or other internal strength 
of each province, is to be applied for defence 
against those small and particular depredations, 
which were to be expected, and to which they 
were supposed to be competent. This will 
appear the more proper, when it is considered 
that every town, and indeed every part of our 
sea-coast, which is exposed to these depreda- 
tions, would have an equal claim upon this 
army. 

" It is the misfortune of our situation which 
exposes us to these ravages, and against which, 
in my judgment, no such temporary relief could 
possibly secure us. The great advantage the 
enemy have of transporting troops, by being 
masters of the sea, will enable them to harass 
us by diversions of this kind ; and should we 
be tempted to pursue them, upon every alarm, 
the army must either be so weakened as to 
expose it to destruction, or a great part of the 
coast be still left unprotected. Nor, indeed, 
does it appear to me that such a pursuit would 
be attended with the least effect. The first 
notice of such an excursion would be its actual 
execution, and long before any troops could 
reach the scene of action, the enemy would 
have an opportunity to accompHsh their pur- 
pose and retire. It would give me great pleas- 
ure to have it in my power to extend protec- 
tion and safety to every individual; but the 
wisdom of the General Court will anticipate 
me on the necessity of conductmg our opera- 
tions on a general and impartial scale, so as to 



exclude any just cause of complaint' and jeal- 
ousy." 

His reply to the Governor of Connecticut 
was to the same effect. " I am by no means 
insensible to the situation of the people on the 
coast. I wish I could extend protection to aH 
but the numerous detachments necessary to 
remedy the evil would amount to a dissolution 
of the army, or make the most important oper- 
ations of the campaign depend upon the pirati- 
cal expeditions of two or three men-of-war and 
transports." 

His refusal to grant the required detach- 
ments gave much dissatisfaction in some quar- 
ters, until sanctioned and enforced by the Con- 
tinental Congress. AU at length saw and ac- 
quiesced in the justice and wisdom of his 
decision. It was in fact a vital question, in- 
volving the whole character and fortune of the 
war ; and it was acknowledged that he met it 
with a forecast and determination befitting a 
commander-in-chief. 



CHAPTER III. 

The great object of "Washington at present, 
was to force the enemy to come out of Boston 
and try a decisive action. His lines had for 
some time cut off all communication of the town 
with the country, and he had caused the live 
stock within a considerable distance of the 
place to be driven back from the coast, out of 
reach of the men-of-war's boats. Fresh provi- 
sions and vegetables were consequently grow- 
ing more and more scarce and extravagantly 
dear, and sickness began to prevail. " I have 
done and shall do every thing in my power to 
distress them," writes he to his brother John 
Augustine. " The transports have all arrived, 
and their whole reiaforcement is landed, so 
that I see no reason why they should not, if 
they ever attempt it, come boldly out, and put 
the matter to issue at once." 

" "We are in the strangest state in the world," 
writes a lady from Boston; " surrounded on aU 
sides. The whole country is in arms and in- 
trenched. "We are deprived of fresh provisions, 
subject to continual alarms and cannonadings, 
the Provincials being very audacious, and ad- 
vancing to our lines, since the arrival of Gen- 
erals "Washington and Lee to command them." 

At this critical juncture, when "Washington 
was pressing the siego, and endeavoring to pro- 



JEt. 43.] 



SCARCITY OF POWDER— LEE AND BURGOYNE. 



171 



voke a general action, a startling fact came to 
liglit ; the whole amount of powder in the 
camp would not furnish more than nine car- 
tridges to a man ! * 

A gross error had been made by the com- 
mittee of supplies when Washington, on taking 
command, had required a return of the ammu- 
nition. They had returned the whole amount 
of powder collected by the province, upwards 
of three hundred barrels; without stating 
what had been expended. The blunder was 
detected on an order being issued for a new 
supply of cartridges. It was found that there 
were but thirty-two barrels of powder in store. 
This was an astounding discovery. Wash- 
ington instantly despatched letters and ex- 
presses to Rhode Island, the Jerseys, Ticon- 
deroga and elsewhere, urging immediate sup- 
plies of powder and lead ; no quantity, how- 
ever small, to be considered beneatli notice. 
In a letter to Governor Cooke of Rhode Island, 
he suggested that an armed vessel of that prov- 
ince might be sent to seize upon a magazine 
of gunpowder, said to be in a remote part of 
the Island of Bermuda. " I am very sensible," 
writes he, " that at first view the project may 
appear hazardous, and its success must depend 
on the concurrence of many circumstances ; 
but we are in a situation which requires us to 
run all risks. * * * Enterprises which ap- 
pear chimerical, often prove successful from 
that very circumstance. Common sense and 
prudence will suggest vigilance and care, where 
the danger is plain and obvious; but where 
little danger is apprehended, the more the 
enemy will be unprepared, and, consequently, 
there is the fairest prospect of success." 

Day after day elapsed without the arrival of 
any supplies ; for in these irregular times, the 
munitions of war were not readily procured. 
It seemed hardly possible that the matter could 
be kept concealed from the enemy. Their 
works on Bunker's Hill commanded a full view 
of those of the Americans on Winter and Pros- 
pect Hills. Each camp could see what was 
passing in the other. The sentries were almost 
near enough to converse. There was furtive 
intercourse occasionally between the men. In 
this critical state, the American camp remained 
for a fortnight ; the anxious commander in- 
cessantly apprehending an attack. At length 
a partial supply from the Jerseys put an end 
to this eminent risk. • Washington's secretary, 



Reed, who had been the confidant of his 
troubles and anxieties, gives a vivid expression 
of his feelings on the arrival of this relief. " I 
can hardly look back, without shuddering, at 
our situation before this increase of our stock. 
Stoch did I say ? it was next to nothing. Al- 
most the whole powder of the army was in the 
cartridge-boxes." * 

It is thought that, considering the clandes- 
tine intercourse carried on between the two 
camps, intelligence of this deficiency of am- 
munition on the part of the besiegers must 
have been conveyed to the British commander ; 
but that the bold face with which the Ameri- 
cans continued to maintain their position, made 
him discredit it. 

Notwithstanding the supply from the Jerseys, 
there was not more powder in camp than 
would serve the artillery for one day of general 
action. None, therefore, was allowed to be 
wasted ; the troops were even obliged to bear 
in silence an occasional cannonading. " Our 
poverty in ammunition," writes Washington, 
" prevents our making a suitable return." 

One of the painful circumstances attending 
the outbreak of a revolutionary war is, that 
gallant men, who have held allegiance to the 
same government, and fought side by side 
under the same flag, suddenly find themselves 
in deadly conflict with each other. Such was 
the case at present in the hostile camps. Gen- 
eral Lee, it will be recollected, had once served 
under General Burgoyne, in Portugal, and had 
won his brightest laurels when detached by 
that commander to surprise the Spanish camp, 
near the Moorish castle of Villa Velha. A 
soldier's friendship had ever since existed be- 
tween them, and when Lee had heard at Phil- 
adelphia, before he had engaged in the Ameri- 
can service, that his old comrade and com- 
mander was arrived at Boston, he wrote a 
letter to him, giving his own views on the 
points in dispute between the colonies and the 
mother country, and inveighing with his usual 
vehemence and sarcastic point, against the con- 
duct of the court and ministry. Before send- 
ing the letter, he submitted it to the Boston 
delegates and other members of Congress, and 
received their sanction. 

Since his arrival in camp he had received a 
reply from Burgoyne, couched in moderate and 
courteous language, and proposing an interview 
at a designated house on Boston Neck, within 



* Letter to the President of Congress, Aug. 4. 



* Reed to Thomas Bradford. Life and Correspondeuce, 
vol. 1., p. 118. 



172 



CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN WASHINGTON AND GAGE. 



[1775. 



the British sentries; mutual pledges to be 
given for each other's safety. 

Lee submitted this letter to the Provincial 
Congress of Massachusetts, and requested their 
commands with respect to the proposed inter- 
view. They expressed, in reply, the highest 
confidence m his wisdom, discretion, and in- 
tegrity, but questioned whether the interview 
might not be regarded by the public with dis- 
trust ; " a people contending for their liberties 
being naturally disposed to jealousy." They 
suggested, therefore, as a means of preventing 
popular misconception, that Lee, on seeking 
the interview, should be accompanied by Mr. 
Elbridge Gerry ; or that the advice of a coun- 
cil of war should be taken in a matter of such 
apparent delicacy. 

Lee became aware of the surmises that might 
be awakened by the proposed interview, and 
wrote a friendly note to Burgoyne declining it. 
A correspondence of a more important char- 
acter took place between Washington and 
General Gage. It was one intended to put 
the hostUe services on a proper footing. A 
strong disposition had been manifested among 
the British officers to regard those engaged in 
the patriot cause as malefactors, outlawed 
from the courtesies of chivalric warfare. 
Washington was determined to have a fuU 
understanding on this point. He was pecu- 
liarly sensitive with regard to Gage. They 
had been companions in arras in their early 
days ; but Gage might now atFect to look 
down upon him as the chief of a rebel army. 
Wasliington took an early opportunity to let 
him know, that he claimed to be the com- 
mander of a legitimate force, engaged in a 
legitimate cause, and that both himself and 
his army were to be treated on a footing 
of perfect equality. The correspondence 
arose from the treatment of several American 
officers. 

" I understand," writes Washington to Gage, 
"that the officers engaged in the cause of 
liberty and their country, who by the fortune 
of war have fallen into your hands, have been 
thrown indiscriminately into a common jail, 
appropriated to felons; that no consideration 
has been had for those of the most respectable 
rank, when languishing with wounds and sick- 
ness, and that some have been amputated in 
this unworthy situation. Let your opinion, 
sir, of the principles which actuate them, be 
what it may, they suppose that they act from 
the noblest of all principles, love of freedom 



and their country. But political principles, I 
conceive, are foreign to this point. The obli- 
gations arising from the rights of humanity 
and claims of rank are universally binding and 
extensive, except in cases of retaliati on. These, 
I should have hoped, would have dictated a 
more tender treatment of those individuals 
whom chance or war had put in your power. 
Nor can I forbear suggesting its fatal ten- 
dency to widen that unhappy breach which 
you, and those ministers under whom you 
act, have repeatedly declared your wish to see 
forever closed. My duty now makes it neces- 
sary to apprise you that, for the future, I shall 
regulate aU my conduct towards those gentle- 
men who are, or may be, in our possession, 
exactly by the rule you shall observe towards 
those of ours, now in your custody. 

" If severity and hardsliips mark the line of 
your conduct, painful as it may be to me, your 
prisoners will feel its effiects. But if kindness 
and humanity are shown to us, I shall with 
pleasure consider those in our hands only as 
unfortunate, and they shall receive from me 
that treatment to which the unfortunate are 
ever entitled." 

The following are the essential parts of a 
letter from General Gage in reply. 

" Sir, — To the glory of civilized nations, 
humanity and war have been compatible, and 
humanity to the subdued has become almost a 
general system. Britons, ever pre-eminent in 
mercy, have outgrown common examples, artd 
overlooked the criminal in the captive. Upon 
these principles your prisoners, whose lives by 
the law of the land are destined to the cord, 
have hitherto been treated with care and 
kindness, and more comfortably lodged than 
the King's troops in the hospitals, indiscrimi- 
nately it is true, for I acknowledge no rank 
that is not derived from the King. 

"My intelligence from your army would 
justify severe recriminations. I understand 
there are of the King's faithful subjects, taken 
some time since by the rebels, laboring, like 
negro slaves to gain their daily subsistence, 
or reduced to the wretched alternative to 
perish by famine or take arms against their 
King and country. Those who have made the 
treatment of the prisoners in my hands, or of 
your other friends in Boston, a pretence for such 
measures, found barbarity upon falsehood. 

" I would wiUingly hope, sir, that the senti- 
ments of liberality which I have always 
believed you to possess, will be exerted to 



^T. 43.] 



THE DIGNITY OF THE PATRIOT ARMY ASSERTED. 



173 



correct these misdoings. Be temperate in 
political disquisition; give free operation to 
truth, and punish those who deceive and mis- 
represent ; and not only the effects, hut the 
cause, of this unhappy conflict will be removed. 
Should those, under whose usurped authority 
you act, control such a disposition, and dare 
to call severity retaliation; to God, who 
knows all hearts, be the appeal of the dread- 
ful consequences," &c. 

There were expressions in the foregoing 
letter well calculated to rouse indignant feel- 
ings in the most temperate bosom. Had 
Washington been as readily moved to trans- 
ports of passion as some are pleased to repre- 
sent him, the rebel and the cord might readily 
have stung him to fury ; but with him, anger 
was checked in its impluses by higher energies, 
and reined in to give grander effect to the 
dictates of his judgment. The following was 
his noble and dignified reply to General Gage : 

" I addressed you, sir, on the 11th instant, 
in terms which gave the fairest scope for that 
humanity and politeness which were supposed 
to form a part of your character, I remon- 
strated with you on the unworthy treatment 
shown to the officers and citizens of America, 
Avhom the fortune of war, chance, or a mis- 
taken confidence, had thrown into your hands. 
Whether British or American mercy, fortitude, 
and patience, are most pre-eminent ; whether 
our virtuous citizens, whom the hand of 
tyranny has forced into arms to defend their 
wives, their children, and their property, or the 
merciless instruments of lawless domination, 
avarice, and revenge, best deserve the appella- 
tion of rebels, and the punishment of that cord, 
which your affected clemency has forborne to 
inflict ; whether the authority imder which I 
act is usurped, or founded upon the genu- 
ine principles of liberty, were altogether for- 
eign to the subject. I purposely avoided all 
political disquisition ; nor shall I now avail 
myself of those advantages which the sacred 
cause of my country, of liberty, and of human 
nature give me over you ; much less shall I 
stoop to retort and invective ; but the intelli- 
gence you say you have received from our 
army requires a reply. I have taken time, sir, 
to make a strict inquiry, and find that it has 
not the least foundation in truth. Not only 
your ofl[icers and soldiers have been treated 
with "the tenderness due to fellow-citizens and 
brethren, but even those execrable parricides, 
whose counsels and aid have deluged their 



country with blood, have been protected from 
the fury of a justly enraged people. Far from 
compelling or permitting their assistance, I am 
embarrassed with the numbers who crowd to 
our camp, animated with the purest principles 
of virtue and love to their country. * * * 

" You affect, sir, to despise all rank not de- 
rived from the same source with your own. I 
cannot conceive one more honorable, than 
that which flows from the uncornipted choice 
of a brave and free people, the purest source 
and original fountain of all power. Far from 
making it a plea for cruelty, a mind of true 
magnanimity and enlarged ideas would com- 
prehend and respect it. 

" What may have been the ministerial views 
which have precipitated the present crisis, 
Lexington, Concord, and Oharlestown can best 
declare. May that God, to whom you, too, 
appeal, judge between America and you. 
Under his providence, those who influence the 
councils of America, and all the other inhabi- 
tants of the united colonies, at the hazard of 
their lives, are determined to hand down to 
posterity those just and invaluable privileges 
which they received from their ancestors. 

" I shall now, sir, close my correspondence 
with you, perhaps forever. If your officers, 
our prisoners, receive a treatment from me 
different from that which I wish to show 
them, they and you wiU remember the occa- 
sion of it." 

We have given these letters of Washington 
almost entire, for they contain his manifesto 
as commander-in-chief of the armies of the 
Revolution ; setting forth the opinions and 
motives by which he was governed, and the 
principles on which hostilities on his part 
would be conducted. It was planting with the 
pen that standard which was to be maintained 
by the sword. 

In conformity with the threat conveyed in 
the latter part of his letter, Washington issued 
orders that British officers at Watertown and 
Cape Ann, who were at large on parole, should 
be confined in Northampton jail ; explaining to 
them that this conduct, which might appear 
to them harsh and cruel, was contrary to his dis- 
position, but according to the rule of treatment 
observed by General Gage toward the Ameri- 
can prisoners in his hands ; making no distinc- 
tion of rank. Circumstances, of which we have 
no explanation, induced subsequently a revoca- 
tion of this order ; the officers were permitted 
to remain as before, at large upon parole, ex- 



174 



DANGERS IN THE INTERIOR— RIVALRY OF ALLEN AND ARNOLD. 



[1115. 



periencing every indulgence and civility con- 
sistent with their security. 



CHAPTER IV. 

"We must interrupt our narrative of the siege 
of Boston to give an account of events in other 
quarters, requiring the superintending care of 
Washington, as commander-in-chief. Letters 
from General Schuyler, received in the course 
of July, had awakened apprehensions of 
danger from the interior. The Johnsons were 
said to he stirring up the Indians in the west- 
ern parts of New York to hostility, and pre- 
paring to join the* British forces in Canada; so 
that, while the patriots were battling for their 
rights along the seaboard, they were menaced 
by a powerful combination in rear. To place 
this matter in a proper light, we will give a 
brief statement of occurrences in the upper 
part of New York, and on the frontiers of 
Canada, since the exploits of Ethan AUen and 
Benedict Arnold, at Ticonderoga and on Lake 
Champlain. 

Great rivahy, as has already been noted, 
had arisen between these doughty leaders. 
Both had sent off expresses to the provincial 
authorities, giving an account of their recent 
triumphs. Allen claimed command at Ticon- 
deroga, on the authority of the committee from 
the Connecticut Assembly, which had originat- 
ed the enterprise. Arnold claimed it on the 
strength of his instructions from the Massa- 
chusetts committee of safety. He bore a com- 
mission, too, given him by that committee ; 
whereas AUen had no other commission than 
that given him before the war by the com- 
mittees in the Hampshire Grants, to command 
their Green Mountain Boys against the en- 
croachments of New York. 

" Colonel Allen," said Arnold, " is a proper 
man to head his own wild people, but entirely 
unacquainted with military service, and as I 
am the only person who has been legally au- 
thorized to take possession of this place, I am 
determined to insist on my right ; * * * ^nd 
shall keep it [the fort] at every hazard, until I 
have further orders."* 

The public bodies themselves seemed per- 
plexed what to do with the prize, so bravely 
seized upon by these bold men. Allen had 
written to the Albany committee, for men and 

,* Arnold to Mass. Comm. of Safety. Am. Arch., ii. 557. 



provisions, to enable him to maintain his con- 
quest. The committee feared this daring en- 
terprise might involve the northern i)art of 
the province in the horrors of war and desola- 
tion, and asked advice of the New York com- 
mittee. The New York committee did not 
think themselves authorized to give an opinion 
upon a matter of sucli importance, and refer- 
red it to the Continental Congress. 

The Massachusetts committee of safety, to 
whom Arnold had written, referred the af- 
fair to the Massachusetts Provincial Congress. 
That body, as the enterprise had begun in 
Connecticut, -wrote to its General Assembly to 
take the whole matter under their care and 
direction, until the advice of the Continental 
Congress could be had. 

The Continental Congress at length legiti- 
mated the exploit, and, as it were, accepted 
the captured fortress. As it was situated 
within New York, the custody of it was com- 
mitted to that province, aided if necessary by 
the New England colonies, on whom it was 
authorized to call for military assistance. 

The Provincial Congress of New York forth- 
with invited the " Governor and Company of 
the English colony of Connecticut "to place 
part of their forces in these captured posts, until 
relieved by New York troops ; and Trumbull, 
the Governor of Connecticut, soon gave notice 
that one thousand men under Colonel Hin- 
man, were on the point of marching, for 
the reinforcement of Ticonderoga and Crown 
Point. 

It had been the idea of the Continental 
Congress to have those posts dismantled, and 
the cannon and stores removed to the south 
end of Lake George, where a strong post was 
to be established. But both AUen and Arnold 
exclaimed against such a measure ; vaunt- 
ing, and with reason, the importance of those 
forts. 

Both Allen and Arnold were ambitious of 
further laurels. Both were anxious to lead an 
expedition into Canada ; and Ticonderoga and 
Crown Point would open the way to it. " The 
Key is ours," writes AUen to the New York 
Congress. " If the colonies would suddenly 
push an army of two or three thousand men 
into Canada, they might make an easy con- 
quest of all that would oppose them, in the 
extensive province of Quebec, except a rein- 
forcement from England should prevent it. 
Such a diversion would weaken Gage, and in- 
sure us Canada. I wish to God America 



^T. 43.] 



RIVALRY OF ETHAN ALLEN AND BENEDICT ARNOLD. 



175 



would, at this critical juncture, exert herself 
ageeably to the indignity offered her by a 
tyrannical ministry. She might rise on eagles' 
wings, and mount up to glory, freedom, 
and immortal honor, if she did but know and 
exert her strength. Fame is now hovering over 
her head. A vast continent must now sink to 
slavery, poverty, horror, and bondage, or rise 
to unconquerable freedom, immense wealth, 
inexpressible felicity, and immortal fame, 

" I will lay my life on it, that with fifteen 
hundred men, and a proper train of artillery, 
I will take Montreal. Provided I could be 
thus furnished, and if an army could command 
the field, it would be no insuperable difficulty 
to take Quebec." 

A letter to the same purport, and with the 
same rhetorical flourish, on which he appeared 
to value himself, was written by Allen 
to Tnmibull, the Governor of Connecticut. 
Arnold urged the same project, but in less 
magniloquent language, upon the attention of 
the Continental Congress. His letter was 
dated from Crown Point ; where he had a 
little squadron, composed of the sloop captured 
at St. Johns, a schooner, and a flotUla of 
bateaux. All these he had equipped, armed, 
manned, and officered ; and his crews were de- 
voted to him. In his letter to the Continental 
Congress he gave information concerning 
Canada, collected through spies and agents. 
Carleton, he said, had not six hundred effec- 
tive men under him. The Canadians 'and 
Indians were disaffected to the British Govern- 
ment, and Montreal was ready to throw open 
its gates to a patriot force. Two thousand 
men, he was certain, would be sufficient to get 
possession of the province. 

" I beg leave to add," says he, " that if no 
person appears who will undertake to carry 
the plan into execution, I will undertake, and, 
with the smiles of Heaven, answer for the 
success, provided I am supplied with men, &c., 
to carry it into execution without loss of time." 

In a postscript of his letter he specifies the 
forces requisite for his suggested invasion. 
" In order to give satisfaction to the difierent 
colonies, I propose that Colonel Hinman's regi- 
ment, now on their march from Connecticut to 
Ticonderoga, should form part of the army ; 
say one thousand men; five hundred men to 
be sent from New York, five hundred of 
General Arnold's regiment, including the sea- 
men and marines on board the vessels (no 
Green Mountain Boys)." 



Within a few days after the date of this 
letter. Colonel Hinman with the Connecticut 
troops arrived. The greater part of the Green 
Mountain Boys now returned home, their term 
of enlistment having expired. Ethan Allen 
and his brother in arms, Seth Warner, repaired 
to Congress to get pay for their men, and 
authority to raise a new regiment. They were 
received with distinguished honor by that 
body. The same pay was awarded to the 
men who had served under them as that 
allowed to the continental troops ; and it was 
recommended to the New York Convention, 
that, should it meet the approbation of 
General Schuyler, a fresh corps of Green 
Mountain Boys about to be raised, should 
be employed in the army under such officers 
as they (the Green Mountain Boys) should 
choose. 

To the New York Convention, Allen and 
Warner now repaired. There was a difficulty 
about admitting them to the hall of Assembly, 
for their attainder of outlawry had not been 
repealed. Patriotism, however, pleftded in 
their behalf. They obtained an audience. 
A regiment of Green Mountain Boys, five 
hundred strong, was decreed, and General 
Schuyler notified the people of the New Hamp- 
shire Grants of the resolve, and requested them 
to raise the regiment. 

Thus prosperously went the affairs of Ethan 
Allen and Seth Warner. As to Arnold, diffi- 
culties instantly took place between him and 
Colonel Hinman. Arnold refused to give up 
to him the command of either post, claiming 
on the strength of his instructions from the 
committee of safety of Massachusetts, a right 
to the command of all the posts and fortresses 
at the south end of Lake Champlain and Lake 
George. This threw every thing into confu- 
sion. Colonel Hinman was himself perplexed 
in this conflict of various authorities ; being, 
as it were, but a locum tenens for the province 
of New York. 

Arnold was at Crown Point, acting as com- 
mander of the fort and admiral of the fleet ; 
and having about a hundred and fifty resolute 
men under him, was expecting with confidence 
to be authorized to lead an expedition into 
Canada. 

At this juncture arrived a committee of 
three members of the Congress of Massa- 
chusetts, sent by that body to inquire into the 
manner in which he had executed his instruc- 
tions ; complaints having been made of his 



176 ARNOLD AND THE COMMITTEE OF INQUIRY— CANADA TO BE INVADED. [1775. 



arrogant and undue assumption of com- 
mand. 

Arnold was thunderstruck at being subjected 
to inquiry, when he had expected an ovation. 
He requested a sight of the committee's in- 
structions. The sight of them only increased 
his indignation. They were to acquaint them- 
selves with the manner in which he had exe- 
cuted his commission ; with his spirit, capacity, 
and conduct. Should they think proper, they 
might order him to return to Massachusetts, 
to render account of the moneys, ammunition, 
and stores he had received, and the debts he 
had contracted on behalf of the colony. 
"While at Ticonderoga, he and his men were to 
be under command of the principal officer 
from Connecticut. 

Arnold was furious. He swore he would 
be second in command to no one, disbanded 
his men, and threw up his commission. Quite 
a scene ensued. His men became turbulent ; 
some refused to serve under any other leader ; 
others clamored for their pay, which was in 
arrears. Part joined Arnold on board of the 
vessels which were drawn out into the lake ; and 
among other ebullitions of passion, there was 
a threat of sailing for St. Johns. 

At length the storm was allayed by the 
interference of several of the officers, and the 
assurances of the committee that every man 
should be paid. A part of them enlisted under 
Colonel Easton, and Arnold set off for Cam- 
bridge to settle his accounts with the com- 
mittee of safety. 

The project of an invasion of Canada, urged 
by Allen and Arnold, had at first met with no 
favor, the Continental Congress having formally 
resolved to make no hostile attempts upon 
that province. Intelligence subsequently re- 
ceived, induced it to change its plans. Carleton 
was said to be strengthening the fortifications 
and garrison at St. Johns, and prepared to 
launch vessels on the lake wherewith to 
regain command of it, and retake the captured 
posts. Powerful reinforcements were coming 
from England and elsewhere. Guy Johnson 
was holding councils with the fierce Cayugas 
and Senecas, and stirring up the Six Nations 
to hostility. On the other hand, Canada was 
full of religious and political dissensions. The 
late exploits of the Americans on Lake Cham- 
plain, had produced a favorable effect on the 
Canadians, who would flock to the patriot 
standard if unfurled among them by an impos- 
ing force. Now was the time to strike a blow 



to paralyze all hostility from this quarter ; now, 
while Carleton's regular force was Aveak, and 
before the arrival of additional troops. In- 
fluenced by these considerations, Congress now 
determined to extend the revolution into 
Canada, but it was an enterprise too important 
to be intrusted to any but discreet hands. 
General Schuyler, then in New York, was accord- 
ingly ordered, on the 27th June, to proceed to 
Ticonderoga, and " should he find it practi- 
cable, and not disagreeable to the Canadians, 
immediately to take possession of St. Johns 
and Montreal, and pursue such other measures 
in Canada as might have a tendency to pro- 
mote the peace and security of these prov- 
inces." 

It behooved General Schuyler to be on the 
alert, lest the enterprise should be snatched from 
his hands. Ethan Allen and Seth Warner were 
at Bennington, among the Green Mountains. 
Enlistments were going on but too slow 
for Allen's impatience, who had his old hank- 
ering for a partisan foray. In a letter to 
Governor TrumbuU (July 12th), he writes 
" "Were it not that the grand Continental Con- 
gress had totally incorporated the Green 
Mountain Boys into a battalion under certain 
regulations and command, I would forth- 
with advance them into Canada and invest 
Montreal, exclusive of any help from, the 
colonies; though under present circumstances 
I would not, for my right arm, act without or 
contrary to order. If my fond zeal for reduc- 
ing the King''s fortresses and destroying or im- 
2)risoning his troo}^ in Canada le the result of 
enthusiasm^ 1 hope and expect the wisdom of 
the Continent will treat it as such ; and on 
the other hand, if it proceed from sound 
policy, that the plan will be adopted." * 

Schuyler arrived at Ticonderoga on the 18th 
of July. A letter to "Washington, to whom, as 
commander-in chief, he made constant reports, 
gives a striking picture of a frontier post in 
those crude days of the Eevolution. 

"You will expect that I should say some- 
thing about this place and the troops here. 
Not one earthly thing for offence or defence 
has been done ; the commanding qificer has no 
orders; he only came to reinforce the garrison^ 
and he expected the general. About ten last 
night I arrived at the landing-place, at the north 
end of Lake George ; a post occupied by a 
captain and one hundred men. A sentinel, 



* Force's Am. Archives, ii. 1649. 



^T. 43.] 



SCHUYLER AT TICONDEROGA— ETHAN ALLEN. 



177 



on being informed that I was in the boat, 
quitted his post to go and awaken the guard, 
consisting of three men, in which he had no 
success. I walked up and came to another, 
a sergeant's guard. Here the sentinel challeng- 
ed, but suffered me to come up to him ; the 
whole guard, like the first, in the soundest 
sleep. With a penknife only I could have cut 
off both guards, and then have set fire to tlie 
block-house, destroyed the stores and starved 
the people here. At this post I had pointedly 
recommended vigilance and care, as all the 
stores from Lake George must necessarily be 
landed here. But I hope to get the better of 
this inattention. The officers and men are all 
good-looking people, and decent in their de- 
portment, and I really believe will make good 
soldiers as soon as I can get the better of 
this nonchalance of theirs. Bravery, I believe, 
they are far from wanting." 

Colonel Hinman, it will be recollected, was 
in^temporary command at Ticonderoga, if that 
could be called a command where none seemed 
to obey. The garrison was about twelve 
hundred strong : the greater part Connecticut 
men, brought by himself; some were New 
York troops, and some few Green Mountain 
Boys. Schuyler, on taking command, de- 
spatched a confidential agent into Canada, 
Major John Brown, an American, who resided 
on the Sorel Pdver, and was popular among the 
Canadians. He was to collect information 
as to the British forces and fortifications, and 
to ascertain how an invasion and an attack on 
St. Johns would be considered by the people 
of the province : in the mean time Schuyler 
set diligently to work to build boats, and pre- 
pare for the enterprise should it ultimately be 
ordered by Congress. 

Schuyler was an authoritative man, and in- 
herited from his Dutch ancestry a great love 
of order ; he was excessively annoyed, there- 
fore, by the confusion and negligence prevalent 
around him, and the difficulties and delays 
thereby occasioned. He chafed in spirit at the 
disregard of discipline among his yeoman sol- 
diery, and their opposition to all system and 
regularity. This was especially the case with 
the troops from Connecticut, officered generally 
by their own neighbors and familiar companions, 
and unwilling to acknowledge the authority of 
a commander from a different province. He 
poured out his complaints in a friendly letter 
to "Washington; the latter consoled him by 
stating his own troubles and grievances in the 
12 



camp at Cambridge, and the spirit with which 
he coped with him. " From my own experi- 
ence," writes ho (July 28), "I can easily judge 
of your difficulties in introducing order and dis- 
cipline into troops, who have, from their infan- 
cy, imbibed ideas of the most contrary kind. 
It would be far beyond the compass of a letter, 
for me to describe the situation of things here 
[at Cambridge], on my arrival. Perhaps you 
will only be able to judge of it, from my assur- 
ing you, that mine must be a portrait at full 
length of what you have had in miniature. 
Confusion and discord reigned in every depart- 
ment, which, in a little time, must have ended 
either in the separation of the army, or fatal con- 
tests with one another. The better genius of 
America has prevailed, and most happily, the 
ministerial troops have not availed themselves 
of these advantages, till, I trust, the opportunity 
is, in a great measure, passed over. * * * 
"We mend every day, and, I flatter myself, that 
in a little time we shall work up these raw ma- 
terials into a good manufacture. I must re- 
commend to you, what I endeavor to practise 
wyself, patience and perseverance." 

Sclmyler took the friendly admonition in the 
spirit in which it was given. " I can easily 
conceive," writes he (Aug. 6th), " that my diffi- 
culties are only a faint semblance of yours. 
Yes, my general, I will strive to copy your 
bright example, and patiently and steadily per- 
severe in that line which, only can promise the 
wished-for reformation." 

He had calculated on being joined, by this 
time, by the regiment of Green Mountain Boys 
which Ethan AUen and Seth Tarner had un- 
dertaken to raise in the !N"ew Hampshire Grants. 
Unfortunately, a quarrel had arisen between 
those brothers in arms, which filled the Green 
Mountains with discord and party feuds. The 
election of officers took place on the 27th of 
July. It was made by committees from the 
different townships. Ethan Allen was entirely 
passed by, and Seth Warner nominated as Lieu<- 
tenant-Colonel of the regiment. Allen was 
thunderstruck at finding himself thus suddenly 
dismounted. His patriotism and love of adven- 
ture, however, were not quelled : and he forth- 
with repaired to the army at Ticonderoga to 
ofifer himself as a volunteer. 

Schuyler, at first, hesitated to accept his ser- 
vices. He was aware of his aspiring notions, 
and feared there would be a difficulty in 
keeping him within due bounds, but was 
at length persuaded by his officers to retain 



1T8 PREPARATIONS FOR THE INVASION OF CANADA— GENERAL MONTGOMERY. [1775. 



liim, to act as a pioneer on the Canadian 
frontier. 

In a letter from camp, Allen gave Governor 
Trumbull an account of the downfall of his 
towering hopes. " Notwithstanding my zeal 
and success in my country's cause, the old farm- 
ers on the New Hampshire Grants, who do not 
incline to go to war, have met in a committee 
meeting, and in their nomination of officers for 
the regiment of Green Mountain Boys, have 
wholly omitted me." 

His letter has a consolatory postscript. " I 
find myself in the favor of the officers of the 
army and the young Green Mountain Boys. 
How the old men came to reject me, I cannot 
conceive, inasmuch as I saved them from the 
encroachments of New York." * The old men 
probably doubted his discretion. 

Schuyler was on the alert with respect to the 
expedition against Canada. From his agent. 
Major Brown, and from other sources, he had 
learnt that there were but about seven hundred 
king's troops in that province ; three hundred 
of them at St. Johns, about fifty at Quebec, the 
remainder at Montreal, Chamblee, and the upper 
posts. Colonel Guy Johnson was at Montreal 
with three hundred men, mostly his tenants, 
and with a number of Indians. Two batteries 
had been finished at St. Johns, mounting nine 
guns each : other works were intrenched and 
picketed. Two large row galleys were on the 
stocks, and would soon be finished. Now was 
the time, according to his informants, to carry 
Canada. It might be done with great ease and 
little cost. The Canadians were disaffected to 
British rule, and would join the Americans, and 
so would many of the Indians. 

" I am prepared," writes he to Washington, 
" to move against the enemy, unless your Ex- 
cellency and Congress should direct otherwise. 
In the course of a few days, I expect to receive 
the ultimate determination. Whatever it may 
be, I shall try to execute it in such a manner 
as wiU promote the just cause in which we are 
engaged." 

While awaiting orders on this head, he re- 
paired to Albany, to hold a conference and ne- 
gotiate a treaty with the Caughnawagas, and 
the warriors of the Six Nations, whom, as one 
of the commissioners of Indian aflTairs, he had 
invited to meet him at that place. General 
Richard Montgomery was to remain in com- 
mand at Ticonderoga, during his absence, and 



* Am. Archives, 4th Scries, lii. 17. 



to urge forward the military preparations. As 
the subsequent fortunes of this gallant officer 
are inseparably connected with the Canadian 
campaign, and have endeared his name to 
Americans, we pause to give a few particulars 
concerning him. 

General Richard Montgomery was of a good 
fainily in the north of Ireland, where he was 
born in 1736. He entered the army when about 
eighteen years of age ; served in America in the 
French war ; won a lieutenancy by gallant con- 
duct at Louisburg ; followed General Amherst 
to Lake Champlain, and, after the conquest of 
Canada, was promoted to a captaincy for his 
services in the West Indies. 

After the peace of Versailles he resided in 
England ; but, about three years before the 
breaking out of the Revolution, he sold out his 
commission in the army, and emigrated to New 
York. Here he married the eldest daughter of 
Judge Robert R. Livingston, of the Claremont 
branch of that family ; and took up his resi- 
dence on an estate which he had purchased in 
Dutchess County, on the banks of the Hudson. 

Being known to be in favor of the popular 
cause, he was drawn reluctantly from his rural 
abode, to represent his county in the first con- 
vention of the province ; and on the recent or- 
ganization of the army, his military reputation 
gained him the unsought commission of Briga- 
dier-General. " It is an event," writes he to a 
friend, " which must put an end for a while, 
perhaps forever, to the quiet scheme of life I 
had prescribed for myself; for, though entirely 
unexpected and undesired by me, the will of an 
oppressed people, compelled to choose between 
liberty and slaveiy, must be obeyed." 

At the time of receiving his commission, 
Montgomery was about thirty-nine years of 
age, and the Icau ideal of a soldier. His form 
was well proportioned and vigorous ; his coun- 
tenance expressive and prepossessing ; he was 
cool and discriminating in council, energetic 
and fearless in action. His principles command- 
ed the respect of friends and foes, and he was 
noted for winning the affections of the soldiery. 

While these things were occurring at Ticon- 
deroga, several Indian chiefs made their appear- 
ance in the camp at Cambridge. They came 
in savage state and costume, as ambassadors 
from their respective tribes, to have a talk 
about the impending invasion of Canada. One 
was chief of the Caughnawaga tribe, whose 
residence was on the banks of the St. Law- • 
rence, six miles above Montreal. Others were 



.Er. i3.] INDIANS AT CAMBRIDGE— PLAN FOR AN EXPEDITION AGAINST QUEBEC. ' 179 



from St. Francis, about forty-five leagues above 
Quebec, and were of a warlike tribe, from which 
hostilities had been especially apprehended. 

Washington, accustomed to deal with the red 
warriors of the wilderness, received them with 
great ceremonial. They dined at head-quarters 
among his officers, and it is observed that to 
some of the latter they might have served as 
models ; such was their grave dignity and de- 
corum. 

A council-fire was held. The sachems all 
offered, on behalf of their tribes, to take up 
the liatchet for the Americans, should the latter 
invade Canada. The offer was embarrassing. 
Congress had publicly resolved to seek nothing 
but neutrality from the Indian nations, unless 
tlie ministerial agents should make an offensive 
alliance with them. The chief of the St. Fran- 
cis tribe declared that Governor Carleton had 
endeavored to persuade him to take up the 
hatchet against the Americans, but in vain. 
" As our ancestors gave this country to you," 
added he, grandly, " we would not have you 
destroyed by England ; but are ready to afford 
you our assistance." 

"Washington wished to be certain of the con- 
duct of the enemy, before he gave a reply to 
these Indian overtures. He wrote by express, 
therefore, to General Schuyler, requesting him 
to ascertain the intentions of the British gov- 
ernor with respect to the native tribes. 

By the same express, he communicated a plan 
which had occupied his thoughts for several 
days. As the contemplated movement of Schuy- 
ler would probably cause all the British force 
in Canada to be concentrated in the neighbor- 
hood of Montreal and St. Johns, he proposed 
to send off an expedition of ten or twelve hun- 
dred men, to penetrate to Quebec by the way 
of the Kennebec River. " If you are resolved 
to proceed," writes he to Schuyler, " which I 
gather from your last letter is your intention, 
it would make a diversion that would distract 
Carleton. He must either break uj), and follow 
this party to Quebec, by which he would leave 
you a free passage, or he must suffer that im- 
portant place to fall into other hands ; an event 
that would have a decisive effect and influence 
on the public interest. * * * * The few 
whom I have consulted on the project approve 
it much, but the final determination is deferred 
until I hear from you. Not a moment's time is 
to be lost in the preparations for this enter- 
prise, if the advices from you favor it. With 
the utmost expedition the season will be con- 



siderably advanced, so that you will dismiss the 
express as soon as possible. 

The express found Schuyler in Albany, where 
he had been attending the conference with the 
Six Nations. He had just received intelligence 
which convinced him of the propriety of an 
expedition into Canada ; had sent word to Gen- 
eral Montgomery to get every thing ready for 
it, and was on the point of departing for Ticon- 
deroga to carry it into effect. In reply to Wash- 
ington, he declared his conviction, from various 
accounts which he had received, that Carleton 
and his agents were exciting the Indian tribes 
to hostility. " I should, therefore, not hesitate 
one moment," adds he, "to employ any savages 
that might be willing to join us." 

He expressed himself delighted with Wash- 
ington's project of sending off" an expedition to 
Quebec, regretting only that it had not been 
thought of earlier. '' Should the detachment 
from your body penetrate into Canada," added 
he, " and we meet with success, Canada must 
inevitably faU into our hands." 

Having sent off these despatches, SchnylflT 
hastened back to Ticonderoga. Before he 
reached there, Montgomery had received intel- 
ligence that Carleton had completed his armed 
vessels at St. Johns, and was abaiait to send them 
into Lake Champlain by the Sorel River. No 
time, therefore, was to be lost in getting pos- 
session of the Isle aux Noix, which commanded 
the entrance to that river. Montgomery hast- 
ened, therefore, to embark with about a thou- 
sand men, which were as many as th#boats now 
ready could hold, taking with him two pieces 
of artillery ; with this force he set off down 
the lake. A letter to General Schuyler explain- 
ed the cause of his sudden departure, and en- 
treated him to follow on in a whale-boat, leav- 
ing the residue of the artillery to come on as 
soon as conveyances could be procured, 

Schuyler arrived at Ticonderoga on the night 
of the 30th of August, but too ill of a bilious 
fever to push on in a whale-boat. He caused, 
however, a bed to be prepared for him in a cov- 
ered bateau, and, ill as he was, continued for- 
ward on the following day. On the 4th'0f Sep- 
tember he overtook Montgomery at the Isle la 
Motte, where he had been detained by contrary 
weather, and, assuming command of the little 
army, kept on the same day to the Isle aux 
Noix, about twelve miles south of St. Johns — 
where for the present we shall leave him, and 
return to the head-quarters of the commander- 
in-chief. 



ISO 



A CHALLENGE DECLINED— WASHIXGTOX MEDITATES A BLOW. 



[1111 



CHAPTER V. 

The siege of Boston had been kept up for 
several weeks T\ithotit any remarkable occur- 
rence. The British remained -u-ithin their lines, 
diligently strengthening them; the besiegers 
having received farther supplies of ammunition, 
were growing impatient of a state of inactivity. 
Towards the latter part of August, there were 
rumors from Boston, that the enemy were pre- 
paring for a sortie. TTashington was resolved 
to provoke it by a kind of challenge. He ac 
cordingly detached fourteen hundred men to 
seize at night upon a height within musket shot 
of the enemy's line on Charlestown Neck, pre- 
suming that the latter would sally forth on the 
following day to dispute possession of it, and 
thus be drawn into a general battle. The task 
was executed with silence and celerity, and by 
daybreak the hill presented to the astonished 
foe, the aspect of a fortified post. 

The challenge was not accepted. The British 
t»ened a heavy cannonade from Bunker's Hill, 
but kept within their works. The Americans, 
scant of ammunition, could only reply with a 
single nine-pounder ; this, however, sank one 
of the floating batteries which guarded the 
Neck. They went on to complete and strength- 
en this advanced post, exposed to daily cannon- 
ade and bombardment, which, however, did 
but little injury. They continued to answer 
from time to time with a single gun ; reserving 
their amnitinition for a general action. " We 
are just in the situation of a man with little 
money in his pocket," writes Secretary Eeed ; 
" he will do twenty mean things to prevent his 
breaking in upon his little stock. We are 
obliged to bear with the rascals on Bunker's 
Hill, when a few shot now and then in return, 
would keep our men attentive to their busi- 
ness, and give the enemy alarms." * 

The evident unwillingness of the latter to 
come forth was perplexing. " Unless the min- 
isterial troops in Boston are waiting for rein- 
forcements," writes Washington, " I cannot de- 
vise what they are staying there for, nor why, 
as they affect to despise the Americans, they 
do not come forth and put an end to the con- 
test at once." 

Perhaps they persuaded themselves that his 
army, composed of crude, half-disciplined levies 
from different and distant quarters, would grad- 



* Life of Rccd, vol. i. 119. 



ually fall asunder and disperse, or that its means 
of subsistence would be exhausted. He had his 
own fears on the subject, and looked forward 
with doubt and anxiety to a winter's campaign ; 
the heavy expense that would be incurred in 
providing barracks, fuel, and wai'm clothing; 
the difficulty there would be of keeping to- 
gether, through the rigorous season, troops un- 
accustomed to military hardships, and none of 
whose terms of enlistment extended beyond 
the 1st of January : the supplies of ammuni- 
tion, too, that would be required for protracted 
operations ; the stock of powder on hand, not- 
withstanding the most careful husbandry, being 
fearfully small. Eevolving these circumstances 
in his mind, he rode thoughtfully about the 
commanding points in the vicinity of Boston, 
considering how he might strike a decisive blow 
that would put an end to the murmuring inac- 
tivity of the army, and relieve the country 
from the consuming expense of maintaining it. 
The result was, a letter to the major and briga- 
dier-generals, summoning them to a council of 
war to be held at the distance of three days, 
and giving them previous intimation of its pur- 
pose. It was to know whether, in their judg- 
ment, a successful attack might not be made upon 
the troops at Boston by means of boats, in co- 
operation with an attempt upon their lines at 
Roxbury. " The success of such an enterprise," 
adds he, " depends, I well know, upon the All- 
wise Disposer of events, and it is not within 
the reach of human wisdom to foretell the is- 
sue ; but if the prospect is fair, the undertaking 
is justifiable." 

He proceeded^ to state the considerations al- 
ready cited, which appeared to justify it. The 
council having thus had time for previous de- 
liberation, met on the 11th of September. It 
was composed of Major-Generals Ward, Lee, 
and Putnam, and Brigadier-Generals Thomas, 
Heath, Sullivan, Spencer, and Greene. They 
unanimously pronounced the suggested attempt 
inexpedient, at least for the present. 

It certainly was bold and hazardous, yet it 
seems to have taken strong hold on the mind 
of the commander-in-chief, usually so cautious. ' 
" I cannot say," writes he to the President of 
Congress, " that I have wholly laid it aside ; but 
new events may occasion new measures. Of 
this I hope the honorable Congress can need no 
assurance, that tliere is not a man in America 
who more earnestly wishes such a termination 
of the campaign, as to make the army no long- 
er necessarv." 



iET. 43.] 



ARNOLD IN COMM'AND— ADVICE AND INSTRUCTIONS. 



ISl 



In the mean time, as it was evident the ene- 
my did not intend to come out, but were only- 
strengthening their defences, and preparing for 
winter, "Washington was enabled to turn his at- 
tention to the expedition to be sent into Canada 
by the way of the Kennebec River. 

•A detachment of about eleven hundred men, 
chosen fof the purpose, was soon encamped on 
Cambridge Common. There were ten compa- 
nies of New England infantry, some of them 
from General Greene's Rhode Island regiments ; 
three rifle companies from Pennsylvania and 
Virginia, one of them Captain Daniel Morgan's* 
famous company ; and a number of volunteers ; 
among whom was Aaron Burr, then but twenty 
years of age, and just commencing his varied, 
brilliant, but ultimately unfortunate career. 

The proposed expedition was wild and peril- 
ous, and required a hardy, skilful, and intrepid 
leader. Such a one was at hand. Benedict 
Arnold was at Cambridge, occupied in settling 
his accounts with the Massachusetts committee 
of safety. These were nearly adjusted. "What- 
ever-faults may have been found with his con- 
duct in some particulars, his exploits on Lake 
Champlain had atoned for them ; for valor in 
time of war, covers a multitude of sins. It 
was thought too, by some, that he had been 
treated harshly, and there was a disposition to 
soothe his irritated pride. "Washington had 
given him an honorable reception at head- quar- 
ters, and now considered him the very man for 
the present enterprise. He had shown aptness 
for military service, whether on land or water. 
He was acquainted, too, with Canada, and es- 
pecially with Quebec, having, in the course of 
his checkered life, traded in horses between that 
place and the "West Indies. "With these consid- 
erations he intrusted him with the command of 
the expedition, giving him the commission of 
lieutenant-colonel in the continental army. 

As he would be intrusted with dangerous 
powers, "Washington, besides a general letter 
of instructions, addressed a special one to him 
individually, full of cautious and considerate 
advice. " Upon your conduct and courage, 
and that of the officers and soldiers detailed 
on this expedition, not only the success of the 
present enterprise, and your own honor, but 
tlie safety and welfare of the whole continent, 
may depend. I charge you, therefore, and the 
ofiScers and soldiers under your command, as 
you value your own safety and honor, and the 
favor and esteem of your country, that you 
consider yourselves as marching, not through 



the country of an enemy, but of our friends 
and brethren ; for such the inhabitants of 
Canada and the Indian nations have approved 
themselves in this unhappy contest between 
Great Britain and America ; and that you 
check by every motive of duty and fear of 
punishment every attempt to plunder or insult 
the inhabitants of Canada. Should an Ameri- 
can soldier be so base and infamous as to in- 
jure any Canadian or Indian in his person or 
property, I do most earnestly enjoin you to 
bring him to such severe and exemplary pun- 
ishment as the enormity of the crime may re- 
quire. Should it extend to death itself, it will 
not be disproportioned to its guilt at such a 
time and in such a cause. * * * * j ^Iso 
give in charge to you, to avoid all disrespect 
to the religion of the country and its ceremo- 
nies * * "While we are contending for our 
own liberty, we should be very cautious not 
to violate the rights of conscience in others, 
ever considering that God alone is the judge 
of the hearts of men, and to him only, in this 
case, are they answerable." 

In the general letter of instructions, "Wash- 
ington inserted the following clause. " If 
Lord Chatham's son should be in Canada, and 
in any way fall into your power, you are en- 
joined to treat him with all possible deference 
and respect. You cannot err in paying too 
much honor to the son of so illustrious a 
character and so true a friend to America." 

Arnold was, moreover, furnished with hand- 
bills for distribution in Canada, setting forth 
the friendly objects of the present expedition, 
as well as of that under General Schuyler ; and 
calling on the Canadians to furnish necessaries 
and accommodations of every kind ; for which 
they were assured ample compensation. 

On the 13th of September, Arnold struck 
his tents, and set out in high spirits. More 
fortunate than his rival, Ethan Allen, he had 
attained the object of his ambition, the com- 
mand of an expedition into Canada; and 
trusted in the capture of Quebec, to eclipse 
even the surprise of Ticonderoga. 

"Washington enjoined upon him to push 
forward as rapidly as possible, success depend- 
ing upon celerity ; and counted the days as ' 
they elapsed after his departure, impatient to 
receive tidings of his progress up the Kennebec, 
and expecting that the expedition would reach 
Quebec about the middle of October. In the 
interim came letters from General Schuyler, 
giving particulars of the main expedition. 



182 



SCHUYLER OX THE SOREL— SOLICITUDE ABOUT ARNOLD. 



[irii 



In a preceding chapter we left the general 
and liis little army at the Isle aux Noix, near 
the Sorel River, the outlet of the lake. Thence, 
on the 5th of September, he sent Colonel 
Ethan Allen and Major Brown to reconnoitre 
the country between that river and the St. 
Lawrence, to distribute friendly addresses 
among the people and ascertain their feelings. 
This done, and having landed his baggage and 
provisions, the general proceeded along the 
Sorel River the next day with his boats, until 
within two miles of St. Johns, when a cannon- 
ade was opened from the fort. Keeping on 
for half a mile further, he landed his troops 
in a deep, close swamp, where they had a 
sharp skirmish with an ambuscade of tories 
and Indians, whom they beat off with some 
loss on both sides. Night coming on, they 
cast up a small intrenchment, and encamped, 
disturbed occasionally by shells from the fort, 
which, however, did no other mischief than 
slightly wounding a lieutenant. 

In the night the camp was visited secretly 
by a person, who informed General Schuyler 
of the state of the fort. Tlje works were 
completed, and furnished with cannon. A 
vessel pierced for sixteen guns was launched, 
and would be ready to sail in three or four 
days. It was not probable that any Canadians 
would join the army, being disposed to'remain 
neutral. This intelligence being discussed in 
a council of war in the morning, it was deter- 
mined that they had neither men nor artillery 
sufficient to undeitake the siege. They re- 
turned, therefore, to the Isle aux Noix, cast up 
fortifications, and threw a boom across the 
channel of the river to prevent the passage of 
the enemy's vessels into the lake, and awaited 
the arrival of artillery and reinforcements from 
Ticonderoga. 

In the course of a few days the expected 
reinforcements arrived, and with them a small 
train of artillery. Ethan Allen also returned 
from his reconnoitring expedition, of which he 
made a most encouraging report. Tlie Cana- 
dian captains of militia were ready, he said, 
to join the Americans, whenever they should 
appear with sufficient force. lie had held 
talks too, with the Indians, and found them 
well disposed. In a word, he was convinced 
that an attack on St. Johns, and an inroad 
into the province, would meet with liearty 
eo-operation. 

Preparations were now made for the invest- 
ment of St. Johns by land and water. Major 



Brown, who had already acted as a scout, was 
sent with one hundred Americans, and about 
thirty Canadians, towards Chamblee, to make 
friends in that quarter, and to join the army 
as soon as it should arrive at St. Johns. 

To quiet the restless activity of Ethan 
Allen, who had no command in the army, Jie 
was sent with an escort of thirty men to re- 
trace his steps, penetrate to La Prairie, and beat 
up for recruits among the people whom he had 
recently visited. 

For some time past General Schuyler had 
"been struggling with a complication of maladies, 
but exerting himself to the utmost in the 
harassing business of the camp, still hoping to 
be able to move with the army. "When every 
thing was nearly ready, he was attacked in the 
night by a severe access of his disorder, which 
confined him to his bed, and compelled him to 
surrender the conduct of the expedition to 
General Montgomery, Since he could be of 
no further use, therefore, in this quarter, he 
caused his bed, as before, to be placed on 
board a covered bateau, and set off for Ticon- 
deroga, to hasten forward reinforcements and 
supplies. An hour after his departure, he met 
Colonel Seth Warner, with one hundred and 
seventy Green Mountain Boy.-, steering for the 
camp, " being the first," adds he, " that have 
appeared of that boasted corps." Some had 
mutinied and deserted the colonel, and the 
remainder were at Crown Point ; whence they 
were about to embark. 

Such was the purport of different letters re- 
ceived from Schuyler ; the last bearing date 
September 20th. Washington was deeply con- 
cerned when informed that he had quitted the 
army, supposing that General Wooster, as the 
eldest brigadier, would take rank and command 
of Montgomery, and considering him deficient 
in the activity and energy required by the 
difficult service in which he was engaged. 
" I am, therefore," writes he to Schuyler, 
" much alarmed for Arnold, whose expedition 
was built upon yours, and who will infallibly 
perish, if the invasion and entry into Canada 
are abandoned by your successor. I hope by 
this time the penetration into Canada by your 
army is effected ; but if it is not, and there are 
any intentions to lay it aside, I beg it may be 
done in such a manner that Arnold may be 
saved, by giving him notice ; and in the mean 
time, your army may keep such appearances 
as to fix Carleton, and to prevent the force of 
Canada being turned wholly upon Arnold. 



Mt. 43.] BOLD STROKE OF ETHAN ALLEN— HIS DASH AGAINST MONTREAL. 



183 



"Should this find you at Albany, and 
General "Wooster about taking the conunand, 
I entreat you to impress him strongly with the 
importance and necessity of proceeding, or so 
to conduct, that Arnold may have time to re- 
treat." 

What caused this fmmediate solicitude about 
Arnold, Avas a letter received from him, dated 
ten days previously from Fort Western, on the 
Kennebec River. He had sent reconnoitring 
parties ahead in light canoes, to gain intelli- 
gence from the Indians, and take the courses 
and distances to Dead River, a branch of the 
Kennebec, and he was now forwarding his troops 
in bateaux in five divisions, one day's march 
apart ; Morgan with his riflemen in the first 
division, Lieutenant-Colonel Roger Enos com- 
manding the last. As soon as the last divis- 
ion should be under way, Arnold was to set 
off in a light skiff to overtake the advance. 
Chaudiere Pond on the Chaudiere River, was 
the appointed rendezvous, Avhence they were 
to march in a body towards Quebec. 

Judging from the date of the letter, Arnold 
must at this time be making his way, by land 
and water, through an uninhabited and unex- 
plored wilderness ; and beyond the reach of 
recall ; his situation, therefore, would be des- 
perate should General Wooster fail to follow 
up the campaign against St. Johns. The soli- 
citude of Washington on his account was 
heightened by the consciousness, that the 
hazardous enterprise in which he was engaged 
had chiefly been set on foot by himself, and he 
felt in some degree responsible for the safety 
of the resolute partisan and hi? companions. 

Fortunately, Wooster was not the successor 
to Schuyler in the command of the expedition. 
Washington was mistaken as to the rank of 
his commission, which was one degree lower 
than that of Montgomery. The veteran him- 
self, who was a gallant soldier, and had seen 
service in two wars, expressed himself nobly 
in the matter, in reply to some inquiry made 
by Schuyler. "I have the cause of my 
country too much at heart," said he, " to 
attempt to make any difficulty or imeasiness in 
the army, upon whom the success of an enterprise 
of almost infinite importance to the country is 
now depending. I shall consider my rank 
in the army what my commission from the 
Continental Congress makes it, and shall not 
attempt to dispute the command with General 
Montgomery at St. Johns." We shall give 
some further particulars concerning this ex- 



pedition against St. Johns, towards which 
Washington was turning so anxious an eye. 

On the 16th of September, the day after 
Schuyler's departui*e for Ticonderoga, Mont- 
gomery proceeded to carry out the plans which 
had been coQcerted between them. Landing 
on the 17th at the place where they had for- 
merly encamped, within a mile and a half of 
the fort, he detached a force of five hundred 
men, among whom were three hundred Green 
Mountain Boys under Colonel Seth Warner, to 
take a position at the juncture of two roads 
leading to Montreal and Chamblee, so as to 
intercept relief from those points. He now 
proceeded to invest St. Johns. A battery 
was erected on a point of land commanding 
the fort, the ship yards, and the armed 
schooner. Another was thrown up in the 
woods on the east side of the fort, at six hun- 
dred yards distance, and furnished with two 
small mortars. All this was done under an 
incessant fire from the enemy, which as yet 
was but feebly returned. 

St. Johns had a garrison of five or six hun- 
red regulars and two hundred Canadian 
militia. Its commander. Major Preston, made 
a brave resistance. Montgomery had not proper 
battering cannon ; his mortars were defective ; 
Iris artillerists unpractised, and the engineer 
ignorant of the first principles of the art. The 
siege went on slowly, until the arrival of an 
artillery company under Captain Lamb, expe- 
dited from Saratoga by General Schuyler. 
Lamb, who was an able ofiicer, immediately 
bedded a thirteen-inch mortar, and commen- 
ced a fire of shot and shells upon the fort. 
The distance, however, was too great, and the 
positions of the batteries were Ul chosen. 

A flourishing letter was received by the 
general from Colonel Ethan Allen, giving hope 
of further reinforcement. " I am now," writes 
he, "at the Parish of St. Ours, four leagues 
from Sorel to the south. I have two hundred 
and fifty Canadians under arms. As I march, 
they gather fast. You may rely on it, that I 
shall join you in about three days, with five 
hundred or more Canadian volunteers. I 
could raise one or two thousand in a week's 
time ; but I will first visit the army with a less 
number, and, if necessary, go again recruiting. 
Those that used to be enemies to our cause, 
come cap in hand to me ; and I swear by the 
Lord, I can raise three times the number of 
our army in Canada provided you continue 
the siege. * * * The eyes of all America, 



184 



DEFEAT OF ETHAN ALLEN— A EEKO IN IKONS. 



[17Y5. 



nay, of Europe, are or will be on the economy 
of this army and the consequences attending 
it."* 

Allen was actually on his way towards St. 
Johns, when, between Longueil and La Prairie, 
he met Major Brown with his party of 
Americans and Canadians. A conversation 
took place between them. Brown assured 
him that the garrison at Montreal did not ex- 
ceed thirty men, and might easily be surprised. 
Allen's partisan spirit was instantly excited. 
Here was a chance for another bold stroke 
equal to that at Ticonderoga. A plan was 
forthwith agreed upon. Allen was to return 
to Longueil, which is nearly opposite Montreal, 
and cross the St. Lawrence in canoes in the 
night, so as to land a little below the town. 
Brown, with two hundred men, was to cross 
above, and Montreal was to be attacked 
simultaneously at opposite points. 

All this was arranged and put in action 
without the consent or knowledge of General 
Montgomery ; Allen was again the partisan 
leader, acting from individual impulse. His 
late letter to General Montgomery, would 
seem to have partaken of fanfaronade ; for the 
whole force with which he undertook his part 
of this inconsiderate enterprise, was thirty 
Americans, and eighty Canadians. With these 
he crossed the river on the night of the 24th of 
September, the few canoes found at Longueil 
having to pass to and fro repeatedly, before 
his petty force could v be landed. Guards were 
stationed on the roads to prevent any one 
passing, and giving the alarm in Montreal. 
Day dawned, but there was no signal of Major 
Brown having performed his part of the scheme. 
The enterprise seems to have been as ill con- 
certed, as it was ill advised. The day ad- 
vanced, but still no signal ; it was evident 
Major Brown had not crossed. Allen would 
gladly have recrossed the river, but it was 
too late. Ah alarm had been given to tlie 
town, and he soon found himself encountered 
by about forty regular soldiers, and a hasty 
levy of Canadians and Indians. A smart ac- 
tion ensued ; most of Allen's Canadian re- 
cruits gave way and fled, a number of Ameri- 
cans were slain, and he at length surrendered 
to the British officer, Major Campbell, being 
promised honorable terms for himself and 
thirty-eight of his men, who remained with 
him, seven of whom were wounded. The 



■ Am. Archives, 4th Series, iii. VSl. 



prisoners were marched into the town and 
delivered over to General Prescott, the com- 
mandant. Their rough appearance, and rude 
equipments, were not likely to gain them 
favor in the eyes of the military tactician, who 
doubtless considered them as little better than 
a band of freebooters on a maraud. Their 
leader, albeit a colonel, must have seemed 
worthy of the band ; for Allen was arrayed in 
rough frontier style ; a deer-skin jacket, a 
vest and breeches of coarse serge, worsted 
stockings, stout shoes, and a red woollen cap. 

"We give Allen's own account of his recep- 
tion by the British ofiicer. "He asked me 
my name, which I told him. He then asked 
me whether I was that Colonel Allen who 
took Ticonderoga. I told him I was the very 
man. Then he shook his cane over my head, 
calling me many hard names, among which he 
frequently used the word reb^, and put him- 
self in a great rage." * 

Ethan Allen, according to his own account, 
answered with becoming spirit. Indeed he 
gives somewhat of a melodramatic scene, which 
ended by his being sent on board of the Gaspee 
schooner of war, heavily ironed, to be trans- 
ported to England for trial ; Prescott giving 
him the parting assurance, sealed with an 
empliatic oath, that he would grace a halter 
at Tyburn. 

Neither Allen's courage nor his rhetorical 
vein deserted him on this trying occasion. 
From his place of confinement, he indited the 
following epistle to the general : — 

"Honorable Sir, — In the wheel of transi- 
tory events I find myself prisoner, and in 
irons. Probably your honor has certain rea- 
sons to me inconceivable, though I challenge 
an instance of this sort of economy of the 
Americans during the late war to any ofllcers 
of the crown. On my part, I have to assure 
your honor, that when I had the command, 
and took Captain Delaplace and Lieutenant 
Fulton, with the garrison of Ticonderoga, I 
treated them with every mark of friendship 
and generosity, the evidence of which is noto- 
rious, even in Canada. I have only to add, that 
I expect an honorable and humane treatment, 
as an ofiicer of my rank and merit should 
have, and subscribe myself your honor's most 
obedient servant, 

"Ethan Allen." 



* Am. Archives, iii. 



^T. 43.] 



ANNOYAXCES OF SCHUYLER— PROGRESS OF ARNOLD. 



185 



In the British publication from which we 
cite the above, the following note is appended 
to the letter, probably on the authority of 
General Prescott : " N. B. — The author of the 
above letter is au outlaw, and a reward is 
oflfered by the New York Assembly for appre- 
hending him." * 

The reckless dash at Montreal was viewed 
with concern by the American commander. 
" I am apprehensive of disagreeable conse- 
quences arising from Mr. Allen's imprudence," 
writes General Schuyler. " I always dreaded 
his impatience of subordination, and it was not 
until after a solemn promise made me in the 
presence of several officers, that he would de- 
mean himself with propriety, that I would per- 
mit him to attend the army ; nor would I have 
consented then, had not his solicitations been 
backed by several officers." 

The conduct of Allen was also severely cen- 
sured by "Washington. " His misfortune," said 
he, " will, I hope, teach a lesson of prudence 
and subordination to others who may be am- 
bitious to outshine their general officers, and, 
regardless of order and duty, rush into enter- 
prises which have unfavorable effects on the 
public, and are destructive to themselves." 

Partisan exploit had, in fact, inflated the van- 
ity and bewildered the imagination of Allen, 
and unfitted him for regular warfare. Still his 
name will ever be a favorite one with his coun- 
trymen. Even his occasional rhodomontade 
will be tolerated with a good-humored smile, 
backed as it was by deeds of daring courage ; 
and among the hardy pioneers of our Revolution 
whose untutored valor gave the first earnests 
of its triumphs, will be remembered, with hon- 
or, the rough Green Mountain partisan, who 
seized upon the " Keys of Ohamplain." 

In the letters of Schuyler, which gave "Wash- 
ington accounts, from time to time, of the pre- 
ceding events, were sad repinings at his own 
illness, and the multiphed annoyances which 
beset him. " The vexation of spirit under 
which I labor," writes he, " that a barbarous 
complication of disorders should prevent me 
from reaping those laurels for which I have un- 
weariedly wrought since I was honored with 
this command ; the anxiety I have suflEered since 
my arrival here (at Ticonderoga), lest the army 
should starve, occasioned by a scandalous want 
of subordination, and inattention to my orders, 
in some of the officers that I left to command 



* Remembrancer, ii. 51. 



at the different posts ; the vast variety of dis- 
agreeable and vexatious incidents that almost 
every hour arise in some department or other, 
— not only retard my cure, but have put me 
considerably back for some days past. If Job 
had been a general in my situation, his memory 
had not been so famous for patience. But the 
glorious end we have in view, and which I have 
confident hope will be attained, will atone for 
all." "Washington replied in that spirit of 
friendship which existed between them. " You 
do me justice in believing that I feel the utmost 
anxiety for your situation, that I sympathize 
with you in all your distresses, and shall most 
heartily share in the joy of your success. My 
anxiety extends itself to poor Arnold, whose 
fate depends upon the issue of your campaign. 
* * * * * The more I reflect upon the 
importance of your expedition, the greater is 
my concern, lest it should sink under insupera- 
ble difficulties. I look upon the interests and 
salvation of our bleeding country in a great de- 
gree as depending upon your success." 

Shortly after writing the above, and while he 
was still full of solicitude about the fate of Ar- 
nold, he received a despatch from the latter, 
dated October 13th, from the great portage or 
carrying-place between the Kennebec and Dead 
Eiver, 

" Your Excellency," writes Arnold, " may 
possibly think we have been tardy in our 
march, as we have gained so little ; but when 
you consider the badness and weight of the 
bateaux, and large quantities of provisions, &c., 
we have been obliged to force up against a very 
rapid stream, where you would have taken the 
men for amphibious animals, as they were a 
great part of the time under water : add to this 
the great fatigue in the portage, you will think 
I have pushed the men as fast as they could 
possibly bear." 

The toils of the expedition up the Kennebec 
Eiver had indeed been excessive. Part of the 
men of each division managed the boats — part 
marched along the banks. Those on board had 
to labor against swift currents ; to unload at 
rapids ; transport the cargoes, and sometimes 
the boats themselves, for some distance on their 
shoulders, and then to reload. They were days 
in making their way round stupendous cata- 
racts ; several times their boats were upset and 
filled with water, to the loss or damage of arms, 
ammunition, and provisions. 

Those on land had to scramble over rocks and 
precipices ; to struggle through swamps and 



18G 



TREASON IN THE CAMP— ARREST OF DR. CHURCH, 



[1115. 



fenny streams ; or cut their way through tan- 
gled thickets, which reduced their clothes to 
rags. With all their efforts, their progress was 
but from four to ten miles a day. At night the 
men of each division encamped together. 

By the time they arrived at the place whence 
the letter was written, fatigue, swamp fevers, 
and desertion, had reduced their numbers to 
about nine hundred and fifty effective men. 
Arnold, however, wrote in good heart. " The 
last division," said he, "is just arrived; three 
divisions are over the first carrying-place, and 
as the men are in high spirits, I make no doubt 
of reaching the river Chaudiere in eight or ten 
days, the greatest difiiculty being, I hope, al- 
ready past." 

He had some days previously despatched an 
Indian, whom he considered trusty, with a letter 
for General Schuyler, apprising him of his 
whereabouts, but as yet had received no intelli- 
gence either of, or from the general, nor did he 
expect to receive any until he should reach 
Chaudiere Pond. There he calculated to meet 
the return of his express, and then to determine 
his plan of operations. 



CHAPTER VI. 

"While the two expeditions were threatening 
Canada from different quarters, the war was 
going on along the seaboard. The British in 
Boston, cut oft' from supplies by land, fitted out 
small armed vessels to seek them along the 
coast of New England. The inhabitants drove 
their cattle into the interior, or boldly resisted 
the aggressors. Parties landing to forage were 
often repulsed by hasty levies of tlie yeomanry. 
Scenes of ravage and violence occurred. Ston- 
ington was cannonaded, and further measures 
of vengeance were threatened by Captain "Wal- 
lace, of the Rose man-of-war, a naval officer, 
who had acquired an almost piratical reputation 
along the coast, and had his rendezvous in the 
harbor of Newport : domineering over the wa- 
ters of Rhode Island.* 

About this time there was an occurrence, 
which caused great excitement in the armies. 
A woman, coming from the camp at Cambridge, 
applied to a Mr. Wainwood of Newport, Rhode 
Island, to aid her in gaining access to Captain 
"Wallace, or Mr. Dudley, the collector. "Wain- 



* Gov. Trumbull- to Washington. Sparks' Corresp. of 
tho Revolution, i. 27. 



wood, who was a patriot, drew from her the 
object of her errand. She was the bearer of a 
letter from some one in camp, directed to Major 
Kane, in Boston ; but which she was to deliver 
either to the captain or the collector. Suspect- 
ing something wrong, he prevailed upon her to 
leave it with him for delivery. After her de- 
parture he opened the letter. It was written 
in cipher, which he could not read. He took 
it to Mr. Henry "Ward, secretary of the colony. 
The latter, apprehending it might contain treas- 
onable information to the enemy, transmitted 
it to General Greene, who laid it before "Wash- 
ington. 

A letter in cipher, to a person in Boston hos- 
tile to the cause, and to be delivered into the 
hands of Captain Wallace, the nautical maraud- 
er ! — there evidently was treason in the camp ; 
but how was the traitor to be detected ? The 
first step was to secure the woman, the bearer 
of the letter, who had returned to Cambridge. 
Tradition gives us a graphic scene connected 
with her arrest. Washington was in his cham- 
ber at head-quarters, when he beheld from his 
window. General Putnam approaching on horse- 
back, with a stout woman en croupe behind 
him. He had pounced upon the culprit. The 
group presented by the old general and his 
prize, overpowered even Washington's gravity. 
It was the only occasion throughout the whole 
campaign, on which he was known to laugh 
heartily. He had recovered his gravity by the 
time the delinquent was brought to the foot of 
the broad staircase in head-quarters, and assured 
her in a severe tone from the head of it, that, 
unless she confessed every thing before the next 
morning, a halter would be in readiness for her. 

So far the tradition ; — his own letter to the 
President of Congress states that, for a long 
time, the woman was proof against every threat 
and persuasion to discover the author, but at 
length named Dr. Benjamin Church. It seemed 
incredible. He had borne the character of a 
distinguished patriot ; he was the author of 
various patriotic writings ; a member of the 
Massachusetts House of Representatives; one 
of the committee deputed to conduct Washing- 
ton to the army, and at present he discharged 
the functions of surgeon-general and director 
of the hospitals. That such a man should be 
in traitorous correspondence with the enemy, 
was a thunderstroke. Orders were given to 
secure him and his papers. On his arrest he 
was extremely agitated, but acknowledged the 
letter, and said it would be found, when deci- 



^T. 43.] DR. CHURCH'S TRIAL AND FATE— CONFLAGRATION OF FALMOUTH. 



187 



phered, to contain nothing criminal. His pa- 
pers were searched, but nothing of a treasonable 
nature was discovered. " It appeared, how- 
ever, on inquiry," says "Washington, " that a 
confidant had been among the papers before 
my messenger arrived." 

The letter was deciphered. It gave a de- 
scription of the array. The doctor made an 
awkward defence, protesting that he had given 
an exaggerated account of the American force, 
for the purpose of deterring the enemy from 
attacking the American lines in their present 
defenceless condition from the want of powder. 
His explanations were not satisfactory. The 
army and country were exceedingly irritated. 
In a council of war he was convicted of crimi- 
nal correspondence ; he was expelled from the 
Massachusetts House of Representatives, and 
the Continental Congress ultimately resolved 
that he should be confined in some secure jail 
in Connecticut, without the use of pen, ink, or 
paper ; " and that no person be allowed to con- 
verse with him, except in the^resence and hear- 
ing of a magistrate, or the sheriff of the county." 

His sentence was afterwards mitigated on 
account of his health, and he was permitted to 
leave the country. He embarked for the "West 
Indies, and is supposed to have perished at sea. 

"What had caused especial irritation in the 
case of Dr. Church, was the kind of Avarfare 
already mentioned, carried on along the coast 
by British cruisers, and notoriously by Captain 
"Wallace. To check these maraudings, and to 
capture the enemy's transports laden with sup- 
plies, the provinces of Massachusetts, Rhode 
Island, and Connecticut, fitted out two armed 
vessels each, at their own expense, without 
seeking the sanction or aid of Congress. "Wash- 
ington, also, on his own responsibility, ordered 
several to be equipped for like purpose, which 
were to be manned by hardy mariners, and 
commanded by able sea captains, actually serv- 
ing in the army. One of these vessels was de- 
spatched as soon as ready, and sent to cruise be- 
tween Cape Ann and Cape Cod. Two others 
were fitted out in all haste, and sent to cruise in 
the waters of the St. Lawrence, to intercept 
two unarmed brigantines which Congress had 
been informed had sailed from England for 
Quebec, with ammunition and military stores. 
Among the sturdy little New England seaports, 
which had become obnoxious to punishment by 
resistance to nautical exactions, was Falmouth 
(now Portland), in Maine. 

On the evening of the 11th of October, Lieu- 



tenant Mowat, of the roy^l navy, appeared be- 
fore it with several armed vessels, and sent a 
letter on shore, apprising the inhabitants that 
he was come to execute a just punishment on 
them for their " premeditated attacks on the 
legal prerogatives of the best of sovereigns." 
Two hours were given them, " to remove the 
human species out of the town," at the period 
of which, a red pendant hoisted at the main- 
topgallaut masthead, and a gun, would be the 
signal for destruction. 

The letter brought a deputation of three 
persons on board. The lieutenant informed 
them verbally, that he had orders from Admiral 
Graves to set fire to all the seaport towns be- 
tween Boston and Halifax ; and he expected 
New York, at the present moment, was in ashes. 

"With much difliculty, and on the surrendering 
of some arms, the committee obtained a respite 
until nine o'clock the next morning, and the in- 
habitants improved the interval in removing 
their families and eff'ects. The next morning 
the committee returned on board before nine 
o'clock. The lieutenant now offered to spare 
the town on certain conditions, which were re- 
fused. About half-past nine o'clock the red 
pendant was run up to the masthead, and the 
signal gun fired. "Within five minutes several 
houses were in flames, from a discharge of car- 
casses and bombshells, which continued through- 
out the day. The inhabitants, " standing on 
the heights, were spectators of the conflagra- 
tion, which reduced many of them to penury 
and despair." One hundred and thirty-nine 
dwelling houses, and two hundred and twenty- 
eight stores, are said to have been burnt.* AU 
the vessels in the harbor, likewise, were de- 
stroyed or carried away as prizes. 

Having satisfied his sense of justice with re- 
spect to Falmouth, the gallant lieutenant left 
it a smoking ruin, and made sail, as was said, 
for Boston, to supply himself with more am- 
munition, having the intention to destroy Ports- 
mouth also.t 

The conflagration of Falmouth was as a bale 
fire throughout the country. Lieutenant Mowat 
was said to have informed the committee at 
that place, that orders had come from England 
to burn all the seaport towns that would not 
lay down and deliver up their arms, and give 
hostages for their good behavior. J 

"Washington himself supposed such to be the 
case. " The desolation and misery," writes he, 



* Holmes's Annals, ii. 220. t Letter of P. Jones. 

+ Letter from Gen. Greene to Gov. Cooke. 



188 



GAGE RETURNS TO ENGLAND— CONFERENCES WITH WASHINGTON. 



[IVYS. 



" which ministerial j^engeance had planned, in 
contempt of every principle of humanity, and 
so lately brought on the town of Falmouth, I 
know not how sufficiently to commiserate, nor 
can my compassion for the general suffering be 
conceived beyond the true measure of my feel- 
ings." 

General Greene, too, in a letter to a friend, 
expresses liimself with equal warmth. " O, 
could the Congress behold the distresses and 
wretched condition of the poor inhabitants 
driven from the seaport towns, it must, it 
would, kindle a blaze of indignation against the 
commissioned pirates and licensed robbers. * * 
People begin heartily to wish a declaration of 
independence." * 

General Sullivan was sent to Portsmouth. 
where there was a fortification of some strength, 
to give the inhabitants his advice and assistance 
in warding off the menaced blow. Newport, 
also, was put on the alert, and recommended to 
fortify itself. " I expect every hour," writes 
"Washington, " to hear that Newport has shared 
the same fate of unhappy Falmouth." t Under 
the feeling roused by these reports, the General 
Court of Massachusetts, exercising a sovereign 
power, passed an act for encouraging the fitting 
out of armed vessels to defend the seacoast of 
America, and for erecting a court to try and 
condemn all vessels that should be found infect- 
ing the same. This act, granting letters of 
marque and reprisal, anticipated any measure 
of the kind on the part of the General Govern- 
ment, and was pronounced by John Adams, " one 
of the most important documents in history." J 

The British ministry have, in later days, been 
exculpated from the charge of issuing such a 
desolating order as that said to have been re- 
ported by Lieutenant Mowat. The orders un- 
der which that officer acted, we are told, ema- 
nated from General Gage and Admiral Graves. 
The former intended merely the annoyance and 
destruction of rebel shipping, whether on the 
coast or in the harbors to the eastward of Bos- 
ton ; the burning of the town is surmised to 
have been an additional thought of Admiral 
Graves. Naval officers have a passion for bom- 
bardments. 

Whatever part General Gage may have had 
in this most ill-advised and discreditable meas- 
ure, it was the last of his military government, 
and he did not remain long enough in the coun- 



* Letter to the President of Congress, 
t Am. Archives, iii. 1145. 
X See Life of Gerry, 109. 



try to see it carried into effect. He sailed for 
England on the 10th of October. The tidings 
of the battle of Bunker's Hill had withered his 
laurels as a commander. Still he was not ab- 
solutely superseded, but called home, " in or- 
der," as it was considerately said, " to give his 
Majesty exact information of every thing, and 
suggest such matters as his knowledge and ex- 
perience of the service migM enable him to 
furnish." During his absence, Major-General 
Howe would act as commander-in-chief of the 
colonies on the Atlantic Ocean, and Major-Gen- 
eral Oarleton of the British forces in Canada, 
and on the frontiers. Gage fully expected to 
return, and resume the command. In a letter 
written to the minister, Lord Dartmouth, the 
day before sailing, he urged the arrival, early 
in the spring, of reinforcements which had been 
ordered, anticipating great hazard at the open- 
ing of the campaign. In the mean time he 
trusted that two thousand troops, shortly ex- 
pected from Ireland, would enable him " to dis- 
tress the rebels by incursions along the coast," 
— and — " he hoped Portsmouth in New Hamp- 
shire would feel the weight of his Majesty's 
arms." " Poor Gage," writes Horace Walpole, 
" is to be the scape-goat for what was a reason 
against employing him — incapacity." He never 
returned to America. 

On the 15th of October a committee from 
Congress arrived in camp, sent to hold a con- 
ference with Washington, and with delegates 
from the governments of Connecticut, Khode 
Island, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire, on 
the subject of a new organization of the army. 
The committee consisted of Benjamin Franklin, 
Thomas Lynch of Carolina, and Colonel Har- 
rison of Virginia. It was just twenty years 
since Washington had met Franklin in Brad- 
dock's camp, aiding that unwary general by 
his sagacious counsels and prompt expedients. 
Franklin was regarded with especial deference 
in the camp at Cambridge. Greene, who had 
never met with him before, listened to him as 
to an oracle. 

Washington was president of the board of 
conference, and Mr. Joseph Reed secretary. 
The committee brought an intimation from 
Congress that an attack upon Boston was much 
desired, if practicable. 

Washington called a council of war of his 
generals on the subject ; they were unanimously 
of the opinion that an attack would not be pru- 
dent at present. 

Another question now arose. An attack upon 



^T. 43.] CONGRESS RESOLVES TO CARRY OX THE WAR— MEASURES OF HOWE. 189 



the British force.s in Boston, whenever it should 
take place, might require a bombardment ; 
Washington inquired of the delegates liow far 
it might be pushed to the destruction of houses 
and property. They considered it a question 
of too much importance to be decided by them, 
and said it must be referred to Congress. But 
though they declined taking upon themselves 
the responsibility, the majority of them were 
strongly in favor of it ; and expressed them- 
selves so when the matter was discussed infor- 
mally in camp. Two of the committee, Lynch 
and Harrison, as well as Judge Wales, delegate 
from Connecticut, when the possible effects of 
a bombardment were suggested at a dinner ta- 
ble, declared that they would be willing to see 
Boston in flames. Lee, who was present, ob- 
served that it was impossible to burn it unless 
they sent in men with bundles of straw to do 
it. " It could not be done with carcasses and 
red-hot shot. Isle Eoyal," he added, " in the 
river St. Lawrence, had been fired at for a long 
time in 1760, with a fine train of artillery, hot- 
shot, and carcasses, without effect." * 

The board of conference was repeatedly in 
session for three or four days. The report of 
its deliberations rendered by the committee, 
produced a resolution of Congress that a new 
army of twenty-two thousand two hundred 
and seventy-two men and officers should be 
formed, to be recruited as much as possible from 
the troops actually in service. Unfortunately, 
the term for which they were to be enlisted was 
to be hut for one year. It formed a precedent 
which became a recurring cause of embarrass- 
ment throughout the war. 

Washington's secretary, Mr. Eeed, had, after 
the close of the conference, signified to him his 
intention to return to Philadelphia, where his 
private concerns required his presence. His 
departure was deeply regretted. His fluent pen 
had been of great assistance to Washington in 
the despatch of his multifarious correspondence, 
and his judicious counsels and cordial sympa- 
thies had been still more appreciated by the 
commander-in-chief, amid the multiplied diffi- 
culties of his situation. On the departure of 
Mr. Eeed, his place as secretary was temporarily 
supplied by Mr. Eobert Harrison of Maryland, 
and subsequently by Colonel Mifflin ; neither, 
however, attained to the affectionate confidence 
reposed in their predecessor. 

We shall have occasion to quote the corre- 



* Life of Dr. Belknap, p. 96. The Dr. was present at 
the above-cited conversation. 



spondence kept up between Washington and 
Eeed, during the absence of the latter. The 
letters of the former are peculiarly interesting, 
as giving views of what was passing, not merely 
around him, but in the recesses of his own 
heart. No greater proof need be given of the 
rectitude of that heart, than the clearness and 
fulness with which, in these truthful documents, 
every thought and feeling is laid open. 



CHAPTEE VII. 

The measures which General Howe had 
adopted after taking command in Boston, re- 
joiced the royalists, seeming to justify their an- 
ticipations. He proceeded to strengthen the 
works on Bunker's Hill and Boston Neck, and 
to clear away houses and throw up redoubts on 
eminences within the town. The patriot in- 
habitants were shocked by the desecration of 
the Old South Church, which for more than a 
hundred years had been a favorite place of wor- 
ship, where some of the most eminent divines 
had officiated. The pulpit and pews were now 
removed, the floor was covered with earth, and 
the sacred edifice was converted into a riding- 
school for Burgoyue's light dragoons. To ex- 
cuse its desecration, it was spoken of scofflngly 
as a " meeting-house, where sedition had often 
been preached." 

The North Church, another "meeting-house," 
was entirely demolished, and used for fuel. 
" Thus," says a chronicler of the day, " thus are 
our houses devoted to religious worship, pro- 
faned and destroyed by the subjects of his royal 
Majesty." * 

About the last of October, Howe issued three 
proclamations. The first forbade all persons to 
leave Boston without his permission, under pain 
of military execution ; the second forbade any 
one, so permitted, to take with him move than 
five pounds sterling, under pain of forfeiting 
all the money found upon his person, and being 
subject to fine and imprisonment; the third 
called upon the inhabitants to arm themselves 
for the preservation of order within the town ; 
they to be commanded by officers of his ap- 
pointment. 

Washington had recently been incensed by 
the conflagration of Falmouth ; the conduct of 
Governor Dunmore, who had proclaimed mar- 

* Thacher's Military Journal, p. 50. 



190 



HENRY KNOX, THE ARTILLERIST—LACK OF PUBLIC SPIRIT. 



[1775. 



tial law in Virginia, and threatened ruin to the 
patriots, had added to liis provocation; the 
measures of General Uowe seemed of the same 
harsh character, and he determined to retaliate. 

"Would it not be prudent," writes he to 
Governor Trumbull of Connecticut, "to seize 
those tories who have been, are, and we know 
will be active against us ? Why should persons 
who are preying upon the vitals of their coun- 
try, he suffered to stalk at large, whilst we 
know they will do us every mischief in their 
power ? " 

In this spirit he ordered General Sullivan, 
who was fortifying Portsmouth, " to seize upon 
such persons as held commissions under the 
crown, and were acting as open and avowed 
enemies to their country, and hold them as 
hostages for the security of the town." Still 
he was moderate in his retaliation, and stopped 
short of private individuals. "For the pres- 
ent," said he, " I shall avoid giving the like 
order with regard to the tories of Portsmouth ; 
but the day is not far off when they will meet 
with this, or a worse fate, if there is not a con- 
siderable reformation in their conduct." * 

The season was fast approaching iivhen the 
bay between the camp and Boston would be 
frozen over, and military operations might be 
conducted upon tlie ice. General Howe, if re- 
inforced, would then very probably " endeavor 
to relieve himself from the disgraceful confine- 
ment in which the ministerial troops had been 
all summer." Washington felt the necessity, 
therefore, of guarding the camps wherever they 
were most assailable ; and of throwing up bat- 
teries for the i)urpose. He had been embar- 
rassed throughout the siege by the want of ar- 
tillery and ordnance stores ; but never more so 
than at the present moment. In this juncture, 
Mr. Henry Knox stepped forward, and offered 
to proceed to the frontier forts on Champlain 
in quest of a supply. 

Knox was one of those providential charac- 
ters which spring up in emergencies, as if they 
were formed by and for the occasion. A thriv- 
ing bookseller in Boston, he had thrown up 
business to take up arms for the liberties of his 
country. He was one of the patriots who had 
fought on Bunker's Hill, since when he had 
aided in planning the defences of the camp be- 
fore Boston. The aptness and talent here dis- 
played by him as an artillerist, had recently in- 
duced Washington to recommend him to Con- 



Luttcr to William I>:ilfrcy. Sparks, iii. 158. 



gress for the command of the regiment of artil- 
lery in place of the veteran Gridley, who was 
considered by all the officers of the camp too 
old for active employment. Congress had not 
yet acted on that recommendation ; in the mean 
time Washington availed himself of the offered 
services of Knox in the present instance. He 
was, accordingly, instructed to examine into 
the state of the artillery in camp, and take an 
account of the cannon, mortars, shells, lead, and 
ammunition that were wanting. He was then 
to hasten to New York, procure and forward 
all that could be had there ; and thence proceed 
to the head-quarters of General Schuyler, who 
was requested by letter to aid him in obtaining 
what further supplies of the kind were wanting 
from the forts at Ticonderoga, Crown Point, 
St. Johns, and even Quebec, should it be in the 
hands of the Americans. Knox set off on his 
errand with promptness and alacrity, and short- 
ly afterwards the commission of colonel of the 
regiment of artillery, which Washington had 
advised, Avas forwarded to him by Congress. 

The re-enlistment of troops actually in ser- 
vice was now attempted, and proved a fruit- 
ful source of perplexity. In a letter to the 
President of Congress, Washington observes 
that half of the officers of the rank of captain 
were inclined to retire ; and it was probable 
their example would influence their men. Of 
those who were disposed to remain, the officers 
of one colony were unwilling to mix in the 
same regiment with those of another. Many 
sent in their names, to serve in expectation of 
promotion ; others stood aloof, to see what ad- 
vantages they could make for themselves ; while 
those who had declined sent in their names 
again to serve.* The difficulties were greater, 
if possible, with the soldiers than with the of- 
ficers. They would not enlist unless they knew 
their colonel, lieutenant-colonel, and captain ; 
Connecticut men being unwilling to serve under 
officers from Massachusetts, and Massachusetts 
men under officers from Ehode Island ; so that 
it was necessary to appoint the officers first. 

Twenty days later he again writes to the 
President of Congress : "I am sorry to be ne- 
cessitated to mention to you the egregious 
want of public spirit which prevails here. In- 
stead of pressing to be engaged in the cause of 
the counti-y, which I vainly flattered myself 
would be the case, I find we are likely to be ' 
deserted in a most critical time. * * * Our 



' WashiDgton to the President of Congrees, Nov. 8. 



^T. 43.] 



COMMENTS OF GEN^ERAL GREENE— SIEGE OF ST. JOHNS. 



191 



situation is truly alarming, and of this General 
Howe is well apprised. No doubt wlien lie is 
reinforced he will avail himself of the infor- 
mation." 

In a letter to Reed he disburdened his heart 
more completely. " Such dearth of public spirit, 
and such want of virtue ; ^uch stock-jobbing, and 
fertility in all the low arts to obtain advantage 
of one kind or another in this great change of 
military arrangement, I never saw before, and 
I pray God's mercy that I may never be witness 
to again. "What will be the end of these ma- 
nojuvres is beyond my scan. I tremble at the 
prospect. We have been till this time (Nov. 28) 
enlisting about three thousand five hundred 
men. To engage these, I have been obliged to 
allow furloughs as far as fifty men to a regi- 
ment, and the officers I am persuaded indulge 
many more. The Connecticut troops will not 
be prevailed upon to stay longer than their 
term, saving those who have enlisted for the 
next campaign, and are mostly on furlough ; 
and such a mercenary spirit pervades the whole, 
that I should not be surprised at any disaster 
that may happen. * =i= =*= Could I have fore- 
seen what I have experienced and am likely to 
experience, no consideration upon earth should 
have induced me to accept this command." 

No one drew closer to "Washington in this 
time of his troubles and perplexities than Gen- 
eral Greene. He had a real veneration for his 
character, and thought himself " happy in an 
opportunity to serve under so good a general." 
He grieved at "Washington's annoyances, but 
attributed them in part to his being somewhat 
of a stranger in New England. " He has not had 
time," writes he, " to make himself acquainted 
with the genius of this people ; they are natu- 
rally as brave and spirited as the peasantry of 
any other country, but you cannot expect vete- 
rans of a raw militia from only a few months' 
service. The common people are exceedingly 
avaricious ; the genius of the people is com- 
mercial, from their long intercourse with trade. 
The sentiment of honor, the true characteristic 
of a soldier, has not yet got the better of in- 
terest. His Excellency has been taught to be- 
lieve the people here a superior race of mortals ; 
and finding them of the same temper and dis- 
positions, passions and prejudices, virtues and 
vices of the common people of other govern- 
ments, they sank in his esteem." * 



* Greene to Dep. Gov. Ward. Am. Arch., 4th Series, 
iii. 1145. 



CHAPTER yill. 

Despatodes from Schuyler, dated October 
26th, gave "Washington another chapter of the 
Canada expedition. Chamblee, an inferior fort 
within five miles of St. Johns, had been taken 
by Majors Brown and Livingston, at the head 
of fifty Americans and three hundred Cana- 
dians. A large quantity of gunpowder and 
other military Mores found there, was a season- 
able supply to tiie army before St. Johns, and 
consoled General Montgomery for his disappoint- 
ment in regard to the aid promised by Colonel 
Ethan Allen. He now pressed the siege of 
St. Johns with vigor. The garrison, cut off 
from supplies, were suffering from want of pro- 
visions ; but the brave commander, Major Pres- 
ton, still held out manfully, hoi)ing speedy re- 
lief from General Carleton, who was assembling 
troops for that purpose at Montreal. 

Carleton, it is true, had but about one hun- 
dred regulars, several hundred Canadians, and 
a number of Indians with him ; but he calcu- 
lated greatly on the co-operation of Colonel 
Maclean, a veteran Scot, brave and bitterly 
loyal, who had enhsted three hundred of his 
countrymen at Quebec, and formed them into 
a regiment called " The Royal Highland Emi- 
grants." This doughty Highlander was to land 
at the mouth of the Sorel, where it empties 
into the St. Lawrence, and proceed along the 
former river to St. Johns, to join Carleton, who 
would repair thither by the way of Longueil. 

In the mean time Montgomery received ac- 
counts from various quarters that Colonel 
Ethan Allen and his men, captured in the iU- 
advised attack upon Montreal, were treated 
with cruel and unnecessary severity, bemg 
loaded with irons ; and that even the colonel 
himself was subjected to this " shocking indig- 
nity." Montgomery addressed a letter to Carle- 
ton on the subject, strong and decided in its 
purport, but written in the spirit of a courteous 
and high-minded gentleman, and ending with 
an expression of that sad feeling which gallant 
officers must often have experienced in this 
revolutionary conflict, on being brought into 
collision with former brothers in arms. 

" Your character, sir," writes he, " induces 
me to hope I am ill informed. Nevertheless, 
the duty I owe the troops committed to my 
charge lays me under the necessity of acquaint- 
ing your Excellency, that, if you allow this 
conduct, and persist in it, I shall, though with 



192 



SIEGE AND CAPITULATIOX OF ST JOHNS. 



[1115. 



the most painful regret, execute with rigor the 
just and necessary law of retaliation upon the 
garrison of Ohamblee, now in my possession, 
and upon all others who may hereafter fall 
into my hands. * * * * j gijall expect 
your Excellency's answer in six days. Should 
the bearer not return in that time, I must inter- 
pret your silence into a declaration of a barbar- 
ous war. I cannot pass this opportunity with- 
out lamenting the melancholy and fatal neces- 
sity, which obliges the firmest^friends of the 
constitution to oppose one of the most respect- 
able ofBcers of the crown." 

While waiting for a reply, Montgomery 
pressed the siege of St. Johns, though thwarted 
continually by the want of subordination and 
discipline among his troops ; hasty levies from 
various colonies, who, said he, " carry the spirit 
of freedom into the field, and think for them- 
selves." Accustomed as he had been, in his 
former military experience, to the implicit obe- 
dience of European troops, the insubordination 
of these yeoman soldiery was intolerable to 
him. " Were I not afraid," writes he, " the 
example would be too generally followed, and 
that the public service might suffer, I woiUd 
not stay an hour at the head of troops whose 
operations I cannot direct. I must say I have 
no hopes of success, unless from the garrison's 
wanting provisions." 

He had advanced his lines and played from 
liis batteries on two sides of the fort for some 
hours, when tidings brought by four prisoners, 
caused him to cease his fire. 

General Carleton, on the 31st of September, 
had embarked his motley force at Montreal, in 
thirty-four boats, to cross the St. Lawrence, 
land at Longueil, and push on for St. Johns, 
where, as concerted, he was to be joined by 
Maclean and his Highlanders. As the boats 
approached the right bank of the river at Lon- 
gueil, a terrible lire of artillery and musketry 
was unexpectedly opened upon them, and 
threw them into confusion. It was from Col- 
onel Seth Warner's detachment of Green Moun- 
tain Boys and New Yorkers. Some of the 
boats were disabled, some were driven on shore 
on an island ; Carleton retreated with the rest 
to Montreal, with some loss in killed and 
wounded. The Americans captured two Cana- 
dians and two Indians ; and it was these pris- 
oners who brought tidings to the camp of Carle- 
ton's signal repulse. 

Aware that the garrison held out merely in 
expectation of the relief thus intercepted, Mont- 



gomery ceased his fire, and sent a flag by one 
of the Canadian prisoners with a letter inform- 
ing Major Preston of the event, and inviting a 
surrender to spare the etiusion of blood. 

Preston in reply expressed a doubt of the 
truth of the report brought by the prisoners, 
but ofiered to surrender if not relieved in four 
days. The condition was refused and the gal- 
lant major was obliged to capitulate. His gar- 
rison consisted of five hundred regulars and 
one hunded Canadians ; among the latter were 
several of the provincial noblesse. 

Montgomery treated Preston and his garri- 
son with the courtesy inspired by their gallant 
resistance. He had been a British ofiicer him- 
self, and his old associations with the service, 
made him sympathize with the brave men 
whom the fortune of war had thrown into his 
hands. Perhaps their high-bred and aristo- 
cratic tone contrasted favorably in his eyes, 
with the rough demeanor of the crude swords- 
men with whom he had recently associated, 
and brought back the feelings of early days, 
when war with him Avas a gay profession, not 
a melancholy duty. According to capitulation, 
the baggage of both oflicers and men was se- 
cured to them, and each of the latter received a 
new suit of clothing from the captured stores. 
This caused a murmur among the American 
soldiery, many of whom were nearly naked, 
and the best but scantily provided. Even some 
of the ofiicers were indignant that all the 
articles of clothing had not been treated as 
lawful spoil. " I would not have sullied my 
own reputation, nor disgraced the Continental 
arms by such a breach of capitulation for the 
universe," said Montgomery.* Having sent his 
prisoners up Lake Champlain to Ticonderoga, 
he prepared to proceed immediately to Mon- 
treal ; requesting General Schuyler to forward 
all the men he could possibly spare. 

The royal Highland Emigrants who were to 
have co-operated with General Carleton, met 
with no better fortune than that commander, 
Maclean landed at the mouth of the Sorel, and 
added to his force by recruiting a number of 
Canadians in the neighborhood, at the point of 
the bayonet. He was in fuU march for St. 
Johns, when he was encountered by Majors 
Brown and Livingston with their party, fresh 
from the capture of Chamblee, and reinforced 
by a number of Green Mountain Boys. These 
pressed him back to the mouth of the Sorel, 
where, hearing of the repulse of Carleton, and 
being deserted by his Canadian recruits, he em- 



^T. 43.] 



WEARY STRUGGLE OF ARNOLD THROUGH THE WILDERNESS. 



193 



barked the residue of his troops, and set off 
down the St. Lawrence to Quebec. The Amer- 
icans now took post at the mouth of the Sorel, 
where they erected batteries so as to command 
the St. Lawrence, and prevent the descent of 
any armed vessels from Montreal. 

Thus closed another chapter of the invasion 
of Canada. " Not a word of Arnold yet," said 
Montgomery, in his last despatch. " I have 
sent two expresses to him lately, one by an 
Indian who promised to return with expedition. 
The instant I have any news of him, I wiU ac- 
quaint you by express." 

We will anticipate his express, by giving the 
reader the purport of letters received by Wash- 
ington direct from Arnold himself, bringing 
forward the collateral branch of this eventful 
enterprise. 

The transportation of troops and effects 
across the carrying-place between the Kenne- 
bec and Dead Rivers, had been a work of 
severe toil and difficulty to Arnold and his 
men, but performed with admirable spirit? 
There were ponds and streams full of trout and 
salmon, which furnished them with fresh pro- 
visions. Launching their boats on the sluggish 
waters of the Dead River, they navigated it 
in divisions, as before, to the foot of snow- 
crowned mountains ; a part of the great granite 
chain which extends from south-west to north- 
east throughout our continent. Here, while 
Arnold and the first division were encamped 
to repose themselves, heavy rains set in, and 
they came near being swept away by sudden 
torrents from the mountains. Several of their 
boats were overturned, much of their provisions 
was lost, the sick list increased, and the good 
spirits which had hitherto sustained them began 
to give way. They were on scanty allowance, 
with a prospect of harder times, for there were 
still twelve or fifteen days of wilderness before 
them, where no supplies were to be had. A 
council of war was now held, in which it was 
determined to sent back the sick and disabled, 
who were mere incumbrances. Arnold, ac- 
cordingly, wrote to the commanders of the 
other divisions, to press on with as many of 
their men as they could furnish with provisions 
for fifteen days, and to send the rest back to a 
place on the route called Norridgewock. This 
order was misunderstood, or misinterpreted by 
Colonel Enos, who commanded the rear divi- 
sion ; he gave all the provisions he could spare 
to Colonel Greene of the third division, retain- 
ing merely enough to supply his own corps of 
13 



three hundred men on their way back to Nor- 
ridgewock, whither ho immediately returned. 

Letters from Arnold and Enos apprised Wash- 
ington of this grievous flaw in the enterprise. 
He regarded it, however, as usual, with a hope- 
ful eye. " Notwithstanding this great defec- 
tion," said he, "I do not despair of Colonel 
Arnold's success. He will have, in all proba- 
bility, many more difficulties to encounter than 
if he had been a fortnight sooner ; as it is likely 
that Governor Carleton will, with what forces 
he can collect after the surrender of the rest 
of Canada, throw himself into Quebec, and 
there make his last effort." * 

Washington was not mistaken in the con- 
fidence he had placed in the energy of Arnold. 
Though the latter found his petty force greatly 
reduced by the retrograde move of Enos and 
his party, and although snow and ice rendered 
his march still more bleak among the moun- 
tains, he kept on with unflinching spirit until 
he arrived at the ridge which divides the 
streams of New England and Canada. Here, 
at Lake Megantic, the source of the Chaudiere, 
he met an emissary whom he had sent in ad- 
vance to ascertain the feelings of the TiaMtans, 
or French yeomanry, in the fertile valley of 
that stream. His report being favorable, Ar- 
nold shared out among the different companies 
the scanty provisions which remained, direct- 
ing them to make the best of their way for 
the Chaudiere settlements ; while he, with a 
light foraging party, would push rapidly ahead, 
to procure and send back supplies. 

He accordingly embarked with his little party 
in five bateaux and a birch canoe, and launched 
forth without a guide on the swift current of 
the Chaudiere. It was little better than a 
mountain torrent, full of rocks and rapids. 
Three of their boats were dashed to pieces, the 
cargoes lost, and the crews saved with diffi- 
culty. At one time, the whole party came 
near being precipitated over a cataract, where 
all might have perished ; at length they reached 
Sertigan, the first French settlement, where 
they were cordially received. Here Arnold 
bought provisions, Avhich he sent back by the 
Canadians and Indians to his troops. The latter 
were in a state of starvation. Some had not 
tasted food for eight and forty hours ; others 
had cooked two dogs, followers of the camp ; 
and others had boiled their moccasins, cartouch 
boxes, and other articles of leather in the hope 
of rendering them eatable. 



♦ Washington to the President of Congress, Nov. 19th. 



194 



CAPTURE OF MONTREAL— ESCAPE OF CARLETON. 



[1775. 



Arnold halted for a short time in the hospit- 
able valley of the Chaudiere, to give his troops 
repose, and distributed among the inhabitants 
the printed manifesto -with which he had been 
furnished by Washington. Here he was joined 
by about forty Norridgewock Indians. On the 
9th of November, the little army emerged from 
the woods at Point Levi, on the St. Lawrence, 
opposite to Quebec. A letter written by an 
inhabitant of that place, speaks of their sudden 
aiiparition. 

" There are about 500 Provincials arrived at 
Point Levi, opposite to the town, by the way 
of Chaudiere across the woods. Surely a 
miracle must have been wrought in their favor. 
It is an undertaking above the common race 
of men in this debauched age. They have 
travelled through woods and bogs, and over 
precipices, for the space of one hundred and 
twenty miles, attended with every inconven- 
ience and difficulty, to be surmounted only by 
men of indefatigable zeal and industry." 

Leaving Arnold in full sight of Quebec, which, 
after his long struggle through the wilderness, 
must have appeared like a land of promise ; we 
turn to narrate the events of the upper expe- 
dition into Canada of which the letters of 
Schuyler kept Washington faithfully informed. 

Montgomery appeared before Montreal on 
the 12th of November. General Carleton had 
embarked with his little garrison, and several 
of the civil officers of the place, on board of a 
flotilla of ten or eleven small vessels, and made 
sail in the night, with a favorable breeze, carry- 
ing away with him the powder and other im- 
portant stores. The town capitulated, of 
course ; and Montgomery took quiet posses- 
sion. His urbanity and kindness soon won 
the good will of the inhabitants, both English 
and French, and made the Canadians sensible 
that he really came to secure their rights, not 
to molest them. Intercepted letters acquainted 
him with Arnold's arrival in the neighborhood 
of Quebec, and the great alarm of " the king's 
friends," who expected to be besieged : " which, 
with the blessing of God, they shall be," said 
Montgomery, " if the severe season holds oflF, 
and I can prevail on the troops to accompany 
me." 

His great immediate object was the capture 
of Carleton; which would form a triumphal 
close to the enterprise, and might decide the 
fate of Canada. The flotilla in which the gen- 
eral was embarked, had made repeated attempts 
to escape down the St. Lawrence ; but had as 



often been driven back by the batteries thrown 
up by the Americans at the mouth of the Sorel. 
It now lay anchored about fifteen miles above 
that river ; and Montgomery prepared to at- 
tack it with bateaux and light artillery, so as 
to force it down upon the batteries. 

Carleton saw his imminent peril. Disguising 
himself as a Canadian voyager, he set ofl:' on a 
dark night accompanied by six peasants, in a 
boat with muffled oars, which he assisted to 
pull ; slipped quietly and silently past all the 
batteries and guard-boats, and effected his 
escape to Three Kivers, where he embarked in 
a vessel for Quebec. After his departure the 
flotilla surrendered, and all those who had 
taken refuge on board were made prisoners pf 
war. Among them was General Prescott, late 
commander of Montreal. 

Montgomery now placed garrisons in Mon- 
treal, St. Johns, and Chamblee, and made final 
preparations for descending the St. Lawrence, 
and co-operating with Arnold against Quebec. 
^0 his disappointment and deep chagrin, he 
found but a handful of his troops disposed to 
accompany him. Some pleaded ill health ; the 
term of enlistment of many had expired, and 
they were bent on returning home ; and others, 
who had no such excuses to make, became 
exceedingly turbulent, and indeed mutinous. 
Nothing but a sense of public duty, and grati- 
tude to Congress for an unsought commission, 
had induced Montgomery to engage in the ser- 
vice ; wearied by the continual vexations which 
beset it, he avowed, in a letter to Schuyler, 
his determination to retire as soon as the in- 
tended expedition against Quebec was finished. 
" Will not your health permit you to reside at 
Montreal this winter ? " writes he to Schuyler ; 
" I must go home, if I walk by the side of the 
lake. I am weary of power, and totally want 
that patience and temper so requisite for such 
a command." Much of the insubordination of 
the troops he attributed to the want of tact 
and cultivation in their officers ; who had been 
suddenly advanced from inferior stations and 
coarse employments. " An affair happened 
yesterday," writes he to Schuyler on the 24th 
of November, " which had very near sent me 
home. A number of officers presumed to re- 
monstrate against the indulgence I had given 
some of the king's troops. Such an insult I 
could not bear, and immediately resigned. To- 
day they qualified it by such an apology, as 
put it in my power to resume the command." 
In the same spirit he writes : " I wish some 



.Ex. 43.] HOME SICKNESS— SCHUYLER AND MONTGOMERY TALK OF RESIGNING. 195 



method could be fallen upon for engaging gen- 
tlemen to serve. A point of honor and more 
knowledge of the world, to be found in thg^ 
class of men, would greatly reform discipline, 
and render the troops much more tractable." 

The troops which had given Montgomery so 
much annoyance, and refused to continue with 
him in Canada, soon began to arrive at Ticon- 
deroga. Schuyler, in a letter to Congress, 
gives a half querulous, half humorous account of 
their conduct. " About three hundred of the 
troops raised in Connecticut, passed here with- 
in a few days. An unhappy home-sickness 
prevails. These all came down as iuA^alids, not 
one willing to re-engage for the winter's ser- 
vice ; and, unable to get any work done by 
them, I discharged them en groupe. Of aU the 
specifics ever invented for any^ there is none 
so efficacious as a discharge for this prevaihng 
disorder. No sooner was it administered, but 
it perfected the cure of nine out of ten ; who, 
refusing to wait for boats to go by the way of 
Lake George, slung their heavy packs, crossed 
the lake at this place, and undertook a march 
of two hundred miles with the greatest good- 
will and alacrity." 

This home-sickness in rustic soldiers after a 
rough campaign was natural enough, and seems 
only to have provoked the testy and subacid 
humor of Schuyler ; but Qther instances of 
conduct roused his indignation. 

A schooner and tow galley arrived at Crown 
Point, with upwards of a hundred persons. 
They were destitute of provisions ; none were 
to be had at the Point, and the ice prevented 
them from penetrating to Ticonderoga. In 
starving condition they sent an express to Gen- 
eral Schuyler, imploring relief. He imme- 
diately ordered three captains of General 
"Wooster's regiment, with a considerable body 
of men in bateaux, to " attempt a relief for the 
unhappy suiferers," To his surprise and dis- 
gust, they manifested the utmost unwillingness 
to comply, and made a variety of excuses, which 
he spurned at as frivolous, and as evincing the 
greatest want of humanity. He expressed 
himself to that effect the next day, in a general 
order, adding the following stinging words : 
" The general, therefore, not daring to trust a 
matter of so much importance to men of so little 
feeling, has ordered Lieutenant Riker, of Col. 
Holmes's regiment, to make the attempt. He 
received the order with the alacrity becoming 
a gentleman, an officer, and a Christian." 

This high-minded rebuke, given in so public 



a manner, rankled in the breasts of those whose 
conduct had merited it, and insured to Schuyler 
that persevering hostility with which mean 
minds revenge the exposure of their meanness. 



CHAPTER IX. 

We have endeavored to compress into a suc- 
cinct account various events of the invasion of 
Canada, funished to Washington by letters from 
Schuyler and Arnold. The tidings of the cap- 
ture of Montreal had given him the liveliest 
satisfaction. He now looked forward to equal 
success in the expedition against Quebec. In 
a letter to Schuyler he passed a high eulogium 
on Arnold. " The merit of this gentleman is 
certainly great," writes he, " and I heartily 
wish that fortune may distinguish him as one 
of her favorites. I am convinced that he will 
do every thing that prudence and valor shall 
suggest to add to the success of our arms, and 
for reducing Quebec to our possession. Should 
he not be able to accomplish so desirable a 
work with the forces he has, I flatter myself 
that it will be effected when General Mont- 
gomery joins him, and our conquest of Canada 
will be complete." 

Certain passages of Schuyler's letters, how- 
ever, gave him deep concern, wherein that 
general complained of the embarrassments and 
annoyances he had experienced from the insub- 
ordination of the army. " Habituated to order,'' 
said he, " I cannot without pain see that dis- 
regard of discipline, confusion, and inattention, 
which reign so generally in this quarter, and I 
am determined to retire. Of this resolution I 
have advised Congress." 

He had indeed done so. In communicating 
to the President of Congress the complaints of 
General Montgomery, and his intention to re- 
tire, " my sentiments," said he, " exactly coin- 
cide with his. I shall, with him, do every 
thing in my power to put a finishing stroke to 
the campaign, and make the best arrangement 
in my power, in order to insure success to the 
next. This done, I must beg leave to retire." 

Congress, however, was too well aware of 
his value, readily to dispense with his services. 
His letter produced a prompt resolution ex- 
pressive of their high sense of his attention 
and perseverance, " which merited the thanks 
of the United Colonies." He had alleged his 
impaired health — they regretted the injuries it 



196 



EXPOSTULATIONS OF WASHINGTON— PATRIOTIC SACRIFICES. 



[1115. 



had sustained in the service, but begged he 
would not insist on a measure " which would 
deprive America of tlie benefits of his zeal and 
a])ilities, and rob him of the honor of com- 
pleting the work he had so happily begun." 

What, however, produced a greater effect 
upon Schuyler than any encomium or entreaty 
on the part of Crongress, were the expostula- 
tions of Washington, inspired by strong friend- 
ship and kindred sympatliies. " I am exceed- 
ingly sorry," writes the latter, " to find you so 
much embarrassed by the disregard of disci- 
pline, confusion, and want of order among the 
troops, as to have occasioned you to mention 
to Congress an inclination to retire. I know 
that your complaints are too well founded, but 
would willingly hope that nothing will induce 
you to quit the service. * * * * j ]iave 
met with diflicultics of the same sort, and such 
as I never expected ; but they must be borne 
with. The cause we are engaged in is so just 
and righteous, that we must try to rise superior 
to every obstacle in its support ; and, therefore, 
I beg that you will not think of resigning, un- 
less you have carried your application to Con- 
gress too far to recede." 

And in another letter he makes a still 
stronger appeal to his patriotism. " I am sorry 
that you, and General Montgomery, incline to 
quit the service. Let me ask you, sir, when is 
the time for brave men to exert themselves in 
the cause of liberty and their country, if this 
is not ? Shoiild any difiiculties that they may 
have to encounter at this important crisis deter 
them? God knows there is not a difficulty 
that you both very justly complain of, that I 
have not in an eminent degree experienced, 
that I am not every day experiencing ; but we 
must bear up against them, and make the best 
of mankind, as they are, since we cannot have 
them as we wish. Let me, therefore, conjure 
you, and Mr. Montgomery, to lay aside such 
thoughts — as thoughts injurious to yourselves, 
and extremely so to your country, which calls 
aloud for gentlemen of your ability." 

This noble appeal went straight to the heart 
of Schuyler, and brought out a magnanimous 
reply. "I do not hesitate," writes he, "to 
answer my dear general's question in the affirm- 
ative, by declaring that now or never is the 
time for every virtuous American to exert 
himself in the cause of liberty and his country ; 
and that it is become a diity cheerfully to sacri- 
fice the sweets of domestic felicity to attain the 
honest and glorious end America has in view." 



In the same letter he reveals in confidence 
the true cause of his wish to retire from an 
oflScial station ; it was the annoyance he had 
suffered throughout the campaign from sec- 
tional prejudice and jealousy. " I could point 
out particular persons of rank in the army," 
writes he, " who have frequently declared that 
the general commanding in this quarter, ought 
to be of the colony from whence the majority 
of the troops came. But it is not from opin- 
ions or principles of individuals that I liave 
drawn the following coficlusion : that troops 
from the colony of Connecticut will not bear 
with a general from another colony ; it is from 
the daily and common conversation of all ranks 
of people from that colony, both in and out of 
the army, and I assure you that I sincerely 
lament that people of so much public virtue 
should be actuated by such an unbecoming 
jealousy, founded on such a narrow principle." 
Having made this declaration, he adds, " al- 
though I frankly own that I feel a resentment, 
yet I shall continue to sacrifice it to a nobler 
object, the weal of that country in which I 
have drawn the breath of life, resolved ever to 
seek, with unwearied assiduity, for opportunities 
to fulfil my duty to it." 

It is with pride we have quoted so frequently 
the correspondence of these two champions of 
our Revolution, as it lays open their hearts, 
and shows the lofty patriotism by which they 
were animated. 

A letter from John Adams to General 
Thomas, alleges as one cause of Schuyler's 
unpopularity with the eastern troops, the 
" politeness " shown by him to Canadian and 
British prisoners; which "enabled them and 
their ministerial friends to impose upon him." * 

The "politeness" in fact, was that noble 
courtesy which a high-minded soldier extends 
towards a captive foe. If his courtesy was 
imposed upon, it only proved that, incapable 
of double-dealing himself, he suspected it not 
in others. All generous natures are liable to 
imposition ; their warm impxdses being too 
quick for selfisL caution. It is the cold, the 
calculating, and the mean, whose distrustful 
warines^is never taken in. 



CHAPTER X. 

The forming even of the skeleton of an army 
under the new regulations, had been a work 



• LcttcT-r.o()k of Gen. Tlioiiias. MS. 



JEr. -13.] INSUBORDINATION— TIMELY ARRIVAL OF SPOILS IN THE CAMP. 



197 



of infinite difficulty ; to fill it up was still more 
difficult. The first burst of revolutionary zeal 
had passed away ; enthusiasm had been chilled 
by the inaction and monotony of a long encamp- 
ment ; an encampment, moreover, destitute of 
those comforts which, in experienced warfare, 
are provided by a well-regulated commissariat. 
The troops had suflfered privations of every 
kind, want of fuel, clothing,* provisions. Thojr 
looked forward with dismay to the rigors of 
winter, and longed for their rustic homes and 
their family firesides. 

Apprehending that some of them would in- 
cline to go home when the time of their enlist- 
ment expired, "Washington summoned the gen- 
eral officers at head-quarters, and invited a 
delegation of the General Court to be present, 
to adopt measures for the defence and support 
of the lines. The result of their deliberations 
was an order that three thousand of the minute 
men and militia of Massachusetts, and two 
thousand from New Hampshire, should be at 
Cambridge by the 10th of December, to relieve 
f the Connecticut regiments, and supply the de- 
ficiency that would be caused by their depar- 
ture, and by the absence of others on furlough. 

With this arrangement the Connecticut troops 
were made acquainted, and as the time of most 
of them would not be out before the 10th, they 
were ordered to remain in camp until relieved. 
Their officers assured "Washington that he need 
apprehend no defection on the part of their 
men ; they would not leave the lines. The of- 
ficers themselves were probably mistaken in 
their opinion of their men, for on the 1st of 
December, many of the latter, some of whom 
belonged to Putnam's regiment, resolved to go 
home immediately. Efforts were made to pre- 
vent them, but in vain ; several carried off with 
them their arms and ammunition. "Washington 
sent a -list of their names to Governor Trum- 
bull. " I submit it to your judgment," writes 
he, " whether an example should not be made 
of these men who have deserted the cause of 
their country at this critical juncture, when the 
enemy are receiving reinforcements ? " 

We anticipate the reply of Governor Trum- 
bull, received several days subsequently. " The 
late extraordinary and reprehensible conduct of 
some of the troops of this colony," writes he, 
" impresses me, and the minds of many of our 
people, with great surprise and indignation, 
since the treatment they met with, and the or- 
der and request made to them, were so reason- 
able, and apparently necessary for the defence 



of our common cause, and safety of our rights 
and privileges, for which they freely engaged." 

We will here add, that the homeward-bound 
warriors seem to have run the gauntlet along 
the road; for their conduct on quitting the 
army drew upon them such indignation, that 
they could hardly get any thing to eat on their 
journey, and when they arrived at home, they 
met with such a reception (to the credit of the 
Connecticut women be it recorded), that many 
were soon disposed to return again to camp.* 

On the very day after the departure home- 
ward of these troops, and while it was feared 
their example would be contagious, a long, lum- 
bering train of waggons, laden with ordnance 
and military stores, and decorated with flags, 
came wheeling into the camp, escorted by con- 
tinental troops and country militia. They were 
part of the cargo of a large brigantine laden 
with munitions of war, captured and sent in to 
Cape Ann by the schooner Lee, Captain Manly, 
one of the cruisers sent out by Washington. 
"Such universal joy ran through the whole 
camp," writes an officer, " as if each one grasped 
a victory in his own hands." 

Beside the ordnance captured, there were 
two thousand stand of arms, one hundred 
thousand flints, thirty thousand round shot, 
and thirty-two tons of musket balls. 

" Surely nothing," writes Washington, " ever 
came more apropos.'''' 

It was indeed a cheering incident, and was 
eagerly turned to account. Among the ordnance 
was a huge brass mortar of a new construction, 
weighing near three thousand pounds. It was 
considered a glorious trophy, and there was a 
resolve to christen it. Mifflin, Washington's 
secretary, suggested the name. The mortar 
was fixed in a bed; old Putnam mounted it, 
dashed on it a bottle of rum, and gave it the 
name of Congress, The shouts which rent the 
air were heard in Boston, When the meaning 
of them Avas explained to the British, they ob- 
served, that " should their expected reinforce- 
ments arrive in time, the rebels would pay dear 
in the spring for all their petty triumphs." 

With Washington, this transient gleam of 
nautical success was soon overshadowed by the 
conduct of the cruisers he had sent to the St. 
Lawrence, Failing to intercept the brigantines, 
the objects of their cruise, they landed on the 
island of St. Johns, plundered the house of the 
governor and several private dwellings, and 

♦ See Letter of Gen. Greene to Samuel "Ward. Am. 
Arch. 4th Series, vol. iv. 



198 INDIGNITIES TO ALLEN— CORRESPONDENCE OF WASHINGTON AND HOWE. [1775. 



brought oflf three of the principal inhabitants 
prisoners ; one of whom, Mr. Callbeck, was 
president of the council, and acted as governor. 

These gentlemen made a memorial to "Wash- 
ington of this scandalous maraud. He instantly 
ordered the restoration of the effects which 
had been pillaged ; — of his conduct towards the 
gentlemen personally, we may judge by the fol- 
lowing note addressed to him by Mr. Callbeck : 

" I should ill deserve the generous treatment 
which your Excellency has been pleased to show 
me, had I not the gratitude to acknowledge so 
great a favor. I cannot ascribe any part, of it 
to my own merit, but must impute the whole 
to the philanthropy and humane disposition 
that so truly characterize General Washington. 
Be so obliging, therefore, as to accept the only 
return in my power, that of my most grateful 
thanks." * 

Shortly after the foregoing occurrence, in- 
formation was received of the indignities which 
had been heaped upon Colonel Ethan Allen, 
when captured at Montreal by General Pres- 
cott, who, himself, was now a prisoner in the 
hands of the Americans. It touched Washing- 
ton on a point on which he was most sensitive 
and tenacious, the treatment of American of- 
ficers when captured ; and produced the follow- 
ing letter from him to General Howe : 

" Sir, — We have just been informed of a cir- 
cumstance which, were it not so well authen- 
ticated, I should scarcely think credible. It is 
that Colonel Allen, who, with his smaE party, 
was defeated and made prisoner near Montreal, 
has been treated without regard to decency, 
humanity, or the rules of war ; that he has been 
thrown into irons, and suffers all the hardships 
inflicted upon common felons. 

" I think it my duty, sir, to demand, and do 
expect from you, an eclaircisscment on this sub- 
ject. At the same time, I flatter myself, from 
the character which Mr. Howe bears as a man 
of honor, gentleman, and soldier, that my de- 
mand will meet with his approbation. I must 
take the liberty, also, of informing you that I 
shall consider your silence as a confirmation 
of the report, and further assuring you, that 
whatever treatment Colonel Allen receives, 
Avhatever fate he undergoes, such exactly shall 
be the treatment and fate of Brigadier Prescott, 
now in our hands. The law of retaliation is 
not only justifiable in the eyes of God and man, 
but absolutely a duty, which, in our present 



■ Sparks. Washington's Writings, vol. iii., p. 194. | 



circumstances, we owe to our relations, friends, 
and fellow-citizens. 

" Permit me to add, sir, that we have all here 
the highest regard and reverence for your great 
personal qualities and attainments, and the 
Americans in general esteem it as not the least 
of their misfortunes, that the name of Howe, 
a name so dear to them, should appear at the 
head of the catalogue of the instruments em- 
ployed by a wicked ministry for their destruc- 
tion." 

General Howe felt acutely the sorrowful re- 
proach in the latter part of the letter. It was 
a reiteration of what had already been express- 
ed by Congress ; in the present instance it pro- 
duced irritation, if we may judge from the reply. 

" SiE, — In answer to your letter, I am to ac- 
quaint you that my command does not extend 
to Canada. Not having any accounts wherein 
the name of AUen is mentioned, I cannot give 
you the smallest satisfaction upon the subject 
of your letter. But trusting Major-General 
Carleton's conduct will never incur censure 
upon any occasion, I am to conclude in the in- « 
stance of your inquiry, that he has not for- 
feited his past pretensions to decency and hu- 
manity. 

" It is with regret, considering the character 
you have always maintained among your friends, 
as a gentleman of the strictest honor and deli- 
cacy, that I find cause to resent a sentence in 
the conclusion of your letter, big with invective 
agayist my superiors, and insulting to myself, 
whrch should obstruct any further intercourse 
between us. I am, sir, &c." 

In transmitting a copy of his letter to the 
President of Congress, Washington observed: 
" My reason for pointing out Brigadier-General 
Prescott as the object, who is to suflfer for Mr. 
Allen's fate, is, that by letters from General 
Schuyler, and copies of letters from General 
Montgomery to Schuyler, I am given to under- 
stand that Prescott is the cause of Allen's suf- 
ferings. I thought it best to be decisive on the 
occasion, as did the generals whom I consulted 
thereon." 

For the sake of continuity we will anticipate 
a few facts connected with the story of Ethan 
Allen. Within a few weeks after the preceding 
correspondence, Washington received a letter 
from Levi Allen, a brother to the colonel, and 
of like enterprising and enthusiastic character. 
It was dated from Salisbury in Connecticut ; and 
enclosed affidavits of the harsh treatment his 
brother had experienced, and of his being con- 



^T. 43.] 



LEVI ALLEN— PUTNAM CONSTEUCTING BATTERIES. 



199 



fined on board of the Gaspee, " with a bar of 
iAn fixed to one of his legs, and iron to his 
hands." Levi was bent upon efifecting his deUv- 
erance, >and the mode proposed was in unison 
with the bold burwild schemes of the colonel. 
We quote his crude, but characteristic letter. 

"Have some thoughts of going to England 
incognito, after my brother ; but am not posi- 
tively certain he is sent there, though believe 
he is. Beg your Excellency will favor me with 
a line, and acquaint me of any intelligence con- 
cerning him, and if your Excellency please, 
your opinion of the expediency of going after 
him, and whether your Excellency would think 
proper to advance any money for that purpose, 
as my brother was a man blessed with more 
fortitude than fortune. Your Excellency may 
think, at first thought, I can do nothing by 
going to England ; I feel as if I could do a great 
deal, by raising a mob in London, bribing the 
jailer, or by getting into some servile employ- 
ment with the jailer, and over-faithfulness make 
myself master of the key, or at least be able to 
lay my hand on it some night. I beg your Ex- 
cellency will countenance my going ; can muster 
more than one hundred pounds, my own prop- 
erty ; shall regard spending that no more than 
one copper. Your Excellency must know Allen 
was not only a brother, but a real friend that 
sticketh closer than a brother." 

In a postscript he adds, " cannot live without 
going to England, if my brother is sent there." 

In reply, "Washington intimated a belief that 
the colonel had been sent to England, but dis- 
countenanced Levi's wild project of following 
him thither ; as there was no probability of its 
success, and he would be running himself into 
danger without a prospect of rendering service 
to his brother. 

The measure of retaliation mentioned in 
"Washington's letter to Howe, was actually 
meted out by Congress on the arrival of Gene- 
ral Prescott in Philadelphia. He was ordered 
into close confinement in the jail; though not 
put in irons. He was subsequently released 
from confinement, on account of ill health, and 
was treated by some Philadelphia families with 
unmerited hospitality.* 



* Thomas Walker, a merchant of Montreal, who, ac- 
cused of traitorous dealings with the Americans, had been 
thrown into prison during Prescott's eway, and his coun- 
try -house burnt down, undertook a journey to Philadelphia 
in the depth of winter, when he understood the general 
was a captive there, trusting to obtain satisfaction for his 
ill-treatment. To his great surprise, he found Mr. Pres- 
cott lodged in the best tavern of the place, walking or 



At the time of the foregoing correspondence 
with Howe, "Washington was earnestly occupied 
preparing works for the bombardment of Bos- 
ton, should that measure be resolved upon by 
Congress. General Putnam, in the preceding 
month, had taken possession in the night of 
Cobble Hill without molestation from the ene- 
my, though a commanding eminence ; and in 
two days had constructed a work, which, from 
its strength, was named Putnam's impregnable 
fortress. 

He was now engaged on another work on 
Lechmere Point, to be connected with the 
w^orks at Cobble Hill, by a bridge thrown across 
"Willis's Creek, and a covered way. Lechmere 
Point is immediately opposite the north part of 
Boston ; and the Scarborough ship-of-war was 
anchored near it. Putnam availed himself of 
a dark and foggy day (Dec. 17), to commence 
operations, and broke ground with tour hundred 
men, at ten o'clock in the morning, on a hill at 
the Point. " The mist," says a contemporary 
account, " was so great as to prevent the enemy 
from discovering what he was about until near 
twelve o'clock, when it cleared up, and opened 
to their view our whole party at the Point, and 
another at the causeway throwing a bridge over 
the creek. The Scarborough, anchored oft' the 
Point, poured in a broadside. The enemy from 
Boston threw shells. The garrison at Cobble 
Hill returned fire. Our men were obliged to 
decamp from the Point, but the work was re- 
sumed by the brave old general at night." 

On the next morning, a cannonade from Cob- 
ble Hill obliged the Scarborough to weigh an- 
chor, and drop down below the ferry; and 
General Heath was detached with a party of 
men to carry on the work which Putnam had 
commenced. The enemy resumed their fire. 
Sentinels were placed to give notice of a shot 
or shell ; the men would crouch down or dodge 
it, and continue on with their work. The fire 
ceased in the afternoon, and "Washington visited 
the hill, accompanied by several oflicers, and 
inspected the progress of the work. It was to 
consist of two redoubts, on one of which was 
to be a mortar battery. There was, as yet, a 
deficiency of ordnance ; but the prize mortar 



riding at large through Philadelphia and Bucks counties, 
feasting with gentlemen of the first rank in the province, 
and keeping a levee for the reception of the grandees. la 
consequence of which unaccountable phenomena, and the 
little prospect of liis obtaining any adequate redress in 
the present unsettled state of public affairs, Mr. Walker 
has returned to Montreal. — Am. Archives, ith Series, vol. 
iv. 1178. 



200 



PRAYER OF PUTNAM POR POWDER— MOUNT VERNON IN DANGER. 



[1115, 



was to be mounted which Putnam had recently 
christened, " The Congress." From tlie spirit 
with which the work was carried on, Washing- 
ton trusted that it would soon be completed, 
" and then," said he, " if we have powder to 
sport with, and Congress gives the word, Boston 
can be bombarded from this point." 

For several days the labor at the works was 
continued ; the redoubts were thrown up, and 
a covered way was constructed, leading down 
to the bridge. All this was done notwithstand- 
ing the continual fire of the enemy. The letter 
of a British officer gives his idea of the efficien- 
cy of the work. 

" The rebels for some days past have been 
erecting a battery on Phipps' Farm. The new 
constructed mortar taken on board the ordnance 
brig, we are told, will be mounted upon it, and 
we expect a warm salute from the shells, an- 
other part o'f that vessel's cargo ; so that, in 
spite of her capture, we are likely to be com- 
plimented with the contents of her lading. 

" If the rebels can complete their battery, 
this town will be on fire about our ears a few 
hours after; all our buildings being of wood, 
or a mixture of brick and wood-work. Had 
the rebels erected their battery on the other 
side of the town, at Dorchester, the admiral 
and all his booms would have made the first 
blaze, and the burning of the town would have 
followed. If we cannot destroy the rebel bat- 
tery by our guns, we must march out and take 
it sword in hand." 

Putnam anticipated great effects from this 
work, and especially from his grand mortar, 
" The Congress." Shells there were in abun- 
dance for a bombardment ; the only thing want- 
ing was a supply of powder. One of the of- 
ficers, writing of the unusual mildness of the 
winter, observes : " Every thing thaws here ex- 
cept old Put. He is still as hard as ever, crying 
out for powder — powder — powder. Ye gods, 
give us powder ! " 



CHAPTER XI. 

Amid the various concerns of the war, and 
the multiplied perplexities of the camp, the 
thoughts of Washington continually reverted 
to his home on the banks of the Potomac. A 
constant correspondence was kept up between 
him and his agent, Mr. Lund Washington, who 
had charge of his various estates. The general 



gave clear and minute directions as to their 
management, and the agent rendered as clear 
and minute returns of every thing that had been 
done in consequence. 

According to recent accouifts. Mount Vernon 
had been considered in danger. Lord Dunmore 
was exercising martial law in the Ancient Do- 
minion, and it was feared that the favorite abode 
of the "rebel commander-in-chief" would be 
marked out for hostility, and that the enemy 
might land from their ships in the Potomac, 
and lay it waste. Washington's brother, John 
Augustine, had entreated Mrs. Washington to 
leave it. The people of Loudoun had advised 
her to seek refuge beyond the Blue Ridge, and 
had offered to send a guard to escort her. She 
had declined the offer, not considering herself 
in danger. Lund Washington was equally free 
from apprehensions on the subject. " Lord 
Dunmore," writes he, " will hardly himself ven- 
ture up this river, nor do I believe he will send 
on that errand. You may depend I will be 
watchful, and upon the least alarm persuade her 
to move." 

Though alive to every thing concerning Mount 
Vernon, Washington agreed with them in deem- 
ing it in no present danger of molestation by 
the enemy. Still he felt for the loneliness of 
Mrs. Washington's situation, heightened as it 
must be by anxiety on his own account. On 
taking command of the army, he had held out 
a prospect to her that he would rejoin her at 
home in the autumn ; there was now a proba- 
bility of his being detained before Boston all 
winter. He wrote to her, therefore, by express, 
in November, inviting her to join him at the 
camp. He at the same time wrote to Lund 
Washington, engaging his continued services as 
an agent. This person, though bearing the same 
name, and probably of the same stock, does 
not appear to have been in any near degree of 
relationship, Washington's letter to him gives 
a jjicture of his domestic policy. 

" I will engage for the year coming and the 
year following, if these troubles and my absence 
continue, that your wages shall be standing and 
certain at the highest amount that any one 
year's crop has produced you yet. I do not 
offer this as any temptation to induce you to 
go on more cheerfully in prosecuting those 
schemes of mine. I should do injustice to you 
were I not to acknowledge that your conduct 
has ever appeared to me above every thing sor- 
did ; but I offer it in consideration of the great 
charge you have upon your hands, and my 



JEt. 43.] JOURNEY OF MRS. WASHINGTON TO CAMP— AFFAIRS AT HEAD-QUARTERS. 201 



entire dependence upon your fidelity and in- 
dustry. 

" It is the greatest, indeed it is the only com- 
fortable reflection I enjoy on this score, tliat 
my business is in the hands of a person con- 
cerning whose integrity I have not a doubt, 
and on whose care I can rely. "Were it not for 
this, I should feel very unhappy on account of 
the situation of my affairs. But I am persuaded 
you will do for me as you would for yourself." 

The following were his noble directions con- 
cerning Mount Vernon : 

" Let the hospitality of the house with respect 
to the poor be kept up. Let no one go hungry 
away. If any of this kind of people should be 
in want of corn, supply their necessaries, pro- 
vided it does not encourage them to idleness ; 
and I have no objection to your giving my mo- 
ney in charity to the amount of forty or fifty 
pounds a year, when you think it well bestowed. 
"What I mean by having no objection is, that it 
is my desir^it should be done. You are to 
consider that neither myself nor wife, is now 
in the way to do these good offices." 

Mrs. "Washington came on with her own car- 
riage and horses, accompanied by her son, Mr. 
Custis, and his wife. She travelled by very easy 
stages, partly on account of the badness of the 
roads, partly out of regard to the horses, of 
which Washington was always very careful, 
and which were generally remarkable for beauty 
and excellence. Escorts and guards of honor 
attended her from place to place, and she was 
detained some time at Philadelphia, by the de- 
voted attention of the inhabitants. 

Her arrival at Cambridge was a glad event 
in the army. Incidental mention is made of 
the equipage in which she appeared there. A 
chariot and four, with black postilions in scarlet 
and white liveries. It has been suggested that 
this was an English style of equipage, derived 
from the Fairfaxes ; but in truth it was a style 
still prevalent at that day in Virginia. 

It would appear that dinner invitations to 
head-quarters, were becoming matters of pride 
and solicitude. " I am much obliged to you," 
writes Washington to Eeed, " for the hints re- 
specting the jealousies which you say are gone 
abroad. I cannot charge myself with incivility, 
or what in my opinion is tantamount, ceremo- 
nious civility to gentlemen of this colony ; but 
if such misconduct appears, I will endeavor at 
a reformation ; as I can assure you, my dear 
Reed, that I wish to walk in such a line as 
will give most general satisfaction. You 



know that it was my wish at first to invite a 
certain number to dinner, but unintentionally 
we somehow or other missed of it. If this has 
given rise to the jealousy, I can only say that 
I am very sorry for it ; at the same time I add, 
that it was rather owing to inattention, or more 
properly, too much attention to other matters, 
which caused me to neglect it." 

And in another letter : 

" My constant attention to the great and 
perplexing objects which continually arise to 
my view, absorbs all lesser considerations ; and, 
indeed, scarcely allows me to reflect that there 
is such a body as the General Court of this 
colony, but when I am reminded of it by a 
committee ; nor can I upon recollection, discov- 
er in what instance I have been inattentive to, 
or slighted them. They could not surely con- 
ceive that there was a propriety in unbosoming 
the secrets of the army to them ; that it was 
necessary to ask their opinion in throwing up 
an intrenchment or forming a battalion. It 
must be, therefore, what I before hinted to you ; 
and how to remedy it I hardly know ; as I am 
acquainted with few of the members, never go 
out of my own lines, nor see any of them in 
them." 

The presence of Mrs, Washington soon reliev- 
ed the general from this kind of perplexity. 
She presided at head-quarters with mingled 
dignity and affability. We have an anecdote or 
two of the internal affairs of head-quarters, 
furnished by the descendant of one who was an 
occasional inmate there. 

Washington had prayers morning and even- 
ing, and was regular in his attendance at the 
church in which he was a communicant. On 
one occasion, for want of a clergyman, the 
Episcopal service was read by Colonel William 
Palfrey, one of Washington's aides-de-camp ; 
who substituted a prayer of his own composi- 
tion in place of the one formerly offered up 
for the king. 

Not long after her arrival in camp, Mrs. 
Washington claimed to keep twelfth-night in 
due style, as the anniversary of her wedding. 
" The general," says the same informant, " was 
somewhat thoughtful, and said he was afraid he 
must refuse it." His objections were overcome, 
and twelfth-night and the wedding anniversary 
were duly celebrated. 

There seems to have been more conviviality 
at the quarters of some of the other generals ; 
their time and minds were less intensely en- 
grossed by anxious cares, having only their in- 



202 



GAYETIES IN CAMP— A CAMP BRAWL— THE FERMENT ALLAYED. [1775. 



dividual departments to attend to. Adjutant- 
General Mifflin's house appears to have been a 
gay one. " He was a man of education, ready 
apprehension, and brilliancy," says Graydon ; 
" had spent some time in Europe, particularly 
in France, and was very easy of access, with 
the manners of genteel life, though occasionally 
evolving those of the Quaker."* 

Mrs. Adams gives an account of an evening 
party at his house. "I was very politely 
entertained and noticed by the generals," 
writes she, " more especially General Lee, who 
was very urgent for me to tarry in town, and 
dine with him and the ladies present at Hob- 
goblin Hall ; but I excused myself. The gen- 
eral was determined that I should not only be 
acquainted with him, but with his companions 
too ; and therefore placed a chair before me, 
into which he ordered Mr, Spada (his dog) to 
mount, and present his paw to me for a better 
acquaintance. I could not do otherwise than 
accept it." t 

John Adams, likewise, gives us a picture of 
festivities at head-quarters, where he was a 
visitant on the recess of Congress. 

"I dined at Col. Mifflin's with the general 
(■"Washington) and lady, and a vast collection 
of other company, among whom were six or 
seven sachems and warriors of the French 
Caughnawaga Indians, with their wives and 
children. A savage feast they made of it ; yet 
were very polite in the Indian style. I was 
introduced to them by the general as one of 
the grand council at Philadelphia, which made 
them prick up their ears. They came and 
shook hands with me." J 

"While giving these familiar scenes and occur- 
rences at the camp, we are tempted to subjoin 
one furnished from the manuscript memoir of 
an eye witness. A large party of Virginia 
riflemen, who had recently arrived in camp, 
were strolling about Cambridge, and viewing 
the collegiate buildings, now turned into bar- 
racks. Their half-Indian equipments, and fring- 
ed and ruffled hunting garbs, provoked the 
merriment of some troops from Marblehead, 
chiefly fishermen and sailors, who thought noth- 
ing equal to the round jacket and trowsers. A 
bantering ensued between them. There was 
snow upon the ground, and snowballs began to 



* Graydon'a Memoirs, p. 154. 

+ Letters of Mr. Adams, vol. 1., p. 85. 

I Adams's Letters, vol. ii., p. 80. Adams adds, that 
they made him " low bows and scrapes"— a kind of hom- 
age never paid by an Indian warrior. 



fly when jokes were wanting. The parties waxed 
warm with the contest. They closed, and came 
to blows ; both sides were reinforced, and in a 
little while at least a thousand were at fisticuffs, 
and there was a tumult in the camp worthy of 
the days of Homer. " At this juncture," writes 
our informant, " "Washington made his appear- 
ance, whether by accident or design I never 
knew. I saw none of his aides with him ; his 
black servant just behind him mounted. He 
threw the bridle of his own horse into his ser- 
vant's hands, sprang from his seat, rushed into 
the thickest of the melee, seized two tall brawny 
riflemen by the throat, keeping them at arm's- 
length, talking to and shaking them." 

As they were from his own province, he 
may have felt peculiarly responsible for their 
good conduct ; they were engaged, too, in one 
of those sectional brawls which were his espe- 
cial abhorrence ; his reprimand must, there- 
fore, have been a vehement one. He was com- 
manding in his serenest moments, but irresist- 
ible in his bursts of indignation. On the 
present occasion, we are told, his appearance 
and strong-handed rebuke put an instant end to 
the tumult. The combatants dispersed in all 
directions, and in less than three minutes none 
remained on the ground but the two he had 
collared. 

The veteran who records this exercise of 
military authority, seems at a loss which most 
to admire, the simplicity of the process or the 
vigor with which it was administered. " Here," 
writes he, " bloodshed, imprisonments, trials by 
court-martial, revengeful feeling between the 
different corps of the army, were happily pre- 
vented by the physical and mefltal energies of 
a single person, and the only damage resulting 
from the fierce encounter was, a few torn hunt- 
ing frocks and round jackets."* 



CHAPTEK XII. 

"We again turn from the siege of Boston, to the 
invasion of Canada, which at that time shared 
the anxious thoughts of "Washington. His last 
accounts of the movements of Arnold, left him 
at Point Levi, opposite to Quebec. ' Something 
brUliant from that daring officer was antici- 



* From memoranda written at an advanced age, by tho 
late Hon. Israel Trask ; who, when but ten years old, was 
in the camp at Cambridge with his father, who was a 
lieutenant. 



^T. 43.] ARNOLD ON THE HEIGHTS OF ABRAHAM— ALARM IN QUEBEC. 



203 



pated. It was his intention to cross the river 
immediately. Had he done so, he might have 
carried the town by a coup de main; for terror 
as well as disaffection prevailed among the in- 
habitants. At Point Levi, however, he was 
brought to a stand ; not a boat was to be found 
there. Letters which he had despatched some 
days previously, by two Indians, to Generals 
Schuyler and Montgomery, had been carried by 
his faithless messengers, to Caramhe, the lieu- 
tenant-governor, who, thus apprised of the im- 
pending danger, had caused all the boats of 
Point I^vi to be either removed or destroyed. 

Arnold was not a man to be disheartened by 
difBculties. "With great exertions he procured 
about forty birch canoes from the Canadians 
and Indians, with forty of the latter to navi- 
gate them ; but stormy winds arose, and for 
some days the river was too boisterous for such 
frail craft. In the mean time the garrison at 
Quebec was gaining strength. Recruits arrived 
from Nova Scotia. The veteran Maclean, too, 
who had been driven from the mouth of the 
Sorel by the detachment under Brown and 
Livingston, arrived down the river with his 
corps of Royal Highland Emigrants, and threw 
himself into the place. The Lizard frigate, the 
Hornet sloop-of-war, and two armed schooners 
were stationed in the river, and guard boats 
patrolled at night. The prospect of a successful 
attack upon the place was growing desperate. 

On the 13th of November, Arnold received 
intelligence that Montgomery had captured St. 
Johns. He was instantly roused to emulation. 
His men, too, were inspirited by the news. 
The wind had abated : he determined to crbss 
the river that very night. At a late hour in 
the evening he embarked with the first divi- 
sion, principally riflemen. The river was wide ; 
the current rapid ; the birch canoes, easy to 
be upset, required skilful management. By 
four o'clock in the morning, a large part of his 
force had crossed without being perceived, and 
landed about a mile and a half above Cape Dia- 
mond, at Wolfe's Cove, so called from being 
the landing-place of that gallant commander. 

Just then a guard boat belonging to the 
Lizard, came slowly along shore and discovered 
them. They hailed it, and ordered it to land. 
Not complying, it was fired into, and three men 
were killed. The boat instantly pulled for the 
frigate, giving vociferous alarm. 

Without waiting the arrival of the residue of 
his men, for whom the canoes had been de- 
spatched, Arnold led those who had landed to 



the foot of the cragged defile, once scaled by 
the intrepid Wolfe, and scrambled up it in all 
haste. By daylight he had planted his daring 
flag on the far-famed Heights of Abraham. 

Here the main difficulty stared him in the 
face. A strong line of walls and bastions trav- 
ersed the promontory from one of its precipi- 
tous sides to the otlier ; enclosing the upper 
and lower towns. On the right the great bas- 
tion of Cape Diamond crowned the rocky 
height of that name. On the left was the bas- 
tion of La Potasse, close by the gate of St. 
Johns opening upon the barracks ; the gate 
where Wolfe's antagonist, the gallant Montcalm, 
received his death wound. 

A council of war was now held. Arnold, 
who had some knowledge of the place, was for 
dashing forward at once and storming the gate 
of St. Johns. Had they done so, they might 
have been successful. The gate was open and 
unguarded. Through some blunder and delay, 
a message from the commander of the Lizard 
to the lieutenant-governor had not yet been 
delivered, and no alarm had reached the for- 
tress. 

The formidable aspect of the place, however, 
awed Arnold's assodates in council. They con- 
sidered that their whole force was but between 
seven and eight hundred men ; that nearly one- 
third of their fire-arms had been rendered use- 
less, and much of their ammunition damaged 
in their march through the wilderness ; they 
had no artillery, and the fortress looked too 
strong to be carried by a couj) de main. Cau- 
tious counsel is often fatal to a daring enter- 
prise. While the council of war deliberated, 
the favorable moment passed away. The lieu- 
tenant-governor received the tardy message. 
He hastily assembled the merchants, officers of 
militia, and captains of merchant vessels. All 
promised to stand by him ; he had a strong dis- 
trust, however, of the French part of the pop- 
ulation and the Canadian militia; his main re- 
liance was on Colonel Maclean and his Royal 
Highland Emigrants. 

The din of arms now resounded through the 
streets. The cry was up — " The enemy are on 
the Heights of Abraham ! The gate of St. 
Johns is open ! " There was an attempt to 
shut it. The keys were not to be found. It 
was hastily secured by ropes and handspikes, 
and the Avails looking upon the heights were 
soon manned by the military, and thronged by 
the populace. 

Arnold paraded his men within a hundred 



204 



CARLETON IN QUEBEC— WASHINGTON TO ARNOLD— LORD DUNMORE. [1775. 



yards of the walls, and caused them to give 
three hearty cheers ; hoping to excite a revolt 
in the place, or to provoke the scanty garrison 
to a sally. There were a few scattered cheer- 
ings in return ; but the taunting bravado failed 
to produce a sortie; the governor dared not 
venture beyond the walls with part of his gar- 
rison, having too little confidence in the loyalty 
of those who would remain behind. There 
was some firing on the part of the Americans, 
but merely as an additional taunt ; they Avere 
too far off for their musketry to have effect. 
A large cannon on the ramparts was brought 
to bear on them, and matches were procured 
from the Lizard, with which to fire it off. A 
few shots obliged the Americans to retire and 
encamp. 

In the evening Arnold sent a flag, demanding 
in the name of the United Colonies the sur- 
render of the place. Some of the disaffected 
and the faint-hearted were inclined to open the 
gates, but were held in check by the mastiff 
loyalty of Maclean. The veteran guarded the 
gate with his Highlanders ; forbade all com- 
munication with the besiegers, and fired upon 
their flag as an ensign of rebellion. 

Several days elapsed. Arnold's flags of truce 
were repeatedly insulted, but he saw the futility 
of resenting it, and attacking the place with 
his present means. The inhabitants gradually 
recovered from their alarm, and armed them- 
selves to defend their property. The sailors 
and marines proved a valuable addition to the 
garrison, which now really meditated a sortie. 

Arnold received information of all this from 
friends within the walls ; he heard about the 
same time of the capture of Montreal, and that 
General Carleton, having escaped from that 
place, was on his way down to Quebec. He 
thought at present, therefore, to draw off on 
the 19th to Point aux Trembles (Aspen-tree 
Point), twenty miles above Quebec, there to 
await the arrival of General Montgomery with 
troops and artillery. As his little army wended 
its way along the high bank of the river tow- 
ards its destined encampment, a vessel passed 
below, which had just touched at Point aux 
Trembles. On board of it was General Carle- 
ton, hurrying on to Quebec. 

It was not long before the distant booming 
of artillery told of his arrival at his post, where 
he resvimed a stern command. He was un- 
popular among the inhabitants; even the 
British merchants and other men of business, 
were offended by the coldness of his manners, 



and his confining his intimacy to the military 
and the Canadian noblesse. He was aware of 
his unpopularity, and looked round him with 
distrust ; his first measure was to turn out of 
the place all suspected persons, and all who 
refused to aid in its defence. This caused a 
great " trooping out of town," but what was 
lost in numbers was gained in strength. With 
the loyally disposed who remained, he busied 
himself in improving the defences. 

Of the constant anxiety, yet enduring hope, 
with which Washington watched this hazard- 
ous enterprise, we have evidence in his various 
letters. To Arnold, when at Point Levi, 
baffled in the expectation of finding the means 
of making a dash upon Quebec, he writes : " It 
is not in the power of any man to command 
success, but you have done more, you have 
deserved it ; and before this time (Dec. 5th), I 
hope you have met with the laurels which are 
due to your toils, in the possession of Quebec. 

" I have no doubt but a junction of your de- 
tachment with the army under General Mont- 
gomery, is effected before this. If so, you will 
put yourself under his command, and wiU, I 
am persuaded, give him all the assistance in 
your power, to finish the glorious work you 
have begun." 



CHAPTER XIII. 

In the month of December a vessel had been 
captured, bearing supplies from Lord Dun- 
more to the army at Boston. A letter on 
board, from his lordship to General Howe, in- 
vited him to transfer the war to the southern 
colonies; or, at all events, to send reinforce- 
ments thither; intimating at the same time 
his plan of proclaiming liberty to indentured 
servants, negroes, and others appertaining to 
rebels, and inviting them to join his majesty's 
troops. In a word, — to inflict upon Virginia 
the horrors of a servile war. 

" If this man is not crushed before spring," 
writes Washington, " he will become the most 
formidable enemy America has. His strength 
wiU increase as a snowball. * * * Motives 
of resentment actuate his conduct to a degree 
equal to the destruction of the colony." 

General Lee took the occasion to set forth 
his own system of policy, which was particu- 
larly rigid wherever men in authority and tories 
were concerned. It was the old grudge against 
ministers and their adherents set on edge. 



^T. 43.] 



LEE'S POLICY— THE ARMY DISBANDING. 



205 



" Had my opinion been thought worthy of 
attention," would he say, " Lord Dunmore 
■would have been disarmed of his teeth and 
claws." He would have seized Tryon too, 
" and all his tories at Few York," and, having 
struck the stroke, would have applied to Con- 
gress for approbation. 

" I propose the following measures," would 
he add : " To seize every governor, govern- 
ment man, placeman, tory, and enemy to liberty 
on the continent, to confiscate their estates ; 
or at least lay them under heavy contributions 
for the public. Their persons should be se- 
cured, in some of the interior towns, as hos- 
tages for the treatment of those of our party 
whom the fortune of war shall throw into their 
hands ; they should be allowed a reasonable 
pension out of their fortunes for their mainten- 
ance." * 

Such was the policy advocated by Lee in his 
letters and conversation, and he soon had an 
opportunity of carrying it partly into opera- 
tion, Rhode Island had for some time past 
been domineered over by Captain Wallace of 
the royal navy ; who had stationed himself at 
Newport with an armed vessel, and obliged 
the place to furnish him with supplies. Lat- 
terly he had landed in Conanicut Island, op- 
posite to Newport, with a number of sailors 
and marines, plundered and burnt houses, and 
driven off cattle for the supply of the army. 
In his exactions and maraudings, he was said 
to have received countenance from the tory 
part of the inhabitants. It was now reported 
that a naval armament was coming from Bos- 
ton against the island. In this emergency, the 
governor (Cooke) wrote to "Washington, re- 
questing military aid, and an efficient officer to 
put the island in a state of defence, suggesting 
the name of General Lee for the purpose. 

Lee undertook the task with alacrity. " I 
sincerely wish," said Washington, " he may be 
able to do it with effect ; as that place, in its 
present state, is an asylum for such as are 
disaffected to American liberty." 

Lee set out for Rhode Island with his guard 
and a party of riflemen, and at Providence was 
joined by the cadet company of that place, and 
a number of minute men. Preceded by these, 
he entered the town of Newport on Christmas 
day, in military style. While there, he sum- 
moned before him a number of persons who 
had supplied the enemy ; some according to a 



* Lee to Richard Henry Lee. Am. Archives, 4th Series, 
iv. 248. 



convention originally made between Wallace 
and the authorities, others, as it was suspected, 
through tory feelings. All were obliged by 
Lee to take a test oath of his own devising, by 
which they " religiously swore that they would 
neither directly, nor indirectly, assist the wicked 
instruments of ministerial tyranny and villainy 
commonly called the king's troops and navy, 
by furnishing them with provisions and re- 
freshments." They swore, moreover, to " de- 
nounce all traitors before the public authority, 
and to take arms in defence of American lib- 
erty, whenever required by Congress or the 
provincial authority." Two custom-house offi- 
cers, and another person, who refused to take 
the oath, were put under guard and sent to 
Providence. Having laid out works, and given 
directions for fortifications, Lee returned to 
camp after an absence of ten days. Some of 
his proceedings were considered too high- 
handed, and were disapproved by Congress. 
Lee made light of legislative censures. " One 
must not be trammelled by laws in war time," 
said he ; " in a revolution, all means are legal." 

Washington approved of his measures. " I 
have seen General Lee since his expedition," 
writes he, " ai>d hope Rhode Island will derive 
some advantage from it. I am told that Cap- 
tain Wallace's shJps have been supplied for 
some time by the tev^n of Newport, on certain 
conditions stipulated between him and the 
committee. * * * j know not what per- 
nicious consequences may result from a prece- 
dent of this sort. Other places, circumstanced 
as Newport is, may follow the example, and by 
that means the whole fleet and army will be fur- 
nished with what it highly concerns us to keep 
from them. * * * Vigoro'is regulations, 
and such as at another time would appear ex- 
traordinary, are now become absoJutely neces- 
sary for preserving our country against the 
strides of tyranny, making against it." * 

December had been throughout a month of 
severe trial to Washington ; during which he 
saw his army dropping away piecemeal before 
his eyes. Homeward every face was turned 
as soon as the term of enlistment was at an 
end. Scarce could the disbanding troops be 
kept a few days in camp until militia could be 
procured to supply their place. Washington 
made repeated and animated appeals to their 
patriotism ; they were almost unheeded. He 
caused popular and patriotic songs to be sung 



* "Washington to Gov. Coolje. Sparks, iii. 327. 



206 



WASHINGTON'S PERPLEXITIES— GLOOMY OPENING OF THE NEW YEAR. [1775. 



about the camp. They passed by like the idle 
wind. Home! home! home! throbbed in 
every heart. "The desire of retiring into a 
chimney-corner," says Washington reproach- 
fully, " seized the troops as soon as their terms 
expired. 

Can we wonder at it ? They were for the 
most part yeomanry, unused to military re- 
straint, and suffering all the hardships of a 
starvelling camp almost within sight of the 
smoke of their own firesides. 

Greene, throughout this trying month, was 
continually by Washington's side. His letters 
expressing the same cares and apprehensions, 
and occasionally in the same language with 
those of the commander-in-chief, show how 
completely he was in his councils. He could 
well sympathize with him in his solicitudes. 
Some of his own Rhode Island troops were 
with Arnold in his Canada expedition. Others 
encamped on Prospect Hill, and whose order 
and discipline had been his pride, were evinc- 
ing the prevalent disposition to disband. 
" They seem to be so sick of this way of life, 
and so homesick," writes he, " that I fear the 
greater part of the best troops from our colony 
will soon go home." To provide against such 
a contingency, he strengthened his encamp- 
ment, so that, " if the soldiery should not en- 
gage as cheerfully as he expected, he might 
defend it with a less number." * 

Still he was buoyant and cheerful ; frequently 
on his white horse about Prospect Hill, ha- 
ranguing liis men and endeavoring to keep them' 
in good humor, " This is no time for disgust- 
ing the soldiery," would he say, " when their 
aid is so essential to the preservation of the 
rights of human nature and the liberties of 
America." 

He wore the same cheery aspect to the com- 
mander-in-chief ; or rather he partook of his 
own hopeful spirit. " I expect," would he say, 
" the army, notwithstanding all the difficulties 
we meet with, will be full in about six weeks." 

It was this loyalty in time of trouble ; this 
buoyancy under depression, this thorough pa- 
triotism, which won for him the entire con- 
fidence of Washington. 

The thirty-first of December arrived, the 
crisis of the army ; for with that month ex- 
pired the last of the old terms of enlistment. 
" We never have been so weak," writes Greene, 
" as we shall be to-morrow, when we dismiss 



Greene to Henry "Ward. 



the old troops." On this day Washington re- 
ceived cheering intelligence from Canada. A 
junction had taken place, a month previously, 
between Arnold and Montgomery at Point aus 
Trembles. They were about two thousand 
strong, and were making every preparation for 
attacking Quebec. Carleton was said to have 
with him but about twelve hundred men, the 
majority of whom were sailors. It was thought 
that the French would give up Quebec, if they 
could get the same conditions that were granted 
to the inhabitants of Montreal.* 

Thus the year closed upon Washington with 
a ray of light from Canada, while all v'as doubt 
around him. 

On the following morning (January 1st, 1776), 
his army did not amount to ten thousand men, 
and was composed of but half -filled regiments. 
Even in raising this inadequate force, it had 
been necessary to indulge many of the men 
with furloughs, that they might visit their 
families and friends. The expedients resorted 
to in equipping the army, show the prevailing 
lack of arms. Those soldiers who retired from 
service, were obliged to leave their weapons 
for their successors ; receiving their appraised 
value. Those who enlisted, were required to 
bring a gun, or were charged a dollar for the 
use of one during the campaign. He who 
brought a blanket was allowed two dollars. It 
was impossible to furnish uniforms ; the troops, 
therefore, presented a motley appearance, in 
garments of divers cuts and colors ; the price 
of each man's garb being deducted from his 
pay. 

The detachments of militia from the neigh- 
boring provinces which replaced the disband- 
ing t^^ops, remained but for brief periods ; so 
that, in despite of every efibrt, the lines were 
often but feebly manned, and might easily have 
been forced. 

The anxiety of Washington, in this critical 
state of the army, may be judged from his cor- 
respondence with Eeed. " It is easier to con- 
ceive than to describe the situation of my mind 
for some time past, and my feelings under our 
present circumstances," writes he on the 4th 
of January. " Search the volumes of history 
through, and I much question whether a case 
similar to ours is to be found ; namely, to 
maintain a post against the power of the British 
troops for six months together, without pow- 
der, and then to have one army disbanded and 



* Letter of Washington to the President of Congress, 
Dec. 31. 



wEt. 43.] 



ANXIOUS VIGILS— MILITARY PREPARATIONS IN BOSTON. 



20T 



another raised within the same distance (mus- 
ket shot) of a reinforced enemy. "What may 
be the issue of the last manoeuvre, time only 
can unfold. I wish this month were well over 
our head. * * * "VVe are now left with a 
good deal less than half-raised regiments, and 
about five thousand militia, who only stand 
engaged to the middle of this month ; when, 
according to custom, they will depart, let the 
necessity of their stay be ever so urgent. Thus, 
for more than two months past, I have scarcely 
emerged from one difficulty before I have been 
plunged in another. How it will end, God, in 
his great goodness, will direct. I am thankful 
for his protection to this time. We are told 
that we shall soon get the army completed, but 
I have been told so many things which have 
never come to pass, that I distrust every thing." 

In a subsequent letter to Mr. Reed, he re- 
verts to the subject, and pours forth his feel- 
ings with confiding frankness. "What can be 
more touching than the picture he draws of 
himself and his lonely vigils about his sleeping 
camp ? " The reflection on my situation and 
that of this army, produces many an unhappy 
hour, when all around me are Avrapped in sleep. 
Few people know the predicament we are in 
on a thousand accounts ; fewer still will be- 
lieve if any disaster happens to these lines from 
what cause it flows. I have often thought 
how much happier I should have been, if, in- 
stead of accepting the command under such 
circumstances, I had taken my musket on my 
shoulder and entered the ranks ; or, if I could 
have justified the measure to posterity and 
my own conscience, had retired to the back 
countiy, and lived in a wigwam. If I shall 
be able to rise superior to these and many otlier 
difficulties, which might be enumerated, I shall 
most religiously believe that the finger of Prov- 
idence is in it, to blind the eyes of our enemies ; 
for surely if We get well through this month, 
it must be for want of their knowing the dis- 
advantages which we labor under." 

Recurring to the project of an attack upon 
Boston, which he had reluctantly abandoned, 
in deference to the adverse opinions of a coun- 
cil of war — " Oould .1 have foreseen the diffi- 
culties which have come upon us ; could I have 
known that such a backwardness would have 
been discovered among the old soldiers to the 
service, all the generals upon earth should not 
have convinced me of the propriety of delay- 
ing an attack upon Boston till this time. "When 
it can now be attempted, I wiH not undertake 



to say ; but this much I will answer for, that 
no opportunity can present itself earlier than 
my wishes." 

In the midst of his discouragements, "Wash- 
ington received letters from Knox, showing 
the spirit and energy with which he was exe- 
cuting his mission in quest of cannon and ord- 
nance stores. He had struggled manfully and 
successfully with all kinds of difficulties from 
the advanced season, and head winds, in get- 
ting them from Ticonderoga to the head of Lake 
George. " Three days ago," writes he, on the 
17th of December, " it was very uncertain 
whether we could get them over until next 
spring; but now, please God, they shall go. 
I have made forty-two exceedingly strong sleds, 
and have provided eighty yoke of oxen to drag 
them as fiir as Springfield, where I shall get 
fresh cattle to take them to camp." 

It was thus that hardships and emergencies 
were bringing out the merits of the self-made 
soldiers of the Revolution ; and showing their 
commander-in-chief on whom he might rely. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

Early in the month of January, there was 
a great stir of preparation in Boston harbor. 
A fleet of transports were taking in suppKes, 
and making arrangements for the embarkation 
of troops. Bomb-ketches and flat-bottomed 
boats were getting ready for sea, as were two 
sloops-of-war, which were to convey the arma- 
ment. Its destination was kept secret ; but 
was confidently surmised by "Washington. 

In the preceding month of October, a letter 
had been laid before Congress, written by some 
person in London of high credibility, and re- 
vealing a secret plan of operations said to have 
been sent out by ministers to the coinmanders 
in Boston. The following is the purport : Pos- 
session was to be gained of New York and Al- 
bany, through the assistance of Governor Try- 
on, on whose influence with the tory part of 
the population, much reliance was placed. 
These cities were to be very strongly garrison- 
ed. All who did not join the king's forces 
were to be declared rebels. The Hudson River, 
and the East River or Sound, were to be com- 
manded by a number of small men-of-war and 
cutters, stationed in different parts, so as wholly 
to cut ofl^ all communication by water between 
New York and the provinces to the northward 



208 



LEE'S MILITARY PLANS— OPINION OF ADAMS. 



[1776. 



of it; and between New York and Albany, 
except for the king's service ; and to prevent, 
also, all communication between the city of 
New York and the provinces of New Jersey, 
Pennsylvania, and those to the southward of 
them. " By these means," said the letter, 
"the administration and their friends fancy 
they shall soon either starve out or retake the 
garrisons of Crown Point and Ticonderoga, 
and open and maintain a safe intercourse and 
correspondence between Quebec, Albany, and 
New York ; and thereby offer the fairest op- 
portunity to their soldiery and the Canadians, 
in conjunction with the Indians to be procured 
by Guy Johnson, to make continual irruptions 
into New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Con- 
necticut, and so distract and divide the Provincial 
forces, as to render it easy for the British army 
at Boston to defeat them, break the spirits of 
the Massachusetts people, depopulate their 
country, and compel an absolute subjection to 
Great Britain." * 

It was added that a lord, high in the Ameri- 
can department, had been very particular in 
his inquiries about the Hudson River ; what 
sized vessels could get to Albany ; and whether, 
if batteries were erected in the Highlands, they 
would not control the navigation of the river, 
and prevent vessels from going up and 
down. 

This information had already excited solici- 
tude respecting the Hudson, and led to meas- 
ures for its protection. It was now surmised 
that the expedition preparing to sail from Bos- 
ton, and which was to be conducted by Sir 
Henry Clinton, might be destined to seize upon 
New York. How was the apprehended blow 
to be parried ? General Lee, who was just re- 
turned from his energetic visit to Rhode Island, 
offered his advice and services in the matter. 
In a letter to Washington, he urged him to act 
at once, and on his own responsibility, without 
awaiting the tardy and doubtful sanction of 
Congress, for which, in military matters, Lee 
had but small regard. 

" New York must be secured," writes he, 
" but it will never, I am afraid, be secured by 
due order of the Congress, for obvious reasons. 
They find themselves awkwardly situated on 
this head. You must step in to their relief. 
I am sensible no man can be spared from the 
lines under present circumstances ; but I would 
propose that you should detach me into Con- 



* Am. Archives, 4th Series, iil. 1281. 



necticut, and lend your name for collecting a 
body of volunteers. I am assured that I shall 
find no difficulty in assembling a sufficient 
number for the purposes wanted. This body 
in conjunction (if there should appear occasion 
to summon them) with the Jersey regiment 
under the command of Lord Stirling, now at 
Elizabethtown, will effect the security of New 
York, and the expulsion or suppression of that 
dangerous banditti of tories, who have appeared 
on Long Island, with the professed intention 
of acting against the authority of Congress. 
Not to crush these serpents before their rattles 
are grown would be ruinous. 

" This manoeuvre, I not only think prudent 
and right, but absolutely necessary to our sal- 
vation ; and if it meets, as I ardently hope it 
will, with your approbation, the sooner it is 
entered upon the better ; the delay of a single 
day may be fatal." 

"Washington, while he approved of Lee's 
military suggestions, was cautious in exercising 
the extraordinary powers so recently vested in 
him, and fearful of transcending them. John 
Adams was at that time in the vicinity of the 
camp, and he asked his opinion as to the prac- 
ticability and expediency of the plan, and 
whether it " might not be regarded as beyond 
his line." 

Adams, resolute of spirit, thought the enter- 
prise might easily be accomplished by the 
friends of liberty in New York, in connection 
with the Connecticut people, " who are very 
ready," said he, " upon such occasions." 

As to the expediency, he urged the vast im- 
portance, in the progress of this war, of the 
city and province of New York, and the Hud- 
son River, being the nexus of the northern and 
southern colonies, a kind of key to the whole 
continent, as it is a passage to Canada, to the 
Great Lakes, and to all the Indian nations. 
No effort to secure it ought to be omitted. 

That it was within the limits of "Washing- 
ton's command, he considered perfectly clear, 
he being " vested with full power and author- 
ity to act as he should think for the good 
and welfare of the service." 

If there was a body of people on Long Island, 
armed to oppose the American system of de- 
fence, and furnishing supplies to the British 
army and navy, they were invading Amer- 
ican liberty as much as those besieged in 
Boston. 

If, in the city of New York, a body of tories 
were waiting only for a force to protect them, 



^T. 44.] 



LEE'S POLICY IN KEGARD TO THE TORIES. 



209 



to declare themselves on the side of the enemy, 
it was high time that city was secured.* 

Thus fortified, as it were, by congressional 
sanction, through one of its most important 
members, who pronounced New York as much 
within his command as Massachusetts ; he gave 
Lee authority to carry out his plans. He was 
to raise volunteers in Connecticut ; march at 
their head to New York ; call in military aid 
from New Jersey ; put the city and the posts 
on the Hudson, in a posture of security against 
surprise ; disarm all persons on Long Island and 
•elsewhere, inimical to the views of Congress, 
")r secure them in some other manner if neces- 
ary ; and seize upon all medicines, shirts, and 
blankets, and send them on for the use of the 
American army. 

Lee departed on his mission on the 8th of 
January. On the 16th he was at New Haven, 
raihng at the indecision of Congress. They 
had ordered the enlistment of troops for the 
security of New York. A Connecticut regiment 
under Colonel "Waterbury had been raised, 
equipped, and on the point of embarking for 
Oyster Bay, on Long Island, to attack the tories, 
who Avere to be attacked on the other side by 
Lord Stirling, "when suddenly," says Lee, 
" Colonel Waterbury received an order to dis- 
band his regiment ; and the tories are to re- 
main unmolested till they are joined by the 
king's assassins." 

Trumbull, the governor of Connecticut, how- 
ever, " like a man of sense and spirit," had or- 
dered the regiment to be reassembled, and Lee 
trusted it would soon be ready to march with 
him. " I shall send immediately," said he, " an 
express to the Congress, informing them of my 
situation, and at the same time, conjuring them 
not to suffer the accursed Pi-ovincial Congress 
of New York to defeat measures so absolutely 
necessary to salvation." 

Lee's letter to the President of Congress, 
showed that the instructions dictated by the 
moderate and considerate spirit of Washington, 
were not strong enough on some points, to suit 
his stern military notions. The scheme, simply 
of disarming the tories, seemed to him totally 
ineffectual ; it would only embitter their minds, 
and add virus to their venom. They could and 
would always be supplied with fresh arms by 
the enemy. That of seizing the most danger- 
ous, would, from its vagueness, be attended 
with some bad consequences, and could answer 



Adams to Washington, Corr. of Rev., i. 113. 

14 



no good one. " The plan of explaining to these 
deluded people the justice of the American 
cause, is certainly generous and humane," ob- 
served he ; " but I am afraid will be fruitless. 
They are so riveted in their opinions, that I am 
persuaded, should an angel descend from heav- 
en with his golden trumpet, and ring in their 
ears that their conduct was criminal, he would 
be disregarded." 

Lee's notion of the policy proper in the pres- 
ent case was, to disarm the disaffected of all 
classes, supplying our own troops with the 
arms thus seized ; to appraise their estates, and 
oblige them to deposit at least one-half the 
value with the Continental Congress, as a se- 
curity for good behavior; to administer the 
strongest oath that could be devised, that they 
would act oftensively and defensively in support 
of the common rights ; and finally, to transfer 
all such as should prove refractory, to some 
place in the interior, where they would not be 
dangerous. 

The people of New York, at all times very ex- 
citable, were thrown into a panic on hearing that 
Lee was in Connecticut, on his way to take mili- 
tary possession of the city. They apprehended 
his appearance there would provoke an attack 
from the ships in the harbor. Some, who 
thought the war about to be brought to their 
own doors, packed up their effects, and made 
off into the country with their wives and chil- 
dren. Others beleaguered the committee of 
safety with entreaties against the deprecated 
protection of General Lee. The committee, 
through Pierre Van Cortlandt, their chairman, 
addressed a letter to Lee, inquiring into the mo- 
tives of his coming with an army to New York, 
and stating the incapacity of the city to act 
hostilely against the ships of war in port, from 
deficiency of powder, and a want of military 
works. For these, and other reasons, they 
urged the impropriety of provoking hostilities 
for the present, and the necessity of " saving 
appearances," with the ships of war, till at 
least the month of March, when they hoped to 
be able to face their enemies, with some coun- 
tenance, 

" We, therefore," continued the letter, " ar- 
dently wish to remain in peace for a little time, 
and doubt not we have assigned suflicient rea- 
sons for avoiding at present a dilemma, in which 
the entrance of a large body of troops into the 
city, will certainly involve us. Should you have 
such an enti'ance in design, we beg at least the 
troops may halt on the western confines of 



210 



HYSTERICAL LETTER— MONTGOMERY BEFORE QUEBEC. 



[1776. 



Connecticut, till we have been honored by you 
with such an explanation on this important sub- 
ject, as you may conceive your duty may permit 
you to enter upon with us, the grounds of 
which, you may easily see, ought to be kept an 
entire secret." 

Lee, in reply, dated Stamford, Jan. 23d, dis- 
claimed all intention of commencing actual hos- 
tilities against the men-of-war in the harbor ; 
his instructions from the commander-in-chief 
being solely to prevent the enemy from taking 
post in the city, or lodging themselves on Long 
Island. Some subordinate purposes were like- 
wise to be executed, which were much more 
proper to be communicated by word of mouth 
than by writing. In compliance with the wish- 
es of the committee, he promised to carry with 
him into the town just troops enough to secure 
it against any present designs of the enemy, 
leaving his main force on the western border 
of Connecticut. " I give you my word," added 
he, " that no active service is proposed, as you 
seem to apprehend. If the ships of war are 
quiet, I shall be quiet ; but I declare solemnly, 
that if they make a pretext of my presence to 
fire on the town, the first house set on flames 
by their guns shall be the funeral pile of some 
of their best friends." 

In a letter to Washington, written on the fol- 
lowing day, he says of his recruiting success in 
Connecticut : "I find the people throughout 
this province, more alive and zealous thanmy 
most sanguine expectations. I believe I might 
have collected two thousand volunteers. I take 
only four companies with me, and Waterbury's 
regiment. * * * These Connecticutians are, 
if possible, more eager to go out of their coun- 
try, than they are to return home, when 
they have been absent for any considerable 
time." 

Speaking of the people of New York, and 
the letter from their Provincial Congress, which 
he encloses : "T?he whigs," says he, " I mean 
the stout ones, are, it is said, very desirous that 
a body of troops should march and be stationed 
in the city — the timid ones are averse, merely 
from the spirit of procrastination, which is the 
characteristic of timidity. The letter from the 
Provincial Congress, you will observe, breathes 
the very essence of this spirit ; it is wofully 
hysterical." 

By the by, the threat contained in Lee's reply 
about a " funeral pile," coming from a soldier 
of his mettle, was not calculated to soothe the 
hysterical feelings of the committee of safetv. 



How he conducted himself on his arrival in the 
city, we shall relate in a future chapter. 



CHAPTEE XV. 

Fkom amid surrounding perplexities, "Wash- 
ington still turned a hopeful eye to Canada. 
He expected daily to receive tidings that Mont- 
gomery and Arnold were within the walls of 
Quebec, and he had even written to the former 
to forward as much as could be spared of the 
large quantities of arms, blankets, clothing, and 
other military stores, said to be deposited there ; 
the army before Boston being in great need of 
such supplies. 

On the 18th of January came despatches to 
him from General Schuyler, containing wither- 
ing tidings. The following is the purport. 
Montgomery, on the 2d of December, the day 
after his arrival at Point aux Trembles, set off 
in face of a driving snow-storm for Quebec, 
and arrived before it on the 5th. The works, 
from their great extent, appeared to him inca- 
pable of being defended by the actual garrison ; 
made up, as he said, of " Maclean's banditti," 
the sailors from the frigates and other vessels, 
together with the citizens obliged to take up 
arms; most of whom were impatient of the 
fatigues of a siege, and wished to see matters 
accommodated amicably. " I propose," added 
he, " amusing Mr. Carleton vvith a formal at- 
tack, erecting batteries, &c., but mean to as- 
sault the works, I believe towards the lower 
town, which is the weakest part." 

According to his own account, his whole 
force did not exceed nine hundred efiective men, 
three hundred of whom he had brought with 
him ; the rest he found with Colonel Arnold. 
The latter he pronounced an exceeding fine 
corps, inured to fatigue, and weU accustomed 
to a cannon shot, having served at Cambridge. 
" There is a style of discipline among them," 
adds he, " much superior to what I have been 
used to see in this campaign. He, himself (Ar- 
nold), is active, intelligent, and enterprising. 
Fortune often baffles the sanguine expectations 
of poor mortals. I am not intoxicated with 
her favors, but I do think there is a fair pros- 
pect of success. * 

On the day of his arrival, he sent a flag with 
a summons to surrender. It was fired upon. 



* Mo.it^:omcry to Bchiiyler, Dec. 5. 



^T. 44.] 



A SUMMONS TO SURRENDER— PLAN OF AN ESCALADE. 



211 



and obliged to retire. Exasperated at tLis out- 
rage, which, it is thought, was committed by 
the veteran Maclean, Montgomery wrote an in- 
dignant, reproachful, and even menacing letter 
to Oarleton, reiterating the demand, magnifying 
tlie number of his troops, and warning him 
against the consequences of an assault. Finding 
it was rejected from the walls, it was conveyed 
in by a woman, together with letters addressed 
to the principal naerchants, promising great in- 
dulgence in case of immediate submission. By 
Carleton's orders, the messenger was sent to 
prison for a few days, and then drummed out 
of town. 

Montgomery now prepared for an attack. 
The ground was frozen to a great depth, and 
covered with snow ; he was scantily provided 
with intrenching tools, and had only a field 
train of artillery, and a few mortars. By dint 
of excessive labor a breastwork was thrown 
up, four hundred yards distant from the walls, 
and opposite to the gate of St. Louis, which is 
nearly in the centre. It was formed of gabions, 
ranged side by side, and filled with snow, over 
which water was thrown until thoroughly fro- 
zen. Here Captain Lamb mounted five light 
pieces and a howitzer. Several mortars were 
placed in the suburbs of St. Koque, which ex- 
tends on the left of the promontory, below the 
heights, and nearly on a level with the river. 

From the " Ice Battery " Captain Lamb 
opened a well-sustained and well-directed fire 
upon the walls, but his field-pieces were too 
light to be effective. With his howitzer he 
threw shells into the town, and set it on fire in 
several places. For five days and nights the 
garrison was kept on the alert by the teasing 
fire of this battery. The object of Montgomery 
was to harass the town, and increase the dis- 
satisfaction of the inhabitants. His flag of 
truce being still fired upon, he caused the In- 
dians in his camp to shoot arrows into the town, 
having letters attached to them, addressed to 
the inhabitants, representing Carleton's refusal 
to treat, and advising them to i-ise in a body, 
and compel him. It was all in vain ; whatever 
might have been the disposition of the inhab- 
itants, they were completely under the control 
of the military. 

On the evening of the fifth day, Montgomery 
paid a visit to the ice battery. The heavy ar- 
tillery from the wall had repaid its ineffectual 
fire with ample usury. The brittle ramparts 
had been shivered like glass ; several of the 
guns had been rendered useless. Just as they 



arrived at the battery, a shot from the fortress 
dismounted one of the guns, and disabled many 
of the men. A second shot immediately fol- 
lowing, was almost as destructive. " This is 
warm work, sir," said Montgomery to Captain 
Lamb. " It is indeed, and certainly no place 
for you, sir." " "Why so, captain ? " " Because 
there are enough of us here to be killed, with- 
out the loss of you, which would be irrepara- 
ble." 

The general saw the insufficiency of the bat- 
tery, and, on retiring, gave Captain Lamb per- 
mission to leave it whenever he thought prop- 
er. The veteran waited until after dark, when, 
securing all the guns, he abandoned the ruined 
redoubt. The general in this visit was attended 
by Aaron Burr, whom he had appointed his 
aide-de-camp. Lamb wondered that he should 
encumber himself with such a boy. The per- 
fect coolness and self-possession with which the 
youth mingled in this dangerous scene, and the 
fire which sparkled in his eye, soon convinced 
Lamb, according to his own account, that " the 
young volunteer was no ordinaiy man." * 

Nearly three weeks had been consumed in 
these futile operations. The army, ill-clothed 
and ill-provided, was becoming impatient of 
the rigors of a Canadian winter ; the term for 
which part of the troops had enlisted would 
expire with the year, and they already talked 
of returning home. Montgomery was sadly 
conscious of the insufficiency of his means ; 
still he could not endure the thoughts of retir- 
ing from before the place without striking a 
blow. He knew that much was expected from 
him, in consequence of his late achievements, 
and that the eyes of the public were fixed upon 
this Canadian enterprise. He determined, 
therefore, to attempt to carry the place by es- 
calade. One-third of his men were to set fire 
to the houses and stockades of the suburb of 
St. Eoque, and force the barriers of the lower 
town ; while the main body should scale the 
bastion of Cape Diamond. 

It was a hazardous, almost a desperate pro- 
ject, yet it has met with the approbation of 
military men. He calculated upon the devotion 
and daring spirit of his men, upon the discon- 
tent which prevailed among the Canadians, and 
upon the incompetency of the garrison for the 
defence of such extensive works. 

In regard to the devotion of his men, he was 
threatened with disappointmeu!. "When the 



* Life of John Lamli, p. 125. 



212 



ATTACK OX THE LOWER TOWN— DEATH OF MONTGOMERY. 



[1776. 



plan of assault was submitted to a council of 
war, three of the captains in Arnold's division, 
the terms of whose companies were near expir- 
ing, declined to serve, unless they and their 
men could be transferred to another command. 
This almost mutinous movement, it is supposed, 
was fomented by Arnold's old adversary. Major 
Brown, and it Avas with infinite difficulty Mont- 
gomery succeeded in overcoming it. 

The ladders were now provided for the esca- 
lade, and Montgomery waited with impatience 
for a favorable night to put it into execution. 
Smallpox and desertion had reduced his little 
army to seven hundred and fifty men. From 
certain movements of the enemy, it was sur- 
mised that the deserters had revealed his plan. 
He changed, therefore, the arrangement. Colo- 
nel Livingston was to make a false attack on 
the gate of St. Johns, and set fire to it ; Major 
Brown, with another detachment, was to men- 
ace the bastion of Cape Diamond, Arnold, 
with three hundred a;id fifty of the hardy fel- 
lows who had followed him through the wilder- 
ness, strengthened by Captain Lamb and forty 
of his company, was to assault the suburbs and 
batteries of St. Eoque ; while Montgomery, 
with the residue of his forces, was to pass be- 
low the bastion at Cape Diamond, defile along 
the river, carry the defences at Drummond's 
"Wharf, and thus enter the lower town on one 
side, while Arnold forced his way into it on the 
other. These movements were all to be made 
at the same time, on the discharge of signal 
rockets ; thus distracting the enemy, and calling 
their attention to four several points. 

On the 31st of December, at two o'clock in 
the morning, the troops repaired to their several 
destinations, under cover of a violent snow- 
storm. By some accident or mistake, such as 
is apt to occur in complicated plans of attack, 
the signal rockets were let oflf" before the lower 
divisions had time to get to their fighting 
ground. They were descried by one of Mac- 
lean's Highland officers, who gave the alai'm. 
Livingston, also, failed to make the false attack 
on the gate of St. Johns, which was to have 
caused a diversion favorable to Arnold's attack 
on the suburb below. 

The feint by Major Brown, on the bastion 
of Cape Diamond, was successful, and con- 
cealed the march of General Montgomery. 
That gallant commander descended from the 
heights to Wolfe's Cove, and led his division 
along the shore of the St. Lawrence, round the 
beetlifig promontory of Cape Diamond. The 



narrow approach to the lower town in that di- 
rection was traversed by a picket or stockade, 
defended by Canadian militia; beyond which 
was a second defence, a kind of block-house, 
forming a battery of small pieces, manned by 
Canadian militia, and a few seamen, and com- 
manded by the captain of a transport. The 
aim of Montgomery was to come upon these 
barriers by surprise. The pass which they de- 
fended is formidable at aU times, having a swift 
river on one side, and overhanging precipices 
on the other ; but at this time was rendered pe- 
culiarly difficult by drifting snow, and by great 
masses of ice piled on each other at the foot 
of the cliff's. 

The troops made their way painfully, in ex- 
tended and straggling files, along the narrow 
footway, and over the slippery piles of ice. 
Among the foremost, were some of the first 
New York regiment, led on by Captain Cheese- 
man. Montgomery, who was familiar with 
them, urged them on. " Forward, men of New 
York! " cried he. "You are not the men to 
flinch when your general leads you on ! " In 
his eagerness, he threw himself far in the ad- 
vance, with his pioneers and a few officers, and 
made a dash at the first barrier. The Cana- 
dians stationed there, taken by surprise, made a 
few random shots, then threw down their mus- 
kets and fled. Montgomery sprang forward, 
aided with his own hand to pluck down the 
pickets, which the pioneers were sawing, and 
having made a breach sufficiently wide to admit 
three or four men abreast, entered sword in 
hand, followed by his staflP, Captain Cheeseman, 
and some of his men. The Canadians had fled 
from the picket to the battery or block-house, 
but seemed to have carried the panic Avith 
them, for the battery remained silent. Mont- 
gomery felt for a moment as if the sui'prise had 
been complete. He paused in the breach to 
rally on the troops, who were stumbling along 
the difficult pass. " Push on, my brave boys," 
cried he, " Quebec is ours ! " 

He again dashed forward, but, when within 
forty paces of the battery, a discharge of grape- 
shot from a single cannon, made deadly havoc. 
Montgomery, and McPherson, one of his aides, 
were killed on the spot. Captain Cheeseman, 
who was leading on his New Yorkers, received 
a canister shot through the body ; made an ef- 
fort to rise and push forward, but fell back a 
corpse ; with him fell his orderly sergeant and 
several of his men. This fearful slaughter, and 
the death of their general, threw every thing 



^T. 44.] RETREAT OF COL. CAMPBELL— ARNOLD AND LAMB WOUNDED. 



213 



in confusion. The officer next in lineal rank 
to the general, was far in the rear ; in this 
emergency, Colonel Ganipbell, quartermaster- 
general, took the command, but, instead of ral- 
lying the men, and endeavoring to effect the 
I'unction with Arnold, ordered a retreat, and 
abandoned the half-won field, leaving behind 
him the bodies of the slain. 

While all this was occurring on the side of 
Cape Diamond, Arnold led his division against 
the opposite side of the lower town, along the 
suburb and street of St. Roque. Like Mont- 
gomery, he took the advance at the head of a 
forlorn hope of twenty-five men, accompanied 
by his secretary Oswald, formerly one of his 
captains at Ticonderoga. Captain Lamb and 
his artillery company came next, with a field- 
piece mounted on a sledge. Then came a com- 
pany with ladders and scaling implements, fol- 
lowed by Morgan and his riflemen. In the rear 
of all these came the main body. A battery 
on a wharf commanded the narrow pass by 
which they had to advance. This was to be 
attacked with the field-piece, and then scaled 
with ladders by the forlorn hope ; while Cap- 
tain Morgan, with his riflemen, was to pass 
round the wharf on the ice. 

The false attack which was to have been made 
by Livingston on the gate of St. Johns, by way 
of diversion, had not taken place ; there was 
nothing, therefore, to call off the attention of 
the enemy in this quarter from the detachment. 
The troops, as they straggled along in length- 
ened file through the drifting snow, were sadly 
galled by a flanking fire on the right, from walls 
and pickets. The field-piece at length became 
so deeply embedded in a snow-drift, that it 
could not be moved. Lamb sent word to Ar- 
nold of the impediment ; in the mean time, 
he and his artillery company were brought to 
a halt. The company with the scaling ladders 
would have halted also, having been told to 
keep in the rear of the artillery ; but they were 
urged on by Morgan with a thundering oath, 
who pushed on after them with his riflemen, 
the artillery company opening to the right and 
left to let them pass. 

They arrived in the advance just as Arnold 
was leading on his forlorn hope to attack the 
barrier. Before he reached it, a severe wound 
in the right leg with a musket ball completely 
disabled him, and he had to be borne from the 
field. Morgan instantly took the command. 
Just then Lamb came up with his coApany, 
armed with muskets and bayonets, having re- 



ceived orders to abandon the field-piece, and 
support the advance. Oswald joined him with 
the forlorn hope. The battery which com- 
manded the defile mounted two pieces of can- 
non. There was a discharge of grape-shot 
when the assailants were close under the muz- 
zles of the guns, yet but one man was killed. 
Before there could be a second discharge, the 
battery was carried by assault, some firing into 
the embrasures ; others scaling the walls. The 
captain and thirty of his men were taken pris- 
oners. 

The day was just dawning as Morgan led on 
to attack the second barrier, and his men had 
to advance under a fire from the town walls on 
their right, which incessantly thinned their 
ranks. The second barrier was reached ; they 
applied their scaling ladders to storm it. The 
defence was brave and obstinate, but the de- 
fenders were at length driven from their guns, 
and the battery was gained. At the last mo- 
ment one of the gunners ran back, linstock in 
hand, to give one more' shot. Captain Lamb 
snapped a fusee at him. It missed fire. The 
cannon was dischaTged, and a grape-shot wound- 
ed Lamb in the head, carrying away part of the 
cheek-bone. He was borne off" senseless, to a 
neighboring shed. 

The two barriers being now taken, the way 
on this side into the lower town seemed open. 
Morgan prepared to enter it with the victorious 
^'anguard; first stationing Captain Dearborn 
and some provincials at Palace Gate, which 
opened down into the defile from the upper 
town. By this time, however, the death of 
Montgomery and retreat of Campbell, had en- 
abled the enemy to turn all their attention in 
this direction. A large detachment sent by 
General Carleton, sallied out of Palace Gate 
after Morgan had passed it, surprised and cap- 
tured Dearborn -and the guard, and completely 
cut off the advanced party. The main body, 
informed of the death of Montgomery, and 
giving up the game as lost, retreated to the 
camp, leaving behind the field-piece which 
Lamb's company had abandoned, and the mor- 
tars in the battery of St. Roque. 

Morgan and his men were now hemmed in 
on all sides, and obliged to take refuge in a stone 
house, from the inveterate fire which assailed 
them. From the windows of this house they 
kept up a desperate defence, until cannon were 
brought to bear upon it. Then, hearing of the 
death of Montgomery, and seeing that there 
was no prospect of relief, Morgan and his gal-' 



214 



GALI^ANT RESOLVE OF ARNOLD— COERESPONDENCE. 



[1776. 



lant handful of followers were compelled to 
surrender themselves prisoners of war. 

Thus foiled at every point, the wrecks of the 
little army abandoned their camp, and retreated 
about three miles from the town ; where they 
hastily fortified themselves, apprehending a 
pursuit by the garrison. General Carleton, 
however, contented himself with having secured 
the safety of the place, and remained cautiously 
passive until he should be propei-ly reinforced ; 
distrusting the good faith of the motley inhab- 
itants. He is said to have treated the prisoners 
Avith a humanity the more honorable, considering 
the " habitual military severity of his temper ; " 
their heroic daring, displayed in the assault upon 
the lower town, having excited his admiration. 

The remains of the gallant Montgomery re- 
ceived a soldier's grave, within the fortifications 
of Quebec, by the care of Cramahe, the lieuten- 
ant-governor, wl)o had formerly known him. 

Arnold, -U'ounded and disabled, had been as- 
sisted back to the camp, dragging one foot after 
the other for nearly a mile, in great agony, and 
exposed continually to the musketry from the 
walls at fifty yards' distance, wliich shot down 
several at his side. 

He took temporary command of the shattered 
army, until General "Wooster should arrive from 
Montreal, to whom he sent an express, urging 
him to bring on succor. " On this occasion," 
says a contemporary writer, " he discovered the 
utmost vigor of a determined mind, and. a ge- 
nius full of resources. Defeated and wounded, 
as he was, he put his troops into such a situa- 
tion as to keep them still formidable." * 

With a mere handful of men, at one time 
not exceeding five hundred, he maintained a 
blockade of the strong fortress from which he 
had just been repulsed. " I have no thoughts," 
writes he, " of leaving this proud town until I 
enter it in triumph. / am in the way of my 
duty, and I Tcnow no fear ! " t 

Happy for him had he fallen at this moment. 
Happy for him had he found a soldier's and a 
patriot's grave, beneath the rock-built walls of 
Quebec. Those walls would have remained en- 
during monuments of his renown. His name, 
like that of Montgomery, would have been 
treasured up among the dearest though most 
mournful recollections of Ms country, and that 
country would have been spared the single 
traitorous blot that dims the briglit page of its 
revolutionary history. 

* Civil "War in America, vol. i., \.. 112. 

t Sco Arnold's Letter. Remembrancer, ii. SCS. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

Schutlee's letter to Washington, announcing 
the recent events, was written with manly 
feeling. " I wish," said he, " I had no occasion 
to send my dear general this melancholy ac- 
count. My amiable friend, the gallant Mont- 
gomery, is no more ; the brave Arnold is 
wounded ; and we have met with a severe 
check in an unsuccessful attempt on Quebec. 
May Heaven be graciously pleased that the 
misfortune may terminate here ! I tremble for 
our people in Canada." 

Alluding to his recent request to retire from 
the army, he writes : " Our aflfairs are much 
worse than when I made the request. This is 
motive suflicient for me to continue to serve 
my country in any way I can be thought most 
serviceable ; but my utmost can be but little, 
weak and indisposed as I am." 

Washington was deeply moved by the dis- 
astrous intelligence. " I most sincerely con- 
dole with you," writes he, in reply to Schuyler, 
" upon the fall of the brave and worthy Mont- 
gomery. In the death of this gentleman, Amer- 
ica has sustained a heavy loss. I am much con- 
cerned for the intrepid and enterprising Ar- 
nold, and greatly fear that consequences of the 
most alarming nature will result from this well- 
intended, but unfortunate attempt." 

General Schuyler, who Avas now in Albany, 
urged the necessity of an immediate reinforce- 
ment of three thousand men for the army in 
Canada. Washington had not a man to spare 
from the army before Boston. He applied, 
therefore, on his own responsibility, to Massa- 
chusetts, New Hampshire, and Connecticut, for 
three regiments, which were granted. His 
prompt measure received the approbfvtion of 
Congress, and further reinforcements Avere 
ordered from the same quarters. 

Solicitude was awakened about the interior 
of the province of Ncav York. Arms and am- 
munition were said to be concealed in Tryon 
County, and numbers of the tories in that 
neighborhood preparing for hostilities. Sir 
John Johnson had fortified Johnson Hall, 
gathered about him his Scotch Highland ten- 
ants and Indian allies, and it was rumored he 
intended to carry fire and sword along the 
valley of the MohaAvk. 

Schuyler, in consequence, received orders 
from Congress to take measures for securing 



Mr. 44.] 



CAPITULATION OF SIR JOHN JOHNSON— LEE AT NEW YORK. 



215 



the military stores, disarming the disafTected, 
and apprehending their chiefs. He forthwith 
hastened from Albany, at the head of a body 
of soldiers ; was joined by Colonel Herkimer, 
with the militia of Tryon County marshalled 
forth on the frozen bosom of the Mohawk 
Eiver, and appeared before Sir John's strong- 
hold, near Johnstown, on the 19th of Janu- 
ary. 

Thus beleaguered. Sir John, after much ne- 
gotiation, capitulated. He was to surrender 
aU weapons of war and military stores in his 
possession, and to give his parole not to take 
arms against America. On these conditions he 
was to be at liberty to go as far westward in 
Tryon County as the German Flats and Kings- 
land districts, and to every part of the colony 
to the southward and eastward of these dis- 
tricts ; pi'ovided he did not go into any seaport 
town. 

Sir John intimated a trust that he, and the 
gentlemen with him, would be pei*mitted to 
retain such arms as were their own property. 
The reply was characteristic : " General Schuy- 
ler's feelings as a gentleman, induce him to 
consent that Sir John Johnson may retain the 
few favorite family arms, he making a list of 
them. General Schuyler never refused a gen- 
tleman his side-arms." 

The capitulation being adjusted, Schuyler 
ordered his troops to be drawn up in line at 
noon (Jan. 20th), between his quarters and the 
Court House, to receive the surrender of the 
Highlanders, enjoining profound silence on his 
ofBcers and men, when the sui*render should be 
made. Every thing was conducted with great 
regard to the feelings of Sir John's Scottish 
adherents ; they marched to the front, ground- 
ed their arms, and were dismissed with exhor- 
tations to good behavior. 

The conduct of Schuyler, throughout this 
affair, drew forth a resolution of Congress, ap- 
plauding him for his fidelity, prudence, and ex- 
pedition, and the proper temper he had main- 
tained toward the " deluded people " in ques- 
tion. Washington, too, congratulated him on 
his success, " I hope," writes he, " General 
Lee Avill execute a work of the same kind on 
Long Island. It is high time to begin with 
our internal foes, when we are threatened with 
such severity of chastisement from our kind 
parent without." 

The recent reverses in Canada had, in fact, 
heightened the solicitude of Washington about 
the province of New York. That province 



was the central and all-important link in the 
confederacy ; but he feared it might prove a 
brittle one. We have already mentioned the 
adverse influences in operation there. A large 
number of friends to the crown, among the 
official and commercial classes ; rank tories (as 
they were called), in the city and about the 
neighboring country ; particularly on Long and 
Staten Islands ; king's ships at anchor in the 
bay and harbor, keeping up a suspicious inter- 
course with the citizens ; while Governor Try- 
on, castled, as it were, on board one of these 
ships, carried on intrigues with those disaffected 
to the popular cause, in all parts of the neigh- 
borhood. County committees had been em- 
powered by the New York Congress and con- 
vention, to apprehend all persons notoriously 
disaffected, to examine into their conduct, and 
ascertain whether they were guilty of any hos- 
tile act or machination. Imprisonment or ban- 
ishment was the penalty. The committees 
could call upon, the militia to aid in the dis- 
charge of their functions. Still, disaffection 
to the cause was said to be rife in the province, 
and Washington looked to General Lee for 
effective measures to suppress it. 

Lee arrived at New York on the 4th of Feb- 
ruary, his caustic humors sharpened by a severe 
attack of the gout, which had rendered it ne- 
cessary, while on the march, to carry him for 
a considerable part of the way in a litter. His 
correspondence is a complete mental barometer. 
" I consider it as a piece of the greatest good 
fortune," writes he to Washington (Feb. 5th), 
" that the Congress have detached a committee 
to this place, otherwise I should have made a 
most ridiculous figure, besides bringing upon 
myself the enmity of the whole province. My 
hands were effectually tied up from taking any 
step necessary for the public service by the 
late resolve of 'Congress, putting every detach- 
ment of the continental forces under the com- 
mand of the Provincial Congress where such 
detachment is." 

By a singular coincidence, on the very day 
of his arrival Sir Henry Clinton, with the 
squadron which had sailed so mysteriously 
from Boston, looked into the harbor, " Though 
it was Sabbath," says a letter-writer of the day, 
" it threw the whole city into such a convulsion 
as it never knew before. Many of the inhabi- 
tants hastened to move their effects into the 
country, expecting an immediate conflict. All 
that day and all night, were there carts going 
and boats loading, and women and children 



216 CLINTON IN THE HARBOR OF NEW YORK— TORIES UNDER DISCIPLINE. [IIIG, 



crying, and distressed voices heard in the roads 
in the dead of the night." * 

Chnton sent for the mayor, and expressed 
much surprise and concern at the distress 
caused by his arrival ; which was merely, he 
said, on a short visit to his friend Tryon, and to 
see how matters stood. He professed a juve- 
nile love for the place, and desired that the in- 
habitants miglit be informed of the purport of 
his visit, and that he would go away as soon as 
possible. 

"He brought no troops with him," writes 
Lee, " and .pledges his honor that none are 
coming. He says it is merely a visit to his 
friend Tryon. If it is really so, it is the most 
whimsical piece of civility I ever heard of." 

A gentleman in New York, writing to a 
friend in Philadelphia, reports one of the gen- 
eral's characteristic menaces which kept the 
town in a fever. 

" Lee says, he will send word on board of 
the men-of-war, that, if they set a house on 
fire, he will chain a hundred of their friends 
by the neck, and make the house their funeral 
pile." t 

For this time, the inhabitants of New York 
were let oif for their fears. Clinton, after a 
brief visit, continued his mysterious cruise, 
openly avowing his destination to be North 
Carolina — which nobody believed, simply be- 
cause he avowed it. 

The Duke of Manchester^'' speaking in the 
House of Lords of the conduct of Clinton, con- 
trasts it with that of Lord Dunmore, who 
wrapped Norfolk in flames. "I Avill pass no 
censure on that noble lord," said he, " but I 
could wish that he had acted with that gener- 
ous spirit that forbade Clinton uselessly to de- 
stroy the town of New York. My lords, Clin- 
ton visited New York; the inhabitants ex- 
pected its destruction. Lee appeared before it 
with an army too powerful to be attacked, and 
Clinton passed by without doing any wanton 
damage." 

The necessity of conferring with committees 
at every step, was a hard restraint upon a man 
of Lee's ardent and impatient temper, who had 
a soldierlike contempt for the men of peace 
around him ; yet at the outset he bore it better 
than might have been expected. 

" The Congress committees, a certain num- 
ber of the committees of safety, and your 
humble servan t," writes he to Washington, 

* Remembrancer, vol. iii. 

t Am. Archives, 5th Series, iv. 941. 



" have had two conferences. The result is 
such as will agreeably surprise you. It is in 
the first place agreed, and justly, that to fortify 
the town against shipping is impracticable ; 
but we are to fortify lodgments on some com- 
manding part of the city for two thousand men. 
"We are to erect enclosed batteries on both sides 
of the water, near Hell Gate, which will an- 
swer the double purpose of securing the town 
against piracies through the Sound, and secure 
our communication with Long Island, now be- 
come a more important point than ever ; as it 
is determined to form a strong fortified camp 
of three thousand men, on the Island, imme- 
diately opposite to New York. The pass in 
the Highlands is to be made as respectable as 
possible, and guarded by a battalion. In short, 
I think the plan judicious and complete." 

The pass in the Highlands above alluded to, 
is that grand defile of the Hudson, where, for 
upwards of fifteen miles, it wends its deep 
channel between stern, forest-clad mountains 
and rocky promontories. Two forts, about six 
miles distant from each other, and commanding 
narrow parts of the river at its bends through 
these Highlands, had been commenced in the 
preceding autumn, by order of the Continental 
Congress ; but they were said to be insufficient 
for the security of that important pass, and 
were to be extended and strengthened. 

Washington had charged Lee, in his Instruc- 
tions, to keep a stern eye upon the tories, who 
were active in New York " You can seize 
upon the persons of the principals," said he ; 
" they must be so notoriously known, that 
there wiU be little danger of committing mis- 
takes." Lee acted up to the letter of these in- 
structions, and weeded out with a vigorous 
hand, some of the rankest of the growth. This 
gave great offence to the peace-loving citizens, 
who insisted that he was arrogating a power 
vested solely in the civil authority. One of 
them, well-affected to the cause, writes : " To 
see the vast number of houses shut up, one 
would think the city almost evacuated. Wo- 
men and children are scarcely to be seen in 
the streets. Troops are daily coming in ; they 
break open and quarter themselves in any house 
they find shut." * 

The enemy, too, regarded his measures with 
apprehension. " That arch rebel Lee," writes a 
British oflncer, " has driven all the well-aflFected 
people from the town of New York. If some- 



■ Fred. Rhinelander to Peter Van Schaaok, Feb. 23. 



JEt, 44.] THE CITY AND RIVER FORTIFIED— LEE'S PLANS OF FORTIFICATION. 



217 



tiling is not speedily done, his Britannic Maj- 
esty's American dominions wUl be confined 
within a very narrow compass." * 

In the exercise of his mihtary functions, Lee 
set Governor Tryon and the captain of the Asia 
at defiance. " They had theatened perdition 
to the town," writes he to Washington, " if the 
cannon were removed from the batteries and 
wharves, but I ever considered their threats 
as a hrutum Julmen, and even persuaded the 
town to be of the same way of thinking. We 
accordingly conveyed them to a place of safety 
in the middle of the day, and no cannonade 
ensued. Captain Parker publishes a pleasant 
reason for his passive conduct. He says that 
it was manifestly my intention, and that of 
the New England men under my command, to 
bring destruction on this town, so hated for 
their loyal principles, but that he was deter- 
mined not to indulge us ; so remained quiet 
out of spite. The people here laugh at his 
nonsense, and begin to despise the menaces 
which formerly used to throw them into con- 
vulsions." 

Washington appears to have shared the mer- 
riment. In his reply to Lee, he writes, " I 
could not avoid laughing at Captain Parker's 
reasons for not putting his repeated threats into 
execution," — a proof, by the way, under his 
own hand, that he could laugh occasionally ; 
and even when surrounded by perplexities. 

According to Lee's account, the New Yorkers 
showed a wonderful alacrity in removing the 
cannon. " Men and boys of all ages," writes 
he, " worked with the greatest zeal and pleas- 
ure. I really believe the generality are as 
well aifected as any on the continent." Some 
of the well-afl\3cted, however, thought he 
was rather too self-willed and high-handed. 
" Though General Lee has many things to re- 
commend him as a general," writes one of 
them, " yet I think he was out of luck when 
he ordered the removal of the guns from the 
battery ; as it was withoiit the approbation or 
knowledge of our Congress." t — Lee seldom 
waited for the approbation of Congress in mo- 
ments of exigency. 

He now proceeded with his plan of defences. 
A strong redoubt, capable of holding three 
hundred men, was commenced at Horen's 
Hook, commanding the pass at Hell Gate, so 
as to block up from the enemy's ships the pas- 
sage between the mainland and Long Island. 



* Am. Archives, v. 425. 

t Fred. Rhinelander to Peter Van Schaack. 



A regiment was stationed on the island, mak- 
ing fascines, and preparing other materials for 
constructing the works for an intrenched camp, 
which Lee hoped would render it impossible 
for the enemy to get a footing there. " What 
to do with this city," writes he, " I own, puzzles 
me. It is so encircled with deep navigable 
water, that whoever commands the sea must 
command the town. To-morrow I shall begin 
to dismantle that part of the fort next to the 
town, to prevent its being converted into a 
citadel. I shall barrier the principal streets, 
and, at least, if I cannot make it a continental 
garrison, it shall be a disputable field of battle." 
Batteries were to be erected on an eminence 
behind Trinity Church, to keep the enemy's 
ships at so great a distance as not to injure 
the town. 

King's Bridge, at the upper end of Manhat- 
tan or New York Island, linking it with the 
mainland, was pronounced by Lee " a most im- 
portant pass, without which the city could 
have no communication with Connecticut." It 
was, therefore, to be made as strong as possible. 

Heavy cannon were to be sent up to the 
forts in the Highlands ; which were to be en- 
larged and strengthened. 

In the midst of his schemes, Lee received 
orders from Congress to the command in 
Canada, vacant by the death of Montgomery. 
He bewailed the defenceless condition of the 
city ; the Continental Congress, as he said, not 
having, as yet, taken the least step for its se- 
curity. " The instant I leave it," said he, " I 
conclude the Provincial Congress, and inhabi- 
tants in general, will relapse into their former 
hysterics. The men-of-war and Mr. Tryon 
will return to their old station at the wharves, 
and the first regiments who arrive from Eng- 
land will take quiet possession of the town and 
Long Island." 

It must be observed that, in consequence of his 
military demonstrations in the city, the enemy's 
ships had drawn ofi" and dropped down the 
bay ; and he had taken vigorous measures, 
without consulting the committees, to put an 
end to the practice of supplying them with 
provisions. 

" Governor Tryon and the Asia," writes he 
to Washington, " continue between Nutten 
and Bedlow's Islands. It has pleased his Ex- 
cellency, in violation of the compact he has 
made, to seize several vessels from Jersey ladei^ 
with flour. It has, in return, pleased my Ex- 
cellency to stop all provisions from the city, 



218 AFFAIRS BEFORE BOSTON— EXPLOIT OF PUTNAM— ITS CONSEQUENCES. [1116. 



and cut off all intercourse with liim,— a meas- 
ure which has thrown the mayor, council, and 
tories into agonies. The propensity, or rather 
rage, for paying court to this great man, is in- 
conceivable. They cannot be weaned from 
him. We must put Avormwood on his paps, 
or they will cry to suck, as they are in their 
second childhood." 

We would observe, in explanation of a sar- 
casm in the above quoted letter, that Lee pro- 
fessed a great contempt for the titles of respect 
which it was the custom to prefix to the names 
of men in oflBce or command. He scoffed at 
them, as unworthy of " a great, free, manly, 
equal commonwealth." " For my own part," 
said he, " I would as lief they would put rats- 
bane in my mouth, as the Excellency with 
which I am daily crammed. How much more 
true dignity was there in the simplicity of ad- 
dress among the Eomans : Marcus Tullius 
Cicero, Decius Bruto Imperatori, or Oaio Mar- 
cello Oonsuli, than to ' His Excellency Major- 
General Noodle,' or to the ' Honorable John 
Doodle.' " 



CHAPTER XVII. 

The siege of Boston continued through the 
winter, without any striking incident to en- 
liven its monotony. The British remained 
within their works, leaving the beleaguering 
army slowly to augment its forces. The coun- 
try was dissatisfied with the inaction of the 
latter. Even Congress was anxious for some 
successful blow that might revive popular en- 
thusiasm. Washington shared this anxiety, 
and had repeatedly, in councils of war, sug- 
gested an attack upon the town, but had found 
a majority of his general officers opposed to it. 
He had hoped some favorable opportunity 
would present, when, the harbor being frozen, 
the troops might approach the town upon the 
ice. The winter, however, though severe at 
first, proved a mild one, and the bay continued 
open. General Putnam, in the mean time, 
having completed the new works at Lechmere 
Point, and being desirous of keeping up the 
spirit of his men, resolved to treat them to an 
exploit. Accordingly, from his " impregnable 
fortress " of Cobble Hill, he detached a party 
of about two hundred, under his favorite offi- 
cer, Major Knowlton, to surprise and capture a 
British guard stationed at Charlestown. It 
was a daring enterprise, and executed with 



spirit. As Charlestown Neck was completely 
protected, Knowlton led his men across the 
miU-dam, round the base of the hill, and im- 
mediately below the fort ; set fire to the 
guard-house and some buildings in its vicinity ; 
made several prisoners, and retired without 
loss ; although thundered upon by the cannon 
of the fort. The exploit was attended by a 
dramatic effect on which Putnam had not cal- 
culated. The British officers, early in the 
winter, had fitted up a theatre, which was 
well attended by the troops and tories. On 
the evening in question, an afterpiece was to 
be performed, entitled " The Blockade of Bos- 
ton," intended as a burlesque on the patriot 
army which was beleaguering it. Washington 
is said to have been represented in it as an 
awkward lout, equipped with a huge wig, and 
a long rusty sword, attended by a country 
booby as orderly sergeant, in rustic garb, with 
an old firelock seven or eight feet long. 

The theatre was crowded, especially by the 
military. The first piece was over, and the 
curtain was rising for the farce, when a ser- 
geant made his appearance, and announced 
that " the alarm guns were firing at Charles- 
town, and the Yankees attacking Bunker's 
Hill." At first this Avas supposed to be a part 
of the entertainment, until General Howe gave 
the word, " Officers, to your alarm posts." 

Great confusion ensued ; every one scrambled 
out of the theatre as fast as possible. There 
was, as usual, some shrieking and fainting of 
ladies ; and the farce of " The Blockade of 
Boston " had a more serious than comic ter- 
mination. 

The London Chronicle, in a sneering com- 
ment on Boston affairs, gave Burgoyne as the 
author of this burlesque afterpiece, though per- 
haps unjustly. " General Burgoyne has opened 
a theatrical campaign, of which himself is sole 
manager, being determined to act with the 
Provincials on the defensive only. Tom Thumb 
has been already represented ; while, on the 
other hand, the Provincials are preparing to 
exhibit early in the spring, ' Measure for Meas- 
ure.' " 

The British officers, like all soldiers by pro- 
fession, endeavored to while away the time by 
every amusement within their reach ; but, in 
truth, the condition of the besieged town was 
daily becoming more and more distressing. 
The inhabitants were without flour, pulse, or 
vegetables ; the troops were nearly as destitute. 
There was a lack of fuel, too, as well as food. 



^T. 44.] 



WASHINGTON'S PERPLEXITIES— HIS BOLD PROPOSITION. 



219 



The smallpox broke out, and it was necessary 
to inoculate the army. Men, women, and chil- 
dren either left the city voluntarily, or were 
sent out of it ; yet the distress increased. Sev- 
eral houses were broken open and plundered ; 
others were demolished by the soldiery for 
fuel. General Howe resorted to the sternest 
measures to put a stop to these excesses. The 
provost was ordered to go the rouixls with the 
hangman, and hang up the first man he should 
detect in the fact, without waiting for further 
proof for trial. Offenders were punished with 
four hundred, six hundred, and even one thou- 
sand lashes. The wife of a private soldier, 
convicted of receiving stolen goods, was sen- 
tenced to one hundred lashes on her bare back, 
at the cart's tail, in different parts of the town, 
and an imprisonment of three months. 

ileanwhile, Washington was incessantly goad- 
ed by the impatient murmurs of the public, as 
we may judge by his letters to Mr. Eeed. " I 
know the integrity of my own heart," writes 
he, on the 10th of February; "but to declare 
it, unless to a friend, may be an argument of 
vanity. I know the unhappy predicament I 
stand in ; I know that much is expected of me ; 
I know that, without men, without arms, with- 
out ammunition, without any thing fit for the 
accommodation of a soldier, little is to be done ; 
and, what is mortifying, I know that I cannot 
stand justified to the world without exposing 
my own weakness, and injuring the cause, by 
declaring my wants ; which I am determined 
not to do, further than unavoidable necessity 
brings every man acquainted with them. 

" My own situation is so irksome to me at 
times, that, if I did not consult the public good 
more than my own tranquillity, I should long 
ere this have put every thing on the cast of a 
die. So far from my having an army of twenty 
thousand men, well armed, I have been here 
with less than one-half of that number, includ- 
ing sick, furloughed, and on command ; and 
those neither armed nor clothed as they should 
be. In short, my situation has been such, that 
I have been obliged to use art, to conceal it 
from my own officers." 

How precious are those letters ! And how 
fortunate that the absence of Mr. Reed from 
camp, should have procured for us such confi- 
dential outpourings of Washington's heart at 
this time of its great trial. 

He still adhered to his opinion in favor of 
an attempt upon the town. He was aware 
that it would be attended with considerable 



loss, but believed it would be successful if the 
men should behave well. Within a few days 
after the date of this letter, the bay became 
sufficiently frozen for the transportation of 
troops. " This," wi-ites he to Reed, " I thought, 
knowing the ice would not last, a favorable 
opportunity to make an assault upon the troops 
in town. I proposed it in council ; but behold, 
though we had been waiting all the year for 
this favorable event, the enterprise was thought 
too dangerous. Perhaps it was ; perhaps the 
irksomeness of my situation led me to under- 
take more than could be warranted by pru- 
dence. I did not think so, and I am sure yet 
that the enterprise, if it had been undertaken 
with resolution, must have succeeded ; without 
it, any would fail." 

His proposition was too bold for the field- 
officers assembled in council (Feb. 16th), who 
objected that there was not force, nor arms and 
ammunition sufficient in camp for such an 
attempt. Washington acquiesced in the de- 
cision, it being almost unanimous ; yet he felt 
the irksomeness of his situation. " To have 
the eyes of the whole continent," said he, 
" fixed with anxious expectation of hearing of 
some great event, and to be restrained in every 
military operation for want of the necessary 
means of carrying it on, is not very pleasing, 
especially as the means used to conceal my 
weakness from the enemy, conceal it also from 
our friends, and add to their wonder." 

In the council of war above mentioned, a 
cannonade and bombardment were considered 
advisable, as soon as there should be a suSi- 
ciency of powder ; in the mean time, prepara- 
tions might be made for taking possession of 
Dorchester Heights, and Noddle's Island. 

At length the camp was rejoiced by the 
arrival of Colonel Knox, with his long train of 
sledges drawn by oxen, bringing more than 
fifty cannon, mortars, and howitzers, beside 
supplies of lead and flints. The zeal and per- 
severance which he had displayed in his wintry 
expedition across frozen lakes and snowy wastes, 
and the intelligence with which he had fulfilled 
his instructions, won him the entire confidence 
of Washington. His conduct in this enterprise 
was but an earnest of that energy and ability 
which he displayed throughout the war. 

Further ammunition being received from the 
royal arsenal at New York, and other quarters, 
and a reinforcement of ten regiments of militia, 
Washington no longer met with opposition to 
his warlike measures. Lechmere Point, which 



220 



PREPARATIONS TO SEIZE DORCHESTER HEIGHTS. 



[1776. 



Putnam had fortified, v&s immediately to be 
supplied with mortars and heavy cannon, so as 
to command Boston on the north ; and Dor- 
chester Heights, on the south of the town, 
were forthwith to be taken possession of. " If 
any thing," said Washington, " will induce the 
enemy to hazard an engagement, it will be our 
attempting to fortify those heights, as, in that 
event taking place, we shall be able to command 
a great part of the town, and almost the whole 
harbor." Their possession, moreover, would 
enable him to push his works to Nook's Bill, 
and other points opposite Boston, whence a 
cannonade and bombardment must drive the 
enemy from the city. 

The council of Massachusetts, at his request, 
ordered the militia of the towns contiguous to 
Dorchester and Eoxbury, to hold themselves in 
readiness to repair to the lines at those places 
with arms, ammunition, and accoutrements, on 
receiving a preconcerted signal. 

Washington felt painfully aware how much 
depended upon the success of this attempt. 
There was a cloud of gloom and distrust lower- 
ing upon the public mind. Danger threatened 
on the north and on the south. Montgomery 
had fallen before the walls of Quebec. The 
army in Canada was shattered. Tryon and 
the tories were plotting mischief in New York. 
Dunmore was harassing the lower part of Vir- 
ginia, and Clinton and his fleet were prowling 
along the coast, on a secret errand of mischief. 

Washington's general orders evince the 
solemn and anxious state of his feelings. In 
those of the 26th of February, he forbade all 
playing at cards and other games of chance. 
" At this time of public distress," writes he, 
" men may find enough to do in the service of 
God and their country, without abandoning 
themselves to vice and immorality. * * * * 
It is a noble cause we are engaged in ; it is the 
cause of virtue and mankind ; every advantage 
and comfort to us and our posterity depend 
upon the vigor of our exertions ; in short, free- 
dom or slavery must be the result of our con- 
duct ; there can, therefore, be no greater in- 
ducement to men to behave well. But it may 
not be amiss to the troops to know, that if 
any man in action shall presume to skulk, hide 
himself, or retreat from the enemy without the 
orders of his commanding oflicer, he will be 
instantly shot down as an example of coward- 
ice ; cowards having too frequently discon- 
certed the best formed troops by their dastardly 
behavior." 



In the general plan it was concerted, that, 
should the enemy detach a large force to dis- 
lodge our men from Dorchester Heights, as had 
been done in the affair of Bunker's Hill, an 
attack upon the opposite side of the town 
should forthwith be made by General Putnam. 
For this purpose he was to have four thousand 
picked men in readiness, in two divisions, under 
Generals Sullivan and Greene. At a concerted 
signal from Eoxbury, they were to embark in 
boats near the mouth of Charles Kiver, cross 
xmder cover of the fire of three floating batter- 
ies, land in two places in Boston, secure its 
strong posts, force the gates and works at the 
Neck, and let in the Eoxbury troops. 



CHAPTEE XVIII. 

The evening of Monday, the 4th of March, 
was fixed upon for the occupation of Dor- 
chester Heights. The ground was frozen too 
hard to be easily intrenched ; fascines, there- 
fore, and gabions, and bundles of screwed hay, 
were collected during the two preceding nights, 
with which to form breastworks and redoubts. 
During these two busy nights the enemy's bat- 
teries were cannonaded and bombarded from 
opposite points, to occupy their attention, and 
prevent their noticing these preparations. They 
replied with spirit, and the incessant roar of 
artillery thus kept up, covered completely the 
rumbling of waggons and ordnance. 

How little the enemy were aware of what 
was impending, we may gather from the fol- 
lowing extract of a letter from an officer of dis- 
tinction in the British army in Boston to his 
friend in London, dated on the 3d of March : 

" For these last six weeks or near two 
months, we have been better amused than 
could possibly be expected in our situation. 
We had a theatre, we had balls, and there is 
actually a subscription on foot for a masquerade. 
England seems to have forgot us, and we have 
endeavored to forget ourselves. But we were 
roused to a sense of our situation last night, in 
a manner unpleasant enough. The rebels have 
been for some time past erecting a bomb bat- 
tery, and last night began to play upon us. Two 
shells fell not far from me. One fell upon Col- 
onel Monckton's house, but luckily did not 
burst until it had crossed the street. Many 
houses were damaged, but no lives lost. The 
rebel anny," adds he, " is not brave, I believe, 



JEt. 44.] 



THE AFFAIR OF DORCHESTER HEIGHTS. 



221 



but it is agreed on all hands that their artillery 
officers are at least equal to ours." * 

The wife of John Adams, who resided in the 
vicinity of the American camp, and knew that 
a general action was meditated, expresses in a 
letter to her husband the feelings of a patriot 
woman during the suspense of these nights. 

" I have been in a constant state of anxiety, 
since you left me," writes she on Saturday. 
" It has been said to-morrow, and to-morrow 
for this month, and when the dreadful to-mor- 
row will be, I know not. But hark ! The 
house this instant shakes with the roar of 
cannon. I have been to the door, and find it 
is a cannonade from our army. Orders, I find, 
are come, for all the remaining militia to repair 
to the lines Monday night, by twelve o'clock. 
No sleep for me to-night." 

On Sunday the letter is resumed. " I went 
to bed after twelve, but got no rest ; the can- 
non continued firing, and my heart kept pace 
with them all night. We have had a pretty 
quiet day, but what to-morrow will bring forth, 
God only knows." 

On Monday, the appointed evening, she con- 
tinues : "I have just returned from Penn's 
Hill, where I have been sitting to hear the 
amazing roar of cannon, and from whence I 
could see every shell which was thrown. The 
sound, I think, is one of the grandest in nature, 
and is of the true species of the sublime. 'Tis 
now an incessant roar ; but oh, the fatal ideas 
which are connected with the sound! How 
many of our dear countrymen must fall ! 

" I went to bed about twelve, and rose again 
a little after one. I could no more sleep than 
if I had been in the engagement ; the rattling 
of the windows, the jar of the house, the con- 
tinual roar of twenty-four pounders, and the 
bursting of shells, give us such ideas, and 
realize a scene to us of which we could scarcely 
form any conception. I hope to give you joy 
of Boston, even if it is in ruins, before I send 
this away." 

On the Monday evening thus graphically de- 
scribed, as soon as the firing commenced, the 
detachment under General Thomas set out on 
its cautious and secret march from the lines of 
Eoxbury and Dorchester. Every thing was 
conducted as regularly and quietly as possible. 
A covering party of eight hundred men pre- 
ceded the carts with the intrenching tools ; 
then came General Thomas with the working 



Am. Archives, 4th Series, v. 425. 



party, twelve hundred strong, followed by a 
train of three hundred waggons, laden with 
fascines, gabions, and hay screwed into bundles 
of seven or eight hundred weight. A great 
number of such bundles were ranged in a line 
along Dorchester Neck on the side next the 
enemy, to protect the troops, while passing, 
from being raked by the fire of the enemy. 
Fortunately, although the moon, as "Washing- 
ton writes, was shining in its full lustre, the 
flash and roar of cannonry from opposite points, 
and the bursting of bombshells high in the air, 
so engaged and diverted the attention of the 
enemy, that the detachment reached the heights 
about eight o'clock, without being heard or 
perceived. The covering party then divided ; 
one-half proceeded to the point nearest Boston, 
the other to the one nearest to Castle Williams. 
The working party commenced to fortify, under 
the directions of Gridley, the veteran engineer, 
who had planned the works on Bunker's Hill. 
It was severe labor, for the earth was frozen 
eighteen inches deep ; but the men worked 
with more than their usual spirit ; for the eye 
of the commander-in-chief was upon them. 
Though not called there by his duties, Wash- 
ington could not be absent from this eventful 
operation. An eloquent orator has imagined 
his situation — "All around him intense move- 
ment ; while nothing was to be heard excepting 
the tread of busy feet, and the dull sound of 
the mattock upon the frozen soil. Beneath 
him the slumbering batteries of the castle ; the 
roadsteads and harbor filled with the vessels 
of the royal fleet, motionless, except as they 
swung round at their moorings at the turn of 
the midnight tide ; the beleaguered city occu- 
pied with a powerful army, and a considerable 
non-combatant population, startled into un- 
natural vigilance by the incessant and destruc- 
tive cannonade, yet unobservant of the great 
operations in progress so near them ; the sur- 
rounding country, dotted with a hundred rural 
settlements, roused from the deep sleep of a 
New England village, by the unwonted glare 
and tumult." * 

The same plastic fancy suggests the crowd 
of visions, phantoms of the past, which may 
have passed through Washington's mind, on 
this night of feverish excitement. " His early 
training in the wilderness ; his escape from 
drowning, and the deadly rifle of the savage in 
the perilous mission to Venango ; the shower 



* Oration of the Hod. Edward Everett at Dorchester, 
July 4th, 1855. 



222 



THE AFFAIR OF DORCHESTER HEIGHTS. 



[1116. 



of iron hail througli which he rode unharmed 
on Braddock's field ; the early stages of the great 
conflict now brought to its crisis, and still more 
solemnly, the possibilities of the future for him- 
self and for America — the ruin of the patriot 
cause if he failed at the outset ; the triumphant 
consolidation of the Eevolution if he prevailed." 

The labors of the nigl^t were carried on by 
the Americans with their usual activity and 
address. "When a relief party arrived at four 
o'clock in the morning, two forts were in suffi- 
cient forwardness to furnish protection against 
small-arms and grape-shot ; and such use was 
made of the fascines and bundles of screwed 
hay, that, at dawn, a formidable-looking for- 
tress frowned along the height. "We have the 
testimony of a British officer already quoted, 
for the fact. " This morning at daybreak we 
discovered two redoubts on Dorchester Point, 
and two smaller ones on their flanks. They 
were all raised during the last night, with an 
expedition equal to that of the genii belonging 
to Aladdin's wonderful lamp. From these hills 
they command the whole town, so that we 
must drive them from their post, or desert the 
place." 

Howe gazed at the mushroom fortress with 
astonishment, as it loomed indistinctly, but 
grandly, through a morning fog. " The rebels," 
exclaimed he, " have done more work in one 
night, than my whole army would have done 
in one month." 

Washington had watched, with intense anx- 
iety, the effect of the revelation at daybreak. 
" When the enemy first discovered our works 
in the morning," writes he, " they seemed to 
be in great confusion, and from their move- 
ments, to intend an attack." 

An American, who was on Dorchester 
Heights, gives a picture of the scene. A tre- 
mendous cannonade was commenced from the 
forts in Boston, and the shipping in the harbor. 
" Cannon shot," writes he, " are continually 
rolling and rebounding over the hill, and it is 
astonishing to observe how little our soldiers 
are terrified by them. The royal troops are 
perceived to be in motion, as if embarking to 
pass the harbor and land on Dorchester shore, 
to attack our works. The hills and elevations 
in this vicinity are covered with spectators, to 
witness deeds of horror in the expected conflict. 
His Excellency, General Washington, is pres- 
ent, animating and encouraging the soldiers, 
and they in return manifest their joy ; and ex- 
press a warm desire for the approach of the 



enemy ; each man knows his own place. Our 
breastworks are strengthened, and among the 
means of defence are a great number of barrels, 
filled with stones and sand, and arranged in front 
of our works, which are to be put in motion, 
and made to roll down the hill, to break the 
legs of the assailants as they advance." 

General Thomas was reinforced with two thou- 
sand men. Old Putnam stood ready to make 
a descent upon the north side of the town, with 
his four thousand picked men, as soon as the 
heights on the south should be assailed : " All 
the forenoon," says the American above cited, 
" we were in momentary expectation of wit- 
nessing an awful scene ,• nothing less than the 
carnage of Breed's Hill battle was expected." 

As Washington rode about 'the heights, he 
reminded the troops that it was the 5th of 
March, the anniversary of the Boston massacre, 
and called on them to revenge the slaughter 
of their brethren. They answered him with 
shouts. " Our officers and men," writes he, 
" appeared impatient for the appeal. The event 
I think must have been fortunate ; nothing less 
than success and victory on our side." 

Howe, in the mean time, was perplexed be- 
tween his pride and the hazards of his position. 
In his letters to the ministry, he had scouted 
the idea of " being in danger from the rebels." 
He had " hoped they would attack him." Ap- 
parently, they were about to fulfil his hopes, 
and with formidable advantages of position. 
He must dislodge them from Dorchester Heights, 
or evacuate Boston. The latter was an alterna- 
tive too mortifying to be readily adopted. He 
resolved on an attack, but it was to be a night 
one. 

" A body of light infantry, under the com- 
mand of Major Mulgrave, and a body of gren- 
adiers, are to embark to-night at seven," writes 
the gay British officer already quoted. " I 
think it likely to be a general affair. Adieu 
balls, masquerades, &c., for this may be looked 
upon as the opening of the campaign." 

In the evening the British began to move. 
Lord Percy was to lead the attack. Twenty- 
five hundred men were embarked in transports, 
which were to convey thera to the rendezvous 
at Castle Williams. A violent storm set in 
from the east. The transports could not reach 
their place of destination. The men-of-war 
could not cover and support them. A furious 
surf beat on the shore where the boats would 
have to land. The attack was consequently 
postponed until the following day. 



Mt. 44.] 



THE AFFAIR OF DORCHESTER HEIGHTS— BOSTON PILLAGED. 



That day was equally unpropitious. The 
storm continued, with torrents of rain. The 
attack was again postponed. In the mean time, 
the Americans went on strengthening their 
works ; hy the time the storm subsided. Gen- 
eral Howe deemed them too strong to be easily 
carried ; the attempt, therefore, was relinquish- 
ed altogether. 

What was to be done ? The shells thrown 
from the heights into the town, proved that it 
was no longer tenable. The fleet was equally 
exposed. Admiral Shuldham, the successor to 
Graves, assured Howe that if the Americans 
maintained possession of the heights, his ships 
could not remain va. the harbor. It was deter- 
mined, therefore, in a council of war, to evac- 
uate the place as soon as possible. But now 
came on a humiliating perplexity. The troops, 
in embarking, would be exposed to a destruc- 
tive fire. How was this to be prevented ? 
Genei'al Howe's pride would not suifer him to 
maflce capitulations ; he endeavored to work on 
the fears of the Bostonians, by hinting that if 
his troops were molested while embarking, he 
might be obliged to cover their retreat, by 
setting fire to the town. 

The hint had its eifect. Several of the 
principal inhabitants communicated with him 
through the medium of General Robertson. 
The result of the negotiation was, that a paper 
was concocted and signed by several of the 
" select men " of Boston, stating the fears they 
had entertained of the destruction of the place, 
but that those fears had been quieted by Gen- 
eral Howe's declaration that it should remain 
uninjured, provided his troops were unmolested 
while embarking ; the select men, therefore, 
begged " some assurances that so dreadful a 
calamity might not be brought on, by any 
measures from without." 

This paper was sent out from Boston, on the 
evening of the 8th, with a flag of truce, which 
bore it to the American lines at Roxbury. 
There it was received by Colonel Learned, and 
carried by him to head-quarters. Washington 
consulted with- such of the general officers as 
he could immediately assemble. The paper 
was not addressed to him, nor to any one else. 
It was not authenticated by the signature of 
General Howe ; nor was there any other act 
obliging that commander to fulfil the promise 
asserted to have been made by him. It was 
deemed proper, therefore, that Washington 
should give no answer to the paper ; but that 
Colonel Learned should signify in a letter, his 



having laid it before the commander-in-chief, 
and the reasons assigned for not answering it. 

With this uncompromising letter, the flag re- 
turned to Boston. The Americans suspended 
their fire, but continued to fortify their positions. 
On the night of the 9th, a detachment was sent 
to plant a battery on Nook's Hill, an eminence 
at Dorchester, which lies nearest to Boston 
Neck. A fire kindled behind the hill, revealed 
the project. It provoked a cannonade from 
the British, which was returned with .interest 
from Cobble Hill, Lechmere Point, Cambridge, 
and Roxbury. The roar of cannonry and burst- 
ing of bombshells prevailed from half after 
eight at night, until six in the morning. It 
was another night of terror to the people of 
Boston ; but the Americans had to desist, for 
the present, from the attempt to fortify Nook's 
Hill. Among the accidents of the bombard- 
ment, was the bursting of Putnam's vaunted 
mortar, " the Congress." 

Daily preparations were now made by the 
enemy for departure. By proclamation, the 
inhabitants were ordered to deliver up all linen 
and woollen goods, and all other goods, that, in 
possession of the rebels, would aid them in 
carrying on the war, Crean Bush, a New York 
tory, was authorized to take possession of such 
goods, and put them on board of two of the 
transports. Under cover of his commission, 
he and his myrmidons broke open stores, and 
stripped them of their • contents. Marauding 
gangs from the fleet and army followed their 
example, and extended their depredations to 
private houses. On the 14th, Howe, in a gen- 
eral order, declared that the first soldier caught 
plundering should be hanged on the spot. Still 
on the 16th houses were broken open, goods 
destroyed, and furniture defaced by the troops. 
Some of the furniture, it is true, belonged to 
the officers, and was destroyed because they 
could neither sell it nor carry it away. 

The letter of a British officer gives a lively 
picture of the hurried preparations for retreat. 
" Our not being burdened with provisions, per- 
mitted us to save some stores and ammunition, 
the light field-pieces, and such things as were 
most convenient of carriage. The rest, I am 
sorry to say, we were obliged to leave behind ; 
such of the guns as by dismounting we could 
throw into the sea, was so done. The carriages 
were disabled, and every precaution taken that 
our circumstances would permit ; for our re- 
treat was by agreement. The people of the 
town who were friends to government, took 



224 



EMBAKKATION OF THE BRITISH TROOPS. 



[1776. 



care of nothing but their merchandise, and 
found means to employ the men belonging to 
the transports in embarking their goods, so 
that several of the vessels were entirely filled 
with private property, instead of the king's 
stores. By some unavoidable accident, the 
medicines, surgeons' chests, instruments, and 
necessaries, ^ye^e left in the hospital. The 
confusion unavoidable to such a disaster, will 
make you conceive how much must be forgot, 
where every man had a private concern. The 
necessary care and distress of the women, chil- 
dren, sick, and wounded, required every assist- 
ance that could be given. It was not like 
breaking up a camp, where every man knows 
his duty ; it was like departing your country 
with your wives, your servants, your house- 
hold furniture, and all your incumbrances. The 
officers, who felt the disgrace of their retreat, 
did their utmost to keep up appearances. The 
men, who thought they were changing for the 
better, strove to take advantage of the present 
times, and were kept from plunder and drink 
with difficulty." * 

For some days the embarkation of the troops 
was delayed by adverse winds. Washington, 
who was imperfectly informed of affairs in Bos- 
ton, feared that the movements there might be 
a feint. Determined to bring things to a crisis, 
he detached a force to Nook's Hill on Saturday, 
the IGth, which threw up a breastwork in the 
night, regardless of the cannonading of the 
enemy. This commanded Boston Neck and 
the south part of the town, and a deserter 
brought a false report to the British that a gen- 
eral assault was intended. 

The embarkation, so long delayed, began with 
hurry and confusion at four o'clock in the morn- 
ing. The harbor of Boston soon presented a 
striking and tumultuous scene. There were 
seventy-eight ships and transports casting loose 
for sea, and eleven or twelve thousand men, 
soldiers, sailors, and refugees, hurrying to em- 
bark ; many, especially of the latter, with their 
families and personal effects, Tlio refugees, in 
fact, labored under greater disadvantages than 
the king's troops, being obliged to man their 
own vessels, as sufficient seamen could not be 
spared from the king's transports. Speaking 
of those " who had taken upon themselves the 
style and title of government men " in Boston, 
and acted an unfriendly part in this great con- 
test, Washington observes : " By all accounts 



* Remembrancer, vol. iii., p. 108. 



there never existed a more miserable set of be- 
ings than these wretched creatures now are. 
Taught to believe that the power of Great Brit- 
ain was superior to all opposition, and that for- 
eign aid, if not, was at hand, they were even 
higher and more insulting in their opposition 
than the Regulars. When the order issued, 
therefore, for embarking the troops in Boston, 
no electric shock — no sudden clap of thunder, 
— in a word, the last trump could not have 
struck them with greater consternation. They 
were at their wits' end, and conscious of their 
black ingratitude, chose to commit themselves, 
in the manner I have above described, to the 
mercy of the waves at a tempestuous season, 
rather than meet their offended coimtrymen." * 

While this tumultuous embarkation was going 
on, the Americans looked on in silence from 
their batteries on Dorchester Heights, without 
firing a shot, " It was lucky for the inhabit- 
ants now left in Boston, that they did not," 
writes a British officer ; " for I am informed 
every thing was prepared to set the town in a 
blaze, had they fired one cannon." f 

At an early hour of the morning, the troops 
stationed at Cambridge and Roxbury had pa- 
raded, and several regiments under Putnam had 
embarked in boats, and dropped down Charles 
River, to Sewall's Point, to watch the move- 
ments of the enemy by land and water. About 
nine o'clock a large body of troops were seen 
marching down Bunker's Hill, while boats full 
of soldiers were putting off for the shipping. 
Two scouts were sent from the camp to recon- 
noitre. The works appeared stiU to be occu- 
pied, for sentries were posted about them with 
shouldered muskets. Observing them to be 
motionless, the scouts made nearer scrutiny, and 
discovered them to be mere effigies, set up to 
delay the advance of the Americans, Pushing 
on, they found the works deserted, and gave 
signal of the fact ; whereupon, a detachment 
was sent from the camp to take possession. 

Part of Putnam's troops were now sent back 
to Cambridge ; a part were ordered forward to 
occupy Boston. General Ward, too, with five 
hundred men, made his way from Roxbury, 
across the Neck, about which the enemy had 
scattered caltrops, or crow's feet, J to ifnpede 
invasion. The gates were unbarred and thrown 



* Letter to John A. Washington, Am. Arch., 4th Series, 
V. 560. 

t Frothingham, siege of Boston, 310. 

i Iron balls, with four sharp points, to wound the feet 
of men or horses. 



^T. 44.] WASHINGTON ENTERS BOSTON— HUMILIATION OF THE BRITISH. 



225 



open, and the Americans entered in triumph, 
with drums beating and colors flying. 

By ten o'clock the enemy were all embarked 
and under way : Putnam had taken command 
of the city, and occupied the important points, 
and the flag of thirteen stripes, the standard 
of the Union, floated above all the forts. 

On the following day, Washington himself 
entered the town, where he was joyfully wel- 
comed. He beheld around him sad traces of 
the devastation caused by the bombardment, 
though not to the extent that he had appre- 
hended. There were evidences, also, of the 
haste with which the British had retreated — 
five pieces of ordnance with their trunnions 
knocked off ; others hastily spiked ; others 
thrown off" the wharf. " General Howe's re- 
treat," writes Washington, " was precipitate 
beyond any thing I could have conceived. The 
destruction of the stores at Dunbar's camp, 
after Braddock's defeat, was but a faint image 
of what may be seen in Boston ; artillery carts 
cut to pieces iij one place, gun carriages in an- 
other ; shells broke here, shots buried there, 
and every thing carrying with it the face of 
disorder and confusion, as also of distress." * 

To add to the mortification of General Howe, 
he received, we are told, while sailing out of 
the harbor, despatches from the ministry, ap- 
proving the resolution he had so strenuously 
expressed, of maintaining his post until he 
should receive reinforcements. 

As the smallpox prevailed in some parts of 
the town, precautions were taken by Washing- 
ton for its purification ; and the main body of 
the army did not march in until the 20th. " The 
joy manifested in the countenances of the in- 
habitants," says an observer, " was overcast by 
the melancholy gloom caused by ten tedious 
months of siege ; " but when, on the 22d, the 
people from the country crowded into the 
town, " it was truly interesting," writes the 
same observer, " to witness the tender inter- 
views and fond embraces of those who had been 
long separated under circumstances so peculiarly 
distressing." t 

Notwithstanding the haste with which the 
British army was embarked, the fleet lingered 
for some days in Nantucket Road. Apprehen- 
sive that the enemy, now that their forces were 
collected in one body, might attempt by some 
blow to retrieve their late disgrace, Washington 
hastily threw up works on Fort Hill, which 

* Lee's Memoirs, p. 162. 

t Thacher's Mil. Journal, p. 50. 

15 



commanded the harbor, and demolished those 
which protected the town from the neighboring 
country. The fleet at length disappeared en- 
tirely from the coast, and the deliverance of 
Bo.ston was assured. 

The eminent services of Washington through- 
out this arduous siege, his admirable manage- 
ment, by which, "in the course of a few 
months, an undisciplined hand of Imsbandmen 
became soldiers, and were enabled to invest, 
for nearly a year, and finally to expel a brave 
army of veterans, commanded by the most ex- 
perienced generals," drew forth the enthusiastic 
applause of the nation. No higher illustration 
of this great achievement need be given, than 
the summary of it contained in the speech of a 
British statesman, the Duke of Manchester, in 
the House of Lords. " The army of Britain," 
said he, " equipped with every possible essential 
of war; a chosen army, with chosen oflicers, 
backed by the power of a mighty fleet, sent to 
correct revolted subjects ; sent to chastise a re- 
sisting city ; sent to assert Britain's authority ; 
— has, for many tedious months, been impris- 
oned within that town by the Provincial army ; 
who, with their watchful guards, permitted 
them no inlet to the country ; who braved all 
their efforts, and defied all their skill and ability 
in war could ever attempt. One way, indeed, 
of escape, was left ; the fleet is yet respected ; 
to the fleet the army has recourse ; and British 
generals, whose name never met with a blot of 
dishonor, are forced to quit that tow a which 
was the first object of the war, the immediate 
cause of hostilities, the place of arms, which 
has cost this nation more than a million to de- 
fend." 

We close this eventful chapter of Washing- 
ton's history, with the honor decreed to him by 
the highest authority of his country. On mo- 
tion of John Adams, who had first moved his 
nomination as commander-in-chief, a unanimous 
vote of thanks to him was passed in Congress ; 
and it was ordered that a gold medal be struck, 
commemorating the evacuation of Boston, bear- 
ing the efiigy of Washington as its deliverer. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

The British fleet bearing the army from Bos- 
ton, had disappeared from the coast. " Whither 
they are bound, and where they next will pitch 
their tents," writes Washington, " I know not." 



22G 



THE tWo HOWES— the COLONIES DIVIDED INTO DEPARTMENTS. 



[1776. 



He conjectured their destination to be New 
York, and made his arrangements accordingly ; 
but he was mistaken. General Howe had steer- 
ed for Ilalifax, there to await the arrival of 
strong reinforcements from England, and the 
fleet of his brother. Admiral Lord Howe ; who 
was to be commander-in-chief of the naval 
forces on the North American station. 

It was thought these brothers would co-ope- 
rate admirably in the exercise of their relative 
functions on land and water. Yet they were 
widely different in their habits and dispositions. 
Sir William, easy, indolent, and self-indulgent, 
" hated business," we are told, " and never did 
any. Lord Howe loved it, dwelt upon it, never 
could leave it." Beside his nautical commands, 
he had been treasurer of the navy, member of 
the board of admiralty, and had held a seat in 
Parliament ; where, according to Walpole, he 
was "silent as a rock," excepting when naval 
affairs were under discussion ; when he spoke 
briefly and to the point. " My Lord Howe," 
said George IL, " your life has been a continued 
series of services to your country." He was 
now about fifty-one years of age, tall, and well 
proportioned like his brother ; but wanting his 
ease of deportment. His complexion was dark, 
his countenance grave and strongly marked, 
and he had a shy reserve, occasionally mistaken 
for haughtiness. As a naval officer, he was es- 
teemed resolute and enterprising, yet cool and 
firm. In his younger days he had contracted a 
friendship for Wolfe ; " it was like the union 
of cannon and gunpowder," said Walpole. 
Howe, strong in mind, solid in judgment, firm 
of purpose, was said to be the cannon ; Wolfe, 
quick in conception, prompt in execution, im- 
petuous in action — the gunpowder.* The brav- 
est man, we are told, could not wish for a more 
able, or more gallant commander than Howe, 
and the sailors used to say of him, " Give us 
Black Dick, and we fear nothing." 

Such is his lordship's portrait as sketched by 
English pencils ; we shall see hereafter how far 
his conduct conforms to it. At present we must 
consider the state of the American army, in the 
appointment and commands of which various 
changes had recently taken place. 

It was presumed the enemy, in the ensuing 
campaign, would direct their operations against 
the Middle and Southern colonies. Congress 
divided those colonies into two departments; 
one, comprehending New York, New Jersey, 



Barrow's Life of Earl Howe, p. 400. 



Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland, was to 
be under the command of a major-general, and 
two brigadier-generals; the other, comprising 
Virginia, the Carolinas, and Georgia, tobeimder 
the command of a major-general, and four brig- 
adiers. 

In this new arrangement, the orders destining 
General Lee to Canada, were superseded, and 
he was appointed to the command of the South- 
ern department, where he was to keep watch 
upon the movements of Sir Henry Clinton. He 
was somewhat dissatisfied with the change in 
his destination. "As I am the only general 
officer on the continent," writes he to Washing- 
ton, " who can speak or think in French, I con- 
fess I think it would have been more prudent 
to have sent me to Canada ; but I shall obey 
with alacrity, and I hope with success." 

In reply, Washington observes, " I was just 
about to congratulate you on your appointment 
to the command in Canada, when I received 
the account that your destination was altered. 
As a Virginian, I must rejoice at the change, 
but as an American, I think you would have 
done more essential service to the common cause 
in Canada. For, besides the advantage of 
speaking and thinking in French, an officer who 
is acquainted with their manners and customs, 
and has travelled in their country, must cer- 
tainly take the strongest hold of their affec- 
tion and confidence." 

The command in Canada was given to General 
Thomas, who had distinguished himself at Rox- 
bury, and was promoted to the rank of major- 
general. It would have been given to Schuyler, 
but for the infirm state of his health ; still Con- 
gress expressed a reliance on his efforts to com- 
plete the work " so conspicuously begun and 
well conducted " under his orders, in the last 
campaign ; and, as not merely the success, but 
the very existence of the army in Canada would 
depend on supplies sent from these colonies 
across the lakes, he was required, until further 
orders, to fix his head-quarters at Albany, 
where, without being exposed to the fatigue 
of the camp until his health was perfectly re- 
stored, he would be in a situation to forward 
supplies ; to superintend the operations necessary 
for the defence of New York and the Hudson 
River, and the affairs of the whole middle de- 
partment. 

Lee set out for the South on the 7th of March, 
carrying with him his bold spirit, his shrewd 
sagacity, and his whimsical and splenetic hu- 
mors. The following admirably impartial sketch 



^T. 44.] LEE AT WILLIAMSBURG— PUTNAM IN COMMAND AT NEW YORK. 



227 



is given of him by Washington, in a letter to 
his brother Augustine : " He is the first in mili- 
tary knowledge and experience we have in the 
whole army. He is zealously attached to the 
cause ; honest and well meaning, but rather 
fickle and violent, I fear, in his temper. How- 
ever, as he possesses an uncommon share of 
good sense and spirit, I congratulate my coun- 
trymen on his appointment to that depart- 
ment." * 

We give by anticipation a few passages from 
Lee's letters, illustrative of his character and 
career. The news of the evacuation of Boston 
reached him in Virginia. In a letter to Wash- 
ington, dated Williamsburg, April 5, he express- 
es himself on the subject with generous warmth. 
" My dear general," Avrites he, " I most sincerely 
congratulate you ; I congratulate the public, on 
the great and glorious event, your possession 
of Boston. It will be a most bright page in 
the annals of America, and a most abominable 
black one in those of the beldam Britain. Go 
on, my dear general; crown yourself with 
glory, and establish the liberties and lustre of 
your country on a foundation more permanent 
than the Capitol rock." 

Then reverting to himself, his subacid humors 
work up, and he shows that he had been as 
much annoyed in Williamsburg, by the inter- 
ference of committees, as he had been in New 
York. " My situation," writes he, " is just as 
I expected. I am afraid I shall make a shabby 
figure, without any real demerits of my own. 
I am like a dog in a dancing-school ; I know 
not where to turn myself, where to fix myself. 
The circumstances of the country, intersected 
with navigable rivers ; the uncertainty of the 
enemy's designs and motions, who can fly in an 
instant to any spot they choose, with their can- 
vas wings, throw me, or would throw Julius 
Offisar into this inevitable dilemma ; I may pos- 
sibly be in the North, when, as Richard says, I 
should serve my sovereign in the West. I can 
only act from surmise, and have a very good 
chance of surmising wrong, I am sorry to 
grate your ears with a truth, but must, at all 
events, assure you, that the Provincial Congress 
of New York are angels of decision, when 
compared with your countrymen, the committee 
of safety assembled at Williamsburg. Page, 
Lee, Mercer, and Payne, are, indeed, exceptions ; 
but from Pendleton, Bland, the Treasurer, and 
Co. — Libera nos domine ! " 



Force's Am. Archives, 4lh Series, v. 562. 



Lee's letters from Virginia, written at a later 
date, were in a better humor. " There is a no- 
ble spirit in this province pervading all orders 
of men ; if the same becomes universal, we 
shall be saved. I am, fortunately for ray own 
happiness, and, I think, for the well-being of the 
community, on the best terms with the senato- 
rial part, as well as the people at large. I shall 
endeavor to preserve their confidence and good 
opinion." * 

And in a letter to Washington : 

" I have formed two companies of grenadiers 
to each regiment, and with spears thirteen feet 
long. Their rifles (for they are all riflemen) 
sling over their shoulders, their appearance is 
formidable, and the men are conciliated to the 
weapon. * * * j ^^^ likewise furnishing 
myself with four-ounced rifled amusettes, which 
wiU carry an infernal distance ; the two-ounced 
hit a half sheet of paper, at five hundred yards' 
distance." 

On Lee's departure for the South, Brigadier- 
General Lord Stirhng had remained in tempo- 
rary command at New York. Washington, 
however, presuming that the British fleet had 
steered for that port, with the force which had 
evacuated Boston, hastened detachments thither 
under Generals Heath and Sullivan, and wrote 
for three thousand additional men to be furnish- 
ed by Connecticut. The command of the whole 
4ie gave to General Putnam, who was ordered 
to fortify the city and the passes of the Hudson, 
according to the plans of General Lee. In the 
mean time, Washington delayed to come on 
himself, until he should have pushed forward 
the main body of his army by divisions. 

Lee's anticipations that laxity and confusion 
would prevail after his departure, were not 
realized. The veteran Putnam, on taking com- 
mand, put the city under rigorous military rule. 
The soldiers were to retire to their barracks and 
quarters at the beating of the tattoo, and remain 
there until the reveille in the morning. The 
inhabitants were subjected to the same rule. 
None were permitted to pass a sentry, without 
the countersign, which would be furnished to 
them on applying to any of the brigade majors. 
All communication between the " ministerial 
fleet " and the shore was stopped ; the ships 
were no longer to be furnished with provisions. 
Any person taken in the act of holding com- 
munication with them would be considered an 
enemy, and treated accordingly. 



* Force's Am. Archives, 4ih Series, vol. v. 792. 



228 



ARRIVAL OF WASHINGTON IN NEW YORK. 



[1776. 



We have a lively picture of the state of the 
city, in letters written at the time, and already 
cited. " When you are informed that New 
York is deserted by its old inhabitants, and 
filled with soldiers from New England, Phila- 
delphia, Jersey, &c., you will naturally conclude 
the environs of it are not very safe from so un- 
disciplined a multitude as our Provincials are 
represented to be ; but I do believe there are 
very few instances of so great a number of men 
together, with so little mischief done by them. 
They have all the simplicity of ploughmen in 
their manners, and seem quite strangers to the 
vices of older soldiers : they have been employ- 
ed in creating fortifications in every part of the 
town. * * * Governor Tryon loses his credit 
with, the people here prodigiously ; he has lately 
issued a proclamation, desiring the deluded peo- 
ple of this colony to return to their obedience, 
promising a speedy support to the friends of 
government, declaring a door of mercy open to 
the penitent, and a rod for the disobedient, &c. 
The friends of government were provoked at 
being so distinguished, and the friends to liberty 
hung him in effigy, and printed a dying speech 
for him. A letter, too, was intercepted from 
him, hastening Lord Howe to New York, as 
the rebels were fortifying. These have entirely 
lost him the good will of the people. * * * 
You cannot think how sorry I am the governor 
has so lost himself, a man once so much beloved.* 
O Lucifer, once the son of morn, how fallen ! 
General Washington is expected hourly ; Gene- 
ral Putnam is here, with several other generals, 
and some of their ladies. * * * Xhe variety 
of reports keeps one's mind always in agitation. 
Clinton and Howe have set the continent a ra- 
cing from Boston to Carolina. Clinton came 
into our harbor : away flew the women, chil- 
dren, goods, and chattels, and in came the sol- 
diers flocking from every part. No sooner was 
it known that he was not going to land here, 
than expresses were sent to Virginia and Caro- 
lina, to put them on their guard ; his next ex- 
pedition was to Virginia; there they were 
ready to receive him ; from thence, without at- 
tempting to land, he sailed to Carolina, Now 
General Howe is leading us another dance." * 

Washington came on by the way of Provi- 
dence, Norwich, and New London, expediting 
tlie embarkation of troops from these posts, and 
arrived at New York on the 13th of April. 
Many of the works which Lee had commenced 



* Remembrancer, vol. iii., p. 85. 



were by this time finished ; others were in 
progress. It was apprehended the principal 
operations of the enemy would be on Long 
Island, the high grounds of which in the neigh- 
borhood of Brooklyn, commanded the city, 
Washington saw that an able and eflBcient officer 
was needed at that place. Greene was accord- 
ingly stationed there, with a division of the 
army. He imm.ediately proceeded to complete 
the fortifications of that important post, and to 
make himself acquainted with the topography, 
and the defensive points of the surrounding 
country. 

The aggregate force distributed at several 
extensive posts in New York and its environs, 
and on Long Island, Staten Island, and else- 
where, amounted to little more than ten thou- 
sand men ; some of those were on the sick list, 
others absent on command, or on' furlough ; 
there were but about eight thousand available 
and fit for duty. These, too, were without pay ; 
those recently enlisted, without arms, and no 
one could say where arms were to be pro- 
cui-ed. 

Washington saw the inadequacy of the force 
to the purpose required, and was full of solici- 
tude about the security of a place, the central 
point of the Confederacy, and the grand deposit 
of ordnance and military stores. He was aware, 
too, of the disafiection to the cause among many 
of the inhabitants ; and apprehensive of treach- 
ery. The process of fortifying the place had 
induced the ships of war to fall down into the 
outer bay, within the Hook, upwards of twenty 
miles from the city ; but Governor Tryon was 
still on board of one of them, keeping up an 
active correspondence with the tories on Staten 
and Long Islands, and in other parts of the 
neighborhood. 

AVashington took an early occasion to address 
an urgent letter to the committee of safety, 
pointing out the dangerous, and even treason- 
able nature of this correspondence. He had 
more weight and influence with that body than 
had been possessed by General Lee, and pro- 
cured the passage of a resolution prohibiting, 
under severe penalties, all intercourse with the 
king's ships. 

Head-quarters, at this time, was a scene of 
incessant toil on the part of the commander-in- 
chief, his secretaries and aides-de-camp. " I 
give in to no kind of amusements myself," 
writes he, " and consequently those about me 
can have none, but are confined from morning 
until evening, hearing and answering applica- 



Mt. 44.] 



PERPLEXITIES— ENGLAND SUBSIDIZES HESSIAN TROOPS. 



229 



tions and letters." The presence of Mrs. Wash- 
ington was a solace in the midst of these stern 
military cares, and diffused a feminine grace 
and decorum, and a cheerful spirit over the 
domestic arrangements of head-quarters, where 
every thing was conducted with simplicity and 
dignity. The wives of some of the other gen- 
erals and officers rallied around Mrs. Washing- 
ton, but social intercourse was generally at an 
end. " We all live here," writes a lady of New 
York, " like nuns shut up in a nunnery. No 
society with the town, for there are none there 
to visit ; neither can we go in or out after a 
certain hour without the countersign." 

In addition to his cares about the security of 
New York, Washington had to provide for the 
perilous exigencies of the army in Canada. 
Since his arrival in the city, four regiments of 
troops, a company of riflemen, and another of 
artificers had been detached under the com- 
mand of Brigadier-General Thompson, and a 
further corps of sis regiments under Brigadier- 
General Sullivan, with orders to join General 
Thomas as soon as possible. 

Still Congress inquired of him, whether fur- 
ther reinforcements to the army in Canada 
would not be necessary, and whether they could 
be spared from the army in New York. His 
reply shows the peculiar perplexities of his situ- 
ation, and the tormenting uncertainty in which 
he was kept, as to where the next storm of war 
would break. " With respect to sending more 
troops to that country, I am really at a loss 
what to advise, as it is impossible at present to 
know the designs of the enemy. Should they 
send the whole force under General Howe up 
the river St. Lawrence, to relieve Quebec and 
recover Canada, the troops gone and now going, 
will be insufficient to stop their progress ; and, 
should they think proper to send that, or an 
equal force, this way from Great Britain, for 
the purpose of possessing this city and securing 
the navigation of Iludson's River, the troops 
left here will not be sufficient to oppose them ; 
and yet, for any thing we know, I think it is 
not improbable they may attempt both ; both 
being of the greatest importance to them, if 
they have men. I could wish, indeed, that the 
army in Canada should be more powerfully 
reinforced ; at the same time, I am conscious 
that the trusting of this important post, which 
is now become the grand magazine of America, 
to the handful of men remaining here, is run- 
ning too great a risk. The securing of tliis post 
and Hudson's River is to us also of so great 



importance, that I cannot, at present, advise 
the sending any more troops from hence ; on the 
contrary, the general officers now here, whom 
I thought it my duty to consult, think it abso- 
lutely necessary to increase the army at this 
place with at least ten thousand men ; especially 
when it is considered, that from this place only 
the army in Canada must draw its supplies of 
ammunition, provisions, and most probably of 
men." 

Washington at that time was not aware 
of the extraordinary expedients England had 
recently resorted to, against the next campaign. 
The Duke of Brunswick, the Landgrave of 
Hesse Cassel, and the Hereditary Prince of 
Cassel, Count of Hanau, had been sxibsidized to 
furnish troops to assist in the subjugation of 
her colonies. Four thousand three hundred 
Brunswick troops, and nearly thirteen thousand 
Hessians, had entered the British service. Be- 
side the subsidy exacted by the German princes, 
they were to be paid seven pounds four shillings 
and four pence sterling for every soldier fur- 
nished by them, and as much more for every one 
slain. 

Of this notable arrangement, Washington, as 
we observed, was not yet aware. " The de- 
signs of the enemy," writes he, " are too much 
behind the curtain for me to form any accurate 
opinion of their plan of operations for the sum- 
mer's campaign. We are left to wandei', there- 
fore, in the field of conjecture." * 

Within a few days afterwards, he had vague 
accounts of " Hessians and Hanoverian troops 
coming over; " but it was not until the 17th 
of May, when he received letters from General 
Schuyler, inclosing others from the commanders 
in Canada, that he knew in what direction 
some of these bolts of war were launched ; and 
this calls for some further particulars of the 
campaign on the banks of the St. Lawrence ; 
which we shall give to the reader in the ensu- 
ing chapter. 



CHAPTER XX. 

In a former chapter, we left Arnold before the 
walls of Quebec, wounded, crippled, almost dis- 
abled, yet not disheartened ; blockading that 
" proud town " with a force inferior, by half, 
in number to that of the garrison. For his 

* Letter to the President of Congress, 5th May. 



i30 



THE CAMP BEFORE QiJEBEC— SORTIE OF CARLETOX. 



[1776. 



gallant services, Congress promoted bim in 
January to the rank of brigadier-general. 

Throughout the winter he kept up the block- 
ade with his shattered army ; though had Carle- 
ton ventured upon a sortie he might have 
been forced to decamp. That cautious general, 
however, remained within his walls. He was 
sure of reinforcements from England in the 
spring, and, in the mean time, trusted to the 
elements of dissolution at work in the besieging 
army. 

Arnold, in truth, had difficulties of all kinds 
to contend with. Ilis military cliest was ex- 
hausted ; his troops were in want of necessaries ; 
to procure supplies, he was compelled to resort 
to the paper money issued by Congress, w4iich 
was uncurrent among the Canadians ; he issued 
a proclamation making the refusal to take it in 
payment a penal offence. This only produced 
irritation and disgust. As the terms of their 
enlistment expired, his men claimed their dis- 
charge and returned home. Sickness also thin- 
ned his ranks ; so that, at one time, his force 
was reduced to five hundred men, and for two 
months, with all his recruitments of raw militia, 
did not exceed seven hundred. 

The fixilure of the attack on Quebec had 
weakened the cause among the Canadians ; the 
peasantry had been displeased by the conduct 
of the American troops ; they had once wel- 
comed them as deliverers ; they now began to 
regard them as intruders. Tlie seigneurs, or 
noblesse, also, feared to give further counte- 
nance to an invasion, which, if defeated, might 
involve them in ruin, 

Notwithstanding all these discouragements, 
Arnold still kept up a bold face ; cut oflf sup- 
plies occasionally, and harassed the place with 
alarms. Having repaired his batteries, he 
opened a fire upon the town, but with little 
effect ; the best part of the artillerists, with 
Lamb, their capable commander, were prisoners 
within the waifs. 

On the 1st day of April, General "booster 
arrived from Montreal, with reinforcements, 
and took the command. The day after his 
arrival, Arnold, by the falling of his horse, 
again received an injury on the leg recently 
wounded, and was disabled for upwards of a 
week. Considering himself slighted by Gen- 
eral "Wooster, who did not consult him in mili- 
tary aff"airs, he obtained leave of absence until 
he should be recovered from his lameness, and 
repaired to Montreal, where he took com- 
mand. 



General Thomas arrived at the camp in the 
course of April, and found the army in a forlorn 
condition, scattered at diff^erent posts, and on 
the island of Orleans. It was numerically in- 
creased to upwards of two thousand men, but 
several hundred were unfit for service. The 
smallpox had made great ravages. They had 
inoculated each other. In their sick and debili- 
tated state, they were without barracks, and 
almost without medicine. A portion, whose 
term of enlistment had expired, refused to do 
duty, and clamored for their discharge. 

The winter was over, the river was breaking 
up, reinforcements to the garrison might im- 
mediately be expected, and then the case would 
be desperate. Observing that the river about 
Quebec was clear of ice, General Thomas deter- 
mined on a bold effort. It was, to send up a 
fire-ship with the flood, and, while the ships in 
the harbor were in flames, and the town in 
confusion, to scale the walls. 

Accordingly, on the third of May, the troops 
turned out with scaling ladders ; the fire-ship 
came up the river under easy sail, and arrived 
near the shipping before it was discovered. It 
was fired into. The crew applied a slow-match 
to the train and pulled off". The ship was soon 
in a blaze, but the flames cau^^Jit and cijnsumed 
the sails ; her way was checked, and she drifted 
harmlessly with the ebbing tide. The rest of 
the plan was of course abandoned. 

iSTothing now remained but to retreat before 
the enemy should be reinforced. Preparations 
were made in all haste, to embark the sick and 
the military stores. "While this was taking 
place^five ships made their way into the harbor 
on the 6th of May, and began to land troops. 
Thus reinforced. General Carleton sallied forth, 
with eight hundred or a thousand men. We 
quote his own letter for an account of his sortie. 
" As soon as part of the 29th regiment, with the 
marines, in all about two hundred, were landed, 
they, with the greatest part of the garrison, by 
this time much improved, and in high spirits, 
marched out of the ports of St. Louis and St. 
Johns, to see what these mighty boasters were 
about. They were found very busy in their 
preparations for a retreat. A few shots being 
exchanged, the line marched forward, and the 
place was soon cleared of these plunderers." 

By his own account, however, these "mighty 
boasters " had held him and his garrison closely 
invested for five months ; had burnt the sub- 
urbs ; battered the walls ; thrown red-hot shot 
among liie shipping ; made repeated and daring 



^T. 44.] RETREAT OF THE AMERICANS— POPULAR CLAMOR AGAINST SCHUYlER. 231 



attempts to carry the place by assault and 
stratagem, and rendered it necessary for soldiers, 
sailors, marines, and even judges and other civU 
oflScers to mount guard.* One officer declares, 
in a letter, that for eighty successive nights he 
slept in his clothes, to be ready in case of 
alarm. 

All this, too, -was effected by a handful of 
men, exposed in open encampments to the rigors 
of a Canadian winter. If in truth they were 
boasters, it must be allowed their deeds were 
equal to their words. 

The Americans were in no condition to with- 
stand Carleton's unlooked-for attack. They 
had no intrenchments, and could not muster 
three hundred men at any point. A precipitate 
retreat was the consequence, in which baggage, 
artillery, every thing was abandoned. Even 
the sick were Ifeft behind ; many of whom 
crawled away from the camp hospitals, and took 
refuge in the woods, or among the Canadian 
peasantry. 

General Carleton did not think it prudent to 
engage in a pursuit with his newly landed 
troops. He treated the prisoners with great 
humanity, and caused the sick to be sought out 
in their hiding-places, and brought to the gen- 
eral hospitals ; with assurances that, when 
healed, they should have liberty to return to 
their homes. 

General Thomas came to a halt at Point Des- 
chambault, about sixty miles above Quebec, and 
called a council of war to consider what was to 
be done. The enemy's ships were hastening up 
the St. Lawrence ; some were already but two 
or three leagues distant. The camp was with- 
out cannon ; powder, forwarded by General 
Schuyler, had fallen into the enemy's hands ; 
there were not provisions enough to subsist the 
army for more than two or three days ; the 
men-of-war, too, might run up the river, inter- 
cept all their resources, and reduce them to the 
same extremity they had experienced before 
Quebec. It was resolved, therefore, to ascend 
the river still further. 

General Thomas, however, determined to 
send forward the invalids, but to remain at 
Point Deschambault, with aboiit five hundred 
men, until he should receive orders from Mon- 
treal, and learn wliether such supplies could be 
forwarded immediately as would enable him to 
defend his position, t 

The despatches of General Thomas, setting 



* Carleton to Lord George G-ermaine, May 14. 
t General Thomas to Washington, May 8th. 



forth the disastrous state of affairs, had a dis- 
heartening eftect on Schuyler, who feared the 
army would be obliged to abandon Canada. 
Washington, on the contrary, spoke cheeringly 
on the subject. " We must not despair. A 
manly and spirited opposition only can insure 
success, and prevent the enemy from improving 
the advantage they have obtained. " * 

lie regretted that the troops had not been 
able to make a stand at Point Deschambault, 
but hoped they would maintain a post as far 
down the river as possible. The lower it was, 
the more important would be the advantages 
resulting from it, as all the country above would 
be favorable, and furnish assistance and support, 
while all below would necessarily be in the 
power of the enemy. 

The tidings of the reverses in Canada and the 
retreat of the American army, had spread con- 
sternation throughout the New Hampshire 
Grants and the New England frontiers, which 
would now be laid open to invasion. Commit- 
tees of towns and districts assembled in various 
places, to consult on the alarming state of af- 
fairs. In a time of adversity, it relieves the 
public mind to have some individual on whom 
to charge its disasters. General Schuyler, at 
present, was to be the victim. We have al- 
ready noticed the prejudice and ill will, on the 
part of tlie New England people, which had 
harassed him throughout the campaign, and 
nearly driven him from the service. His ene- 
mies now stigmatized him as the cause of the 
late reverses. He had neglected, they said, to 
forward reinforcements and supplies to the 
army in Canada. His magnanimity in suffering 
Sir John Johnson to go at large, while in his 
power, was again misconstrued into a crime : 
he had thus enabled that dangerous man to 
renew his hostilities. Einally, it was insinuated 
that he was untrue to his country, if not posi- 
tively leagued with her enemies. 

These imputations were not generally ad- 
vanced ; and when advanced, were not gener- 
ally countenanced ; but a committee of King's 
County appears to have given them credence, 
addressing a letter to the commander-in-chief 
on the subject, accompanied by documents. 

Washington, to whom Schuyler's heart had 
been laid open throughout all its trials, and who 
knew its rectitude, received the letter and docu- 
ments with indignation and disgust, and sent 
copies of them to the general. " From these," 

* Washington to Schuyler, May 17. 



232 



SCANDALS REFUTED— WASHINGTON SUMMONED TO PHILADELPHIA. [1VY6. 



said he, " you will readily discover tlio diaboli- 
cal and insidious arts and schemes carrying on by 
the tories and friends of government to raise dis- 
trust, dissensions, and divisions among us. Hav- 
ing the utmost confidence in your integrity, and 
the most incontestable proof of your great attach- 
ment to our common country and its interests, 
I could not but look upon the charge against 
you with an eye of disbelief, and sentiments of 
detestation and abhorrence ; nor should I have 
troubled you with the matter, had I not been 
informed that copies were sent to different 
committees, and to Governor Trumbull, which 
I conceived would get abroad, and that you, 
should you find I had been furnished with them, 
would consider my suppressing them as an evi- 
dence of my belief, or at best of my doubts, of 
the charges." * 

We will go forward, and give the sequel of 
this matter. While the imputations in question 
had merely floated in public rumor, Schuyler 
had taken no notice of them ; " but it is now," 
writes he in re-plj to Washington, " a duty 
which I owe myself and my country, to detect 
the scoundrels, and the only means of doing 
this is by requesting that an immediate inquiry 
be made into the matter ; when I trust it will 
appear that it was more a scheme calculated to 
ruin me, than to disunite and create jealousies 
in the friends of America. Your Excellency 
will, therefore, please to order a court of in- 
quiry the soonest possible ; for I cannot sit easy 
imder such an infamous imputation ; since, on 
this extensive continent, numbers of the most 
respectable characters may not know what your 
Excellency and Congress do of my principles 
and exertions in the common cause." 

He further adds : " I am informed by persons 
of good credit, that about one hundred persons, 
living on what are commonly called the New 
Hampshire Grants, have had a design to seize 
me as a tory, and perhaps still have. There 
never was a man so infamously scandalized and 
ill-treated as I am." 

We need only add, that the Berkshire com- 
mittees, which in a time of agitation and alarm 
had hastily given countenance to these imputa- 
tions, investigated them deliberately in their 
cooler moments, and acknowledged, in a letter 
to Washington, that they were satisfied their 
suspicions respecting General Schuyler were 
wholly groundless. "We sincerely hope," 
added they, " his name may be handed down. 



with immortal honor, to the latest posterity, 
as one of the great pillars of the American 
cause." 



* Washington to Schuyler, May 21. 



CHAPTER XXI. 

As the reverses in Canada would affect the 
fortunes of the Revolution elsewhere, Washing- 
ton sent General Gates to lay the despatches 
concerning them, before Congress. " His mili- 
tary experience," said he, " and intimate ac- 
quaintance with the situation of our affairs, will 
enable him to give Congress the fullest satisfac- 
tion about the measures necessary to be adopted 
at this alarming crisis ; and, with his zeal and 
attachment to the cause of America, he will 
have a claim to their notice and favors." 

Scarce had Gates departed on his mission 
(May 19th), when Washington himself received 
a summons to Philadelphia, to advise with Con- 
gress concerning the opening campaign. He 
was informed also that Gates, on the 16th of 
May, had been promoted to the rank of major- 
general, and Mifflin to that of brigadier-general, 
and a wish was intimated that they might take 
the command of Boston. 

Washington prepared to proceed to Philadel- 
phia. His general orders issued on the 19th of 
May, show the anxious situation of affairs at 
New York. In case of an alarm the respective 
regiments were to draw opposite to their en- 
campments or quarters, until ordered to repair 
to the alarm posts. The alarm signals for regu- 
lars, militia, and the inhabitants of the city, 
were, in the day-time — two cannon fired from 
the rampart at Fort George, and a flag hoisted 
on the top of Washington's head-quarters. In 
the night — two cannon fired as above, and two 
lighted lanterns hoisted on the top of head- 
quarters.* 



* The following statement of the batteries at New 
York, we find dated May 22d : 

The Grand iSattery, on the south part of the iovra. 

Fort George, immediately above it. 

White Hall Battery, on the left of the Grand Battery. 

Oyster Battery, behind General Washington's head- 
quarters. 

Grenadier Battery, near the Brew IIouso on the North 
River. 

Jersey Battery, on the left of the Grenadier Battery. 

Bayard's Hill Redoubt, on Bayard's Ilill. 

Spencer's Redoubt, on the hill where his brigade is en- 
camped. 

Watcrbury's Battery (fascines), on a wharf below this 
hill. 

Badlands Redoubt, on a hill near the Jews' burying 
ground. 



Mr. 44.] 



PUTNAM IN COMMAND IN NEW YORK— THE CLINTONS. 



23? 



In liis parting instructions to Putnam, who, 
as the oldest major-general in the city, would 
have the command during his absence, "Wash- 
ington informed him of the intention of the 
Provincial Congress of New York to seize the 
principal tories, and disaffected persons in the 
city, and the surrounding country, especially on 
Long Island, and authorized him to afford mili- 
tary aid, if required, to carry the same into exe- 
cution. He was also to send Lord Stirling, Co- 
lonel Putnam the engineer, and Colonel Knox, 
if he could be spared, up to the Highlands, to 
examine the state of the forts and garrisons, and 
report what was necessary to put them in a 
posture of defence. Their garrisons were chiefly 
composed of parts of a regiment of New York 
troops, commanded by Colonel James Clinton, 
of Ulster County, and were said to be suffi- 
cient. 

The general, accompanied by Mrs. "Washing- 
ton, departed from New York on the 21st of 
May, and they were invited by 'Mr. Hancock, 
the President of Congress, to be his guests dur- 
ing their sojourn at Philadelphia. 

Lee, when he heard of "Washington's visit 
there, augured good effects from it. " I am 
extremely glad, dear general," writes he, " that 
you are in Philadelphia, for their councils some- 
times lack a little of military electricity." 

Washington, in his conferences with Congress, 
appears to have furnished this electricity. He 
roundly expressed his conviction, that no ac- 
commodation could be effected with Great 
Britain, on acceptable terms. Ministerialists 
had declared in Parliament, that, the sword 
being drawn, the most coercive measures would 
be persevered in, until there was complete sub- 
mission. The recent subsidizing of foreign 
troops was a part of this policy, and indicated 
unsparing hostility. A protracted war, there- 
fore, was inevitable ; but it would be impossible 
to carry it on successfully, with the scanty force 
actually embodied, and with transient enlist- 
ments of militia. 

In consequence of his representations, resolu- 
tions were passed in Congress that soldiers 
should be enlisted for three years, with a 
bounty of ten dollars for each recruit ; that the 
army at New York should be reinforced until 
the 1st of December, with thirteen thousand 
eight hundred militia ; that gondolas and fire- 
rafts should be built, to prevent the men-of-war 
and enemy's ships from coming into New York 
Bay, or the Narrows ; and that a flying camp 
of ten thousand militia furnished by Pennsyl- 



vania, Delaware, and Maryland, and likewise 
engaged until the 1st December, should be 
stationed in the Jerseys for the defence of the 
Middle colonies. Washington was moreover 
empowered, in case of emergency, to call on 
the neighboring colonies for temporary aid with 
their militia. 

Another result of his conferences with Con- 
gress was the establishment of a war office. 
Military affairs had hitherto been referred in 
Congress to committees casually appointed, and 
had consequently been subject to great irregu- 
larity and neglect. Henceforth a permanent 
committee, entitled the Board of War and Ord- 
nance, was to take cognizance of them. The 
first board was composed of five members ; 
John Adams, Colonel Benjamin Harrison, Roger 
Sherman, James Wilson, and Edward Rutledge ; 
with Richard Peters as secretary. It went 
into operation on the 12th of June. 

While at Philadelphia, Washington had fre- 
quent consultations with George Clinton, one 
of the delegates from New York, concerning 
the interior defences of that province, especially 
those connected with the security of the High- 
lands of the Hudson, where part of the regiment 
of Colonel James Clinton, the brother of the 
delegate, was stationed. The important part 
which these brothers were soon to act in the 
military affairs of that province, and ultimately 
in its political history, entitles them to a special 
notice. 

They were of the old Clinton stock of Eng- 
land ; being descended from General James 
Clinton, an adherent of royalty in the time of 
the civil wars, but who passed over to Ireland, 
after the death of Charles I. Their father, 
Charles Clinton, grandson of the general, emi- 
grated to America in 1729, and settled in Ulster, 
now Orange County, just above the Highlands 
of the Hudson. Though not more than fifty 
miles from the city of New York, it was at that 
time on the borders of a wilderness, where every 
house had* at times to be a fortress. Charles 
Clinton, like most men on our savage frontier 
in those days, was a warrior by necessity, if not 
by choice. He took an active part in Indian 
and French wars, commanded a provincial regi- 
ment stationed at Fort Herkimer, joined in the 
expedition under General Bradstreet, when it 
passed up the valley of the Mohawk, and was 
present at the capture of Fort Frontenac. His 
sons, James and George, one twenty, the other 
seventeen years of age, served in the same 
campaign, the one as captain, the other as lieu- 



234 



REED MADE ADJUTANT-GENEKAL— DISASTER AT THE CEDARS. [1776. 



tenant; thus taking an early lesson in that 
school of American soldiers, the French war. ^ 

James, whose propensities were always mili- 
tary, continued in the provincial army until the 
close of that war ; and afterwards when settled 
on an estate in Ulster County, was able and 
active in organizing its militia. George applied 
himself to the law, and became successful at the 
bar in the same county. Their father, having 
laid aside the sword, occupied for many years, 
with discernment and integrity, the honorable 
station of Judge of the Court of Common Pleas. 
He died in Ulster County, in 1773, in the eighty- 
third year of his age, " in full view of that 
revolution in which his sons were to act dis- 
tinguished parts." "With his latest breath he 
charged them " to stand by the liberties of theur 
country." 

They needed no such admonition. From the 
very first, they had been heart and hand in the 
cause. George had championed it for years in 
the New York legislature, signalizing himself 
by his zeal as one of an intrepid minority in 
opposing ministerial oppression. He had but 
recently taken his seat as delegate to the Con- 
tinental Congress. 

James Clinton, appointed colonel on the 30th 
of June, 1775, had served with his regiment 
of New York troops under Montgomery at the 
siege of St. Johns, and the capture of Montreal, 
after which he had returned home. He had 
subsequently been appointed to the command 
of a regiment in one of the four battalions raised 
for the defence of New York. "We shall soon 
have occasion to speak further of these patriot 
brothers. 

The prevalence of the smallpox had frequently 
rendered Washington uneasy on Mrs. "Washing- 
ton's account during her visits to the army ; he 
was relieved, therefore, by her submitting to 
inoculation during their sojourn in Philadelpliia, 
and lia\'ing a very favorable time. 

He was gratified, also, by procuring the ap- 
pointment of his late secretary, Joseph Reed, 
to the post of adjutant-general, vacated by the 
promotion of General Gates, thus placing him 
once more by his side. 



CHAPTER XXII. 

Despatches from Canada continued to be 
disastrous. General Arnold, who was in com- 
mand at Montreal, had established a post on the 
St. Lawrence, about forty miles above that 



place, on a point of land called the Cedars; 
where he had stationed Colonel Bedel with 
about four hundred men to prevent goods being 
sent to the enemy in the upper country, and to 
guard against surprise from them, or their In- 
dians. 

In the latter part of May, Colonel Bedel re- 
ceived intelligence that a large body of British, 
Canadians, and Indians, under the command of 
Captain Forster, were coming down from Os- 
wegatchie to attack him. Leaving Major But- 
terfield in command of the post, he hastened 
down to Montreal to obtain reinforcements. 
Arnold immediately detached one hundred men, 
under Major Shelburne, and prepared to follow 
in person, with a much greater force. In the 
mean time, the post at the Cedars had been be- 
sieged, and Major Butterfield intimidated into 
a surrender, by a threat from Captain Forster, 
that resistance would provoke a massacre of his 
whole garrison by the Indians. The reinforce-, 
ments under Major Shelburne were assailed 
within four miles of the Cedars, by a large 
party of savages, and captured, after a sharp 
skirmish, in which several were killed on both 
sides. 

Arnold received word of these disasters while 
on the march. He instantly sent forward some 
Caughnawaga Indians, to overtake the savages,, 
and demand a surrender of the prisoners ; with 
a threat that, in case of a refusal, and that any 
of them were murdered, he would sacrifice every 
Indian who fell into his hands, and would follow 
the ofii"enders to their towns, and destroy them 
by fire and sword. He now embarked four 
hundred of his men in bateaux, and pushed on 
with the remainder by land. Arriving at St. 
Ann's above the rapids of the St. Lawrence, 
he discovered several of the enemy's bateaux,, 
taking the prisoners ofi" from the island, a league 
distant. It was a tormenting sight, as it was 
not in his power to relieve them. His bateaux 
were a league behind, coming up the rapids 
very slowly. He sent several expresses to 
hurry them. It was sunset before they arrived, 
and he could embark all his people ; in the mean 
time, his Caughnawaga messengers returned 
with an answer from the savages. They had 
five hundred prisoners collected together, they 
said, at Quinze Chiens, where they were posted ; 
should he offer to land and attack them, they 
would kill every prisoner, and, give no quarter 
to any who should fall into their hands there- 
after. 

" "Words cannot express my feelings," writes 



^T. 44.] 



HOSTILE DESIGNS OF THE JOHNSONS. 



235 



Arnold, " at the delivery of this message. Torn 
by the conflicting passions of revenge and hu- 
manity ; a sufficient force to take ample revenge, 
raging for action, urged me on one hand ; and 
humanity for five hundred unhappy wretches, 
who were on the point of being sacrificed, if 
our vengeance was not delayed, pleaded equally 
strong on the other." In this situation, he or- 
dered the boats to row immediately for the isl- 
and, whither he had seen the enemy taking 
their pi-isoners. Before he reached it, the sav- 
ages had conveyed them aU away, excepting 
five, whom he found naked, and almost starved, 
and one or two, whom, being unwell, they had 
butchered. Arnold now pushed for Quinze 
Chiens, about four miles distant, on the main- 
land. Here was the whole force of the enemy, 
civilized and savage, intrenched and fortified. 

As Arnold approached, they opened a fire 
upon his boats, with small arms, and two brass 
sis-pounders. He rowed near the land, without 
returning a shot. By this time it was too dark 
to distinguish any thing on shore, and being 
unacquainted with the ground, he judged it 
prudent to return to St. Johns. 

Here he called a council of war, and it was 
determined to attack the enemy early in the 
morning. In the course of the night, a flag 
was sent by Captain Forster, with articles for 
an exchange of prisoners, which had been en- 
tered into by him and Major Sherburne. As 
the terms were not equal, they were objected 
to by Arnold, and a day passed before they 
were adjusted. A cartel was then signed, by 
which the prisoners, consisting of two majors, 
nine captains, twenty subalterns, and four hun- 
dred and ft)rty-three privates, were to be ex- 
changed for an equal number of British prison- 
ers of the same rank, and, were to be sent to 
the south shore of the St. Lawrence, near 
Caughnawaga, whence to return to their homes. 
Nine days were allowed for the delivery of the 
prisoners, during which time hostilities should 
be suspended. 

Arnold, in a letter to the commissionei's of 
Congress then at Montreal, giving an account 
of this ari'angement, expressed his indignation 
at the conduct of the king's oflacers, in employ- 
ing savages to screen their butcheries, and suf- 
fering their prisoners to be killed in cold blood. 
" I intend being with you this evening," added 
he, " to consult on some effectual measures to 
take with these savages, and still more savage 
British troops, who are still at Quinze Chiens. 
As soon as our prisoners are released, I hope it 



will be in our power to take ample vengeance, 
or nobly fall in the attempt," * 

The accounts which reached "Washington of 
these affairs were vague and imperfect, and 
kept him for some days m painful suspense. 
The disasters at the Cedars v»-ere attributed en- 
tirely to the base and cowardly conduct of Be- 
del and Butterworth, and he wrote to Schuyler 
to have good courts appointed, and bring them, 
and every other oflicer guilty of misconduct, to 
trial. 

" The situation of our affairs in Canada," ob- 
serves he, " is truly alarming. I sincerely wish 
the next letters from the northward may not 
contain the melancholy advices of General Ar- 
nold's defeat, and the loss of Montreal. The 
most vigorous exertions will be necessary to re- 
trieve our circumstances there, and I hope you 
will strain every nerve for that purpose. Unless 
it can be done now, Canada will be lost to us 
forever." 

While his mind was agitated by these con- 
cerns, letters from Schuyler showed that mis- 
chief was brewing in another quarter. 

Colonel Guy Johnson, accompanied by the 
Sachem Brant and the Butlers, had been holding 
councils with the Indians, and designed, it was 
said, to come back to the Mohawk country, at 
the head of a British and savage force. A cor- 
respondence was carried on between him and 
his cousin. Sir John Johnson, who was said to 
be preparing to co-operate with his Scotch de- 
pendants and Indian allies. 

Considering this a breach of Sir John's pa- 
role, Schuyler had sent Colonel Elias Dayton 
with a force to apprehend him. Sir John, with 
a number of his armed tenants, retreated for 
refuge among the Indians, on the borders of the 
lakes. Dayton took temporary possession of 
Johnson Hall, placed guards about it, seized 
upon Sir John's papers, and read them in the 
presence of Lady Johnson, and subsequently 
conveyed her ladyship as a kind of hostage to 
Albany. 

Shortly afterwards came further intelligence 
of the designs of the Johnsons. Sir John, with 
his Scotch warriors and Indian allies, was said 
to be actually coming down the valley of the 
Mohawk, bent on revenge, and prepared to lay 
every thing waste ; and Schuyler collecting a 
force at Albany to oppose him. "Washington 
instantly wrote to Schuyler, to detach Colonel 
Dayton with his regiment on that service, with 



* Arnold to the Commis. of Cong. 27th M.iy. 



236 



TORTS IN THE HIGHLANDS— COLONEL JAMES CLINTON IN COMMAND. [17V6. 



instructions to secure a post where Fort Stan- 
wix formerly stood, in the time of the French 
war. As to Schuyler himself, "Washington, on 
his own responsibility, directed him to hold a 
conference with the Six Nations, and with any 
others whom he and his brother commissioners 
on Indian affairs might think necessary, and se- 
cure their active services, without waiting fur- 
ther directions from Congress ; that body hav- 
ing recently resolved to employ Indian allies in 
the war, the enemy having set the example. 

" We expect a bloody summer in New York 
and Canada," writes "Washington to his brother 
Augustine, " and I am sorry to say that we are 
not, either in men or arms, prepared for it. 
However, it is to be hoped, that, if our cause 
is just, as I most religiously believe, the same 
Providence which has, in many instances, ap- 
peared for us, will still go on to afford its aid." 

Lord Stirling, who, by "Washington's orders, 
had visited and inspected the defences in the 
Highlands, rendered a report of their condition, 
of which we give the purport. Fort Mont- 
gomery, at the lower part of the Highlands, 
was on the west bank of the river, north of 
Dunderberg (or Thunder Hill). It was situated 
on a bank one hundred feet high. The river at 
that place was about half a mile wide. Oppo- 
site the fort was the promontory of Anthony's 
Nose, many hundred feet high, accessible only 
to goats, or men expert in climbing. A body 
of riflemen stationed here, might command the 
decks of vessels. Fort Montgomery appeared 
to Lord Stirling a proper place for a guard post. 

Fort Constitution wds about six miles higher 
up the river, on a rocky island of the same 
name, at a narrow strait where the Hudson, 
shouldered by precipices, makes a sudden bend 
round "West Point. A redoubt, in the opinion 
of Lord Stirling, would be needed on the point, 
not only for the preservation of Fort Constitu- 
tion, but for its own importance. 

The garrison of that fort consisted of two 
companies of Colonel James Clinton's regiment, 
and Captain "Wisner's company of minute men, 
in all one hundred and sixty rank and file. Fort 
Montgomery was garrisoned by three companies 
of the same regiment, about two hundred rank 
and file. Both garrisons were miserably armed. 
The direction of the works of both forts was 
in the hands of commissioners appointed by the 
Provincial Congress of New York. The general 
command of the posts required to be adjusted. 
Several persons accused of being "notorious 
tories," had recently been sent into Fort Mont- 



gomery by the district committees of the coun- 
ties of Albany, Dutchess, and "Westchester, with 
directions to the commanding oflicers, to keep 
them at hard labor until their further order. 
They were employed upon the fortifications. 

In view of all these circumstances, "Washing- 
ton, on the 14th of June, ordered Colonel James 
Clinton to take command of both posts, and of 
all the troops stationed at them. He seemed a 
fit custodian for them, having been a soldier 
from his youth ; brought up on a frontier sub- 
ject to Indian alarms and incursions, and ac- 
quainted with the strong pointr- and fastnesses 
of the Highlands. 

King's Bridge, and the heights adjacent, con- 
sidered by General Lee of the utmost impor- 
tance to the communication between New York 
and the mainland, and to the security of the 
Hudson, were reconnoitred by "Washington on 
horseback, about the middle of the month ; or- 
dering where works should be laid out. Breast- 
works were to be thrown up for the defence of 
the bridge, and an advanced work (subsequently 
called Fort Independence) was to be built be- 
yond it, on a hill commanding Spyt den Duivel 
Creek, as that inlet of the Hudson is called, 
which links it with the Harlaem River. 

A strong work, intended as a kind of citadel, 
was to crown a rocky height between two and 
three miles south of the bridge, commanding 
the channel of the Hudson ; and below it were 
to be redoubts on the banks of the river at 
Jeffrey's Point. In honor of the general, the 
citadel received the name of Fort "Washington. 

Colonel Rufus Putnam was the principal en- 
gineer, who had the direction of the works. 
General Mifflin encamped in their vicinity, with 
part of the two battalions from Pennsylvania, 
to be employed in their construction, aided by 
the militia. 

"While these preparations were made for the 
protection of the Hudson, the works about 
Brooklyn on Long Island were carried on with 
great activity, under the superintendence of 
General Greene. In a word, the utmost exer- 
tions were made at every point, to put the city, 
its environs, and the Hudson River, in a state 
of defence, before the arrival of another hostile 
armament. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

Operations in Canada were drawing to a 
disastrous close. General Thomas, finding it 



Mr. 44.] 



SULLIVAN ON THE SORfiL— WASHINGTON'S OPINION OF HIM. 



237 



impossible to make a stand at Point Descham- 
bault, had continued his retreat to the mouth 
of the Sore], where he found General Thompson, 
■with part of the troops detached by "Washing- 
ton, from New York, who were making some 
preparations for defence. Shortly after his ar- 
rival, he was taken ill with the smallpox, and 
removed to Chamblee. He had prohibited in- 
oculation among his troops, because it put too 
many of their scanty number on the sick list ; 
he probably fell a victim to his own prohibition, 
as he died of that malady on the 2d of June. 

On his death. General Sullivan, who had re- 
cently arrived with the main detachment of 
troops from New York, succeeded to the com- 
mand ; General Wooster having been recalled. 
He advanced immediately with his brigade to 
the mouth of the Sorel, where he found General 
Thompson, with but very few troops to defend 
that post, having detached Colonel St. Clair, 
with six or seven hundred men, to Three Rivers, 
about fifty miles down the St. Lawrence, to 
give check to an advanced corps of the enemy, 
of about eight hundred regulars and Canadians, 
under the veteran Scot, Colonel Maclean. In 
the mean time. General Thompson, who was 
left with but two hundred men to defend his 
post, was sending oflF his sick, and his heavy 
baggage, to be prepared for a retreat, if neces- 
sary. " It really was affecting," writes Sullivan 
to Washington, " to see the banks of the Sorel 
lined with men, women, and children, leaping, 
and clapping their hands for joy, to sec me ar- 
rive ; it gave no less joy to General Thompson, 
who seemed to be wholly forsaken, and left to 
fight against an unequal force, or retreat before 
them." 

Sullivan proceeded forthwith to complete the 
works on the Sorel ; in the mean time he de- 
tached General Thompson with additional troops 
to overtake St, Clair, and assume command of 
the whole party, which would then amount to 
two thousand men. He was by no means to 
attack the encampment at Three Rivers, unless 
there was great prospect of success, as his de- 
feat might prove the total loss of Canada. " I 
have the highest opinion of the bravery and 
resolution of the troops you command," says 
Sullivan in his instructions, " and doubt not but, 
under the direction of a kind Providence, you 
will open the way for our recovering that gi'ound 
which former troops have so shamefully lost." 

Sullivan's letter to Washington, written at 
the same time, is full of sanguine anticipation. 
It was his fixed determination to gain post at 



Deschambault, and fortify it, so as to make it 
inaccessible, " The enemy's ships are now 
above that place," writes he ; " but if General 
Thompson succeeds at Three Rivers, I will soon 
remove the ships below Richelieu Falls, and 
after that, approach Quebec as fast as pos- 
sible." 

"Our affairs here," adds he, "have taken a 
strange turn since our arrival. The Canadians 
are flocking by hundreds to take a part with 
us. The only reason of their disaffection was, 
because our exertions were so feeble that they 
doubted much of our success, and even of our 
ability to protect them. 

" I venture to assure you, and the Congress, 
that I can in a few days reduce the army to 
order, and with the assistance of a kind Provi- 
dence, put a new face to our affairs here, which 
a few days since seemed almost impossible." 

The letter of SuUivan gave Washington an 
unexpected gleam of sunshine. "Before it 
came to hand," writes he in reply, " I almost 
dreaded to hear from Canada, as my advices 
seemed to promise nothing favorable, but rather 
further misfortunes. But I now hope that our 
affairs, from the confused, distracted, and almost 
forlorn state in which you found them, will 
change, and assume an aspect of order and suc- 
cess." Still his sagacious mind perceived a mo- 
tive for this favorable coloring of affairs. Sul- 
livan was aiming at the command in Canada ; 
and Washington soberly weighed his merits for 
the appointment, in a letter to the President of 
Congress. " He is active, spirited, and zealously 
attached to the cause. He has his wants, and 
he has his foibles. The latter are manifested 
in his little tincture of vanity, and in an over- 
desire of being popular, which now and then 
lead him into embarrassments. His wants are 
common to us all. He wants experience to 
move upon a grand scale ; for the limited and 
contracted knowledge, which any of us have in 
military matters, stands in very little stead." 
This want was overbalanced, on the part of 
General Sullivan, by sound judgment, some ac- 
quaintance with men and books, and an enter- 
prising genius, 

"As the security of Canada is of the last 
importance to the well-being of these colonies," 
adds Washington, " I should like to know the 
sentiments of Congress, respecting the nomina- 
tion of any officer to that command. The 
character I have drawn of General Sullivan is 
just, according to my ideas of him. Congress 
will therefore determine upon the propriety of 



238 



GATES APPOINTED TO CANADA— CAPTURE OF THOMPSON. 



[17Y6. 



continuing him in Canada, or sending another, 
as they shall see fit." * 

Scarce had Washington despatched this letter, 
when he received one from the President of 
Congress, dated the 18th of June, informing 
him that Major-General Gates had heen ap- 
pointed to command the forces in Canada, and 
requesting him to expedite his departure as soon 
as possible. The appointment of Gates has 
been attributed to the influence of the Eastern 
delegates, with whom he was a favorite ; in- 
deed, during his station at Boston, he had 
been highly successful in cultivating the good 
graces of the New England people. lie de- 
parted for his command on the 26th of June, 
vested with extraordinary powers for the regu- 
lation of affairs in that "distant, dangerous, 
and shifting scene." " I would fain hope," 
writes Washington, " his arrival there will 
give our affairs a complexion different from 
what they have worn for a long time past, 
and tliat many essential benefits will result 
from it." 

Despatches just received from General Sulli- 
van, had given a different picture of affairs in 
Canada from that contained in his previous 
letter. In fact, when he wrote that letter, he 
was ignorant of the actual force of the enemy 
in Canada, which had recently been augmented 
to about 13,000 men ; several regiments hav- 
ing ai'rived from Ireland, one from England, 
another from General Howe, and a body of 
Brunswick troops under the Baron Reidesel. 
Of these, the greater part were on the way up 
from Quebec in divisions, by land and water, 
with Generals Carleton, Burgoyue, Philips, and 
Reidesel ; while a considerable number under 
General Frazer had arrived at Three Rivers, 
and others, under General Nesbit, lay near 
them on board of transports. 

Sullivan's despatch, dated on the 8th of 
June, at the mouth of the Sorel, began in his 
former sanguine vein, anticipating the success 
of General Thompson's expedition to Three 
Rivers. " He has proceeded in the manner 
proposed, and made his attack at daylight, for 
at that time a very heavy cannonading began, 
which lasted with some intervals to twelve 
o'clock. It is now near one p. m. ; the firing 
has- ceased, except some irregular firing with 
cannon, at a considerable distance of time one 
from the other. At eight o'clock a very heavy 
firing of small-arms was heard even here, at 

♦ "Washington to the President of Congress, July 12, 
1776. 



the distance of forty-five miles. I am almost 
certain that victory has declared in our favor, 
as the irregular firing of the cannon for such a 
length of time after the small-arms ceased, 
shows that our men are in possession of the 
ground." 

The letter was kept open to give the par- 
ticulars of this supposed victory ; it closed with 
a dismal reverse. General Thompson had 
coasted in bateaux along the right bank of the 
river at that expanse called Lake St. Pierre, 
and arrived at Nicolete, whei-e he found St. 
Clair and his detachment. He crossed the 
river in the night, and landed a few miles above 
Three Rivers, intending to surprise the enemy 
before daylight ; he was not aware at the time 
that additional troops had arrived under Gen- 
eral Burgoyne. 

After landing, he marched with rapidity 
toward Three Rivers, but was led by treacher- 
ous guides into a morass, and obliged to return 
back nearly two miles. Day broke, and he 
was discovered from the ships. A cannonade 
was opened upon his men as they made their 
way slowly for an hour and a half through a 
swamp. At length they arrived in sight of 
Three Rivers, but it was to find a large force 
drawn up in battle array, under General Frazer, 
by whom they were warmly attacked, and after 
a brief stand thrown in confusion. Thompson 
attempted to rally his troops, and partly suc- 
ceeded, until a fire was opened upon them in 
rear by Nesbit, who had landed from his ships. 
Their rout now was complete. General Thomp- 
son, Colonel Irvine, and about two hundred 
men were captured, twenty-five were slain, and 
the rest pursued for several miles through a 
deep swamp. After great fatigues and suffer- 
ings, they were able to get on board of their 
boats, which had been kept from falling into the 
hands of the enemy. In these they made their 
way back to the Sorel, bringing General Sulli- 
van a sad explanation of all the firing he had 
heard, and the alarming intelligence of the 
overpowering force that was coming up the 
river. 

" This, my dear general," writes Sullivan, in 
the conclusion of his letter, " is the state of 
this unfortunate enterprise. What you will 
next hear I cannot say. I am every moment 
informed of the vast number of the enemy which 
have arrived. I have only two thousand five 
hundred and thirty-three rank and file. Most of 
the officers seem discouraged, and, of course, 
their men, I am employed day and night in 



^T. 44.] 



END OF THE INVASION OF CANADA— TORY CONSPIRACY. 



239 



fortifying and securing my camp, and am de- 
termined to hold it as long as a person will 
stick by me." 

He had, indeed, made the desperate resolve 
to defend the mouth of the Sorel, but was in- 
duced to abandon it by the unanimous opinion 
of his officers, and the evident unwillingness 
of his troops. Dismantling his batteries, there- 
fore, he retreated with his artillery and stores, 
just before the arrival of the enemy, and was 
followed, step by step along the Sorel, by a 
strong column under General Burgoyne. 

On the 18th of June, he was joined by Gen- 
eral Arnold with three hundred men, the gar- 
rison of Montreal, who had crossed at Longueil 
just in time to escape a large detachment of 
the enemy. Thus reinforced, and the evacua- 
tion of Canada being determined on in a coun- 
cil of war, Sullivan succeeded in destroying 
every thing at Ohamblee and St. Johns that he 
could not carry away, breaking down bridges, 
and leaving forts and vessels in flames, and 
continued his retreat to the Isle aux Noix, 
where he made a halt for some days, imtil he 
should receive positive orders from Washing- 
ton or General Schuyler. In a letter to "Wash- 
ington, he observes, " I am extremely sorry it 
was not in my power to fulfil your Excellency's 
wishes, by leading on our troops to victory." 
After stating the reason of his failure, he adds, 
" I think we shall secure aU the public stores 
and baggage of the army, and secure our re- 
treat with very little loss. "Whether we shall 
have well men enough to carry them on, I 
much doubt, if we don't remove quickly ; un- 
less Heaven is pleased to restore health to this 
wretched army, now, perhaps, the most pitiful 
one that ever was formed." 

The low, unhealthy situation of the Isle aux 
Noix, obliged him soon to remove his camp to 
the Isle la Motte, whence on receiving orders 
to that eifect from General Schuyler, he ulti- 
mately embarked with his forces, sick and 
well, for Crown Point. 

Thus ended this famous invasion ; an enter- 
prise bold in its conceptions, daring and hardy 
in its execution ; full of ingenious expedients, 
and hazardous exploits ; and which, had not 
unforeseen circumstances counteracted its weU- 
devised plans, might have added all Canada to 
the American confederacy. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

The great aim of the British, at present, was 
to get possession of New York and the Hudson, 
and make them the basis of military operations. 
This they hoped to effect on the arrival of a 
powerful armament, hourly expected, and de- 
signed for operations on the seaboard. 

At this critical juncture there was an alarm 
of a conspiracy among the tories in the city 
and on Long Island, suddenly to take up arms 
and co-operate with the British troops on their 
arrival. The wildest reports were in circula- 
tion concerning it. Some of the tories were 
to break down King's Bridge, others were to 
blow up the magazines, spike the guns, and 
massacre all the field-officers. "Washington was 
to be kiUed or delivered up to the enemy. 
Some of his own body-guard were said to be 
in the plot. 

Several publicans of the city were pointed out, 
as having aided or abetted the plot. One was 
landlord of the Highlander, at the corner of 
Beaver Street and Broadway. Another dis- 
pensed liquor under the sign of Robin Hood. 
Another named Lowry, described as a " fat 
man in a blue coat," kept tavern in a low house 
opposite the Oswego market. Another, James 
Houlding, kept a beer house in Tryon Row, 
opposite the gates of the upper barracks. It 
would seem as if a network of corruption and 
treachery had been woven throughout the city 
by means of these liquor dealers. One of the 
most noted, however, was Corbie, whose tavern 
was said to be " to the south-east of General 
"Washington's house, to the westward of Bay- 
ard's "Woods, and north of Lispenard's Mead- 
ows," from which it would appear that at that 
time the general was quartered at what was 
formerly called Richmond Hill ; a mansion sur- 
rounded by trees, at a short distance from the 
city, in rather an isolated situation. 

A committee of the New York Congress, of 
which J-ohn Jay was chairman, traced the plot 
up to Governor Tryon, who, from his safe re- 
treat on shipboard, acted through agents on 
shore. The most important of these was David 
Matthews, the tory mayor of the city. He 
was accused of disbursing money to enlist m6n, 
purchase arms, and corrupt the soldiery. 

"Washington was authorized and requested by 
the committee to cause the mayor to be ap- 
prehended, and all his papers secured. Mat- 
thews was at that time residing at Flatbush on 



240 



FLOT OF TRYOJT AND THE TORIES— ARRIVAL OF A FLEET. 



[111^ 



Long Island, at no great distance from General 
Greene's en campment. "Washington transmitted 
the warrant of the committee to the general on 
the 21st, with directions that it should " be 
executed with precision, and exactly by one 
o'clock of the ensuing morning, by a careful 
officer." 

Precisely at the hour of one, a detachment 
from Greene's brigade surrounded the house 
of the mayor, and secured his person ; but no 
papers were found, though diligent search was 
made. 

Numerous other arrests took place, and 
among the number, some of Washington's 
body-guard. A great dismay fell upon the 
tories. Some of those on Long Island who 
had proceeded to arm themselves, finding the 
plot discovered, sought refuge in woods and 
morasses. Washington directed that those 
arrested, who belonged to the army, should be 
tried by a court-martial, and the rest handed 
over to the secular power. 

According to statements made before the 
committee, five guineas bounty was ofiered by 
Governor Tryon to each man who should enter 
the king's service ; with a promise of two hun- 
dred acres of land for himself, one hundred for 
his wife, and fifty for each child. The men 
thus recruited were to act on shore, in co- 
operation with the king's troops when they 
came. 

Corbie's tavern, near Washington's quarters, 
was a kind of rendezvous of the conspirators. 
There one Gilbert Forbes, a gunsmith, " a 
short, thick man, with a white coat," enlisted 
men, gave them money, and " swore them on 
the book to secrecy." From this house* a cor- 
respondence was kept up with Governor Tryon 
on shipboard, through a " mulatto-colored 
negro, dressed in blue clothes." At this 
tavern it was supposed Washington's body- 
guards were tampered with. Thomas Hickey, 
one of the guards, a dark-complexioned man, 
five feet six inches high, and well set, was said 
not only to be enlisted, but to have aided in 
corrupting his comrades ; among others, Greene 
the drummer, and Johnson the fifer. 

It was further testified before the committee, 
that one Sergeant Graham, an old soldier, for- 
met-ly of the royal artillery, had been employed 
by Governor Tryon to prowl round and survey 
the grounds and works about tlie city, and on 
Long Island, and that, on information thus pro- 
cured, a plan of operations had been concerted. 
On the arrival of the fleet, a man-of-war should 



cannonade the battery at Eed Hook ; while 
that was doing, a detachment of the army 
should land below with cannon, and by a cir- 
cuitous march surprise and storm the works on 
Long Island. The shipping then, with the re- 
mainder of the army, Avere to divide, one part 
to run up the Hudson, and the other up the 
East Eiver ; troops were to land above New 
York, secure the pass at King's Bridge, and cut 
off all communication between the city and 
country.* 

Much of the evidence given was of a dubious 
kind. It was certain that persons had secretly 
been enlisted, and sworn to hostile operations, 
but Washington did not think that any regular 
plan had been digested by the conspirators. 
" The matter," writes he, " I am in hopes, by 
a timely discovery, wiU be suppressed." t 

According to the mayor's own admission be- 
fore the committee, he had been cognizant of 
attempts to enlist tories and corrupt Washing- 
ton's guards, though he declared that he had 
discountenanced them. He had on one occa- 
sion, also, at the request of Governor Tryon, 
paid money for him to Gilbert Forbes, the gun- 
smith, for rifles and round-bored guns, which 
he had already furnished, and for others which 
he was to make. He had done so, however 
(according to his account), with great reluc- 
tance, and after much hesitation and delay, 
warning the gunsmith that he would be hanged 
if found out. The mayor, with a number of 
others, were detained in prison to await a 
trial. 

Thomas Hickey, the individual of Washing- 
ton's guard, was tried before a court-martial. 
He was an Irishman, and had been a deserter 
from the British army. The court-martial 
found him guilty of mutiny and sedition, and 
treacherous correspondence Avith the enemy, 
and sentenced him to be hanged. 

The sentence was approved by Washington, 
and was carried promptly into effect, in the 
most solemn and impressive manner, to serve 
as a warning and example in this time of 
treachery and danger. On the morning of the 
28th, all the officers and men oflT duty, belong- 
ing to the brigades of Heath, Spencer, Stirling, 
and Scott, assembled under arms at their re- 
spective parades at 10 o'clock, and marched 
thence to the groimd. Twenty men from each 
brigade, with bayonets fixed, guarded the pris- 
oner to the place of execution, which was a 



* Am. Archives, 5th Series, vi. 1177. 

t Washington to the President of Congress, June 28. 



jEt. 44.] 



FRESH ARRIVAL OF SHIPS-OF-WAR— GENERAL HOWE. 



241 



field near the Bowery Lane. There he was 
hanged in the presence, we are told, of near 
twenty thousand persons. 

While the city was still brooding over this 
doleful spectacle, four ships-of-war, portentous 
visitants, appeared off the Hook, stood quietly 
in at the Narrows, and dropped anchor in the 
bay. 

In his orderly book, Washington expressed 
a hope that the unhappy fate of Thomas 
Hickey, executed that day for mutiny, sedition, 
and treachery, would be a warning to every 
soldier in the line, to avoid the crimes for 
which he suffered.* 

On the 29th of June, an express from the 
look-out on Staten Island, announced that forty 
sail were in sight. They were, in fact, ships 
from Halifax, bringing between nine and ten 
thousand of the troops recently expelled from 
Boston ; together with six transports filled with 
Highland troops, which had joined the fleet at 
sea. At sight of this formidable armament 
standing into the harbor, Washington instantly 
sent notice of its arrival to Colonel James Clin- 
ton, who had command of the post in the High- 
lands, and urged all possible preparations to 
give the enemy a warm reception should they 
push their frigates up the river. 



* As a specimen of the reports ■which circulated 
throughout the country, concerning this conspiracy, ■we 
give an extract from a letter, ■written from Wcthersfield, 
in Connecticut, 9th of July, 1776, by the Reverend John 
Marsh. 

" You have hoard of the infernal plot that has been dis- 
covered. About ten days before any of the conspirators 
■were taken up, a ■woman ■went to the general and desired 
a private audience. lie granted it to her, and she let him 
know that his life ■was in danger, and gave him euch an 
account of the conspiracy as gained his confidence. He 
opened the matter to a fe^w friends, on whom ho could 
depend. A strict •watch was kept night and day, until a 
favorable opportunity occurred ; when the general went 
to bed as usual, arose about two o'clock, told his lady he 
■was a going, with some of the Pro\incial Congress, to 
order some tories seized— desired she would make herself 
easy, and go to sleep. He went off without any of his 
aides-de-camp, except the captain of his life-guard, was 
joined by a number of chosen men, with lanterns, and 
proper instruments to break open houses, and before six 
o'clock next morning, had forty men under guard at the 
City Hall, among whom was the mayor of the city, sev- 
er.ll merchants, and five or six of his own life-guard. 
Upon examination, one Forbes confessed that the plan 
was to assassinate the general, and as many of the superior 
officers as they could, and to blow up the magazine upon 
the appearance of the enemy's fleet, and to go oflfin boats 
prepared for that purpose to join the enemy. Thomas 
Hickey, who has been executed, went from this place. He 
came from Ireland a few years ago. What will be done 
with the mayor is uncertain. He can't be tried by court- 
martial, and, it is said, there is no law of that colony by 
which ho can bo condemned. May he have his deserts." 

16 



According to general orders issued from 
head-quarters on the following day (June 30), 
the oflicers and men, not on duty, were to 
march from their respective regimental parades 
to their alarm posts, at least once every day, 
that they might become well acquainted with 
them. They were to go by routes least exposed 
to a fire from the shipping, and all the oflicers, 
from the highest to the lowest, were to make 
themselves well acquainted with the grounds. 
Upon a signal of the enemy's approach, or upon 
any alarm, all fatigue parties were immediately 
to repair to their respective corps with their 
arms, ammunition, and accoutrements, ready 
for instant action. 

It was ascertained that the ramiflcations of 
the conspiracy lately detected, extended up the 
Hudson. Many of the disaftected in the upper 
counties were enlisted in it. The committee 
of safety at Cornwall, in Orange County, sent 
word to Colonel James Clinton, Fort Constitu- 
tion, of the mischief that was brewing. James 
Haft', a tory, had confessed before them, that 
he was one of a number who were to join the 
Bi'itish troops as soon as they should arrive. 
It was expected the latter would push up the 
river and land at Verplanck's Point; where- 
upon the guns at the forts in the Highlands were 
to be spiked by soldiers of their own garrisons ; 
and the tories throughout the country were to 
be up in arms.* 

Clinton received letters, also, from a meeting 
of committees in the precincts of ISTewburgh, 
apprising him that persons dangerous to the 
cause were lurking in that neighborhood, and 
requesting him to detach twenty-five men under 
a certain lieutenant acquainted with the woods, 
" to aid in getting some of these rascals appre- 
hended and secured." 

While city and country were thus agitated 
by apprehensions of danger, internal and ex- 
ternal, other arrivals swelled the number of 
ships in the bay of New York to one hundred 
and thirty, men-of-war and transports. They 
made no movement to ascend the Hudson, but 
anchored off Staten Island, were they landed 
their troops, and the hill sides were soon whi- 
tened with their tents. 

In the frigate Greyhound, one of the four 
ships which first arrived, came General Howe. 
He had precoied the fleet, in order to confer 
with Governor Tryon, and inform himself of 
the state of affairs. In a letter to his govern- 



■*• Extracts from minutes of the committee, American 
Archives, 4th Series, vi. 1112. 



242 



WASHINGTON'S PREPARATIONS— ALEXANDER HAMILTON. 



[17'76. 



ment he writes : " I met with Governor Tryon 
on board of a ship at the Hook, and many gen- 
tlemen, fast friends of government, attending 
bim, from whom I have the fullest information 
of the state of the rebels. ***** We 
passed the Narrows with three ships-of-war, and 
the first division of transports, landed the gren- 
adiers and light infantry, as the ships came up, 
on this island, to the great joy of a most loyal 
people, long suffering on that account under the 
oppression of the rebels stationed among them ; 
who precipitately fled on the approach of the 
shipping. ***** There is great reason 
to expect a numerous body of the inhabitants 
to join the army from the province of York, 
the Jerseys, and Connecticut, who, in this time 
of universal oppression, only wait for oppor- 
tunities to give proofs of their loyalty and 
zeal." * 

Washington beheld the gathering storm with 
an anxious eye, aware that Genei-al Howe only 
awaited the arrival of his brother, the admiral, 
to commence hostile operations. He wrote to 
the President of Congress, urging a call on the 
Massachiisetts government for its quota of con- 
tinental troops ; and the formation of a flying 
camp of ten thousand men, to be stationed in 
the Jerseys, as a central force, ready to act 
in any direction as circumstances might re- 
quire. 

On the 2d of July, he issued a general order, 
calling upon the troops to prepare for a mo- 
mentous conflict which was to decide their 
liberties and fortunes. Those who should sig- 
nalize themselves by acts of bravery, would be 
noticed and rewarded ; those who proved craven 
would be exposed and punished. No favor 
would be shown to such as refused or neglected 
to do their duty at so important a crisis. 



CHAPTER XXV. t/ 

About this time, we have the first appearance 
in the military ranks of the Revolution, of one 



* Governor Tryon, in a letter dated about this time from 
on board of the Duchess of Gordon, off Staten Island, 
writes : " The testimony given by the inhabitants of the 
island, of loyalty to his majesty, and attachment to his 
government, I flatter myself will be general throughout 
the province, as soon as the army gets the main body of 
the rebels between them and the sea ; which will leave all 
the back country open to the command of the king's 
friends, and yield a plentiful resource of provisions for 
the army, and place them in a better situation to cut off 
the rebels' retreat when forced from their stronghold."— 
Am. Archives, bth Series, i. 122. 



destined to take an active and distinguished 
part in public affairs ; and to leave the impress 
of his genius on the institutions of the coun- 
try. 

As General Greene one day, on his way 
to Washington's head-quarters, was passing 
through a field, — then on the outskirts of the 
city, now in the heart of its busiest quarter, 
and known as " the Park," — he paused to notice 
a provincial company of artillery, and was 
struck with its able performances, and with the 
tact and talent of its commander. He was a 
mere youth, apparently about twenty years of 
age ; small in person and stature, but remark- 
able for his alert and manly bearing. It was 
Alexander Hamilton. 

Greene was an able tactician, and quick to 
appreciate any display of military science ; a 
little conversation sufficed to convince him that 
the youth before him had a mind of no ordinary 
grasp and quickness. He invited him to his 
quarters, and from that time, cultivated his 
friendship. 

Hamilton was a native of the island of Nevis, 
in the West Indies, and at a very early age had 
been put in a counting-house at Santa Cruz. 
His nature, however, was aspiring. " I contemn 
the grovelling condition of a clerk to which my 
fortune condemns me," writes he to a youthful 
friend, " and would willingly risk my life, 
though not my character, to exalt my station. 
*****! mean to prepare the way for 
futurity. I am no philosopher, and may be 
justly said to build castles in the air ; yet we 
have seen such schemes succeed, when the pro- 
jector is constant. I shall conclude by saying, 
I wish there was a war." 

StiU he applied himself with zeal and fidelity 
to the duties of his station, and such were the 
precocity of his judgment and his aptness at 
accounts, that before he was fourteen years of 
age, he was left for a brief interval during the 
absence of the prinicipal, at the head of the es- 
tablishment. While his situation in the house 
gave him a practical knowledge of business, and 
experience in finance, his leisure hours were 
devoted to self-cultivation. He made himself 
acquainted with mathematics and chemistry, 
and indulged a strong propensity to literature. 
Some early achievements of his pen attracted 
attention, and showed such proof of talent, that 
it was determined to give him the advantage 
of a regular education. He was accordingly 
sent to Elizabethtown, in the Jerseys, in the 
autumn of 1772, to prepare, by a course of 



jEt. 44.] 



HAMILTON'S EARLY DAYS— GENERAL HUGH MERCER. 



24i 



studies, for admission into King's (now Colum- 
bia) College, at New York. He entered the 
college as a private student in the latter part 
of 1773, and endeavored, by diligent application, 
to fit himself for the medical profession. 

The contentions of the colonies witli the 
mother country gave a different direction and 
impulse to his ardent and aspiring mind. He 
soon signalized himself by the exercise of his 
pen, sometimes in a grave, sometimes in a satir- 
ical manner. On the 6th of July, 1774, there 
was a general meeting of the citizens in the 
" Fields," to express their abhorrence of the 
Boston Port Bill. Hamilton was present, and, 
prompted by his excited feelings and the insti- 
gation of youthful companions, ventured to ad- 
dress the multitude. The vigor and maturity 
of his intellect contrasted Avith his youthful 
appearance, won the admiration of his auditors ; 
even his diminutive size gave additional effect 
to his eloquence. 

The war, for which in his boyish days he had 
sighed, was approaching. He now devoted 
himself to military studies, especially pyrotech- 
nics and gunnery, and formed an amateur corps 
out of a number of his fellow students, and the 
young gentlemen of the city. In the month of 
March, 1776, he became captain of artillery, in 
a provincial corps, newly raised, and soon, by 
able drilling, rendered it conspicuous for dis- 
cipline. 

It was while exercising his artilleiy company 
that he attracted, as we have mentioned, the 
attention of General Greene. Further acquaint- 
ance heightened the general's opinion of his ex- 
traordinary merits, and he took an early occa- 
sion to introduce him to the commander-in- 
chief, by whom we shall soon find him properly 
appreciated. 

A valuable accession to the army, at this 
anxious time, was "Washington's neighbor, and 
former companion in arms, Hugh Mercer, the 
veteran of Oulloden and Fort Duquesne. His 
military spirit was alert as ever ; the talent he 
had shown in organizing the Virginia militia, 
and his zeal and efficiency as a member of the 
committee of safety, had been properly appreci- 
ated by Congress, and on the 5th of June he 
had received the commission of brigadier-gen- 
eral. He was greeted by "Washington with the 
right-hand of fellowship. The flying camp was 
about forming. The committee of safety of 
Pennsylvania were forwarding some of the 
militia of that province to the Jerseys, to per- 
form the service of the camp until the militia 



levies, specified by Congress, should arrive. 
"Washington had the nomination of some conti- 
nental officer to the command. He gave it to 
Mercer, of whose merits he felt sure, and sent 
him over to Paulus Hook, in the Jerseys, to 
make arrangements for the Pennsylvania militia 
as they should come in ; recommending him to 
Brigadier-General "William Livingston, as an 
officer on whose experience and judgment great 
confidence might be reposed. 

Livingston was a man inexperienced in arms, 
but of education, talent, sagacity, and ready wit. 
He was of the New York family of the same 
name, but had resided for some time in the 
Jerseys, having a spacious mansion in Elizabeth- 
town, which he had named Liberty Hall. Mer- 
cer and he were to consult together, and con- 
cert plans to repel invasions ; the New Jersey 
militia, however, were distinct from the flying 
camp, and only called out for local defence. 
New Jersey's greatest danger of invasion was 
from Staten Island, where the British were 
throwing up works, and whence they might 
attempt to cross to Amboy. The flying camp 
was therefore to be stationed in the neighbor- 
hood of that place. 

" The known disaffection of the people of 
Amboy," writes "Washington, " and the treach- 
ery of those on Staten Island, who, after the 
fairest professions, have shown themselves our 
most inveterate enemies, have induced me to 
give directions that all persons of known enmity 
and doubtful character, should be removed from 
those places." 

According to General Livingston's humorous 
account, his own village of Elizabethtown was 
not much more reliable, being peopled in those 
agitated times by " unknown, unrecommended 
strangers, guilty-lookiug tories, and very knav- 
ish whigs." 

"While danger was gathering round New 
York, and its inhabitants were in mute sus- 
pense and fearful anticipations, the General 
Congress at Philadelphia was discussing, with 
closed doors, what John Adams pronounced — 
" The greatest question ever debated in Amei-- 
ica, and as great as ever was or wiU be debated 
among men." The result was, a resolution 
passed unanimously, on the 2d of July, " that 
these United Colonies are, and of right ought 
to be, free and independent States," 

" The 2d of July," adds the same patriotic 
statesman, " will be the most memorable epoch 
in the history of America. I am apt to believe 
that it wiU be celebrated by succeeding genera- 



244 



DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 



[1116. 



tions, as the great anniversary festival. It 
ought to be commemorated as the day of deliv- 
erance, by solemn acts of devotion to Almighty 
God. It ought to be solemnized with pomp 
and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, 
bells, boniires, and illuminations, from one end 
of this continent to the other, from this time 
forth for evermore." 

The glorious event has, indeed, given rise to 
an annual jubilee, but not on the day designated 
by Adams. The fourth of July is the day of 
national rejoicing, for on that day, the " Decla- 
ration of Independence," that solemn and sub- 
lime document, was adopted. Tradition gives 
a dramatic effect to its announcement. It was 
known to be under discussion, but the closed 
doors of Congress excluded the populace. They 
awaited, in throngs, an appointed signal. In 
the steeple of the state-house was a bell, im- 
ported twenty-three years previously from Lon- 
don, by the Provincial Assembly of Pennsyl- 
vania. It boi-e the portentous text from Scrip- 
ture : " Proclaim liberty throughout all the land, 
unto all the inhabitants thereof." A joyous 
peal from that bell gave notice that the bill had 
been passed. It was the knell of British dom- 
ination. 

No one felt the importance of the event more 
deeply than John Adams, for no one had been 
more active in producing it. We quote his 
words written at the moment. " When I look 
back to the year 1761, and recollect the argu- 
ment concerning writs of assistance in the su- 
perior court, which I have hitherto considered 
as the commencement of the controversy be- 
tween Great Britain and America, and run 
through the whole period from that time to 
this, and recollect the series of political events, 
the chain of causes and effects ; I am surprised 
at the suddenness, as weU as the greatness of 
this Revolution ; Great Britain has been filled 
with folly, America with wisdom." 

His only regret was, that the declaration of 
independence had not been made sooner. '' Had 
it been made seven months ago," said he, " we 
should have mastered Quebec, and been in pos- 
session of Canada, and might before this hour 
have formed alliances with foreign states. Many 
gentlemen in high stations, and of great influ- 
ence, have been duped by the ministerial bubble 
of commissioners to treat, and have been sIoav 
and languid in promoting measures for the re- 
duction of that province." 

Washington hailed the declaration with joy. 
It is true, it was but a formal recognition of a 



state of things which had long existed, but it 
put an end to all those temporizing hopes of 
reconciliation which had clogged the military 
action of the country. 

On the 9th of July, he caused it to be read 
at six o'clock in the evening, at the head of each 
brigade of the army. " The general hopes," 
said he in his orders, " that this important event 
will serve as a fresh incentive to every officer 
and soldier, to act with fidelity and courage, as 
knowing that wow the peace and safety of his 
country depend, under God, solely on the suc- 
cess of our arms ; and that he is now in the 
service of a state, possessed of suflScient power 
to reward his merit, and advance him to the 
highest honors of a free coimtry." 

The excitable populace of New York were 
not content with the ringing of bells to pro- 
claim their joy. There was a leaden statue of 
George III. in the Bowling Green, in front of 
the fort. Since kingly rule is at an end, why 
retain its effigy ? On the same evening, there- 
fore, the statue was pulled down amid the 
shouts of the multitude, and broken up to be 
run into bullets " to be used in the cause of in- 
dependence." 

Some of the soldiery having been implicated 
in this popular effervescence, Wasliington cen- 
sured it in general orders, as having much the 
appearance of a riot, and a Avant of discipline, 
and the army was forbidden to indulge in any 
irregularities of the kind. It was his constant 
effort to inspire his countrymen in arms with 
his own elevated idea of the cause in which 
they were engaged, and to make them feel that 
it was no ordinary warfare, admitting of vulgar 
passions and perturbations. " The general 
hopes and trusts," said he, " that every officer 
and man will endeavor so to live and act as be- 
comes a Christian soldier, defending the dearest 
rights and liberties of his country." * 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

The exultation of the patriots of New York, 
caused by the Declaration of Independence, was 
soon overclouded. On the 12th of July, several 
ships stood in from sea, and joined the naval 
force below. Every nautical movement was 
now a matter of speculation and alarm, and all 
the spy-glasses in the city were incessantly re- 
connoitring the bay. 



* Orderly book, July 9, Sparks, iii. 456. 



J3t. 44.] MOVEMENTS OF THE PHCENIX AND THE ROSE— PANIC IN THE CITY. 245 



" The enemy are now in the harbor," writes 
an American officer, " although they have not 
yet ventured themselves within gunshot of the 
city, but we hourly expect to be called into ac- 
tion. The whole army is out between two and 
three every morning, at their respective alarm 
posts, and remain there until sunrise. I am 
morally certain that it Avill not be long before 
we have an engagement." 

Scarce had this letter been penned, when two 
ships-of-war were observed getting imder way, 
and standing toward the city. One was the 
Phoenix, of forty guns ; the other the Eose, of 
twenty guns, commanded by Captain Wallace, 
of unenviable renown, who had marauded the 
New England coast, and domineered over Rhode 
Island. The troops were immediately at their 
alarm posts. It was about half-pasb three 
o'clock in the afternoon, as the ships and three 
tenders came sweeping up the bay with the ad- 
vantage of wind and tide, and shaped their 
course up the Hudson. The batteries of the 
city and of Paulus Hook, on the opposite Jersey 
shore, opened a fire upon them. They answered 
it with broadsides. There was a panic through- 
out the city. Women and children ran hither 
and thither about the streets, mingling their 
shrieks and cries with the thundering of the 
cannon. " The attack has begun ! The city is 
to be destroyed ! What will become of us ? " 

The Phojnis and the Rose continued their 
course up the Hudson. They had merely fired 
upon the batteries as they passed ; and on their 
own part had sustained but little damage, their 
decks having ramparts of sand-bags. The ships 
below remained in sullen quiet at their anchors, 
and showed no intention of following them. 
The firing ceased. The fear of a general attack 
upon the city died away, and the agitated citi- 
zens breathed more freely. 

Washington, however, apprehended this move- 
ment of the ships might be with a different ob- 
ject. They might be sent to land troops, and 
seize upon the passes of the Highlands. Forts 
Montgomery and Constitution were far from 
complete, and were scantily manned. A small 
force might be sufficient to surprise them. The 
ships might intend, also, to distribute arms 
among the tories in the river counties, and pre- 
pare them to co-operate in the apprehended 
attack upon New York. 

Thus thinking, the moment Washington saw 
these ships standing up the river, he sent off" an 
express to put General Mifflin on the alert, who 
was stationed witli liis Philadelphia troops at 



Fort Washington and King's Bridge. The same 
express carried a letter from him to the New 
York Convention, at that time holding its ses- 
sions at White Plains in Westchester County, 
apprising it of the impending danger. His im- 
mediate solicitude was for the safety of Forts 
Constitution and Montgomery. 

Fortunately, George Clinton, the patriotic 
legislator, had recently been appointed briga- 
dier-general of the militia of Ulster and Orange 
Counties. Called to his native State by his 
military duties in this time of danger, he had 
only remamed in Congress to vote for the de- 
claration of independence, and then hastened 
home. He was now at New Windsor, in Ulster 
County, just above the Highlands. Washington 
wrote to him on the afternoon of the 12th, 
urging him to collect as great a foi-ce as jjos- 
sible of the New York militia, for the protec- 
tion of the Highlands against this hostile irrup- 
tion, and to solicit aid, if requisite, from the 
western parts of Connecticut. " I have the 
strongest reason to believe," added he, " it will 
be absolutely necessary, if it were only to pre- 
vent an insurrection of your own tories." 

Long before the receipt of Washington's let- 
ter, Clinton had been put on the alert. About 
nine o'clock in the morning of the 13th, an 
alarm gun from his brother at Fort Constitution, 
thundered through the echoing defiles of the 
mountains. Shortly afterwards, two river 
sloops came to anchor above the Highlands, 
before the general's residence. Their captains 
informed him that New York had been attacked 
on the preceding afternoon. They had seen 
the cannonade from a distance, and judged from 
the subsequent firing, that the enemy's ships 
were up the river as far as King's Bridge. 

Clinton was as i)rompt a soldier as he had 
been an intrepid legislator. The neighboring 
militia were forthwith put in motion. Three 
regiments were ordered out ; one was to repair 
to Fort Montgomery ; another to Fort Consti- 
tution ; the third to rendezvous at Newburgh, 
just above the Highlands, ready to hasten to 
the assistance of Fort Constitution, should an- 
other signal be given. All the other regiments 
under his command were to be prepared for 
service at a moment's notice. In ordering these - 
hasty levies, however, he was as considerate as 
he was energetic. The colonels were directed 
to leave the frontier companies at home, to 
protect the country against the Indians, and 
some men out of each company to guard against 
internal enemies. 



246 



ARRIVAL OF LORD HOWE— PRECAUTIONS AGAINST TORIES. 



[_1116. 



Another of his sagacious measures was to 
send expresses to all the owners of sloops and 
boats twenty miles up the west side of the 
river, to haul them off, so as to prevent their 
grounding. Part of them were to be ready to 
carry over the militia to the forts ; the rest 
were ordered down to Fort Constitution, where 
a chain of them might be drawn across the 
narrowest part of the river, to be set on fire, 
should the enemy's ships attempt to pass. 

Having made these prompt arrangements, he 
proceeded early in the afternoon of the same 
day, with about forty of his neighbors, to Fort 
Constitution ; whence, leaving some with his 
brother, he pushed down on the same evening 
to Fort Montgomery, where he fixed his head- 
quarters, as being nearer the enemy, and better 
situated to discover their motions. 

Here, on the following day (July 14th), he 
received Washington's letter, written two days 
previously ; but by this time he had anticipated 
its orders, and stirred up the whole country. 
On that same evening, two or three hundred 
of the hardy Ulster yeomanry, roughly equip- 
ped, part of one of the regiments he had ordered 
out, marched into Fort Montgomery, headed by 
their colonel (Woodhull). Early the next morn- 
ing five hundred of another regiment arrived, 
and he was told that parts of two other regi- 
ments were on the way. 

" The men," writes he to Washington, " turn 
out of their harvest fields to defend their coun- 
try with surprising alacrity. The absence of 
so many of them, however, at this time, when 
their harvests are perishing for want of the 
sickle, Avill greatly distress the country. I could 
wish, therefore, that a less number might an- 
swer the purpose." 

On no one could this prompt and brave gath- 
ering of the yeomanry produce a more gratify- 
ing effect, than upon the commander-in-chief ; 
and no one could be more feelingly alive, in the 
midst of stern military duties, to the appeal in 
behalf of the peaceful interests of the hus- 
bandman. 

While the vigilant Clinton was preparing to 
defend the passes of the Highlands, danger was 
growing more imminent at the mouth of the 
Hudson. 

j^ew York has always been a city prone to 
agitations. That into which it was thrown on 
the afternoon of the 12th of July, by the broad- 
sides of the Phoenix and the Ptose, was almost 
immediately followed by another. On the same 
evening there was a great booming of cannon. 



with clouds of smoke, from the shipping at an- 
chor at Staten Island. Every spy-glass was 
again in requisition. The British fleet were sa- 
luting a ship of the line, just arrived from sea. 
She advanced grandly, every man-of-war thun- 
dering a salute as she passed. At her foretop 
masthead she bore St. George's flag. "It is 
the admiral's ship ! " cried the nautical men on 
the look-out at the Battery. " It is the admi- 
ral's ship ! " was echoed from mouth to mouth, 
and the word soon flew throughout the city, 
" Lord Howe is come ! " 



CHAPTER XXVII. 

Lord Howe was indeed come, and affairs now 
appeared to be approaching a crisis. In conse- 
quence of the recent conspiracy, the Convention 
of New York, seated at White Plains in West- 
chester County, had a secret committee sta- 
tioned in New York, for the purpose of taking 
cognizance of traitorous machinations. To this 
committee Washington addressed a letter, the 
day after his lordship's arrival, suggesting the 
policy of removing from the city and its envi- 
rons, " all persons of known di.s;;ffec'aon and 
enmity to the cause of America ; " especially 
those confined in jail for treasonable offences ; 
who might become extremely dangerous in case 
of an attack and alarm. He took this step with 
great reluctance ; but felt compelled to it by 
circumstances. The late conspiracy had shown 
him that treason might be lurking in his camp. 
And he was weU aware that the city and the 
neighboring country, especially Westchester 
County, and Queen's and Suffolk Counties, on 
Long Island, abounded with " tories," ready to 
rally under the royal standard whenever backed 
by a commanding force. 

In consequence of his suggestion, thirteen 
persons, in confinement for traitorous offences, 
were removed to the jail of Litchfield in Con- 
necticut. Among the number was the late 
mayor ; but as his offence was not of so deep 
a dye as those Avhereof the rest stood charged, 
it was recommended by the president of the 
Convention that he should be treated with in- 
dulgence. 

The proceedings of Lord Howe soon showed 
the policy of these precautions. His lordship 
had prepared a declaration, addressed to the 
people at large, informing them of the powers 
vested in his brother and himself as commis- 



Mt. 44.] 



DECLARATION OF LORD HOWE— HIS LETTER. 



247 



sioners for restoring peace ; and inviting com- 
munities as well as individuals, who, in the 
tumult and disasters of the times, had deviated 
from their allegiance to the crown, to merit 
and receive pardon, bj a pi'ompt return to their 
duty. It was added, that proper consideration 
would be had of the services of all who should 
contribute to the restoration of public tran- 
quillity. 

His lordship really desired peace. Accord- 
ing to a contemporary, he came to America 
" as a mediator, not as a destroyer," * and had 
founded great hopes in the efficacy of this doc- 
ument in rallying back the people to their alle- 
giance ; it was a sore matter of regret to him, 
therefore, to find that, in consequence of his 
tardy arrival, his invitation to loyalty had 
been forestalled by the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence. 

Still it might have an effect in bringing ad- 
herents to the royal standard ; he sent a flag 
on shore, therefore, bearing a circular letter, 
written in his civil and military capacity, to 
the colonial governor, requesting him to pub- 
lish his address to the people as widely as pos- 
sible. 

We have heretofore shown the tenacity witli 
which Washington, in his correspondence with 
Generals Gage and Howe, exacted the consider- 
ation and deference due to him as commander- 
in-chief of the American armies ; he did this 
not from official pride and punctilio, but as the 
guai'dian of American rights and dignities. A 
further step of the kind was yet to be taken. 
The British officers, considering the Americans 
in arms rebels without valid commissions, were 
in the habit of denying them all military title. 
Washington's general officers had urged him 
not to submit to this tacit indignity, but to 
reject all letters directed to him without a 
specification of his official rank. 

An occasion now presented itself for the ad- 
justment of this matter. Within a day or two 
an officer of the British navy. Lieutenant 
Brown, came with a flag from Lord Howe, 
seeking a conference with Washington. Col- 
onel Reed, the adjutant-general, embarked in a 
barge, and met him half way between Govern- 
or's and Staten Islands. The lieutenant in- 
formed him that he was the bearer of a letter 
from Lord Howe to Mr. Washington. Colonel 
Reed replied, that he knew no such person in 
the American army. The lieutenant produced 



♦ Letter of Mr. Dennis de Berdt, to Mr. Joseph Reed. 
Am. Archives, 5th Series, i. 372. 



and ofiered the letter. It was addressed to 
George Washington, Esquire. He was in- 
formed that it could not be received with such 
a direction. The lieutenant expressed much 
concern. The letter, he said, was of a civil, 
rather than a military nature — Lord Howe re- 
gretted he had not arrived sooner — he had 
great powers — it was much to be wished the 
letter could be received. 

While the lieutenant was embarrassed and 
agitated. Reed maintained his coolness, politely 
declining to receive the letter, as inconsistent 
with his duty. They parted; but after the 
lieutenant had been rowed some little distance, 
his barge was put about, and Reed waited to 
hear what further he had to say. It was to 
ask by what title General — but, catching him- 
self, Mr. Washington chose to be addressed. 

Reed replied that the general's station in 
the army was well known ; and they could not 
be at a loss as to the proper mode of addressing 
him, especially as this matter had been dis- 
cussed in the precedhig summer, of which, he 
presumed, the admiral could not be ignorant. 
The lieutenant again expressed his disappoint- 
ment and regret, and their interview closed. 

On the 19th, an aide-de-camp of General 
Howe came with a flag, and requested to know, 
as there appeared to be an obstacle to a corre- 
spondence between the two generals, whether 
Colonel Patterson, the British adjutant-gen.eral, 
could be admitted to an interview with Gen- 
eral Washington. Colonel Reed, who met the 
flag, consented in the name of the general, and 
pledged his honor for the safety of the adju- 
tant-general during the interview, which was 
fixed for the following morning. 

At the appointed time, Col. Reed and Col- 
onel Webb, one of Washington's aides, met the 
flag in the harbor, took Colonel Patterson into 
their barge, and escorted him to town, passing 
in front of the grand battery. The customary 
precaution of blindfolding was dispensed with ; 
and there was a lively and sociable conversa- 
tion the whole way. Washington received the 
adjutant-general at head-quarters with much 
form and ceremony, in full military array, with 
his officers and guards about him. 

Colonel Patterson, addressing him by the 
title of your excellency, endeavored to explain 
the address of the letter as consistent with 
propriety, and founded on a similar address in 
the previous summer, to General Howe. That 
General Howe did not mean to derogate from 
the respect or rank of General Washington, 



248 



HOWE'S LETTER REJECTED— HUDSON RIVER AND THE HIGHLANDS. 



n776. 



but conceived such an address consistent with 
what had been used by ambassadors or pleni- 
potentiaries where difficulties of rank had 
arisen. He then produced, but did not offer, 
a letter addressed to George "Washington, 
Esquire, &c., &c., hoping that the et ceteras, 
which implied every thing, would remove all 
impediments. 

Washington replied, that it was true, the et 
ceteras implied every thing, but they also im- 
plied any thing. His letter alluded to, of the 
previous summer, was in reply to one addressed 
in like manner. A letter, he added, addressed 
to a person acting in a public character, should 
have some inscriptions to designate it from a 
mere private letter ; and he should absolutely 
decline any letter addressed to himself as a 
private person, when it related to his public 
station. 

Colonel Patterson, finding the letter would 
not be received, endeavored, as far as he could 
recollect, to communicate the scope of it in the 
course of a somewhat desultory conversation. 
What he chiefly dwelt upon was, that Lord 
Howe and his brother had been specially nomi- 
nated commissioners for the promotion of 
peace, which was esteemed a mark of favor 
and regard to America ; that they had great 
powers, and would derive the highest pleasure 
from effecting an accommodation ; and he con- 
cluded by adding, that he wished his visit to 
be considered as making the first advance tow- 
ard tliat desirable object. 

Washington replied that, by what had ap- 
peared (alluding, no doubt, to Lord Howe's 
circular), their powers, it would seem, were 
only to grant pardons. Now those who had 
committed no fault needed no pardon ; and 
such was the case with the Americans, who 
were only defending what they considered 
their indisputable rights. 

Colonel Patterson avoided a discussion of 
this matter, which, he observed, would open a 
very wide field ; so here the conference, which 
had been conducted on both sides with great 
courtesy, terminated. Tlie colonel took his 
leave, excusing himself from ])artaking of a 
collation, having made a late breakfast, and 
was again conducted to his boat. He expressed 
himself highly sensible of the courtesy of his 
treatment, in having the usual ceremony of 
blindfolding dispensed with. 

Washington received the applause of Con- 
gress and of the public for sustaining the dig- 
nity of his station. His conduct in this par- 



ticular was recommended as a model to all 
American officers in corresponding with the 
enemy ; and Lord Howe informed his govern- 
ment that, thenceforward, it would be politic 
to change the superscription of his letters. 

In the mean time the irruption of the Phoe- 
nix and the Rose into the waters of the Hud- 
son had roused a belligerent spirit along its 
borders. The lower part of that noble river is 
commanded on the eastern side by the bold 
woody heights of Manhattan Island and West- 
chester County, and on the western side by 
the rocky cliffs of the Palisades, Beyond those 
cliffs, the river expands into a succession of 
what may almost be termed lakes ; first the 
Tappan Sea, then Haverstraw Bay, then the 
Bay of Peekskill ; separated from each other 
by long stretching points, or high beetling 
promontories, but affording ample sea room 
and safe anchorage. Then come the redoubt- 
able Highlands, that strait, fifteen miles in 
length, where the river bends its course, nar- 
row and deep, between rocky, forest-clad 
mountains. "He who has command of that 
grand defile," said an old navigator, " may at 
any time throttle the Hudson." 

The New York Convention, aware of the 
impending danger, despatched military envoys 
to stir up the yeomanry along the river, and 
order out militia. Powder and ball were sent 
to Tarrytown, before which the hostile ships 
were anchored, and yeoman troops were sta- 
tioned there and along the neighboring sliores 
of the Tappan Sea. In a little while the militia 
of Dutchess County and Cortlandt's Manor 
were hastening, rudely armed, to protect the 
public stores at Peekskill, and mount guard at 
the entrance of the Highlands. 

No one showed more zeal in this time of 
alarm, than Colonel Pierre Van Cortlandt, of 
an old colonial family, which held its manorial 
residence at the mouth of the Croton. With 
his regiment he kept a dragon watch along the 
eastern shore of the Tappan Sea and Haver- 
straw Bay ; while equal vigilance was main- 
tained night and day along the western shore, 
from Nyack^ quite up to the Donderberg, by 
Colonel Hay and his regiment of Haverstraw. 
Sheep and cattle were driven inland, out of the 
reach of maraud. Sentinels were posted to 
keep a look-out fi-om heights and headlands, 
and give the alarm should any boats approach 
the shore, and rustic marksmen were ready to 
assemble in a moment, and give them a warm 
reception. 



^T. 44.] 



CLINTON ON THE ALERT— THE VAN CORTLANDT FAMILY. 



249 



The ships-of-war which caused this alarm 
and turmoil, lay quietly anchored in the broad 
expanses of the Tappan Sea and Haverstraw 
Bay ; shifting their ground occasionally, and 
keeping out of musket shot of the shore, ap- 
Varently sleeping in the summer sunshine, with 
awnings stretched above their decks ; while 
their boats were out taking soundings quite up 
to the Highlands, evidently preparing for fur- 
ther operations. At night, too, their barges 
were heard rowing up and down the river on 
mysterious errands ; perriaugers, also, paid 
them furtive visits occasionally ; it was sur- 
mised, with communications and supplies from 
tories on shore. 

Wliile the ships were anchored in Haver- 
straw Bay, one of the tenders stood into the 
Bay of Peekskill, and beat up within long shot 
of Fort Montgomery, where General George 
Clinton was ensconced with six hundred of 
the militia of Orange and Ulster counties. As 
the tender approached, a thirty-two pounder 
was brought to range upon her. The ball 
passed through her quarter ; whereupon she 
put about, and ran round the point of the 
Donderberg, where the boat landed, plundered 
a solitary house at the foot of the mountain, 
and left it in flames. The marauders, on their 
way back to the ships, were severely galled by 
rustic marksmen, from a neighboring promon- 
tory. 

The ships, now acquainted with the channel, 
moved up within sis miles of Fort Montgom- 
ery, General Clinton apprehended they might 
mean to take advantage of a dark night, and 
slip by him in the deep shadows of the moun- 
tains. The shores were high and bold, the 
river was deep, the navigation of course safe 
and easy. Once above the Highlands, they 
might ravage the country beyond, and destroy 
certain vessels of war which were being con- 
structed at Poughkeepsie. 

To prevent this, he stationed a guard at night 
on the furthest point in view, about two miles 
and a half below the fort, prepared to kindle a 
blazing fire should the ships appear in sight. 
Large piles of dry brushwood mixed with com- 
bustibles, were prepared at various places up 
and down the shore opposite to the fort, and 
men stationed to set fire to them as soon as a 
signal should be given from the lower point. 
The fort, therefore, while it remained in dark- 
ness, would have a fair chance with its batter- 
ies as the ships passed between it and these 
conflagrations. 



A private committee sent up by the New 
York Convention, had a conference with the 
general, to devise further means of obstructing 
the passage of ships up the river. Fire rafts 
were to be brought from Poughkeepsie, and 
kept at hand ready for action. These were to 
be lashed two together, with chains, between 
old sloops filled with combustibles, and sent 
down with a strong wind and tide, to drive 
upon the ships. An iron chain, also, was to 
be stretched obliquely across the river from 
Fort Montgomery to the foot of Anthony's 
ISTose, thus, as it were, chaining up the gate of 
the Highlands. 

For a protection below the Highlands, it 
was proposed to station whale-boats about the 
coves and promontories of Tappan Sea and 
Haverstraw Bi^y ; to reconnoitre the enemy, 
cruise about at night, carry intelligence from 
post to post, seize any river craft that might 
bring the ships supplies, and cut off" their boats 
when attempting to land. Galleys, also, were 
prepared, with nine- pounders mounted at the 
bows. 

Colonel Hay of Haverstraw, in a letter to 
"Washington, rejoices that the national Con- 
gress are preparing to protect this great high- 
way of the country, and auticii)ates that the 
banks of the Hudson were about to become the 
chief theatre of the war. 

NOTE. 

The Van Cortlandt Faiiilt. — Two members of this 
old and honorable family were conspicuous patriots 
throughout the Revolution. Pierre Van Cortlandt, 
the father, at this time aboiit 56 years of age, a stanch 
friend and ally of George Clinton, was member of the 
first Provincial Congress, and president of the Com- 
mittee of Public Safety. Governor Tryon had visited 
him in his old manor house at the mouth of the Cro- 
ton, in 1774, and made him offers of rojal favors, 
honors, grants of land, Ac, if he would abandon the 
popular cause. • His offers were nobly rejected. The 
Cortlandt family suffered in consequence, being at one 
time obliged to abandon their manorial residence ; but 
the head remained true to the cause, and subsequently 
filled the office of Lieutenant-Governor with great 
dignity. 

His son Pierre, mentioned in the above chapter, 
and then about 27 years of age, had likewise resisted 
the overtures of Trj-on, destroying a major's commis- 
sion in the Cortlandt militia, which he sent him. 
Congress, in 1775, made him lieutenant-colonel in the 
Continental service, in which capacity we now find 
him, acquitting himself with zeal and ability. 



250 



GATES AND SCHUYLER— FORTIFICATIONS AT TICONDEROGA. 



[1776, 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 

While the security of the Hudson from in- 
vading ships was claiming the attention of 
Wasliington, he was equally anxious to prevent 
an irruption of the enemy from Canada. He 
was grieved, therefore, to find there was a 
clashing of authorities between the generals 
who had charge of the Northern frontier. 
Gates, on his way to take command of the 
army in Canada, had heard with surprise in 
Albany, of its retreat across the New York 
frontier. He still considered it under his 
orders, and was proceeding to act accordingly ; 
when General Schuyler observed that the res- 
olution of Congress, and the instructions of 
"Washington, applied to the army only while in 
Canada ; the moment it retreated within the 
limits of New York, it came within his (Schuy- 
ler's) command. A letter from Schuyler to 
Washington, written at the time, says : " If 
Congress intended that General Gates should 
command the Northern army, wherever it may 
be, as he assures me they did, it ought to have 
been signified to me, and I should then have 
immediately resigned the command to him ; 
but until such intention is properly conveyed 
to me, I never can. I must, therefore, entreat 
your Excellency to lay this letter before Con- 
gress, that they may clearly and explicitly sig- 
nify their intentions, to avert the dangers and 
evils that may arise from a disputed com- 
mand." 

That there might be no delay- in the service 
at this critical juncture, the two generals agreed 
to refer the question of command to Congress, 
and in the mean time to act in concert. They 
accordingly departed together for Lake Cham- 
plain, to prepare against an anticipated invasion 
by Sir Guy Cai-lcton. They arrived at Crown 
Point on the Cth of July, and foimd there the 
wrecks of the army recently driven ont of 
Canada. They had been harassed in their re- 
treat by land ; their transportation on the lake 
had been in leaky boats, without awnings, 
where the sick, suflering from smallpox, lay on 
straw, exposed to a burning July sun ; no food 
but salt pork, often rancid, hard biscuit or un- 
baked flour, and scarcely any medicine. Not 
more than six thousand men had reached Crown 
Point, and half of those were on the sick list ; 
the shattered remains of twelve or fifteen very 
fine battalions. Some few were sheltered in 
tents, some under sheds, and others in huts 



hastily formed of bushes ; scarce one of which 
but contained a dead or dying man. Two 
thousand eight hundred were to be sent to a 
hospital recently established at the south end 
of Lake George, a distance of fifty miles ; when 
they were gone, with those who were to row 
them in boats, there would remain but the 
shadow of an army.* 

In a council of war, it was determined that, 
under present circumstances, the post of Crown 
Point was not tenable ; neither was it capable 
of being made so this summer, without a force 
greatly superior to any they might reasonably 
expect ; and that, therefore, it was expedient 
to fall back, and take a strong position at 
Ticonderoga. 

General Sullivan had been deeply hurt that 
Gates, his former inferior in rank, should have 
been appointed over him to the command of 
the army in Canada ; considering it a tacit in- 
timation that Congress did not esteem him 
competent to the trust Avhich had devolved 
upon him. He now, therefore, requested leave 
of absence, in order to wait on the commandei'- 
in-chief. It was granted with reluctance. Be- 
fore departing he communicated to the army, 
through General Schuyler, his high and grate- 
ful sense of their exertions in securing a retreat 
from Canada, and the cheerfulness with which 
his commands had been received and obeyed. 

On the 9th of July, Schuyler and Gates re- 
turned to Ticonderoga, accompanied by Arnold. 
Instant arrangements were made to encamp 
the troops, and land the artillery and stores as 
fast as they should arrive. Great exertions, 
also, were made to strengthen the defences 
of the place. Colonel John Trumbull, who 
was to have accompanied Gates to Canada, 
as adjutant-general, had been reconnoitring 
the neighborhood of Ticonderoga, and had 
pitched upon a place for a fortification on the 
eastern side of the lake, directly opposite the 
east point of Ticonderoga, where Fort Inde- 
pendence was subsequently built. He also ad- 
vised the erection of a work on a lofty eminence, 
the termination of a mountain ridge, which 
separates Lake George froin Lake Champlain. 
His advice was unfortunately disregarded. The 
eminence, subsequently called Mount Defiance, 
looked down upon and commanded the narrow 
parts of both lakes. We shall hear more of it 
hereafter. 

Preparations were made, also, to augment the 



* Col. John Trumbull's Autobiography, p. 285, Ap- 
pendix. 



^ 



-Et. 44.] A QUESTION OF COMMAND SETTLED— SECTIONAL JEALOUSIES. 



251 



naval force on the lakes. Ship carpenters from 
the Eastern States were employed at Skenes- 
borongh, to build the hulls of galleys and boats, 
which, when launched, were to be sent down to 
Ticonderoga for equipment and armament, un- 
der the superintendence of General Arnold. 

Schuyler soon returned to Albany, to super- 
intend the general concerns of the Northern 
department. He was indefatigable in procuring 
and forwarding the necessary materials and ar- 
tillery for the fortification of Ticonderoga. 

The question of command between him and 
Gates, was apparently at rest. A letter from 
the President of Congress, dated July 8th, in- 
formed General Gates, that according to the 
resolution of that body under which he had 
been appointed, his command was totally inde- 
pendent of General Schuyler, while the army 
was ill Canada^ but no longer. Congress had 
no design to divest General Schuyler of the 
cf^mniand while the troops were on this side of 
Canada.'''' 

To Schuyler, under the same date, the presi- 
dent writes : " The Congress highly approve of 
your patriotism and magnanimity in not suffer- 
ing any difference of opinion to hurt the public 
service. 

" A mutual confidence and good understand- 
ing are at this time essentially necessary, so that 
I am persuaded they will take place on all occa- 
sions between yourself and General Gates." 

Gates professed himself entirely satisfied with 
the explanation he had received, and perfectly 
disposed to obey the commands of Schuyler. 
" I am confident," added he, " we shall, as the 
Congress wish, go hand in hand to promote 
the public welfare." 

Schuyler, too, assured both Congress and 
"Washington, " that the difference in opinion 
between Gates and himself had not caused the 
least ill will, nor interrupted that harmony ne- 
cessary to subsist between their officers." 

Samuel Adams, however, who was at that 
time in Congress, had strong doubts in the mat- 
ter. 

" Schuyler and Gates are to command the 
troops," writes he, " the former while they are 
without, the latter while they are within, the 
bounds of Canada. Admitting these generals 
to have the accomplishments of a Marlborough, 
or a Eugene, I cannot conceive that such a dis- 
position of them will be attended with any good 
effects, unless harmony subsists between them. 
Alas ! I fear this is not the case. Already dis- 
putes have arisen, which they have referred to 



Congress ; and, although they affect to treat 
each other with a politeness becoming their 
rank, in my mind altercations between com- 
manders who have pretensions nearly equal (I 
mean in point of command), forbode a repeti- 
tion of misfortune. I sincerely wish my appre- 
hensions jnay prove groundless." * 

"We have a letter before us, also, written to 
Gates, by his friend Joseph Trumbull, commis- 
sary-general, on whose appointment of a deputy 
the question of command had arisen. Trum- 
bull's letter was well calculated to inflame the 
jealousy of Gates. " I find you ai'e in a cursed 
situation," writes he ; " your authority at an 
end ; and commanded by a person who will be 
willing to have you knocked in the head, as 
General Montgomery was, if he can have the 
money chest in his power." 

Governor Trumbull, too, the father of the 
commissary-general, observes subsequently : 
" It is justly to be expected that General Gates 
is discontented with his situation, finding him- 
self limited and removed from command, to be 
a wretched spectator of the ruin of the army, 
without power of attempting to save them." t 
"We shali have frequent occasion hereafter to 
notice the discord in the service caused by this 
rankling discontent. 

As to General Sullivan, who repaired to Phi- 
ladelphia, and tendered his resignation, the 
question of rank which had aggrieved him was 
explained in a manner that induced him to con- 
tinue in service. It was universally allowed 
that his retreat had been ably conducted through 
all kinds of difficulties and disasters. 

A greater source of solicitude to "NYashington 
than this jealousy between commanders, was 
the sectional jealousy springing up among the 
troops. In a letter to Schuyler (July 17th), he 
says, " I must entreat your attention to do away 
the unhappy and pernicious distinctions and 
jealousies between the troops of different gov- 
ernments. Enjoin this upon the officers, and 
let them inculcate and press home to the sol- 
diery, the necessity of order and harmony 
among those who are embarked in one com- 
mon cause, and mutually contending for all that 
freemen hold dear." 

Nowhere were these sectional jealousies more 
prevalent than in the motley army assembled 
from distant quarters under "Washington's own 
command. Eeed, the adjutant-general, speak- 



* S. Adams to B. H. Lee. Am. Archives, 5th Series, 
i. 347. 

t Gov. Trumbull to Mr. William Williams. 



252 



SOUTHERN TROOPS— CONNECTICUT LIGHT-HORSE. 



[1776. 



ing on this subject, observes : " The Southern 
troops, comprising the regiments south of the 
Delaware, looked with very unkind feelings on 
those of New England ; especially those from 
Connecticut, whose peculiarities of deportment 
made them the objects of ill-disguised derision 
among their fellow-soldiers." * 

Among the troops thus designated as South- 
ern, were some from Virginia under a Major 
Leitch ; others from Maryland, under Colonel 
Smallwood ; others from Delaware led by Col- 
onel Haslet. There -were four continental bat- 
talions from Pennsylvania, commanded by 
Colonels Shee, St. Clair, Wayne, and Magaw ; 
and provincial battalions, two of which were 
severally commanded by Colonels Miles and 
Atlee. The continental battalion under Colonel 
Shee, was chiefly from the city of Philadelphia, 
especially the officers ; among whom were Lam- 
bert Cadwalader and William Allen, members 
of two of the principal and most aristocratic 
families, and Alexander Graydon, to whose 
memoirs we are indebted for some graphic pic- 
tures of the times. 

These Pennsylvania troops were under the 
command of Brigadier-General Mifflin^ -who, in 
the preceding year, had acted as Washington's 
aide-de-camp, and afterwards as quartermaster- 
general. His townsman and intimate, Graydon, 
characterizes him as a man of education and 
cultivated manners, with a great talent at ha- 
ranguing ; highly animated in his appearance, 
full of activity and apparently of fire ; but rather 
too much of a bustler, harassing his men unne- 
cessarily, " He assumed," adds Graydon, " a 
little of the veteran, from having been before 
Boston." His troops were chiefly encamped 
near King's Bridge, and employed in construct- 
ing works at Fort Washington. 

Small wood's Maryland battalion was one of 
the brightest in point of equipment. The scar- 
let and buff uniforms of those Southerners con- 
trasted vividly with the rustic attire of the 
yeoman battalions from the East. Their oflicers-, 
too, looked down upon their Connecticut com- 
peers, who could only bo distinguished from 
their men by wearing a cockade. " There were 
none," says Graydon, " by whom an unofficer- 
like appearance and deportment could be toler- 
ated less than by a city-bred Marylander ; who, 
at this time, was distinguished by the most 
fashionable cut coat, the most macaroni cocked 
hat, and hottest blood in the Union." Alas, 



Life of Reed, vol. i., p. 239. 



for the homespun-clad officers from Connecticut 
River ! 

The Pennsylvania regiment under Shee, ac- 
cording to Graydon, promoted balls and other 
entertainments in contradistinction to the fast- 
days and sermons borrowed from New England. 
There was nothing of the puritanical spirit 
among the Pennsylvanian soldiery. 

In the same sectional spirit, he speaks of the 
Connecticut light-horse : " Old-fashioned men, 
truly irregulars ; whether their clothing, equip- 
ments, or caparisons were regarded, it would 
have been difficult to have discovered any cir- 
cumstance of uniformity. Instead of carbines 
and sabres, they generally carried fowling- 
pieces, some of them very long, such as in 
Pennsylvania are used for shooting ducks. Here 
and there one appeared in a dingy regimental 
of scarlet, with a triangular, tarnished laced 
hat. These singular dragoons were volunteers, 
who came to make a tender of their services to 
the commander-in-chief. But they stayed not 
long in New York. As such a body of cavalry 
had not been counted upon, there was in all 
probability a want of forage for their jades^ 
which, in the spirit of ancient knighthood, they 
absolutely refused to descend from ; and as the 
general had no use for cavaliers in his insular 
operations, they were forthwith dismissed, with 
suitable acknowledgments for their truly chival- 
rous ardor." * 

The troops thus satirized, were a body of 
between four and five hundred Connecticut 
light-horse, under Colonel Thomas Seymour. 
On an appeal for aid to the governor of their 
State, they had voluntarily hastened on in ad- 
vance of the militia, to render the most speedy 
succor. Supposing, from the suddenness and 
urgency of the caU upon their services, that 
they were immediately to be called into action 
and promptly to return home, they had come 
on in such haste, that many were unprovided 
even with a blanket or a change of clothing. 

Washington speaks of them as being for the 
most part, if not all, men of reputation and 
property. They were, in fact, mostly farmers. 
As to their bovyj jades, they were rough coun- 
try horses, such as farmers keep, not for show, 
but service. As to their dingy regimentals, we 
quote a word in their favor from a writer of 
that day. " Some of these worthy soldiers 
assisted in their present uniforms at the reduc- 
tion of Louisburg, and their ' lank cheeks and 



' Graydon's Memoirs, p. 155. 



^T. 44.] 



ARMY JEALOUSIES— EMBARRASSMENTS OF WASHINGTON. 



253 



war-worn coats,' are viewed witli more venera- 
tion by their honest countrymen, than if they 
were glittering nabobs from India, or bashaws 
with nine tails." * 

On arriving, their horses, from scarcity of 
forage, had to be pastured about King's Bridge. 
In fact, "Washington informed them that, under 
present circumstances, they could not be of use 
as horsemen ; on which they concluded to stay, 
and do duty on foot till the arrival of the new 
levies.t In a letter to Governor Trumbull 
(July 11), Washington observes : " The officers 
and men of that corps have manifested so firm 
an attachment to the cause we are engaged in, 
that they have consented to remain here, till 
such a body of troops are marched from your 
colony as will be a sufficient reinforcement, so 
as to admit of their leaving this city with safety. 
* * * * They have the additional merit of 
determining to stay, even if they are obliged 
to maintain their horses at their own ex- 
pense." I 

In a very few days, however, the troopers, 
on being requested to mount guard like other 
soldiers, grew restless and uneasy. Colonel 
Seymour and his brother field-officers, therefore, 
addressed a note to Washington, stating that, 
by the positive laws of Connecticut, the light- 
horse were expressly exempted from staying in 
garrison, or doing duty on foot, apart from their 
horses ; and that they found it impossible to 
detain their men any longer under that idea, 
they having come " without the least expecta- 
tion or preparation for such services." They 
respectfully, therefore, asked a dismission in 
form, Washington's brief reply shows that he 
was nettled by their conduct. 

" Gentlemen : In answer to yours of this date, 
I can only repeat to you what I said last night, 
and that is, that if your men think themselves 
exempt from the common duty of a soldier — 
will not mount guard, do garrison duty, or 
service separate from their horses — they can no 
longer be of any use here, where horses cannot 
be brought to action, and I do not care how 
soon they ai-e dismissed." 

In fact, the assistance of these troops was 
much needed ; yet he apprehended the exemp- 
tion from fatigue and garrison duty which they 
demanded as a right, would, if granted, set a 
dangerous example to others, and be productive 
of many evil consequences. 



* Am. Archives, 5th Scries, i. 175. 

+ "Webb to Gov. Trumbull. 

i Am. Archives, 5tli Series, i. 192. 



In the hurry of various concerns he du'ected 
his aide-de-camp, Colonel Webb, to write in his 
name to Governor Trumbull on the subject. 

Colonel Seymour, on his return home, ad- 
dressed a long letter to the governor explana- 
tory of his conduct. " I can't help remarking 
to your honor," adds he, " that it may witlf 
truth be said. General Washington is a gentle* 
man of extreme care and caution : that his re^ 
quisitions for men are fully equal to the neces- 
sities of the case. * * * j should havo 
stopped here, but am this moment informed 
that Mr, Webb, General Washington's aide-de- 
camp, has written to your honor something dis- 
honorable to the light-horse. Whatever it may 
be I know not, but this I do know, that it is a 
general observation, both in camp and country, 
if the butterflies and coxcombs were away from 
the army, we should not be put to so much 
difficulty in obtaining men of common sense to 
engage in the defence of their country." * 

As to the Connecticut infantry which had 
been furnished by Governor Trumbull in the 
present emergency, they likewise were substan- 
tial farmers, whose business, he observed, would 
require their return, when the necessity of their 
further stay in the army should be over. They 
were all men of simple rural manners, from an 
agricultural State, where great equality of con- 
dition prevailed ; the officei's were elected by 
the men out of their own ranks, they were their 
own neighbors, and every way their equals. 
All this, as yet, was but little understood or 
appreciated by the troops from the South, 
among whom military rank was more defined 
and tenaciously observed, and where the officers 
were men of the cities, and of more aristocratic 
habits. 

We have drawn out, from contemporary 
sources, these few particulars concerning tlie 
sectional jealousies thus early springing up 
among the troops from the different States, to 
show the difficulties with which Washington 
had to contend at the outset, and which formed 
a growing object of solicitude throughout the 
rest of his career, 

John Adams, speaking of the violent passions, 
and discordant interests at work throughout 
the country, from Florida to Canada, observes : 
" It requires more serenity of temper, a deeper 
understanding, and more courage than fell to 
the lot of Marlborough, to ride in this whirl- 
wind. " t 



* Am. Archives, 5th Series, i, 513. 
t Ibid., 4th Series, v. 1112. 



254 



FORTIFICATIONS AT CHARLESTON— LEE'S ARRIVAL. 



[lYTG. 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

Letters from General Lee gave Washington 
intelligence of the fate of Sir Henry Clinton's 
expedition to the South ; that expedition, which 
had been the subject of so much surmise and 
perplexity. Sir Henry in his cruise along the 
coast had been repeatedly foiled by Lee. First, 
as we have shown, when he looked in at New 
York ; next, when he paused at Norfolk in 
Virigina ; and lastly, when he made a bold 
attempt at Charleston in South Carolina ; for 
scarce did his ships appear off the harbor, than 
the omnipresent Lee was marching his troops 
into the city. 

"Within a year past, Charleston had been 
fortified at various points. Fort Johnson, on 
James Island, three miles from the city, and 
commanding the breadth of the channel, was 
garrisoned by a regiment of South Carolina 
regulars under Colonel Gadsden. A strong 
fort had recently been constructed nearly oppo- 
site, on the south-west point of Sullivan's Island, 
about sixjuiles below the city. It was mounted 
with twenty-six guns, and garrisoned by three 
hundred and seventy -five regulars and a few 
militia, and commanded by Colonel William 
Moultrie, of South Carolina, who had construct- 
ed it. This fort, in connection with that on 
James Island, was considered the key of the 
harbor. 

Cannon had also been mounted on HaddreU's 
Point, on the mainland, to the north-west of 
Sullivan's Island, and along the bay in front of 
the town. 

The arrival of General Lee gave great joy to 
the jjeople of Charleston, fi'om his high reputa- 
tion for military skill and experience. Accord- 
ing to his own account in a letter to Washing- 
ton, the town on his arrival was " utterly de- 
fenceless." He was rejoiced, therefore, when 
the enemy, instead of immediately, attacking it, 
directed his whole force against the fort on Sul- 
livan's Island. " He has lost an opportunity," 
said Lee, " such as I hope will never occur 
again, of taking the town." 

The British ships, in fact, having passed the 
bar with some difficulty, landed their troops on 
Long Island, situated to the east of Sullivan's 
Island, and separated from it by a small creek 
called the Breach. Sir Henry Clinton meditat- 
ed a combined attack with his land and naval 
forces on the fort commanded by Moultrie ; the 



capture of which, he thought, would insure the 
reduction of Charleston. 

The Americans immediately threw up works 
on the north-eastern extremity of Sullivan's 
Island, to prevent the passage of the enemy 
over the Breach, stationing a force of regulars 
and militia there, under Colonel Thompson. 
General Lee encamped on HaddreU's Point, on 
the mainland, to the north of the island, whence 
he intended to keep up a communication by a 
bridge of boats, so as to be ready at any mo- 
ment to aid either Moultrie or Thompson. 

Sir Henry Clinton, on the other hand, had to 
construct batteries on Long Island, to oppose 
those of Thompson, and cover the passage of 
his troops by boats or by the ford. Thus time 
was consumed, and the enemy were, from the 
1st to the 28th of June, preparing for the at- 
tack ; their troops suffering from the intense 
heat of the sun on the burning sands of Long 
Island, and both fleet and army complaining of 
brackish water, and scanty and bad provisions. 

At length, on the 28th of June, the Thunder 
Bomb commenced the attack, throwing shells 
at the fort, as the fleet, under Sir Peter Parker, 
advanced. xibout eleven o'clock the ships 
dropped their anchors directly before the front 
battery. " I was at this time in a boat," writes 
Lee, " endeavoring to make the island ; but the 
wind and tide being violently against us, drove 
us on the main. They immediately commenced 
the most furious fire I ever heard or saw. I 
confess I was in pain, from the little confidence 
I reposed in our troops ; the officers being all 
boys, and the men raw recruits. What aug- 
mented my anxiety was, that we had no bridge 
finished for retreat or communication ; and the 
creek or cove which separates it from the con- 
tinent is near a mile wide. I had received, 
likewise, intelligence that their land troops in- 
tended at the same time to land and assault. I 
never in my life felt myself so uneasy ; and 
what added to my uneasiness was, that I knew 
our stock of ammuTiition was miserably low. 
I had once thought of ordering the commanding 
officer to spike his guns, and, when his ammu- 
nition was spent, to retreat with as little loss as 
possible. However, I thought proper previous- 
ly to send to town for a fresh supply, if it could 
possibly be procured, and ordered my aide-de- 
camp, Mr. Byrd (who is a lad of magnanimous 
courage), to pass over in a small canoe, and re- 
port the state of the spirit of the garrison. If 
it had been low, I should have abandoned all 
thoughts of defence. His report was flatter- 



Mt. 44.] 



BATTLE AT SULLIVAN'S ISLAND— THE ENEMY REPULSED. 



255 



ing. I then determined to maintain the post 
at all risks, and passed the creek or cove in a 
small boat, in order to animate the garrison in 
propria persona ; but I found they had no oc- 
casion for such an encouragement. 

" They were pleased with my visit, and as- 
sured me they never would abandon the post 
but with their lives. The cool courage they 
displayed, astonished and enraptured me, for I 
do assure you, my dear general, I never expe- 
rienced a better fire. Twelve full hours it was 
continued without intermission. The noble 
fellows who were mortally wounded, conjured 
their brethren never to abandon the standard 
of liberty. Those who lost their limbs deserted 
not their posts. Upon the whole, they .acted 
like Romans in the third century." 

Much of the foregoing is corroborated by the 
statement of a British historian. " "While the 
continued fire of our ships," writes he, " seemed 
sufficient to shake the fierceness of the bravest 
enemy, and daunt the courage of the most vet- 
eran soldier, the return made by the fort could 
not fail calling for the respect, as well as of 
highly incommoding the brave seamen of Brit- 
ain. In the midst of that dreadful roaif of ar- 
tillery, they stuck with the greatest constancy 
and firmness to their guns ; fired deliberately 
and slowly, and took a cool and effective aim. 
The ships suffered accordingly, they were torn 
almost to pieces, and the slaughter was dread- 
ful. Never did British valor shine more con- 
spicuous, and never did our marine in an en- 
gagement of the same nature with any foreign 
enemy, experience so rude an encounter." * 

The fire from the ships did not produce the 
expected effect. The fortifications were low, 
composed of earth and palmetto wood, which 
is soft, and makes no splinters, and the merlons 
were extremely thick. At one time there was 
a considerable pause in the American fire, and 
the enemy thought the fort was abandoned. It 
was only because the powder was exhausted. 
As soon as a supply could be forwarded from 
the mainland by General Lee, the fort resumed 
its fire with still more deadly effect. Through 
unskilful pilotage, several of the ships ran 
aground, where one, the frigate Acta3on, remain- 
ed ; the rest were extricated with difficulty. 
Those which bore the brunt of the action were 
much cut up. One hundred and seventy-five 
men were killed, and nearly as many wounded. 
Captain Scott, commanding the Experiment, of 



* Hist. Civil War in America. Dublin, 1779. Annual 
Register. 



fifty guns, lost an arm, and was otherwise 
wounded. Captain Morris, commanding the 
Actaaon, was slain. So also was Lord Campbell, 
late governor of the province, who served as a 
volunteer on board of the squadron. 

Sir Henry Clinton, with two thousand troops 
and five or six hundred seamen, attempted re- 
peatedly to cross from Long Island, and co-op- 
erate in the attack upon the fort, but was as 
often foiled by Colonel Thompson, with his 
battery of two cannons, and a body of South 
Carolina rangers, and North Carolina regulars. 
" Upon the whole," says Lee, " the South and 
North Carolina troops, and Virginia rifle bat- 
talion we have here, are admirable soldiers." 

The combat slackened before sunset, and 
ceased before ten o'clock. Sir Peter Parker, 
who had received a severe contusion in the en- 
gagement, then slipped his cables, and drew 
off his shattered ships to Five Fathom Hole. 
The Actffion remained aground. 

On the following morning Sir Henry Clinton 
made another attempt to cross from Long Island 
to Sullivan's Island ; but was again repulsed, 
and obliged to take shelter behind his breast- 
works. Sir Peter Parker, too, giving up all 
hope of reducing the fort in the shattered con- 
dition of. liis ships, ordered that the Actceon 
should be set on fire and abandoned. The crew 
left her in flames, with the guns loaded, and the 
colors flying. The Americans boarded her in 
time to haul down her colors, and secure them 
as a trophy, discharge her guns at one of the 
enemy's ships, and load three boats with stores. 
They then abandoned her to her fate, and in 
half an hour she blew up. 

Within a few days the troops were re-em- 
barked from Long Island; the attempt upon 
Charleston was for the present abandoned, and 
the fleet once more put to sea. 

In this action, one of the severest in the 
whole course of the war, the loss of the Amer- 
icans in killed and wounded, was but thirty-five 
men. Colonel Moultrie derived the greatest 
glory from the defence of Sullivan's Island; 
though the thanks of Congress were voted as 
weU to General Lee, Colonel Thompson, and 
those under their command. 

" For God's sake, my dear general," writes 
Lee to Washington, " urge the Congress to fur- 
nish me with a thousand cavalry. With a thou- 
sand cavalry I could insure the safety of these 
Southern provinces ; and without cavalry I can 
answer for nothing. From want of this species 
of troops we had infallibly lost this capital, but 



256 



PUTNAirS MILITARY PROJECTS— FIRE-SHIPS. 



[177(1 



the diktoriness and stupidity of the enemy 
saved us." 

The tidings of this signal repulse of the ene- 
my came most opportunely to Washington, 
when he was apprehending an attack upon New 
York. He writes in a familiar vein to Schuyler 
on the subject. "Sir Peter Parker and his 
fleet got a severe drubbing in an attack upon 
our works on Sullivan's Island, just by Charles- 
ton in South CaroHna ; a part of their troops 
at the same time, in attempting to land, were 
repulsed." He assumed a different tone in an- 
nouncing it to the army in a general order of 
the 21st July. " This generous example of our 
troops under the hke circumstances with us, 
the general hopes, will animate every officer 
and soldier to imitate, and even outdo them, 
when the enemy shall make the same attempt 
on us. With such a bright example before us 
of what can be done by brave men fighting in 
defence of their country, we shall be loaded 
with a double share of shame and infamy if we 
do not acquit ourselves with courage, and man- 
ifest a determined resolution to conquer or die." 



CHAPTER XXX. 

General Putnam, beside his bravery in the 
field, was somewhat of a mechanical projector. 
The batteries at Fort "Washington had proved 
inefifectual in opposing the passage of hostile 
ships up the Hudson. He was now engaged on 
a plan for obstructing the channel opposite the 
fort, so as to prevent the passing of any more 
ships. A letter from him to General Gates 
(.July 26th) explains his project. " "We are pre- 
paring chevaux-de-frise, at which we make 
great despatch by the help of ships, which are 
to be sunk — a scheme of mine which you may 
be assured is very simple ; a plan of which I 
send you. The two ships' sterns lie towards 
each other, about seventy feet apart. Tliree 
large logs, which reach from ship to ship, 
are fastened to them. The two ships and logs 
stop the river two hundred and eighty feet. 
The ships are to bo sunk, and when hauled 
down on one side, the pricks will be raised to a 
proper height, and they must inevitably stop 
the river, if the enemy will let us sink them." 

It so happened that one Ephraim Anderson, 
adjutant to the second Jersey battahon, had re- 
cently submitted a project to Congress for de- 
stroying the enemy's fleet in the harbor of New 



York. He had attempted an enterprise of the 
kind against the British ships in the harbor of 
Quebec during the siege, and, according to his 
own account, would have succeeded, had not 
the enemy discovered his intentions, and stretch- 
ed a cable across the mouth of the harbor, and 
had he not accidentally been much burnt. 

His scheme was favorably entertained by 
Congress, and "Washington, by a letter dated 
July 10th, was instructed to aid him in carrying 
it into eflfect. Anderson, accordingly, was soon 
at work at New York constructing fire-ships, 
with which the fleet was to be attacked. Simul- 
taneous with the attack, a descent was to be 
made on the British camp on Staten Island, 
from the nearest point of the Jersey shore, by 
troops from Mercer's flying camp, and by others 
stationed at Bergen under Major Knowlton, 
Putnam's favorite oflScer for daring enterprises. 

Putnam entered into the scheme as zealously 
as if it had been his own. Indeed, by the tenor 
of his letter to Gates, already quoted, he seem- 
ed almost to consider it so. " The enemy's 
fleet," writes he, " now lies in the bay, close 
under Staten Island. Their troops possess no 
land hare but the island. Is it not strange that 
those invincible troops, who were to lay waste 
aU this coimtry with their fleets and army, are 
so fond of islands and peninsulas, and dare not 
put their feet on the main ? But I hope, by 
the blessing of God, and good friends, we shall 
pay them a visit on their island. For that end 
we are preparing fourteen fire-ships, to go into 
their fleet, some of which are ready charged 
and fitted to sail, and I hope soon to have them 
all fixed." 

Anderson, also, on the 31st July, writes from 
New York to the President of Congress : " I 
have been for some time past very assiduous in 
the preparation of fire-ships. Two are already 
complete, and hauled off into the stream ; two 
more will be off to-morrow, and the residue in 
a very short time. In my next, I hope to give 
you a particular account of a general conflagra- 
tion, as every thing in my power shall be exert- 
ed for the demoHtion of the enemy's fleet. I 
expect to take an active part, and be an instru- 
ment for that purpose. I am determined (God 
willing) to make a conspicuous figure among 
them, by being a ' burning and shining light,' 
and thereby serve my country, and have the 
honor of meeting the approbation of Con- 
11 * 



gress. 



* Am. Archivee, 4th Seriee, i. 155. 



^T. 44.] OBSTRUCTIONS OF THE HUDSON— THE PHCENIX AND ROSE ATTACKED. 



257 



Projectors are subject to disappointments. 
It was impossible to construct a sufficient num- 
ber of fire-ships and galleys in time. The fly- 
ing camp too recruited but slowly, and scarcely 
exceeded three thousand men ; the combined 
attack by fire and sword had therefore to be 
given up, and the " burning and shining light " 
again failed of conflagration. 

Still, a partial night attack on the Staten Isl- 
and encampment was concerted by Mercer and 
Knowlton, and^pwice attempted. On one occa- 
sion, they were prevented from crossing the 
strait by tempestuous weather, on another by 
deficiency of boats. 

In the course of a few days arrived a hundred 
sail, with large reinforcements, among which 
were one thousand Hessians, and as many more 
were reported to be on the way. The troops 
were disembarked on Staten Island, and fortifi- 
cations thrown up on some of the most com- 
manding hills. 

All projects of attack upon the enemy were 
now out of the question. Indeed, some of 
"Washington's ablest advisers questioned the 
policy of remaining in New York, where they 
might be entrapped as the British had been in 
Boston. Heed, the adjutant- general, observed 
that, as the communication by the Hudson was 
interrupted, there was nothing now to keep 
them at New York but a mere point of honor ; 
in the mean time, they endangered the loss of 
the army and its military stores. "Why should 
they risk so much in defending a city, while 
the greater part of its inhabitants were plotting 
their destruction ? His advice was, that, when 
they could defend the city no longer, they 
should evacuate, and burn it, and retire from 
Manhattan Island ; should avoid any general 
action, or indeed any action, iinless in view of 
great advantages ; and should make it a war of 
posts. 

During the latter part of July, and the early 
part of August, ships-of-war with their tenders 
continued to arrive, and Scotch Highlanders, 
Hessians, and other troops, to be landed on 
Staten Island. At the beginning of August, 
the squadron with Sir Henry Clinton, recently 
repulsed at Charleston, anchored in the bay. 
" His coming," writes Colonel Reed, " was as 
unexpected as if he had dropped from the 
clouds." He was accompanied by Lord Corn- 
wallis, and brought three thousand troops. 

In the mean time, Putnam's contrivances for 
obstructing the channel had reached their des- 
tined plnce. A letter dated Fort "Washington, 
17 



August 3d, says : " Four ships chained and 
boomed, with a number of amazing large che- 
vaux-de-frise, were sunk close by the fort under 
command of General Mifflin, which fort mounts 
thirty-two pieces of heavy cannon. "We are 
thoroughly sanguine that they [the ships up the 
river] never will be able to join the British 
fleet, nor assistance from the fleet be afforded 
to them ; so that we may set them down as our 
own." 

Another letter, written at the same date from 
Tarrytown, on the borders of the Tappan Sea, 
gives an account of an attack made by six row 
galleys upon the Phcenix and the Rose. They 
fought bravely for two hours, hulling the ships 
repeatedly, but sustaining great damage in re- 
turn ; until their commodore, Colonel Tupper, 
gave the signal to draw off. " Never," says 
the writer, " did men behave with more firm, 
determined spirit, than our little crew. One 
of our tars being mortally wounded, cried to 
his companions : ' I am a dying man ; revenge 
my blood, my boys, and carry me alongside my 
gun, that I may die there.' "We were so pre- 
served by a gracious Providence, that in all our 
galleys we have but two men killed and fourteen 
wounded, two of which are thought dangerous. 
"We hope to have another touch at those pirates 
before they leave our river ; which God pros- 
per ! " 

Such was the belligerent spirit prevailing up 
the Hudson. 

The force of the enemy collected in the neigh- 
borhood of New York was about thirty thou- 
sand men ; that of the Americans a little more 
than seventeen thousand, but was subsequently 
increased to twenty thousand, for the most 
part raw and undisciplined. One-fourth were 
on the sick list with bilious and putrid fevers 
and dysentery ; others were absent on furlough 
or command ; the rest had to be distributed 
over posts and stations fifteen miles apart. 

The sectional jealousies prevalent among 
them, were more and more a subject of uneasi- 
ness to "Washington. In one of his general 
orders he observes : " It is with great concern 
that the general understands that jealousies 
have arisen among the troops from the diiierent 
provinces, and reflections are frequently thrown 
out which can only tend to irritate each other, 
and injure the noble cause in which we are en- 
gaged, and which we ought to support with one 
hand and one heart. The general most earnest- 
ly entreats the oflScers and soldiers to consider 
the consequences ; that they can no way assist 



258 



WASHINGTON TO THE ARMY— PREPARATIONS AGAINST ATTACK. 



11116. 



our enemies more eifectually than by making 
divisions among ourselves ; that the honor and 
success of the army, and the safety of our bleed- 
ing country, depend upon harmony and good 
agreement with each other ; that the provinces 
are all united to oppose the common enemy, 
and all distinctions sunk in the name of an 
American. To make this name honorable, and 
to preserve the liberty of our country, ought 
to be our only emulation ; and he will be the 
best soldier and the best patriot, who contrib- 
utes most to this glorious work, whatever be 
his station, or from whatever part of the conti- 
nent he may come. Let all distinctions of na- 
tions, countries, and provinces, therefore, be 
lost in the generous contest, who shall behave 
with the most courage against the enemy, and 
the most kindness and good-humor to each 
otlier. If there be any officers or soldiers so 
lost to virtue and a love of their country, as to 
continue in such practices after this order, the 
general assures them, and is authorized by 
Congress to declare to the whole army, that 
such persons shall be severely punished, and 
dismissed from the service with disgrace." 

The urgency of such a general order is ap- 
parent in that early period of our confederation, 
Avhen its various parts had not as yet been suf- 
ficiently welded together to acquire a thorough 
feeling of nationality ; yet what an enduring 
lesson does it furnish for every stage of our 
Union ! 

"We subjoin another of the general orders 
issued in this time of gloom and anxiety : 

" That the troops may have an opportunity 
of attending public worship, as well as to take 
some rest after the great fatigue they have gone 
through, the general, in future, excuses them 
from fatigue duty on Sundays, except at the 
ship-yards, or on special occasions, until further 
orders. The general is sorry to be informed, 
that the foolish and wicked practice of profane 
cursing and swearing, a vice heretofore little 
known in an American army, is growing into 
fashion. He hopes the officers will, by example 
as well as influence, endeavor to check it, and 
that both they and the men will reflect, that 
we can have little hope of tlie blessing of 
Heaven on our arms, if we insult it by our im- 
piety and folly. Added to this, it is a vice so 
mean and low, without any temptation, that 
every man of sense and character detests and 
despises it." * 



* Orderly Book, Aug. 3, as cited by Sparks. Writuiga 
«f Washiugton, vol. iv., p. 28. 



While Washington thus endeavored to elevate 
the minds of his soldiery to the sanctity of the 
cause in which they were engaged, he kept the 
most watchful eye upon the movements of the 
enemy. Beside their great superiority in point 
of numbers, as well as discipline, to his own 
crude and scanty legions, they possessed a vast 
advantage in their fleet. " They would not be 
half the enemy they are," observed Colonel 
Reed, " if they were once separated from their 
ships." Every arrival and dej^-ture of these, 
therefore, was a subject of speculation and con- 
jecture. Aaron Burr, at that time in New 
York, aide-de-camp to General Putnam,*speaks 
in a letter to an imcle, of thirty transports, 
which, under convoy of three frigates, had put 
to sea on the 7th of August, with the intention 
of sailing round Long Island and coming through 
the Sound, and thus investing the city by 
the North and East Rivers. " They are then 
to land on both sides of the island," writes he, 
"join their forces, and draw aline across, which 
will hem us in, and totally cut oif all communi- 
cation ; after which, they will have their own 
fun." He adds: " They hold us in the utmost 
contempt. Talk of forcing all our lines without 
firing a gun. The bayonet is their pride. They 
have forgot Bunker's Hill." * 

In this emergency, Washington wrote to 
General Mercer for 2,000 men from the flying 
camp. Colonel Smallwood's battalion was im- 
mediately furnished, as a part of them. The 
Convention of the State ordered out hasty levies 
of country militia, to form temporary camps on 
the shore of the Sound, and on that of tlie Hud- 
son above King's Bridge, to annoy the enemy, 
should they attempt to land from their ships 
on either of these waters. Others were sent 
to reinforce the posts on Long Island. As 
Kings County on Long Island was noted for 
being a stronghold of the disaff'ected, the Con- 
vention ordered that, should any of the militia 
of that county refuse to serve, they should be 
disarmed and secured, and their possessions laid 
waste. • 

Many of the yeomen of the country, thus 
hastily summoned from the plough, were desti- 
tute of arms, in lieu of which they were ordered 
to bring with them a shovel, spade, or pickaxe, 
or a scythe straightened and fastened to a pole. 
This rustic array may have provoked the 
thoughtless sneers of city scoffers, such as those 
cited by Graydon ; but it was in truth one of 

* Am. Archives, 5th Series, i. 8S7. 



iET. 44.] 



BENEVOLENT SYMPATHY OF WASHINGTON. 



259 



tlie glorious features of tlie Eevolution, to be 
thus aided in its emergencies by " hasty levies 
of husbandmen," * * 

By the authority of the New Yoric Conven- 
tion, Washington had appointed General George 
Clinton to the command of the levies on both 
sides of the Hudson. He now ordered him to 
hasten down with them to the fort just erected 
on the north side of King's Bridge ; leaving two 
hundred men under the command of a brave 
and alert officer to throw up works at the pass 
of Antliony's Nose, where the main road to 
Albany crosses that mountain. Troops of horse 
also were to be posted by him along the river 
to watch the motions of the enemy. 

Washington now made the last solemn prep- 
arations for the impending conflict. All sus- 
pected persons, whose presence might promote 
the plans of the enemy, were removed to a 
distance. All papers respecting afiairs of State 
were put up in a large case, to be delivered to 
Congress. . As to his domestic arrangements, 
Mrs. Washington had some time pi-evious gone 
to Philadelphia, with the intention of returning 
to Virginia, as there was no prospect of her 
being with him any part of the summer, which 
threatened to be one of turmoil and danger. 
The other ladies, wives of general officers, who 
used to grace and enliven head-quarters, had 
all been sent out of the way of the storm which 
was lowering over this devoted city. 

Accounts of deserters, and other intelligence, 
informed Washington, on the 17th, that a great 
many of the enemy's troops had gone on board 
of the transports ; that three days' provisions 
had been cooked, and other steps taken indicat- 



* General orders, Aug. 8th, show the feverish state of 
affairs in the city. " As the movements of the enemy, 
and intelligence by deserters, give the utmost reason to 
believe that the great strxiggle in which we are contending 
for every thing dear to ua and our posterity is near at 
hand, the general most earnestly recommends the closest 
attention to the state of the men's arms, ammunition, and 
flints; that if we should he suddenly called to action, 
nothing of this kind may be to provide. And ho does 
most anxiously exhort both officers and soldiers not to be 
out of their quarters or encamijments, especially in the 
morning, or upon the tide of flood. 

" A flag in the daytime, or a light at night, in the fort 
on Bayard's Hill, with three guns from the same place 
fired quick but distinct, is to be considered as a signal for 
the troops to repair to their alarm posts, and prepare for 
action. And that the alarm may be more effectually given, 
the drums are immediately to beat to arms upon the signal 
being given from Bayard's Hill. This order is not to be 
considered as countermanding the firing two guns at Fort 
George, as formerly ordered. That is also to be done on 
an alarm, but the flag will not be hoisted at the old 
head-quarters in Broadway." — Avi. Archives, 6th Series, 
i. 912. 



ing an intention of leaving Staten Island. Put- 
nam, also, came up from below with word that 
at least one-fourth of the fleet had sailed. 
There were many conjectures at head-quarters 
as to whither they were bound, or whether 
they had not merely shifted their station. 
Every thing indicated, however, that afiairs 
were tending to a crisis. 

The " hysterical alarms " of the peaceful in- 
habitants of New York, which had provoked 
the soldier-like impatience and satirical sneers 
of Lee, inspired difii'erent sentiments in the 
benevolent heart of Washington, and produced 
the foUov/ing letter to the New York Conven- 
tion : 

" When I consider that the city of New York 
will, in all human probability, very soon be the 
scene of a bloody conflict, I cannot but view 
the great numbers of women, children, and in- 
firm persons remaining in it, with the most 
melancholy concern. When the men-of-war 
(the Phcenis and Rose) passed up the river, the 
shrieks and cries of these poor creatures, run- 
ning every way with their children, were truly 
distressing, and I fear they will have an unhap- 
py effect upon the ears and minds of our young 
and inexperienced soldiery. Can no method 
be devisd for their removal ? " 

How vividly does this call to mind the com- 
passionate sensibility of his younger days, when 
commanding at Winchester, in Virginia, in 
time of public peril ; and melted to " deadly 
sorrow " by the " supplicating tears of the 
women, and moving petitions of the men.'" 
As then, lie listened to the prompt suggestions 
of his own heart ; and, without awaiting the 
action of the Convention, issued a proclama- 
tion, advising the inhabitants to remove, and 
requiring the officers and soldiery to aid tlie 
helpless and the indigent. The Convention 
soon responded to his appeal, and appointed a 
committee to effect these purposes in the mosf 
humane and expeditious manner. 

A gallant little exploit at this juncture, gave 
a fillip to the spirits of the community. Two 
of the fire-ships recently constructed, went up 
the Hudson to attempt the destruction of the 
ships which had so long been domineering over 
its waters. One succeeded in grappling the 
Phoenix, and would soon have set her in flames, 
but in the darkness got to leeward, and wa-s 
cast loose without effecting any damage. The 
other, in making for the Rose, fell foul of one 
of the tenders, grappled and burnt her. The 
enterprise was conducted with spirit, and though 



260 



A GALLANT LITTLE EXPLOIT— PREPARATION FOR COMBAT. 



[17*76. 



it failed of its main object, had an important 
effect. The commanders of the ships deter- 
mined to abandon those waters, where their 
boats were fired upon by the very yeomanry 
whenever they attempted to land ; and where 
their ships were in danger from midnight in- 
cendiaries, while riding at anchor. Taking 
advantage of a brisk wind, and favoring tide, 
tliey made all sail early on the morning of the 
18th of August, and stood down the river, keep- 
ing close under the eastern shore, where they 
supposed the guns from Mount Washington 
could tiot be brought to bear upon them. Not- 
withstanding this precaution, the Phoenix was 
thrice hulled by shots from the fort, and one 
of the tenders once. The Rose, also, Avas hulled 
once by a shot from Burdett's Ferry. The men 
on board were kept close, to avoid being picked 
off by a party of riflemen posted on the river 
bank. The ships fired grape-shot as they passed, 
but without effecting any injury. Unfortunate- 
ly, a passage had been left open in the obstruc- 
tions on which General Putnam had calculated 
so sanguinely ; it was to have been closed in 
the course of a day or two. Through this they 
made their way, guided by a deserter ; which 
alone, in Putnam's opinion, saved them from 
being checked in their career, and utterly de- 
stroyed by the batteries. 



CHAPTER XXXI. 

The movements of the British fleet, and of 
the camp on Staten Island, gave signs of a 
meditated attack ; but as the nature of that 
attack was uncertain, Washington was obliged 
to retain the greater part of his troops in the 
city for its defence, holding them ready, how- 
ever, to be transferred to any point in the vi- 
cinity. General Mifflin, with about five hundred 
of the Pennsylvania troops, of Colonels Shee 
and Magaw's regiments, were at King's Bridge, 
ready to aid at a moment's notice. " They are 
the best disciplined of any troops that I have 
yet seen in the army," said General Heath, 
who had just reviewed them. General George 
Clinton was at that post, with about fourteen 
hundred of his yeomanry of the Hudson. As 
the Phoenix and Rose had explored the shores, 
and taken the soundings as far as they had 
gone up the river, General Heath thought Howe 
might attempt an attack somewhere above 
King's Bridge, rather than in the face of the 



many and strong works erected in and around 
the city. " Should his inclination lead him 
this way," adds lie, "nature has done much for 
us, and we shall, as fast as possible, add the 
strength of art. We are pushing our works 
with great diligence." '*' 

Reports from different quarters, gave Wash- 
ington reason to apprehend that the design of 
the enemy might be to land part of their force 
on Long Island, and endeavor to get possession 
of the heights of Brooklyn, which overlooked 
New York ; while another part should land 
above the city, as General Heath suggested. 
Thus, various disconnected points, distant from 
each other, and a great extent of intervening 
country, had to be defended by raw troops, 
against a superior force, well disciplined, and 
possessed of every facility for operating by land 
and water. 

General Greene, with a considerable force, 
was stationed at Brooklyn. He had acquainted 
himself with all the localities of the island, from 
Hell Gate to the Narrows, and made his plan 
of defence accordingly. His troops were dili- 
gently occupied in works which he laid out, 
about a mile beyond the village of Brooklyn, 
and facing the interior of the island, whence a 
land attack might be attempted. 

Brooklyn was immediately opposite to New 
York. The Sound, commonly called the East 
River, in that place about three-quarters of a 
mile in width, swept its rapid tides between 
them. The village stood on a kind of peninsula, 
formed by the deep inlets of W^allabout Bay on 
the north, and Gowanus Cove on the south. A 
line of intrenchments and strong redoubts ex- 
tended across the neck of the peninsula from the 
bay to a swamp and creek emptying into the 
cove. To protect the rear of the works from the 
enemy's ships, a battery was erected at Red 
Hook, the south-west corner of the peninsula, 
and a fort on Governor's Island, nearly oppo- 
site. 

About two miles and a half in front of the 
line of intrenchments and redoubts, a range of 
hills, densely wooded, extended from south- 
west to north-east, forming a natural barrier 
across the island. It was traversed by three 
roads. One, on the left of the works, stretched 
eastwardly to Bedford, and then by a pass 
through the Bedford Hills to the village of Ja- 
maica ; another, central, and direct, led through 
the Avoody heights to Flatbush ; a third, on the 



Heath to Washington, Aug. 17-lS. 



JEt. 44.] THE ENEMY LAXD ON LONG ISLAND— RUMORS AND ALARMS. 



2G1 



right of the lines, passed by Gowanus Cove to 
the Narrows and Gravesend Bav. 

The occupation of this range of hills, and the 
protection of its passes, had been designed by 
General Greene ; but unfortunately, in the midst 
of his arduous toils, he was taken down by 
a raging fever, which confined him to his bed ; 
and General Sullivan, just returned from Lake 
Ohamplain, had the temporary command. 

"Washington saw that to prevent -the enemy 
from landing on Long Island would be impos- 
sible, its great extent affording so many places 
favorable for that purpose, and the American 
works being at the part opposite New York. 
" However," writes he to the President of 
Congress, " we shall attempt to harass them as 
much as possible, which is all that we can 
do." 

On the 21st came a letter, written in all haste 
by Brigadier- General William Livingston, of 
New Jersey. Movements of the enemy on 
Staten Island had been seen from his camp. He 
had sent over a spy at midnight, who brought 
back the following intelligence. Twenty thou- 
sand men had embarked to make an attack on 
Long Island, and up the Hudson. Fifteen 
thousand remained on Staten Island, to attack 
Bergen Point, Elizabethtown Point, and Am- 
boy. The spy declared that he had heard or- 
ders read, and the conversation of the generals. 
" They appear very determined," added he, 
" and will put all to the sword ! " 

Washington sent a copy of the letter to the 
New York Convention. On the following 
morning (August 22d) the enemy appeared to 
be carrying their plans into execution. The re- 
ports of cannon and musketry were heard from 
Long Island, and columns of smoke were de- 
scried rising above the groves and orchards at a 
distance. The city, as usual, was alarmed, and 
had reason to be so ; for Avord soon came that 
several thousand men, with artillery and light- 
horse, were landed at Gravesend ; and that 
Colonel Hand, stationed there with the Penn- 
sylvania rifle regiment, had retreated to the 
lines, setting fire to stacks of wheat, and other 
articles, to keep them from falling into the ene- 
my's hands. 

Washington apprehended an attempt of the 
foe by a forced march to surprise tlie lines at 
Brooklyn. He hnmediately sent over a rein- 
forcement of six battalions. It was all that 
he could spare, as with the next tide the ships 
might bring up the residue of the army, and 
attack the city. Five battalions more, how- 



ever, were ordered to be ready as a reinforce- 
ment, if required. " Be cool, but determined," 
was the exhortation given to the departing 
troops. " Do not fire at a distance, but wait 
the commands of your oflicers. It is the gen- 
eral's express orders, that if any man attempt 
to skulk, lie down, or retreat without orders, 
he be instantly shot down for an examj:)le." 

Injustice to the poor fellows, most of whom 
were going for the first time on a service of life 
and death, Washington observes, that " they 
went off in high spirits," and that the whole, 
capable of duty, evinced the same cheerful- 
ness.* 

Nine thousand of the enemy had landed, with 
forty pieces of cannon. Sir Henry Clinton had 
the chief command, and led the first division. 
His associate officers were the Earls of Corn- 
wallis and Percy, General Grant, and General 
Sir William Erskine. As their boats approached 
the shore. Colonel Hand, stationed, as has been 
said, in the neighborhood with his rifle regi- 
ment, retreated to the chain of wooded hills, 
and took post on a height commanding the cen- 
tral road leading from Flatbush. The enemy 
having landed without opposition. Lord Corn- 
wallis was detached with the reserve to Flat- 
bush, while the rest of the army extended itself 
from the ferry at the Narrows through Utrecht 
and Gravesend, to the village of Flatland. 

Lord Cornwallis, with two battalions of 
light infantry, Colonel Donop's corps of Hes- 
sians, and six field-pieces, advanced rapidly to 
seize upon the central pass through the hills. 
He found Hand and his riflemen ready to make 
a vigorous defence. This brought him to a 
halt, having been ordered not to risk an attack 
should the pass be occupied. He took post for 
the night, therefore, i»i the village of Flatbush. 

It was evidently the aim of the enemy to 
force the lines at Brooklyn, and get possession 
of the heights. Should they succeed. New 
York would be at their mercy. The panic and 
distress of the inhabitants went on increasing. 
Most of those who could afford it, had already 
removed to the country. There was now a 
new cause of terror. It was rumored that, 
should the American army retreat from the 
city, leave would be given for any one to set it ' 
on fire. The New York Convention apprised 
Washington of this rumor. " I can assure you, 
gentlemen," writes he in reply, " that this re- 
port is not founded on the least authority from 



"Washington to the President of Congress 



262 



SKIRMISHING WITH THE ENEilY— PUTNAM ON LONG ISLAND. 



[177C. 



me. On the contrary, I am so sensible of the 
vahie of such a city, and the consequences of 
its destruction to many worthy citizens and 
their families, that nothing hut the last neces- 
sity, and that such as would justify me to the 
whole world, would induce me to give orders 
to that purpose." 

In this time of general alarm, head-quarters 
were besieged by applicants for safeguard from 
the impending danger ; and "Washington was 
even beset in his Avalks by supplicatiug wo- 
men with their children. The patriot's heart 
throbbed feelingly under the soldier's belt. 
Nothing could surpass the patience and benig- 
nant sympathy with which he listened to them, 
and endeavored to allay their fears. Again he 
urged the Convention to carry out their meas- 
ures for the removal of these defenceless beings. 
" There are many," writes he, " who anxiously 
wish to remove, but have not the means." 

On the 24th he crossed over to Brooklyn, to 
inspect the lines and reconnoitre the neighbor- 
hood. In this visit he felt sensibly the want 
of General Greene's presence, to explain his 
plans and point out the localities. 

The American advanced posts were in the 
wooded hills. Colonel Hand, with his riflemen, 
kept watch over the central road, and a strong 
redoubt had been thrown up in front of the 
pass, to check any advance of the enemy from 
Flatbush. Another road leading from Flatbush 
to Bedford, by AA"hich the enemy might get 
round to the left of the works at Brooklyn, 
was guarded by two regiments, one under Col- 
onel Williams, posted on the north side of the 
ridge, the other by a Pennsylvania rifle regi- 
ment, under Colonel Miles, posted on the south 
side. The enemy was stretched along the 
country beyond the chain of hills. 

As yet, nothing had taken place but skirmish- 
ing and irregular firing between the outposts. 
It was with deep concern Washington noticed 
a prevalent disorder and confusion in the camp. 
There was a want of system among the oflicers, 
and,co-operation among the troops, each corps 
seeming to act independently of the rest. Few 
of the men had any military experience, ex- 
cept, perchance, in bush-fighting with the In- 
dians. Unaccustomed to discipline and the 
restraint of camps, they sallied forth whenever 
they jjleased, singly or in squads, prowling 
about and firing upon the enemy, like hunters 
after game. 

Much of this was no doubt owing to the pro- 
tracted ilbaess of General Greene. 



On returning to the city, therefore, Wash- 
ington gave the command on Long Island to 
General Putnam, warning him, however, in his 
letter of instructions, to summon the oflicers 
together, and enjoin them to put a stop to the 
irregularities which he had observed among 
the troops. Lines of defence were to be formed 
round the encampment, and works on the most 
advantageous ground. Guards were to be 
stationed on the lines, with a brigadier of the 
day constantly at hand to see that orders were 
executed. Field-officers were to go the rounds 
and report the situation of the guards, and no 
one was to pass beyond the lines without a 
special permit in writing. At the same time, 
partisan and scouting parties, under proper 
officers, and with regular license, might sally 
forth to harass the enemy, and prevent their 
carrying off the horses and cattle of the coun- 
try people. 

Especial attention was called to the wooded 
hills between the works and the enemy's camp- 
The passes through them were to be secured 
by abatis^ and defended by the best troops, 
who should, at all hazards, prevent the ap- 
proach of the enemy. The militia being the 
least tutored and experienced, might man the 
interior works. 

Putnam crossed with alacrity to his post. 
" He was made happy," writes Colonel Reed, 
" by obtaining leave to go over. The brave 
old man was quite miserable at being kept here." 

In the mean time, the enemy were augment- 
ing their forces on the island. Two brigades 
of I-Iessians, under Lieutenant-General De Heis- 
ter, were transferred from the camp on Staten 
Island on the 25th. This movement did not 
escape the vigilant eye of Washington. By 
the aid of his telescope, he had noticed that 
from time to time tents were struck on Staten 
Island, and portions of the encampment broken 
up ; while ship after ship weighed anchor, and 
dropped down to the Narrows. 

He now concluded that the enemy were 
about to make a push with their main force 
for the possession of Brooklyn Heights. He 
accordingly sent over additional reinforcements, 
and among them Colonel John Haslet's well- 
equipped and well-disciplined Delaware regi- 
ment ; which was joined to Lord Stirling's 
brigade, chiefly composed of Southern troops, 
and stationed outside of the lines. These were 
troops which Washington regarded with pecu- 
liar satisfaction, on account of their soldier-like 
appearance and discipline. 



^T. 44.J 



NOCTURNAL MARCH— CAPTURE OF THE BEDFORD PASS. 



263 



On the 26th, he crossed over to Brooklyn, 
accompanied hy Reed, the adjutant-general. 
There was much movement among the enemy's 
troops, and their number was evidently aug- 
mented. In fact, General De Heister had 
reached Flatbush with his Hessians, and taken 
command of the centre ; whereupon Sir Henry 
Clinton, with the right wing, drew off to Flat- 
lands, in a diagonal line to the right of De 
Heister, while the left wing, commanded by 
General Grant, extended to the place of land- 
ing on Gravesend Bay. 

Washington remained all day, aiding General 
Putnam with his counsels, who, new to the 
command, had not been able to make himself 
well acquainted with the fortified posts be- 
yond the lines. In the evening, "Washington 
returned to the city, full of anxious thought. 
A general attack was evidently at hand. Where 
would it be made? How would his inexpe- 
rienced troops stand the encounter? What 
would be the defence of the city, if assailed by 
the ships ? It was a night of intense solicitude, 
and well might it be ; for during that night a 
plan was carried into effect, fraught with dis- 
aster to the Americans. 

The plan to which we allude was concerted 
by General Howe, the commandei--in-chief. Sir 
Henry Clinton, with the vanguard, composed 
of the choicest troops, was, by a circuitous 
march in the night, to throw himself into the 
road leading from Jamaica to Bedford, seize 
upon a pass through the Bedford Hills, witlun 
three miles of that village, and thus turn the 
left of the American advanced posts. It was 
preparatory to this nocturnal march that Sir 
Henry during the day had fallen back with his 
troops from Flatbush to Flatlands, and caused 
that stir and movement which had attracted 
the notice of Washington. 

To divert the attention of the Americans 
from this stealthy march on their left, General 
Grant was to menace their riglit flank toward 
Gravesend before daybreak, and General De 
Heister to cannonade their centre, where Col- 
onel Hand was stationed. Neither, however, 
was to press an attack until the guns of Sir 
Henry Clinton should give notice that he had 
effected his purpose, and turned the left flank 
of the Americans ; then the latter were to be 
assailed at all points with the iitmost vigor. 

About nine o'clock in the evening of the 
26th, Sir Henry Clinton began his march from 
Flatlands with his vanguard, composed of light 
infantry. Lord Percy followed with the gren- 



adiers, artillery, and light dragoons, forming 
the centre. Lord Cornwallis brought up the 
rear-guard with the heavy ordnance. General 
Howe accompanied this division. 

It was a silent march, without beat of drum 
or sound of trumpet, under guidance of a Long 
Island tory, along by-roads traversing a swamp 
by a narrow causeway, and so across the coun- 
try to the Jamaica road. About two hours 
before daybreak, they arrived within half a 
mile of the pass through the Bedford Hills, and 
halted to prepare for an attack. At this junc- 
ture they captured an American patrol, and 
learnt, to their surprise, that the Bedford pass 
was imoccupied. In fact, the whole road be- 
yond Bedford, leading to Jamaica, had been 
left imguarded, excepting by some light volun- 
teer troops. Colonels Williams and Miles, who 
were stationed to the left of Colonel Hand, 
among the wooded hiUs, had been instructed 
to send out parties occasionally to patrol the 
road, but no troops had been stationed at the 
Bedford pass. The road and pass may not 
have been included in General Greene's plan 
of defence, or may have been thought too far 
out of the way to need special precaution. 
The neglect of them, however, proved fatal. 

Sir Henry Clinton immediately detached a 
battalion of light infantry to secure the pass ; 
and, advancing with his corps at the first break 
of day, possessed himself of the heights. He 
was now within three miles of Bedford, and 
his march had been undiscovered. Having 
passed the heights, therefore, he halted his 
division for the soldiers to take some refresh- 
ment, preparatory to the morning's hostilities. 

There we wiU leave them, Avhile we note 
how the other divisions performed their part 
of the plan. 

About midnight General Grant moved from 
Gravesend Bay, with the left wing, composed 
of two brigades and a regiment of regulars, a 
battalion of New York loyalists, and ten field- 
pieces. He proceeded along the road leading 
past the Narrows and Gowanus Cove, toward 
the right of the American Avorks. A picket 
guard of Pennsylvanian and New York militia, 
under Colonel Atlee, retired before him fight- 
ing to a position on the skirts of the wooded 
hiUs. 

In the mean time, scouts had brought in 
word to the American lines that the enemy 
were approaching in force upon the right. 
General Putnam instantly ordered Lord Stirling 
to hasten with the two reghnents nearest at 



264 



BATTLE OF LONG ISLAND. 



[1776. 



hand, and hold them in check. These were 
Haslet's Delaware, and Smallwood's Maryland 
regiments ; the latter the macaronis, in scarlet 
and buff, who had outshone, in camp, their 
yeoman fellow-soldiers in homespun. They 
turned out with great alacrity, and Stirling 
pushed forward with them on the road toward 
the Narrows. By the time he had passed 
Gowanus Cove, daylight began to appear. 
Here, on a rising ground, he met Colonel Atlee 
with his Pennsylvania Provincials, and learned 
that the enemy were near. Indeed, their front 
began to appear in the uncertain twilight. 
Stirling ordered Atlee to place himself in am- 
bush in an orchard on the left of the road, and 
await their coming up, while he formed the 
Delaware and Maryland regiments along a 
ridge from the road, up to a piece of woods on 
the top of the hill. 

Atlee gave the enemy two or three volleys 
as they approached, and then retreated and 
formed in the wood on Lord Stirling's left. By 
this time his lordship was reinforced by Kich- 
line's riflemen, part of whom he placed along 
a hedge at the foot of the hill, and part in front 
of the wood. General Grant threw his light 
troops in the advance, and posted them in an 
orchard and behind hedges, extending in front 
of the Americans, and about one hundred and 
fifty yards distant. 

It was now broad daylight. A rattling fire 
commenced between the British light troops 
and the American riflemen, which continued 
for about two hours, when the former retired 
to their main body. In the mean time, Stir- 
ling's position had been strengthened by the 
arrival of Captain Carpenter with two field- 
pieces. These were placed on the side of the 
hill, so as to command the road and the ap- 
proach for some hundred yards. General 
Grant, likewise, brought up his artillery within 
three hundred yards, and formed his brigades 
on opposite hills, about six hundred yards dis- 
tant. There was occasional cannonading on 
both sides, but neither party sought a general 
action. 

Lord Stirling's object was merely to hold the 
enemy in check ; and the instructions of Gen- 
eral Grant, as we have shown, were not to 
press an attack until aware that Sir Henry 
CHnton was on the left flank of the Ameri- 
cans. 

During this time, De Ileister had commenced 
his part of the plan by opening a cannonade 
from his camp at Flatbush, upon the redoubt. 



at the pass of the wooded hiUs, where Hand and 
his riflemen were stationed. On hearing this. 
General Sullivan, who was within the lines, 
rode forth to Colonel Hand's post to recon- 
noitre. De Heister, however, according to the 
plan of operations, did not advance from Flat- 
bush, but kept up a brisk fire from his artillery 
on the redoubt in front of the pass, which re- 
plied as briskly. At the same time, a cannon- 
ade from a British ship upon the battery at 
Red Hook, contributed to distract the attention 
of the Americans. 

In the mean time terror reigned in Xew York. 
Tlie volleying of musketry and the booming of 
cannon at early dawn, had told of the fighting 
that had commenced. As the morning advanced, 
and platoon firing and the occasional discharge 
of a field-piece were heard in different direc- 
tions, the terror increased. Washington was 
still in doubt whether this Avas but a part of a 
general attack, in which the city was to be in- 
cluded. Five ships of the line were endeavor- 
ing to beat up the bay. "Were they to cannon- 
ade the city, or to land troops above it ? For- 
tunately, a strong head-wind baflied their 
efforts ; but one vessel of inferior force got up 
far enough to open the fire already mentioned 
upon the fort at Red Hook. 

Seeing no likelihood of an immediate attack 
upon the city, "Washington hastened over to 
Brooklyn in his barge, and galloped up to the 
works. lie arrived there in time to witness 
the catastrophe for which all the movemtnts 
of the enemy had been concerted. 

The thundering of artillery in the direction 
of Bedford, had given notice that Sir Henry 
had turned the left of the Americans. De 
Heister immediately ordered Colonel Count 
Donop to advance with his Hessian regiment, 
and storm the redoubt, while he followed with 
his whole division. Sullivan did not remain to 
defend the redoubt. Sir Henry's cannon had 
apprised him of the fatal truth, that his flank 
was turned, and he in danger of being sur- 
rounded. He ordered a retreat to the lines, 
but it was already too late. Scarce had he 
descended from the height, and emerged into 
the plain, when he was met by the British 
light infantry and dragoons, and driven back 
into the woods. By this time De Ileister and 
his Hessians had come up, and now com- 
menced a scene of confusion, consternation, 
and slaughter, in which the troops under "Wil- 
liams and Miles were involved. Hemmed in 
and entrapped between the British and lies- 



JEt. 44.] 



THE BATTLE OF LONG ISLAND. 



265 



sians, and driven from one to the other, the 
Americans fought for a time bravely, or rather 
desperately. Some were cut down and tram- 
pled by the cavalry, others bayoneted without 
mercy by the Hessians. Some rallied in groups, 
and made a brief stand with their rifles from 
rocks or behind trees. The whole pass was a 
scene of carnage, resounding with the clash of 
arms, the tramp of horses, the volleying of 
fire-arms, and the cries of the combatants, with 
now and then the dreary braying of the trum- 
pet. We give the words of one who mingled 
in the fight, and whom we have heard speak 
with horror of the sanguinary fury with which 
the Hessians plied the bayonet. At length 
some of the Americans, by a desperate effort, 
cut their way through the host of foes, and 
effected a retreat to the lines, fighting as they 
went. Others took refuge among the woods 
and fastnesses of the hills, but a great part 
were either killed or taken prisoners. Among 
the latter was General Sullivan. 

Washington, as we have observed, arrived 
in time to witness this catastrophe, but was 
unable to prevent it. He had heard the din of 
the battle in the woods, and seen the smoke 
rising from among the trees ; but a deep column 
of the enemy was descending from the hills on 
the left ; his choicest troops were all in action, 
and he had none but militia to man the works. 
His solicitude was now awakened for the safety 
of Lord Stirling and his corps, who had been 
all the morning exchanging cannonades with 
General Grant. The forbearance of the latter 
in not advancing, though so superior in force, 
had been misinterpreted by the Americans. 
According to Colonel Haslet's statement, the 
Delawares and Marylanders, drawn up on the 
side of the hill, " stood upwards of four hours, 
with a firm and determined countenance, in 
close array, their colors flying, the enemy's artil- 
lery playing on them all the while, not daring 
to advance and attach them^ though six times 
their number, and nearly surrounding them." * 

Washington saw the danger to which these 
brave fellows were exposed, though they could 
not. Stationed on a hill within the lines, he 
commanded, with his telescope, a view of the 
whole field, and saw the enemy's reserve, 
under Cornwallis, marching down by a cross- 
road to get in their rear, and thus place them 
between two fires. With breathless anxiety 
he watched the result. 



* Atlee to Col. Rodney. Sparks, iv. 516. 



The sound of Sir Henry Clinton's cannon ap- 
prised Stirling that the enemy was between 
him and the lines. General Grant, too, aware 
that the time had come for earnest action, was 
closing up, aud had already taken Colonel Atlee 
prisoner. His lordship now thought to eftect 
a circuitous retreat to the lines, by crossing 
the creek which empties into Gowanus Cove, 
near what was called the Yellow Mills. There 
was a bridge and mill-dam, and the creek might 
be forded at low water, but no time was to be 
lost, for the tide was rising. 

Leaving part of his men to keep face toward 
General Grant, Stii'ling advanced with the rest 
to pass the creek, but was suddenly checked 
by the appearance of Cornwallis and his grena- 
diers. 

Washington, and some of his ofiacers on the 
hill, who watched every movement, had sup- 
posed that Stirling and his troops, finding the 
case desperate, would surrender in a body, 
without firing. On the contrary, his lordship 
boldly attacked Cornwallis with half of Small- 
wood's battalion, while the rest of his troops 
retreated across the creek. Washington wrung 
his hands in agony at the sight. " Good God ! " 
cried he, " ^^at brave fellows I must this day 
lose ! " * 

It was, indeed, a desperate fight ; and now 
Smallwood's macaronis showed their game 
spirit. They were repeatedly broken, but as 
often rallied, and renewed the fight. " We 
were on the point of driving Lord Cornwallis 
from his station," writes Lord Stirling, " but 
large reinforcements arriving, rendered it im- 
possible to do more than provide for safety." 

" Being thus surrounded, and no probability 
of a reinforcement," writes a Maiyland officer, 
" his lordship ordered me to retreat with the 
remaining part of our men, and force our way 
to our camp. We soon fell in with a party of 
the enemy, who clubbecl their firelocks, and 
waved their hats as if they meant to surrender 
as prisoners ; but on our advancing within 
sixty yards, they presented their pieces and 
fired, which we returned with so much warmth 
that they soon quitted their post, and retired 
to a large body that was lying in ambuscade." t 

The enemy rallied, and returned to the com- 
bat with additional force. Only five companies 
of Smallwood's battalion were now in action. 



* Letter from an American ofl&cer. Am. Archives, 5th 
Series, ii. 108. 

t Letter from a Marylander. Idem, 5th Series, i. 1232. 



26G 



CLOSE OF THE FIGHT— FATAL NEGLECTS. 



[1776. 



nearly ten minutes. The struggle became des- 
perate on the part of the Americans. Broken 
and disordered, they rallied in a piece of woods, 
and made a second attack. They were again 
overpowered with numbers. Some were sur- 
rounded and bayoneted in a field of Indian 
corn ; otliers joined their comrades who were 
retreating across the marsh. Lord Stirling had 
encouraged and animated his young soldiers by 
his voice and example, but when all was lost, 
he sought out General De Heister, and sur- 
rendered himself as his prisoner. 

More than two hundred and fifty brave fel- 
lows, most of tliera of Smallwood's regiment, 
perished in this deadly struggle, within sight 
of the lines of Brooklyn. That part of the 
Delaware troops who had first crossed the 
creek and swamp, made good their retreat to 
the lines with a trifling loss, and entered the 
camp covered with mud and drenched with 
water, but bringing with them twenty-three 
prisoners, and their standard tattered by grape- 
shot. 

The enemy now concentrated their forces 
within a few hundred yards of the redoubts. 
The grenadiers were within musket shot. 
"Washington expected they wouljl storm the 
works, and prepared for a desperate defence. 
The discharge of a cannon and volleys of mus- 
ketry from the part of the lines nearest to 
them, seemed to bring them to a pause. 

It was, in truth, the forbearance of the 
British commander that prevented a bloody 
conflict. His troops, heated with action and 
flushed with success, were eager to storm the 
works ; but he was unwilUng to risk the loss 
of life that must attend an assault, when the 
object might be attained at a cheaper rate, by 
regular approaches. Checking the ardor of his 
men, therefore, though with some difliculty, he 
drew them oif to a hollow way, in front of the 
lines, but out of reacli of the musketry, and 
encamped there for the night.* 

The loss of the Americans in tliis disastrous 
battle has been ■Variously stated, but is thought 
in killed, wounded, and prisoners to have been 
nearly two thousand ; a large number, con- 
sidering that not above five thousand were 
engaged. The enemy acknowledged a loss of 
380 killed and wounded.t 

The success of the enemy was attributed, in 

* General Ilowe to Lord G. Gcrmaine. Remembrancer, 
iii. S47. 

t Howe states the prisoners at 1094, and computes the 
whole American loss at 3,300. 



some measure, to the doubt in which Washing- 
ton was kept as to the nature of the intended 
attack, and at what point it would chiefly be 
made. This obliged him to keep a great part 
of his forces in New York, and to distribute 
those at Brooklyn over a wide extent of coun- 
try, and at widely distant places. In fact, he 
knew not the superior number of the enemy 
encamped on Long Island, a majority of them 
having been furtively landed in the night, 
some days after the debarkation of the first 
division. 

Much of the day's disaster has been attribut- 
ed, also, to a confusion in the command, caused 
by the illness of General Greene. Putnam, 
who had supplied his place in the emergency 
after the enemy had landed, had not time to 
make himself acquainted with the post, and 
the surrounding country. Sullivan, though in 
his letters he professes to have considered him- 
self subordinate to General Putnam within the 
lines, seems still to have exercised somewhat 
of an independent command, and to have acted 
at his own discretion : while Lord Stirling was 
said to have command of all the troops outside 
of the works. 

The fatal error, however, and one probably 
arising from aU these causes, consisted in leav- 
ing the passes through the wooded hiUs too 
weakly fortified and guarded ; and especially 
in neglecting the eastern road, by which Sir 
Henry Clinton got in the rear of the advanced 
troops, cut them off from the lines, and sub- 
jected them to a cross fire of his own men and 
De Heister's Hessians. 

This able and fatal scheme of the enemy 
might have been thwarted, had the army been 
provided with a few troops of light-horse, to 
serve as videttes. With these to scour the 
roads and bring intelligence, the night march 
of Sir Henry Clinton, so decisive of the for- 
tunes of the day, could hardly have failed to 
be discovered and reported. The Connecticut 
horsemen, therefore, ridiculed by the South- 
erners for their homely equipments, sneered at 
as useless, and dismissed for standing on their 
dignity and privileges as troopers, might, if re- 
tained, have saved the army from being sur- 
prised and severed, its advanced guards routed, 
and those very Southern troops cut up, cap- 
tured, and almost annihilated. 



M-r. 44.] 



PREPARATIONS FOR RETREAT. 



267 



CHAPTER XXXII. 

The night after tlie battle was a weary, yet 
almost sleej^less one to the Americans. Fa- 
tigued, dispirited, many of them sick and wound- 
ed, yet they were, for the most part, without 
tent or other shelter. To Washington it was a 
night of anxious vigil. Every thing boded a 
close and deadly conflict. The enemy had 
pitched a number of tents about a mile distant. 
Their sentries were but a quarter of a mile off, 
and close to the American sentries. At four 
o'clock in the morning, Washington went the 
round of the works, to see that all was right, 
and to speak words of encouragement. The 
morning broke lowering and dreary. Large 
encampments were gradually descried ; to ap- 
pearance, the enemy were twenty thousand 
strong. As the day advanced, their ordnance 
began to play upon the works. They were 
proceeding to intrench themselves, but were 
driven into their tents by a drenching rain. 

Early in the morning General Mifflin arrived 
in camp with part of the troops which had been 
stationed at Fort Washington and King's Bridge. 
He brought with him Shee's prime Philadelphia 
regiment, and Magaw's Pennsylvania regiment, 
both well disciplined and officered, and accus- 
tomed to act together. They were so much 
reduced in number, however, by sickness, that 
they did not amount in the whole, to more 
than eight hundred men. With Mifflin came 
also Colonel Glover's Massachusetts regiment, 
composed chiefly of Marblehead fishermen and 
sailors, hardy, adroit, and weather-proof; 
trimly clad in blue jackets and trowsers. The 
detachment numbered, in the whole, about thir- 
teen hundred men, all fresh and full of spirits. 
Every eye brightened as they marched briskly 
along the line with alert step and cheery as- 
pect. They were posted at the left extremity 
of the intrenchments towards the Wallabout. 

There were skirmishes throughout the day, 
between the riflemen on the advanced posts and 
the British " irregulars," which at times were 
quite severe ; but no decided attack was at- 
tempted. The main body of the enemy kept 
within their tents until the latter part of the 
day ; when they began to break ground at 
about five hundred yards distance from the 
works, as if preparing to carry them by regular 
approaches. 

On the 29th, there was a dense fog over the 
island, that wrapped every thing in mystery. 



In the course of the morning, General Mifflin, 
with Adjutant-General Reed, and Colonel Gray- 
son of Virginia, one of Washington's aides-de- 
camp, rode to the western outposts in the neigh- 
borhood of Red Hook. While they were there, 
a light breeze lifted the fog from a part of the 
New York Bay, and revealed the British ships 
at their anchorage opposite Staten Island. 
There appeared to be an unusual bustle among 
them. Boats were passing to and from the 
admiral's ship, as if seeking or carrying orders. 
Some movement was apparently in agitation. 
The idea occurred to the reconnoitring party 
that the fleet was preparing, should the wind 
hold, and the fog clear away, to come up the 
bay at the turn of the tide, silence the feeble 
batteries at Red Hook and the city, and anchor 
in the East River. In that case the army on 
Long Island would be completely surrounded 
and entrapped. 

Alarmed at this perilous probability, they 
spurred back to head-quarters, to ui-ge the im- 
mediate withdrawal of the army. As this 
might not be acceptable advice. Reed, embold- 
ened by his intimacy with the commander-in- 
chief, undertook to give it. Washington in- 
stantly summoned a council of war. The diffi- 
culty was already apparent, of guarding such 
extensive works with troops fatigued and dis- 
pirited, and exposed to the inclemencies of the 
weather. Other dangers now presented them- 
selves. Their communication with New York 
might be cut off by the fleet from below. 
Other ships had passed round Long Island, and 
were at Flushing Bay, on the Sound. These 
might land troops on the east side of Harlem 
River, and make themselves masters of King's 
Bridge ; that key of Manhattan Island. Taking 
aU these things into consideration, it was resolved 
to cross with the troops to the city that very 
night. 

Never did retreat require greater secrecy and 
circumspection. Nine thousand men, with all 
the munitions of war, were to be withdrawn 
from before a victorious army, encamped so 
near, that every stroke of spade and pickaxe 
from their trenches could be heard. The re- 
treating troops, moreover, were to be embarked 
and conveyed across a strait three-quarters of 
a mile wide, swept by rapid tides. The least 
alarm of their movement Avould bring the enemy 
upon them, and produce a terrible scene of con- 
fusion and carnage at the place of embarkation. 

Washington made the preparatory arrange- 
ments with great alertness, yet profound secre- 



268 



RETREAT FROM LONG ISLAND— WITHDRAWAL FROM THE CAMP. 



[1776. 



cy. Verbal orders were sent to Colonel Hughes, 
who acted as quartermaster-general, to impress 
all water craft, large and smaE, from Spyt den 
Duivel on the Hudson round to Hell Gate on 
the Sound, and have them on the east side of 
the city by evening. The order was issued at 
noon, and so promptly executed, that, although 
some of the vessels had to be brought a distance 
of fifteen miles, they were all at Brooklyn at 
eight o'clock in the evening, and put under the 
management of Colonel Glover's amphibious 
Marblehead regiment. 

To prepare the army for a general movement 
without betraying the object, orders were issued 
for the troops to hold themselves in readiness 
for a night attack upon the enemy. The orders 
caused surprise, for the poor fellows were ex- 
hausted, and their arms rendered nearly useless 
by the rain ; all, however, prepared to obey ; 
but several made nuncupative wills ; as is cus- 
tomary among soldiers on the eve of sudden and 
deadly pei-il. 

According to Washington's plan of retreat, 
to keep the enemy from discovering the with- 
drawal of the Americans until the main body 
should have embarked in the boats and pushed 
off from the shore, General Mifflin was to re- 
main at the lines with his Pennsylvania troops, 
and the gallant remains of Haslet, Smallwood, 
and Hand's regiments, with guards posted and 
sentinels alert, as if nothing extraordinary was 
taking place ; when the main embarkation was 
effected, they were themselves to move off 
quietly, march briskly to the ferry, and em- 
bark. In case of any alarm that might discon- 
cert the arrangements, Brooklyn church was to 
be the rallying place, whither all should repair, 
so as unitedly to resist any attack. 

It was late in the evening when the troops 
began to retire from the breastworks. As one 
regiment quietly withdrew from their station 
on guard, the troops on the right and left moved 
up and filled the vacancy. There was a stifled 
murmur in the camp, unavoidable in a move- 
ment of the kind ; but it gradually died away 
in the direction of the river, as the main body 
moved on in silence and order. The youthful 
Hamilton, whose military merits had won the 
favor of General Greene, and who had lost his 
baggage and a field-piece in the battle, brought 
up the rear of the retreating party. In the 
dead of the night, and in the midst of this 
hushed and anxious movement, a cannon went 
off with a tremendous roar, " The effect," says 
an American who was present, " was at once 



alarming and sublime. If the explosion was 
within our lines, the gun was probably dis- 
charged in the act of spiking it, and could have 
been no less a matter of speculation to the en- 
emy than to ourselves." * 

" What with the greatness of the stake, the 
darkness of the night, the uncertainty of the 
design, and the extreme hazard of the issue," 
adds the same writer, " it would be difllcult to 
conceive a more deeply solemn and interesting 
scene." 

The meaning of this midnight gun was never 
ascertained ; fortunately, though it startled Ihe 
Americans, it failed to rouse the British camp. 

In the mean time the embarkation went on 
with all possible despatch, under the vigilant eye 
of Washington, who stationed himself at the 
ferry, superintending every movement. In his 
anxiety for despatch, he sent back Colonel 
Scammel, one of his aides-de-camp, to hasten 
forward all the troops that were on the march, 
Scammel blundered in executing his errand, and 
gave the order to Mifflin likewise. The general 
instantly called in his pickets and sentinels, and 
set off for the ferry. 

By this time the tide had turned ; there was 
a strong wind from the north-east ; the boats 
with oars were insufficient to convey the troops ; 
those with sails could not make headway against 
the wind and tide. There was some confusion 
at the ferry, and in the midst of it. General 
Mifflin came down with the whole covering 
party ; adding to the embarrassment and uproar. 

" Good God ! General Mifflin ! " cried Wash- 
ington, " I am afraid you have ruined us by so 
unseasonably withdrawing the troops from the 
lines." 

"I did so by your order," replied Mifflin, 
with some warmth. " It cannot be ! " exclaimed 
Washington. " By G — , I did ! " was the blunt 
rejoinder. " Did Scammel act as aide-de-camp 
for the day, or did he not?" "He did." "Then," 
said Mifflin, " I had orders through him." " It 
is a dreadful mistake." rejoined Washington, 
" and unless the troops can regain the lines be- 
fore their absence is discovered by the enemy, 
the most disastrous consequences are to be ap- 
prehended." 

Mifflin led back his men to the lines, which 
had been completely deserted for three-quarters 
of an hour. Fortunately, the dense fog had 
prevented the enemy from discovering that they 
were unoccupied. The men resumed their for- 



' Graydon's Memoirs, edited by I. S. Littell, p. 167. 



^T. 44:.] 



RETREAT TO NEW YORK— THE ENEMY ON LONG ISLAND. 



269 



mer posts, and remained at them until called 
off to cross the ferry. " Whoever has seen 
troops in a similar situation," writes General 
Heath, " or duly contemplates the human heart 
in such trials, will know how to appreciate the 
conduct of these brave men on this occasion." 

The fog which prevailed all this time, seemed 
almost providential. While it hung over Long 
Island, and concealed the movements of the 
Americans, the atmosphere was clear on the 
New York side of the river. The adverse 
wind, too, died away, the river became so 
smooth that the row-boats could be laden almost 
to the gunwale ; and a favoring breeze sprang 
up for the sail-boats. The whole embarkation 
of troops, artillery, ammunition, provisions, cat- 
tle, horses, and carts, was happily effected, and 
by daybreak the greater part had safely reached 
the city, thanks to the aid of Glover's Marble- 
head men. Scarce any thing was abandoned to 
the enemy, excepting a few heavy pieces of ar- 
tillery. At a proper time, Mifflin, with his 
covering party, left the lines, and effected a si- 
lent retreat to the ferry. Washington, though 
repeatedly entreated, refused to enter a boat 
until all the troops were embarked ; and crossed 
the river with the last. 

A Long Island tradition tells how the British 
camp became aware of the march which had 
been stolen upon it.* Near the ferry resided 
a Mrs. Kapelye, whose husband, suspected of 
favoring the enemy, had been removed to the 
interior of New Jersey. On seeing the embark- 
ation of the first detachment, she, out of loyalty 
or revenge, sent off a black servant to inform 
the first British officer he could find, of what 
was going on. The negro succeeded in passing 
the American sentinels, but arrived at a Hessian 
outpost, where he could not make himself un- 
derstood, and was put under guard as a suspi- 
cious person. There he was kept until day- 
break, when an ofiicer visiting the post, exam- 
ined him, and was astounded by his story. 
An alarm was given, the troops were called to 
arms ; Captain Montressor, aide-de-camp of 
General Howe, followed by a handful of men, 
climbed cautiously over the crest of the works, 
and found them deserted. Advanced parties 
were hurried down to the ferry. The fog had 
cleared away, sufiiciently for them to see the 
rear boats of the retreating army half way 
across the river. One boat, still within mus- 
ket-shot, was compelled to return ; it was man- 

* Hist. Long Island, p. 258. 



ned by three vagabonds, who had lingered be- 
hind to plunder. 

This extraordinary retreat, which, in its silence 
and celerity, equalled the midnight fortifying 
of Bunker's Hill, was one of the most signal 
achievements of the war, and redounded greatly 
to the reputation of Washington, who, we are 
told, for forty-eight hours preceding the safe 
extricating of his army from their perilous situa- 
tion, scarce closed his eyes, and was the greater 
part of the time on horseback. Many, how- 
ever, who considered the variety of risks and 
dangers which surrounded the camp, and the 
apparently fortuitous circumstances which 
averted them all, were disposed to attribute 
the safe retreat of the patriot army to a peculiar 
Providence. 



CHAPTER XXXIII. 

The enemy had no w possession of Long Island. 
British and Hessian troops garrisoned the works 
at Brooklyn, or were distributed at Bushwick, 
Newtown, Hell Gate, and Flushing. Admiral 
Howe came up with the main body of the fleet, ' 

and anchored close to Governor's Island, within 
cannon-shot of the city.. 

" Our situation is truly distressing," writes 
Washington to the President of Congress, on 
the 2d of September. " The check our detach- 
ment sustained on the 27th ultimo, has dispirited 
too great a proportion of our troops, and filled • 
their minds with apprehension and despair. 
The militia, instead of calling forth their utmost 
efforts to a brave and manly opposition in order 
to repair our losses, are dismayed, intractable, 
and impatient to return. Great numbers of 
them have gone off; in some instances almost 
by whole regiments, by half ones, and by com- 
panies, at a time. * * * * With the deep- 
est concern, I am obliged to confess my want 
of cofifidence in the generality of the troops. 
* * * Our number of men at present fit for 
duty is under twenty thousand. I have ordered 
General Mercer to send the men intended for 
the flying camp to this place, about a thousand 
in number, and to try with the militia, if prac- 
ticable, to make a diversion upon Staten Island. 
Till of late, I had no doubt in my own mind of 
defending this place ; nor should I have yet, 
if the men would do their duty, but this I de- 
spair of. 

"If we should be obliged to abandon the 



270 



PROPOSED ABANDONMENT OF NEW YORK. 



[1776, 



tovrn, ought it to stand as winter quarters for 
the enemy? They would derive great conven- 
iences from it, on the one hand, and much prop- 
erty would be destroyed, on the other. It is 
an important question, but will admit of but 
little time for deliberation. At present, I dare 
say the enemy mean to preserve it if they can. 
If Congress, therefore, should resolve upon the 
destruction of it, the resolution should be a 
profound secret, as the knowledge will make a 
capital change in their plans." 

Colonel Eeed, writing on the same day to his 
wife, says, " I have only time to say that I am 
alive and well ; as to spirits, but middling. * * 
My country will, I trust, yet be free, whatever 
may be our fate who r.re cooped up, or are in 
danger of so being, on this tongue of land, 
where we ought never to have been." * 

We turn to cite letters of the very same date 
from British officers on Long Island, full of ru- 
mors and surmises. " I have just heard," writes 
an Englisli field-officer, " there has been a most 
dreadful fray in the town of I^ew York. The 
New Englanders insisted on setting the town on 
fire, and retreating. This was opposed by the 
New Yorkers, who Avere joined by the Pennsyl- 
vanians, and a battle has been the consequence, 
in which many have lost their lives. By the 
steps our general is taking, I imagine he will 
effectually cut off their retreat at King's Bridge, 
by which the island of New York is joined to 
the continent." 

An English officer of the guards, writing from 
camp on the same day, varies the rumor. The 
Pennsylvanians, according to his version, joined 
with the New Englanders in the project to set 
fire to the town ; both liad a battle with the 
New Yorkers on the subject, and then withdrew 
themselves from the city — which, " with other 
favorable circumstances," gave the latter writer 
a lively "hope that this distressful business 
would soon be brought to a happy issue." 

Another letter gives a different version. " In 
the night of the 2d instant, three persons es- 
caped from the city in a canoe, and informed 
our general that Mr. Washington had ordered 
three battalions of New York Provincials to 
leave New York, and that they should be re- 
placed by an equal number of Connecticut 
troops ; but the former, assured that the Con- 
necticutians would burn and destroy all the 
houses, peremptorily refused to give up their 
city, declaring that no cause of exigency v,-hat- 



* Force's Am. Archives, 5th Series, ii. 123, 



ever should induce them to intrust the defence 
of it to any other than her own inhabitants. 
This stubborn and spirited resolution prevailed 
over the order of their commander, and the 
New Yorkers continue snugly in possession of 
that place." * 

" Matters go on sAvimmingly," writes another 
officer. " I don't doubt the next news we send 
you, is, that New York is ours, though in ashes, 
for the rebel troops have vowed to put it in 
flames if the tory troops get over." 

An American officer writes to an absent New 
Yorker in a different tone. " I fear we shall 
evacuate your poor city. The very thought 
gives me the horrors ! " Still he indulges a 
vague hope of succor from General Lee, who 
was returning, all glorious, from his successes at 
the South. " General Lee," writes he, " is 
hourly expected, as if from heaven, — with a 
legion of flaming swordsmen." It was, how- 
ever, what Lee himself would have termed a 
mere hrutum fulmen. 

These letters show the state of feeling in the 
opposite camps, at this watchful moment, when 
matters seemed hurrying to a crisis. 

On the night of Monday (Sept. 2d), a forty 
gun ship, taking advantage of a favorable wind 
and tide, passed between Governor's Island and 
Long Island, swept unharmed by the batteries 
which opened upon her, and anchored in Turtle 
Bay, above the city. In the morning, Washing- 
ton despatched Lfajor Crane of the artillerj", 
with two twelve pctinders and a howitzer to 
annoy her from the New York shore. They 
hulled her several times, and obliged her to 
take shelter behind Blackwcll's Island. Several 
other ships-of-war, with transports and store- 
ships, had made their appearance in the upper 
part of the Sound, having gone round Long Isl- 
and. 

As the city might speedily be attacked, Wash- 
ington caused all the sick and wounded to be 
conveyed to Orangetown, in the Jerseys, and 
such military stores and baggage as were not 
immediately needed, to be removed, as fast as 
conveyances could be procured, to a port par- 
tially fortified at Dobbs' Ferry, on the eastern 
bank of the Hudson, about twenty-two miles 
above the city. 

Reed, in his letters to his wife, talks of the 
dark and mysterious motions of the enemy, and 
the equally dark and intricate councils of Con- 
gress, by which the army were disheartened 



Force's Am. Archives, 6th Series, ii. 168. 



Mi:. 44.] 



YEARNINGS FOR HOME— HOWE'S OVERTURE TO CONGRESS. 



271 



and perplexed. " We are still here," writes he 
on the 6th, "in a posture somewhat awkward ; 
we think (at least I do) that we cannot stay, 
and yet we do not know how to go, so that we 
may be properly said to be between hawk and 
buzzard." 

The " shameful and scandalous desertions," 
as Washington termed them, continued. In a 
few days the Connecticut militia dwindled down 
from six to less than two thousand. " The im- 
pulse for going home was so irresistible," writes 
lie, " that it answered no purpose to oppose it. 
Though I would not discharge them, I have 
been obliged to acquiesce." 

Still his considerate mind was tolerant of 
their defection. " Men," said he, " accustomed 
to unbounded freedom, cannot brook the re- 
straint which is indispensably necessary to the 
good order and govei'nment of an army." And 
again, " Men Just dragged from the tender scenes 
of domestic life, unaccustomed to the din of 
arms, totally unacquainted with every kind of 
military skill (which is followed by a want of 
confidence in themselves, when opposed to 
troops regularly trained, superior in knowledge, 
and superior in arms), are timid and ready to 
fly from their own shadows. Besides, the sud- 
den change in their manner of living, brings 
on an unconquerable desire to return to their 
homes." 

Greene, also, who coincided so much with 
Washington in opinions and sentiments, ob- 
serves : " People coming from home with all the 
tender feelings of domestic life, are not suffi- 
ciently fortified with natural courage to stand 
the shocking scenes of war. To march over dead 
men, to hear without concern the groans of tjie 
wounded — I say few men can stand such scenes 
unless steeled by habit or fortified by military 
pride." 

!N"or was this ill-timed yearning for home 
confined to the yeomanry of Connecticut, Avho 
might well look back to their humble farms, 
where they had left the plough standing in the 
furrow, and where every thing might go to ruin, 
and their family to want in their absence. 
Some of the gentlemen volunteers from, beyond 
the Delaware, who had made themselves merry 
at the expense of the rustic soldiery of New 
England, were likewise among the first to feel 
the homeward impulse. " When I look 
around," said Reed, the adjutant-general, "and 
see how few of the numbers who talked so loud- 
ly of death and honor are around me, I am lost 
in wonder and surprise. Some of our Philadel- 



phia gentlemen who came over on visits, upon 
the first cannon, went off in a most violent hur- 
ry. Your noisy sons of liberty, are, I find, the 
quietest on the field." * 

Present experience induced Washington to re- 
iterate the opinion he had repeatedly expressed 
to Congress, that little reliance was to be placed 
on militia enlisted for short periods. The only 
means of protecting the national Hberties from 
great hazard, if not utter loss, was, he said, an 
army enlisted for the war. 

The thousand men ordered from the flying 
camp were furnished by General Mercer. They 
were Maryland troops under Colonels Griffith 
and Richardson, and were a seasonable addition 
to his efifective forces ; but the ammunition car- 
ried off by the disbanding mihtia was a serious 
loss at this critical juncture. 

A work had been commenced on the Jersey 
shore opposite Fort Washington, to aid in pro- 
tecting Putnam's chevaux-de-frise which had 
been sunk between them. This work had re- 
ceived the name of Fort Constitution (a name 
already borne by one of the forts in the High- 
lands). Troops were drawn from the flying 
camp to make a strong encampment in the vi- 
cinity of the fort, with an able officer to com- 
mand it, and a skilful engineer to strengthen 
the works. It was hoped, by the co-operation 
of these opposite forts and the chevaus-de-frise, 
to command the Hudson, and prevent the pass- 
ing and rei)assing of hostile ships. 

The British, in the mean time, forbore to 
press further hostilities. Lord Howe was really 
desirous of a peaceful adjustment of the strife 
between the colonies and the mother country, 
and supposed this a propitious moment for a 
new attempt at pacification. He accordingly 
sent off General Sullivan on parole, charged 
with an overture to Congress. In this he declared 
himself empowered and disposed to compromise 
the dispute between Great Britain and Ameri- 
ca, on the most favorable terms, and though 
he could not treat with Congress as a legally 
organized body, he was desirous of a conference 
with some of its members. These, for the time, 
he should consider only as private gentlemen, 
but if in the conference any probable scheme 
of accommodation should be agreed upon, 
the authority of Congress would afterwards be 
acknowledged, to render the compact complete.! 
The message caused some embarrassment in 
Congress. To accede to the interview might 



* Life of Rccd, i. 231. 

t Civil War, vol. i., p. 190. 



272 



COMMITTEE OF CONFERENCE— FRANKLIN'S LETTER TO LORD HOWE. [1776. 



seem to waive the question of independence ; 
to decline it, was to shut the door on all hope 
of conciliation, and might alienate the co-oper- 
ation of some worthy whigs who still clung to 
that hope. After much debate, Congress, on 
the 5th September, replied, that, being the 
representatives of the free and independent 
States of America, they could not send any 
members to confer with his lordship in their 
private characters, but that, ever desirous of 
establishing peace on reasonable terms, they 
would send a committee of their body to ascer- 
tain what authority he had to treat with per- 
sons authorized by Congress, and what propo- 
sitions he had to offer. 

A committee was chosen on the 6th of Sep- 
tember, composed of John Adams, Edward 
Eutledge, and Doctor Franklin. The latter, in 
the preceding year, during his residence in 
England, had become acquainted with Lord 
Howe, at the house of his lordship's sister, the 
Honorable Mrs. Howe, and they had held fre- 
quent conversations on the subject of American 
affairs, in the course of which, his lordship had 
intimated the possibility of his being sent com- 
missioner to settle the differences in America. 

Franklin had recently adverted to this in a 
letter to Lord Howe. " Your lordship may 
possibly remember the tears of joy that wet my 
cheek, when, at your good sister's in London, 
you gave me expectations that a reconciliation 
might soon take place. I had the misfor- 
tune to find these expectations disappointed. 

" The well-founded esteem, and, permit me 
to say, affection, which I shall always have for 
your lordship, makes it painful for me to see 
you engaged in conducting a war, the great 
ground of which, as expressed in your letter, is 
' the necessity of preventing the American trade 
from passing into foreign channels.' * * * 
I know your great motive in coming hither 
was the hope of being instrumental in a recon- 
ciliation ; and I believe that when yoii find 
that impossible on any terms given to you to 
propose, you will relinquish so odious a com- 
mand, and return to a more honorable private 
station." 

" I can have no difficulty to acknowledge," 
replied Lord Howe, " that the powers I am in- 
vested with were never calculated to negotiate 
a reunion with America, under any other de- 
scription than as subject to the crown of Great 
Britain. But I do esteem these powers com- 
petent, not only to confer and negotiate with 



any gentlemen of influence in the colonies upon 
the terms, but also to effect a lasting peace 
and reunion between the two countries, were 
the tempers of the colonies such as professed 
in the last petition of Congress to the king." * 

A hope of the kind lingered in the breast of 
his lordship when he sought the proposed con- 
ference. It was to take place on the 11th, at a 
house on Staten Island, opposite to Amboy ; at 
which latter place the veteran Mercer was sta- 
tioned with his flying camp. At Amboy, the 
committee found Lord Howe's barge waiting 
to receive them ; with a British officer of rank, 
who was to remain within the American lines 
during their absence, as a hostage. This guar- 
antee of safety was promptly declined, and the 
parties crossed together to Staten Island. The 
admiral met them on their landing, and con- 
ducted them through his guards to his house. 

On opening the conference, his lordship again 
intimated that he could not treat Avith them as 
a committee of Congress, but only confer with 
them as private gentlemen of influence in the 
colonies on the means of restoring peace be- 
tween the two countries. 

The commissioners replied that as their busi- 
ness was to hear, he might consider them in 
what light he pleased ; but that they should 
consider themselves in no other character than 
that in which they were placed by order of 
Congress. 

Lord Howe then entered into a discourse 
of considerable length, but made no explicit 
proposition of peace, nor promise of redress of 
grievances, excepting on condition that the 
colonies should return to their allegiance. 

This, the commissioners replied, was not now 
to be expected. Their repeated humble peti- 
tions to the king and parliament having been 
treated with contempt, and answered by addi- 
tional injuries, and war having been declared 
against them, the colonies had declared their 
independence, and it was not in the power of 
Congress to agree for them that they should 
return to their foi-mer dependent state.f 

His lordship expressed his sorrow that no 
accommodation was likely to take place ; and, 
on breaking up the conference, assured his old 
friend. Dr. Franklin, that he should suffer great 
pain in being obliged to distress those for whom 
he had so much regard. 

" I feel thankful to your lordship for your 
regard," replied Franklin, good-humoredly ; 



» Fr.inklin's Writintju, v. 103. 

t Report of the Comm. to Congress., Sept 13, 1776. 



^T, 44.] 



MOVEMENTS OF THE ENEMY— COUNCIL OF WAR. 



273 



" the Americans, on their part, "will endeavor 
to lessen the pain you may feel, by taking good 
care of themselves." 

The result of this conference had a beneficial 
effect. It showed that his lordship had no 
power but what was given by the act of Parlia- 
ment ; and put an end to the popular notion 
that he was vested with secret powers to nego 
tiate an adjustment of grievances. 



CHAPTER XXXIY. 

Since the retreat from Brooklyn, "Washington 
had narrowly watched the movements of the 
enemy to discover their further plans. Their 
whole force, excepting about four thousand men, 
had been transferred from Staten to Long 
Island. A great part was encamped on the 
peninsula between Newtown Inlet and Plushing 
Bay. A battery had been thrown up near the 
extremity of the peninsula, to check an Ameri- 
can battery at Horen's Hook opposite, and to 
command the mouth of Harlem River. Troops 
were subsequently stationed on the islands about 
Hell Gate. "It is evident," writes Washing- 
ton, " the enemy mean to enclose us on the 
island of New York, by taking post in our rear, 
while the shipping secures the front, and thus 
by cutting off our communication with the 
country, oblige us to fight them on their own 
terms, or surrender at discretion ; or by a bril- 
liant stroke endeavor to cut this army in 
pieces, and secure the collection of arms and 
stores, which, they well know, we shall not be 
able soon to replace." * 

The question was, hoAV could their plans be 
most successfully opposed ? On every side, he 
saw a choice of difiiculties ; every measure was 
to be formed with some apprehension that all 
the troops would not do their duty. History, 
experience, the opinion of able friends in Eu- 
rope, the fears of the enemy, even the declara- 
tions of Congress, all concurred in demonstrat- 
ing that the war on the American side should 
be defensive ; a war of posts ; that, on all occa- 
sions, a general action should be avoided, and 
nothing put at risk unnecessarily. " With 
these views," said Washington, " and being 
fully persuaded that it would be presumption 
to draw out our young troops into open ground 
against their superiors, both in number and 



* Letter to the President of Congress. 

18 



discipline, I have never spared the spade and 
pickaxe." 

In a council of war, held on the 7th of Sep- 
tember, the question was discussed, whether 
the city should be defended or evacuated. All 
admitted that it would not be tenable, should 
it be cannonaded and bombarded. Several of 
the council, among whom was General Putnam, 
were for a total and immediate removal from 
the city ; urging that one part of the army 
might be cut off before the other could support 
it ; the extremities being at least sixteen miles 
apart ; and the whole, when collected, being 
inferior to the enemy. By removing, they 
would deprive the enemy of the advantage of 
their ships ; they would keep them at bay ; 
put nothing at hazard ; keep the army together 
to be recruited another year, and preserve the 
unspent stores and the heavy artillery. Wash- 
ington himself inclined to this opinion. Others, 
however, were unwilling to abandon a place 
which had been fortified with great cost and 
labor, and seemed defensible ; and which, by 
some, had been considered the key to the 
northern country ; it might dispirit the troops, 
and enfeeble the cause. General Mercer, who 
was prevented by illness from attending the 
council, communicated his opinion by letter. 
" We should keep New York if possible," said 
he, " as the acquiring of it will give eclat to the 
arms of Great Britain, afford the soldiers good 
quarters, and furnish a safe harbor for the fleet." 

General Greene, also, being still unwell, con- 
voyed his opinion in a letter to Washington, dat- 
ed Sept. 5th. He advised that the army should 
abandon the city and island, and post itself at 
King's Bridge and along the Westchester shore. 
That there was no object to be obtained by 
holding any position below King's Bridge. The 
enemy might throw troops on Manhattan 
Island, from their camps on Long Island, and 
their ships on the Hudson, and form an in- 
trenched line across it, between the city and 
the middle division of the army, and support 
the two flanks of the line by their shipping. 
In such case, it would be necessary to fight 
them on disadvantageous terms, or submit. 

The city and island, he observed, were objects 
not to be put in competition with the general 
interests of America, Two-thirds of the city 
and suburbs belonged to tories, there was no 
great reason, therefore, to run any considerable 
risk in its defence. The honor and interests of 
America required a general and speedy retreat. 
But as the enemy, once in possession, could 



274 



DISTRIBUTION OF THE ARMY— THE ENEMY AT HELL GATE. 



[1776. 



never be dislodged without a superior naval 
force ; as the place would furnish them with 
excellent winter quarters and barrack room, and 
an abundant market, he advised to burn both 
city and suburbs before retreating.* 

Well might the poor, harassed citizens feel 
hysterical, threatened as they were by sea and 
land, and their very defenders debating the 
policy of burning their houses over their heads. 
Fortunately for them. Congress had expressly 
forbidden that any harm should be done to 
New York, trusting, that though the enemy 
might occupy it for a time, it would ultimately 
be regained. 

After much discussion a middle course was 
adopted. Putnam, with five thousand men, was 
to be stationed in the city. Heath, with nine 
thousand, was to keep guard on the upper part 
of tlie island, and oppose any attempt of the 
enemy to land. His troops, among whom were 
Magaw's, Shee's, Hand's, and Miles's Pennsyl- 
vanian battalions, and Haslet's Delaware regi- 
ment, were posted about King's Bridge and its 
vicinity. 

The third division, composed principally of 
militia, was under the command of Generals 
Greene and Spencer, the former of whom, how- 
ever, was still unwell. It was stationed about 
the centre of the island, chiefly along Turtle 
Bay and Kip's Bay, where strong works had 
been thrown up, to guard against any landing 
of troops from the ships or from the encanip- 
ments on Long Island. It was also to hold 
itself ready to support either of the other divi- 
sions. "Washington himself had his head-quar- 
tei's at a short distance from the city. A res- 
olution of Congress, passed the 10th of Sep- 
tember, left the occupation or abandonment of 
the city entirely at "Washington's discretion. 
Nearly the whole of his officers, too, in a 
second council of war, retracted their former 
opinion, and determined that the removal of 
his army was not only prudent, but absolutely 
necessary. Three members of the council, 
however, Generals Spencer, Heath, and George 
Clinton, tenaciously held to the former de- 
cision. 

Convinced of the propriety of evacuation, 
"Washington prepared for it by ordering the re- 
moval of all stores, excepting such as were in- 
dispensable for the subsistence of the troops 
while they remained. A letter from a Rhode 
Island officer, on a visit to New York, gives an 

* Force's Am. Archives, 5tli Series, ii. 182. 



idea of its agitations. " On the 13th of Sep- 
tember, just after dinner, three frigates and a 
forty-gun ship sailed up the East River with a 
gentle breeze, toward HeU Gate, and kept up 
an incessant fire, assisted by the cannon at 
Governor's Island. The batteries of the city 
returned the ships the like salutation. Three 
men agape, idle spectators, had the misfortune 
of being killed by one cannon ball. One shot 
struck within six feet of General "Washington, 
as he was on horseback, riding into the fort." * 

On the 14th, "Washington's baggage was re- 
moved to King's Bridge, whither head-quarters 
were to be transferred the same evening ; it 
being clear that the enemy were preparing to 
encompass him on the island. " It is now a 
trial of skiU whether they will or not," writes 
Colonel Reed, " and every night we lie down 
with the most anxious fears for the fate of to- 
morrow." t 

About simset of the same day, six more 
ships, two of them men-of-war, passed up the 
Sound and joined those above. "Within half an 
hour came expresses spurring to head-quarters, 
one from Mifflin at King's Bridge, the other 
from Colonel Sargent at Iloren's Hook. Three 
or four thousand of the enemy were crossing 
at Hell Gate to the islands at the mouth' of 
Harlem River, where numbers were already 
encamped. An immediate lauding at Harlem, 
or Morrisania, was apprehended. "Washington 
was instantly in the saddle, spurring to Harlem 
Heights. The night, however, passed away qui- 
etly. In the morning the enemy commenced 
operations. Three ships-of-war stood up the 
Hudson, " causing a most tremendous firing, as- 
sisted by the cannons of Governor's Island, which 
firing was returned from the city as well as the 
scarcity of heavy cannon would allow." | The 
ships anchored opposite Bloomingdale, a few 
miles above the city, and put a stop to the re- 
moval by water of stores and provisions to 
Dobbs' Ferry, About eleven o'clock, the ships 
in the East Ri\"er commenced a heavy cannon- 
ade upon the breastworks between Turtle Bay 
and the city. At the same time two divisions 
of the troops encamped on Long Island, one 
British, under Sir Henry Clinton, and the other 
Hessian, under Colonel Donop, emerged in 
boats from the deep, woody recesses of New- 
town Inlet, and under cover of the fire from the 



* Col. Babcock to Gov. Cooke. Am. Archives, 5th 
Series, ii. 443. 

t Kccd to Mrs. Reed. 

t Letter of Col. Babcock to Go.v. Cooke. 



Ml. 44.] RAGE AND PERIL OF WASHINGTON AT TURTLE BAY— PUTNAM'S RETREAT. 275 



ships, began to land at two points between 
Turtle and Kip's Bays. The breastworks were 
manned by militia who had recently served at 
Brooklyn. Disheartened by their late defeat, 
they fled at the first advance of the enemy. 
Two brigades of Putnam's Connecticut troops 
(Parsons' and Fellows') which had been sent 
that morning to support them, caught the 
panic, and regardless of the commands and 
entreaties of their officers, joined in the general 
scamper. 

At this moment "Washington, who had 
mounted his horse at the first sound of the 
cannonade, came galloping to the scene of con- 
fusion ; riding in among the fugitives, he en- 
deavored to rally and restore them to order. 
All in vain. At the first appearance of sixty 
or seventy red coats, they bi;flk©-?lgain without 
firing a shot, and fled in headlong terror. Los- 
ing all self-command at the sight of such das- 
tardly conduct, he dashed his hat upon the 
ground in a transport of rage. " Are these 
the men," exclaimed he, " with whom I am to 
defend America ! " In a paroxysm of passion 
and despair he snapped his pistols at some of 
them, threatened others with his sword and 
was so heedless of his own danger, that he 
might have fallen into the hands of the enemy, 
who w^ere not eighty yards distant, had not an 
aide-de-camp seized the bridle of his horse, 
and absolutely hurried him away.* 

It was one of the rare moments of his life, 
when the vehement element of his nature was 
stirred up from its deep recesses. He soon re- 
covered his self-possession, and took meas- 
ures against the general peril. The eneniy 
might land another force about Hell Gate, 
seize upon Harlem Heights, the strong central 
portion of the island, cut off all retreat of the 
lower divisions, and effectually sever his army. 
In all haste, therefore, he sent off an express 
to the forces encamped above, directing them 
to secure that position immediately ; while 
another express to Putnam, ordered an imme- 
diate retreat from the city to those heights. 

It was indeed a perilous moment. Had the 
enemy followed up their advantage, and seized 



* Gra3'don'8 Memoirs, Littell's edition, p. 174. General 
Greene, in a letter to a fricud, -writes : " We made a mis- 
erable, disorderly retreat from New York, owing to the 
conduct of the militia, who ran at the appearance of the 
enemj-'a advanced guard. Fellows' and Parsons' brigades 
ran away from about fifty men, and left his excellency on 
the ground, within eighty yards of the enemj', so vexed at 
the infamous conduct of his troops, that he sought death 
rather than life." 



upon the heights, before thus occupied ; or had 
they extended themselves across the island, 
from the jjlace where they had effected a land- 
ing, the result might have been most disastrous 
to the Americans. Fortunately, they contented 
themselves for the present with sending a 
strong detachment down the road along the 
East Eiver, leading to the city, while the main 
body, British and Hessians, rested on their 
arms. 

In the mean time, Putnam, on receiving 
Washington's express, called in his pickets and 
guards, and abandoned the city in all haste, 
leaving behind him a lai'gc quantity of provi- 
sions and military stores, and most of the heavy 
cannon. To avoid the enemy he took the 
Bloomingdale road, though this exposed him to 
be raked by the enemy's ships anchored in the 
Hudson. It was a forced march, on a sultry 
day, under a burning sun, and amid clouds of 
dust. His army was encumbered with women 
and children and all kinds of baggage. Many 
were overcome by fatigue and thirst, some per- 
ished by hastily drinking cold water ; but Put- 
nam rode backward and forward, hurrying 
every one on. 

Colonel Humphreys, at that time a volunteer 
in his division, writes : " I had frequent op- 
portunities that day of beholding him, for the 
purpose of issuing orders and encouraging the 
troops, flying on his horse covered with foam, 
wherever his presence was most necessary. 
Without his extraordinary exertions, the guards 
must have been inevitably lost, and it is proba- 
ble the entire corps would have been cut in 
pieces. 

" When -we were not far from Bloomingdale, 
an aide-de-camp came to him at full speed, to 
inform liim that a column of British infantry 
was descending upon our right. Our rear was 
soon fii-ed upon, and the colonel of our regi- 
ment, whose order was just communicated for 
the front to file off to the left, was killed upon 
the spot. With no other loss, we joined the 
army after dark upon the heights of Harlem."* 

Tradition gives a circumstance which favored 
Putnam's retreat. The British generals, in 
passing by Murray Hill, the country- residence 
of a patriot of that name who was of the So- 
ciety of Friends, made a halt to seek some re- 
freshment. The proprietor of the house was 
absent ; but his wife set cake and wine before 



* Peabody, Life of Putnam. Sparks' American Biog., 
vii. 189. 



276 



FORTIFIED CAMP AT KING'S BRIDGE— ALEXANDER HAMILTON. 



[inc. 



them in abundance. So grateful were these 
refreshments in the heat of the day, that they 
Hngered over their -wine, quaffing and laugh- 
ing, and bantering their patriotic hostess about 
the ludicrous panic and discomfiture of her 
countrymen. In the mean time, before they 
were roused from their regale, Putnam and his 
forces had nearly passed by, within a mile of 
them. All the loss sustained by him in his 
perilous retreat, was fifteen killed, and about 
three hundred taken prisoners. It became, 
adds the tradition, a common saying among 
the American officers, that Mrs. Murray saved 
Putnam's division of the army.* 



CEAPTER XXXY. 

The fortified camp, where the main body of 
the army was now assembled, was upon that 
neck of land several miles long, and for the 
most part not above a mile wide, wliich forms 
the upper part of Manhattan or New York 
Island. It forms a chain of rocky heights, and 
is separated from tlie mainland by Harlem 
Eiver, a narrow strait, extending from Hell 
Gate on the Sound, to Spyt den Duivel, a creek 
or inlet of the Hudson. Fort "Washington oc- 
cupied the crest of one of the rocky heights 
above mentioned, overlooking the Hudson, and 
about two miles north of it was King's Bridge, 
crossing Spyt den Duivel Creek, and forming 
at that time the only pass from Manhattan 
Island to the mainland. 

About a mile and a half south of the fort, a 
double row of lines extended across the neck 
from Harlem River to the Hudson. They 
faced south towards New York, were about a 
quarter of a mile apart, and were defended by 
batteries. 

There were strong advanced posts, about 
two miles south of the outer line ; one on the 
left of Harlem, commanded by General Spen- 
cer, the other on the right, at what was called 
McGowan's Pass, commanded by General Put- 
nam. About a mile and a half beyond these 
posts the British lines extended across the 
island from Horen's Ilook to the Hudson, being 
a continuous encampment, two miles in length, 
with both flanks covered by shipping. An 
open plain intervened between the hostile 
camps. 

"Washington had established his head-quarters 



■ Thacher's Military Journal, p. 70. 



about a quarter of a mile within the inner line ; 
at a country-seat, the owners of which were 
absent. It belonged in fact to Colonel Roger 
Morris, his early companion in arms in Brad- 
dock's campaign, and his successful competitor 
for the hand of Miss Mary Philipse. Morris 
had remained in America, enjoying the wealth 
he had acquired by his marriage ; but had ad- 
hered to the royal party, and was a member of 
the council of the colony. It is said that at 
this time he was residing in the Highlands at 
Beverley, the seat of his brother-in-law, "Wash- 
ington's old friend, Beverley Robinson.* 

While thus posted, Washington was inces- 
santly occupied in fortifying the approaches to 
his camp by redoubts, abatis, and deep in- 
trenchments. " Here," said he, " I should hope 
the enemy, in case of attack, would meet a de- 
feat, if tlie generality of our troops would be- 
have with tolerable bravery ; but experience, 
to my extreme affliction, has convinced me 
that it is ratlier to be wished than expected. 
However, I trust there are many who will act 
like men worthy of the blessings of freedom." 
The late disgraceful scene at Kip's Bay was 
evidently rankling in his mind. 

In the course of his rounds of inspection, he 
was struck with the skill and science displayed 
in the construction of some of the works, which 
were thrown up under the direction of a youth- 
ful captain of artillery. It proved to be the 
same young officer, Alexander Hamilton, whom 
Greene had recommended to his notice. After 
some conversation with him, Washington in- 
vited him to his marquee, and thus commenced 
that intercourse which has indissolubly linked 
their memories together. 

On the morning of the IGth, word was 
brought to head-quarters that the enemy were 
advancing in three large columns. There had 
been so many false reports, that Reed, the ad- 
jutant-general, obtained leave to sally out and 
ascertain the truth. Washington himself soon 
mounted his horse and rode towards the ad- 
vanced posts. On arriving there he heard a 
brisk firing. It was kept up for a time with 
great spirit. There was evidently a sharp con- 
flict. At length Reed came galloping back 
with information. A strong detachment of 
the enemy had attacked the most advanced 
post, which was situated on a hill skirted by a 
wood. It had been bravely defended by Lieu- 



* The portrait of Miss Mary Philipse is still to be seen 
in the possession of Frederick Phillips, Esquire, at the 
Grange, on the Highlands opposite "West Point. 



^T. 44.] 



THE ENEMY ADVANCE— A SUCCESSFUL SKIRMISH. 



277 



tenaut-Colonel Kuowlton, Putnam's favorite 
officer, who had distinguished himself at Bun- 
ker's Hill ; he had under him a party of Con- 
necticut rangers, volunteers from different regi- 
ments. After skirmishing for a time, the party 
had heen overpowered by numbers and driven 
in, and the outpost was taken possession of by 
the enemy. Reed supposed the latter to be 
about three hundred strong, but they were 
much stronger, the main part having been con- 
cealed behind a rising ground in the wood. 
They were composed of a battalion of light 
infantry, another of Royal Highlanders, and 
three companies of Ilessian riflemen ; all under 
command of General Leslie. 

Reed urged that ti'oops should be sent to 
support the brave fellows who had behaved so 
well. "While he was talking with Washington, 
" the enemy," he says, " appeared in open 
view, and sounded their bugles in the most in- 
sulting manner, as usual after a fox-chase. I 
never," adds he, " felt such a sensation before ; 
it seemed to crown our disgrace." 

Washington, too, Avas stung by the taunting 
note of derision ; it recalled the easy triumph 
of the enemy at Kip's Bay. Resolved that 
something should be done to wipe out that dis- 
grace, and rouse the spirits of the army, he 
ordered out three companies from Colonel 
Weedon's regiment, just arrived from Virginia, 
and sent them under Major Leitch, to join 
Knowlton's rangers. The troops thus united 
were to get in the rear of the enemy, while a 
feigned attack was made upon them in front. 

The plan was partially successful. As the 
force advanced to make the false attack, the 
enemy ran down the hill, and took what they 
considered an advantageous position behind 
some fences and bushes which skirted it. A 
firing commenced between them and the ad- 
vancing party, but at too great distance to do 
much harm on either side. In the mean time, 
Knowlton and Leitch, ignorant of this change 
in the- enemy's position, having made a circuit, 
came upon them in flank instead of in rear. 
They were sharply received. A vivid contest 
took place, in which Connecticut vied with 
Virginia in bravery. In a little while Major 
Leitch received three bullets in his side, and 
was borne off the field. Shortly afterward, a 
wound in the head from a musket ball, brought 
Knowlton to the ground. Colonel Reed placed 
him on his horse, and conveyed him to a dis- 
tant redoubt. The men, undismayed by the 
fall of their leaders, fought with unflinching 



resolution under the command of their cap- 
tains. The enemy were reinforced by a battal- 
ion of Hessians and a company of chasseurs. 
Washftigton likewise sent reinforcements of 
New England and Maryland troops. The ac- 
tion ^waxed hotter and hotter ; the enemy were 
driven from the wood into the plain, and pushed 
for some distance ; the Americans were pursu- 
ing them with ardor, when Washington, hav- 
ing effected the object of this casual encounter, 
and being unwilling to risk a general action, 
ordered a retreat to be sounded. 

It was with difficulty, however, his men 
could be called off, so excited were they by the 
novelty of pursuing an enemy. They retired 
in good order; and, as it subsequently ap- 
peared, in good season, for the main body of 
the enemy were advancing at a rapid rate, and 
might have effectually reversed the scene. 

Colonel Knowlton did not long survive the 
action. " When gasping in the agonies of 
death," says Colonel Reed, " all his inquiry 
was whether he had driven in the enemy." 
He was anxious for the tarnished honor of Con- 
necticut. He had the dying satisfaction of 
knowing that his men had behaved hi'avely, 
and driven the enemy in an open field-fight. 
So closed his gallant career. 

The encounter thus detailed was a small 
affair in itself, but important in its effects. It 
was the first gleam of success in the campaign, 
and revived the spirits of the army. Washing- 
ton sought to turn it to the greatest advantage. 
In his general orders, he skilfully distributed 
praise and censure. The troops under Leitch 
were thanked for being the first to advance 
upon the enemy ; and the New England troops 
for gallantly supporting them, and their con- 
duct was honorably contrasted with that of 
the recreant troops at Kip's Bay. Of Knowl- 
ton, who had fallen wliik gloriously fighting, 
he spoke as " one who would have done honor 
to any country." 

The name of Leitch was given by him for 
the next day's parole. That brave oflicer died 
of his wounds on the 1st of October, soothed 
in his last moments by that recompense so 
dear to a soldier's heart, the encomium of a be- 
loved commander. » 

In the dead of the night, on the 20th Sep- 
tember, a great light was beheld by the picket 
guards, looming up from behind the hills in the 
direction of the citj'. It continued throughout 
the night, and was at times so strong that the 
heavens in that direction appeared to them, 



278 



GREAT FIRE IN NEW YORK— REORGANIZATION OF THE ARMY. 



[17Y6. 



they said, as if in flames. At daybreak huge 
columns of smoke were still rising. It was 
evident there had been a great conflagration in 
New York. 

In the course of the morning Captain Mon- 
tresor, aide-de-camp to General Howe, came 
out with a flag, bearing a letter to Washington 
on the subject of an exchange of prisoners. 
According to Montresor's account a great part 
of the city had been burnt down, and as the 
night was extremely windy, the whole might 
have been so, but for the exertions of the ofii- 
cers and men of the British army. He implied 
it to be the act of American incendiaries, sev- 
eral of whom, he informed Colonel Eeed, had 
been caught in the fact and instantly shot. 
General Howe, in his private correspondence, 
makes the same assertion, and says they were 
detected, and killed on the spot by the enraged 
troops in garrison. 

Enraged troops, with weapons in their hands, 
were not apt, in a time of confusion and alarm, 
to be correct judges of fact, or dispensers of jus- 
tice. The act was always disclaimed by ^he 
Americans, and it is certain their commanders 
knew nothing about it. We have shown that 
the destruction of the city was at one time dis- 
cussed in a coimcil of war as a measure of 
policy, but never adopted, and was expressly 
forbidden by Congress. 

The enemy were now bringing up their heavy 
cannon, preparatory to an attack upon the 
American camp by the troops and by the ships. 
What was the state of Washington's army ? 
The terms of engagement of many of his men 
would soon be at an end ; most of them would 
terminate with the year, nor did Congress hold 
out oflTers to encourage re-enlistments. " We 
are now, as it were, upon the eve of another 
dissolution of the army," writes he, " and unless 
some speedy and eflectual measures are adopted 
by Congress, our cause will be lost." Under 
these gloomy apprehensions, he borrowed, as 
he said, " a few moments from the hours allotted 
to sleep," and on the night of the 24th of Sep- 
tember, penned an admirable letter to the Presi- 
dent of Congress, setting forth the total ineffi- 
ciency of the existing military system, the total 
insubordination, waste, confusion, and discontent 
produced by it among the men, and the harassing 
cares and vexations to which it subjected the 
commanders, Nor did he content himself with 
complaining, but, in liis full, clear, and sagacious 
manner, pointed out the remedies. To the 
achievements of his indefatigable pen, we may 



trace the most fortunate turns in the current 
of our revolutionary aftairs. In the present in- 
stance his representations, illustrated by sad 
experience, produced at length a reorganization 
of the army, and the establishment of it on a 
more permanent footing. It was decreed that 
eighty-eight battalions should be furnished in 
quotas, by the different States, according to their 
abilities. The j)ay of the officers was raised. 
The troops which engaged to serve throughout 
the war were to receive a bounty of twenty 
dollars, and one hundred acres of land, besides 
a yearly suit of clothes while in service. Those 
who enlisted for but three years, received no 
bounty in land. The bounty to officers was on 
a higher ratio. The States were to send com- 
missioners to the army, to arrange with the com- 
mander-in-chief as to the appointment of officers 
in their quotas ; but, as they might occasionally 
be slow in complying with this regulation, Wash- 
ington was empowered to fill up all vacancies. 

All this was a great relief to his mind. He 
was gratified also by effecting, after a long cor- 
respondence with the British commander, an 
exchange of prisoners, in which those captured 
in Canada were Included. Among those re- 
stored to the service were Lord Stirling and 
Captain Daniel Morgan. The latu-r, in reward 
of his good conduct in the expedition with 
Arnold, and of " his intrepid behavior in the as- 
sault upon Quebec, where the brave Montgom- 
ery fell," was recommended to Congress by 
Washington for the command of a rifle regi- 
ment about to be raised. We shall see how 
eminently he proved himself worthy of this 
recoihmendation. 

About this time information was received 
that the enemy were enlisting great numbers 
of the loyalists of Long Island, and collecting 
large quantities of stock for their support. 
Oliver De Lancey, a leading loyalist of New 
York, member of a wealthy family of honora- 
ble Huguenot descent, was a prime agent in the 
matter. He had recently been appointed briga- 
dier-general in the royal service, and authorized 
by General Howe to raise a brigade of Provin- 
cials ; and was actually at Jamaica, on Long 
Island, offering commissions of captain, lieuten- 
ant, and ensign, to any respectable person who 
would raise a company of seventy men ; the 
latter to receive British pay, 

A descent upon Long Island, to counteract 
these projects, was concerted by General George 
Clinton of New York, and General Lincoln of 
Massachusetts, but men and water craft were 



^T. 44.] 



ROGERS THE RENEGADE— OBSTRUCTIONS OF THE HUDSON. 



279 



wanting to carry it into effect, and the " tory 
enlistments continued." They were not con- 
fined to Long Island, but prevailed more or less 
on Staten Island, in the Jerseys, up the Hudson 
as far as Dutchess County, and in "Westchester 
County more especially. Many of the loyalists, 
it must be acknowledged, were honorable men, 
conscientiously engaged in the service of their 
sovereign, and anxious to put down what they 
sincerely regarded as an unjustifiable rebellion ; 
and among these may be clearly classed the De 
Lanceys. There were others, however, of a 
different stamp, the most notorious of whom, 
at this juncture, was one Eobert Rogers of New 
Hampshire. He had been a worthy comrade 
of Putnam and Stark, in some of their early 
enterprises during the French war, and had 
made himself famous as major of a partisan 
corps called Rogers' Rangers. Governor Trum- 
bull described him as a " famous scouter and 
wood-hunter, skilled in waylaying, ambuscade, 
and sudden attack." His feats of arms had evi- 
dently somewhat of the Indian character. He 
had since been Governor of Michilimackinac 
(1766), and accused of a plot to plunder his 
own fort and join the French, At the out- 
break of the Revolution he played a skulking, 
equivocal part, and appeared ready to join either 
party. In 1775, "Washington had received no- 
tice that he was in Canada, in the service of 
Carleton, and had been as a spy, disguised as an 
Indian, through the American camp at St, Johns. 

Recently, on learning that he was prowling 
about the country under suspicious circum- 
stances, "Washington had caused him to be ar- 
rested. On examination, he declared that he 
was on his way to offer his seci'et services to 
Congress. He was accordingly sent on to that 
body,in custody of an officer. Congress liber- 
ated him on his pledging himself in writing, 
"on the honor of a gentleman," not to bear 
arms against the American United Colonies in 
any manner whatever, during the contest with 
Great Britain. 

Scarcely was he liberated when he forfeited 
his parole, offered his services to the enemy, 
received a colonel's commission, and was now 
actually raising a tory corps, to be called the 
Queen's Rangers. All such as should bring re- 
cruits to his standard were promised commis- 
sions, portions of rebel lands, and privileges 
equal to any of his Majesty's troops. 

Of all Americans of note enlisted under the 
royal standard, this man had rendered himself 
the most odious. He was stigmatized as an ar- 



rant renegade, a perfect Judas Iscariot ; and 
his daring, adventurous spirit, and habits of In- 
dian warfare, rendered him a formidable enemy- 
Nothing perplexed "Washington at this junc- 
ture more than the conduct of the enemy. He 
beheld before him a hostile army, armed and 
equipped at all points, superior in numbers, 
thoroughly disciplined, flushed with success, and 
abounding in the means of pushing a vigorous 
campaign, yet suffering day after day to elapse 
unimproved. "What could be the reason of this 
supineness on the part of Sir "William Howe ? 
He must know the depressed and disorganized 
state of the American camp ; the absolute chaos 
that reigned there. Did he meditate an irrup- 
tion into the Jerseys ? A movement towards 
Philadelphia ? Did he intend to detach a part 
of his forces for a winter's campaign against 
the South ? 

In this uncertainty, "Washington wrote to 
General Mercer, of the flying camp, to keep a 
vigilant watch from the Jersey shore on the 
movements of the enemy, by sea and land, and 
to station videttes on the Neversink Heights, 
to give immediate intelligence should any of 
the British fleet put to sea. At the same time 
he himself practised unceasing vigilance, visiting 
the different parts of his camp on horseback. 
Occasionally he crossed over to Fort Constitu- 
tion, on the Jersey shore, of which General 
Greene had charge, and, accompanied by him, 
extended his reconnoitrings down to Paulus 
Hook, to observe what was going on in the 
city, and among the enemy's ships. Greene had 
recently been promoted to the rank of major- 
general, and now had command of all the troops 
in the Jerseys, He had liberty to slpft his 
quarters to Baskingridge or Bergen, as circum- 
stances might require ; but was enjoined to 
keep up a communication with the main army, 
east of the Hudson, so as to secure a retreat 
in case of necessity. 

The security of the Hudson was at this time 
an object of great solicitude with Congress, and 
much reliance was placed on Putnam's obstruc- 
tions at Fort "Washington, Four galleys, mount- 
ed with heavy guns and swivels, were stationed 
at the chevaux-de-frise, and two new ships were 
at hand, which, filled with stones, were to be 
sunk where they would block up the channel. 
A sloop was also at anchor, having on board a 
machine, invented by a Mr, Bushnell, for sub- 
marine explosion, with which to blow up the 
men-of-war ; a favorite scheme with General 
Putnam. The obstructions were so commanded 



280 



THE ROEBUCK, PHCENIX, AND TARTAR IN TUE HUDSON. 



[1776. 



by batteries on each shore, that it was thought 
no hostile ship would be able to pass. 

On the 9th of October, however, the Eoe- 
buck and Phoenix, each of forty-four guns, 
and the Tartar of twenty guns, which had been 
lying for some time opposite Bloomingdale, got 
under way with their three tenders, at eight 
o'clock in the morning, and came standing up 
the river with an easy southern breeze. At 
their approach, the galleys and the two ships 
intended to be sunk, got under way with* all 
haste, as did a schooner laden with rum, sugar, 
and other supplies for the American army, and 
the sloop with Bushnell's submarine machine. 

The Eoebuck, Phosnix, and Tartar, broke 
through the vaunted barriers as through a cob- 
web. Seven batteries kept up a constant fire 
upon them, yet a gentleman was observed walk- 
ing tlie deck of the second ship as coolly as 
if nothing were the matter.* Washington, in- 
deed, in a letter to Schuyler, says " they passed 
without any kind of damage or interruption ; " 
but Lord Howe reports to the admiralty that 
they suffered much in their masts and rigging, 
and that a lieutenant, two midshipmen, and six 
men were killed, and eighteen wounded. 

The hostile ships kept on their course, the 
American vessels scudding before them. The 
schooner was overhauled and captured ; a well- 
aimed shot sent the sloop and Bushnell's sub- 
marine engine to the bottom of the river. The 
two new ships would have taken refuge in Spyt 
den Duivel Creek, but fearing there might not 
be water enough, they kept on, and drove 
ashore at Philips' Mills at Yonkers. Two of 
the galleys got into a place of safety, where 
they \^ve protected from the shore ; the other 
two trusted to outsail their pursuers. The 
breeze freshened, and the frigates gained on 
them fast ; at 11 o'clock began to fire on them 
with their bow-chasers, and at 12 o'clock over- 
reached them, which caused them to bear in 
shore ; at half-past one the galleys ran aground 
just above Dobbs' Ferry, and lay exposed to a 
shower of grape-shot. The crews, without 
stopping to burn or bilge them, swam on shore, 
and the enemy took possession of the two gal- 
leys, which were likely to be formidable means 
of annoyance in their hands. 

One express after another brought "Washing- 
ton word of these occurrences. First, he sent 
off a party of rifle and >rtiUery men, with two 
twelve-pounders, to secure the new ships which 



Col. Ewing to the Maryland Comm. of Safolv. 



had run aground at Yonkers. 1^ est, he ordered 
Colonel Sargent to march up along the eastern 
shore with five hundred infantry, a troop of 
light-horse, and a detachment of artillery, to 
prevent the landing of the enemy. Before the 
troops arrived at Dobbs' Ferry the ships' boats 
had plundered a store there, and set it on fire. 

To prevent, if possible, the men-of-war already 
up the river from coming down, or others from 
below joining them, Washington gave orders to 
complete the obstructions. Two hulks which 
lay in Spyt den Duivel Creek were hastily bal- 
lasted by men from General Heath's division, 
and men were sent up to get off" the ships which 
had run aground at Philips' Mills, that they 
might be brought down and sunk immediately. 

It is difficult to give an idea of the excitement 
caused by this new irruption of hostile ships 
into the waters of the Hudson, or of the various 
conjectures as to their object. They might in- 
tend merely to interrupt navigation, and prevent 
supplies from coming down to the American 
army. They might be carrying arras and am- 
munition for domestic enemies skulking about 
the river, and only waiting an opportunity to 
strike a blow. They might have troops con- 
cealed on board with intent to surprise the posts 
in the Highlands, and cut off the intercourse 
between the American armies. To such a de- 
gree had the spirit of disafTection been increased 
in the counties adjacent to the river, since the 
descent of the Kose and Phoenix, by the re- 
treats and evacuation which had taken place ; 
and so great had been the drain on the militia 
of those counties for the army of Washington, 
that, in case of insurrection, those who remain- 
ed at home, and were well affected, would be 
outnumbered, and might easily be overpowered, 
especially with the aid of troops landed from 
ships. 

While this agitation prevailed below, fugitive 
river crafts carried the news up to the High- 
lands that the frigates were already before Tar- 
rytown in the Tappan Sea. Word was instantly 
despatched to Peter R. Livingston, president of 
the Provincial Congress, and startled that de- 
liberative body, which was then seated at Fish- 
kill, just above the Highlands. The committee 
of safety wrote, on the spur of the moment, to 
Washington. " Nothing," say they, " can be 
more alarming than the present situation of our 
State. We are daily getting tlie most authentic 
intelligence of bodies of men enlisted and armed 
in order to assist the enemy. We much fear 
that they, co-operating with the enemy, may 



Ml. 44.] 



AGITATION ALONG THE HUDSON— LETTER OF JOHN JAY. 



281 



seize sucli passes as will cut off the communica- 
tion between the army and us, and prevent 
your supplies. * * * * -yye beg leave to 
suggest to your Excellency the propriety of 
sending a body of men to the Highlands or 
Peekskill, to secure the passes, prevent insur- 
rection, and overawe the disaffected." 

Washington transmitted the letter to the 
President of Congress on the 12th. " I have 
ordered up," writes he, " part of the militia 
from Massachusetts, under General Lincoln, to 
prevent, if possible, the consequences which 
they suggest may happen, and which there is 
reason to believe the conspirators have in con- 
templation. I am persuaded that they are on 
the eve of breaking out, and that they will leave 
nothing unessayed that will distress us, and 
favor the designs of the enemy, as soon as their 
schemes are ripe for it." In fact, it was said 
that the tories were arming and collecting in 
the Highlands, under the direction of disguised 
ofBcers, to aid the conspiracies formed by Gov- 
ernor Tryon and his adherents. 

As a further precaution, an express was sent 
off by Washington to Colonel Tash, who, with 
a regiment of New Hampshire militia, was on 
his way from Hartford to the camp, ordering 
him to repair with all possible despatch to Fish- 
kill, and there hold himself at the disposition 
of the committee of safety. 

James Clinton, also, who had charge of the 
posts in the Highlands, was put on the alert. 
That trusty officer was now a brigadier-general, 
having been promoted by Congress on the 8th 
of August. He was charged to have all boats 
passing up and down the river rigidly searched, 
and the passengers examined. Beside the usual 
sentries, a barge, well manned, was to patrol 
the river opposite to each fort every night ; all 
barges, row-boats, and other small craft, be- 
tween the forts in the Highlands and the army, 
were to be secured in a place of safety, to pre- 
vent their falling into the enemy's hands, and 
giving intelligence. Moreover, a French engi- 
neer was sent up to aid in strengthening and 
securing the passes. The commanding officers 
of the counties of Litchfield and Fairfield, in 
Connecticut, had, likewise, orders to hold their 
militia in readiness, to render assistance in case 
of insurrections in the State of New York, 

So pei'ilous appeared the condition of affairs 
to residents up the river, that John Jay, a 
member of the New York Convention, and one 
of the secret committee for the defence of the 
Hudson, applied for leave of absence, that he 



might remove his aged parents to a place of 
safety. A letter from him to Edward Rutledge, 
of the Board of War, contains this remarkable 
sentence : " I wish our army well stationed in 
the Highlands, and all the lower country deso- 
lated ; we might then bid defiance to all the 
further efforts of the enemy in that quarter." 

Nor was this a random or despairing wish. 
It shows a brave spirit of a leading civilian of 
the day, and the sacrifices that true patriots 
were disposed to make in the cause of inde- 
pendence. 

But a few days previously he had held the 
following language to Gouverneur Morris, chair- 
man of a special committee : " Had I been 
vested with absolute power in this State, I have 
often said, and still think, that I would last 
spring have desolated all Long Island^ Staten 
Island, the city and county of New Yoi% and 
all that part of the county of Westchester 
which lies below the mountains. I would then 
have stationed the main body of the army in 
the mountains on the east, and eight or ten 
thousand men in the Highlands on the west side- 
of the river. I would have directed the river 
at Fort Montgomery, which is nearly at the 
southern extremity of the mountains, to be so 
shallowed as to afford only depth sufficient for 
an Albany sloop, and all the southern passes 
and defiles in the mountains to be strongly for- 
tified. Nor do I think the shallowing of the 
river a romantic scheme. Eocky mountains 
rise immediately from the shores. The breadth 
is not very great, though the depth is. But 
what cannot eight or ten thousand men, well 
worked, effect ? According to this plan of de- 
fence the State would be absolutely impregnable 
against all the world, on the seaside, and would 
have nothing to fear except from the way of 
the lake. Should the enemy gain the river, even 
below the mountains, I think I foresee that a 
retreat would become necessary, and I can't 
forbear wishing that a desire of saving a few 
acres may not lead us into difficulties." * 

Three days after this remarkable letter was 
written, the enemy's ships did gain the river ; 
and two days afterwards, October 11th, Reed, 
the adjutant-general, the confidant of Washing- 
ton's councils, writes to his wife from Harlem 
Heights : " My most sanguine views do not ex- 
tend further than keeping our ground here till 
this campaign closes. If the enemy incline to 
press us, it is resolved to risk an engagement, 



Am. Archives, 5Ui Series, ii. 921. 



282 



LEE'S LETTER TO CONGRESS— THE ENEMY AT THROG'S NECK. 



[1YY6. 



for, if we cannot fight them on this ground, we 
can on none in America. The ships are the 
only circumstances unfavorable to us here." 

On the same day that this letter was written, 
a small vessel, sloop-rigged, with a topsail, was 
descried from Mount Washington, coming down 
the river with a fresh breeze. It was suspected 
by those on the look-out to be one of the Brit- 
ish tenders, aud they gave it a shot from a 
twelve-pounder. Their aim was unfortunately 
too true. Three of the crew were killed, and 
the captain wounded. It proved to be "Wash- 
ington's yacht, which had run up the river pre- 
viously to the enemy's ships, and was now on 
its return.* 



CHAPTER XXXVI. 

" If General Lee should be in Philadelphia," 
writes John Jay to Rutledge, " pray hasten his 
departure — he is much wanted at New York." 

The successes of Lee at the South were con- 
trasted by many with the defeat on Long Island, 
and evacuation of New York, and they began 
to consider him the main hope of the army. 
Hazard, the postmaster, writing from Harlem 
Heights to General Gates on the 11th, laments 
it as a misfortune that Lee should have been to 
the southward for several months past, but adds 
cheerinjjly, " he is expected here to-day." 

Joseph Trumbull, the commissary-general, 
also writes to Gates under the same date : 
" General Lee is to be here this evening. He 
left Philadelphia on the 8th." 

Lee, the object of so many hopes, was actu- 
ally in the Jerseys, on his way to the camp. 
He writes from Amboy on the 12th, to the 
President of Congress, informing him that the 
Hessians, encamped opposite on Staten Island, 
had disappeared on the preceding night, quit- 
ting the island entirely, and some great measure 
was believed to be in agitation. " I am confi- 
dent," writes he, "they will not attack General 
Washington's lines ; such a measure is too ab- 
surd for a man of Mr. Howe's genius ; and un- 
less they have received flattering accounts from 
Burgoyne, that he will be able to effectuate a 
junction (which I conceive they have not), 
they will no longer remain kicking their heels 
at New York. They will put the place in a 
respectable state of defence, which, with their 
command of the waters, may be easily done, 

* Ileatli's Memoirs. 



leave four or five thousand men, and direct 
their operations to a more decisive object. They 
will infallibly proceed either immediately up 
the river Delaware with their whole troops, or, 
what is more probable, land somewhere about 
South Amboy or Shrewsbury, and march 
straight to Trenton or Burlington. On the 
supposition that this will be the case, what are 
we to do ? What force have we ? What 
means have we to prevent their possessing 
themselves of Philadelphia? General Wash- 
ington's army cannot possibly keep pace with 
them. The length of his route is not only in- 
finitely greater, but his obstructions almost in- 
superable. In short, before he could cross 
Hudson River, they might be lodged and 
strongly fortified on both banks of the Dela- 
ware. * * For Heaven's sake, arouse your- 
selves ! For Heaven's sake, let ten thousand 
men be immediately assembled, and stationed 
somewhere about Trenton. In my opinion, 
your whole depends upon it. I set out imme- 
diately for head-quarters, where I shall com- 
municate my apprehension that such will be 
the next operation of the enemy, and urge the 
expediency of sparing a part of his army (if he 
has any to spare) for this object." * 

On the very morning that Lee was writing 
this letter at Amboy, Washington received in- 
telligence by express from General Heath, 
stationed above King's Bridge, that the enemy 
were landing with artillery on Throg's Neck t 
in the Sound, about nine miles from the camp. 
Washington surmised that Howe was pursuing 
his original plan of getting to the rear of the 
American army, cutting off its supplies, which 
were chiefly derived from the East, and inter- 
rupting its communication with the main coun- 
try. Oflicers were ordered to their alarm posts, 
aud the troops to be ready, under arms, to act 
as occasion might require. Word, at the same 
time, was sent to General Heath to dispose of 
the troops on his side of King's Bridge, and of 
two militia regiments posted on the banks of 
Harlem River opposite the camp, in such man- 
ner as he should think necessary. 

Having made all his arrangements as prompt- 
ly as possible, Washington mounted his horse, 
and rode over towards Throg's Neck to recon- 
noitre. 

Throg's Neck is a peninsula in Westchester 
County, stretching upwards of two miles into 



* Am. Archives, 5tli Series, ii. 1008. 
t Properly Throck's Neck, from Throckmorton, the 
name of the original proprietor. 



^T. 44.] 



WASHINGTON'S ARRANGEMENTS— ARRIVAL OF LEE. 



283 



the Sound. It was separated from the main- 
land by a narrow creek and a marsh, and was 
surrounded by water every high tide. A bridge 
across a creelc connecting with a ruined cause- 
way across the marsh, led to the mainland, and 
the upper end of the creek was fordable at low 
water. Early in the morning, eighty or ninety 
boats full of men had stood up the Sound from 
Montresor's Island, and Long Island, and had 
landed troops to the number of four thousand 
on Throg's Point, the extremity of the neck. 
Thence their advance puslied forward toward 
the causeway and bridge to secure that pass to 
the mainland. General Heath had been too 
rapid for them. Colonel Hand and his Phila- 
delphia riflemen, the same who had checked 
the British advance on Long Island, had taken 
up the planks of the bridge, and posted them- 
selves opposite the end of the causeway, 
whence they commenced firing with their rifles. 
They were soon reinforced by Colonel Proscott, 
of Bunker's Hill renown, with his regiment, and 
Lieutenant Bryant of the artillery, With a three- 
ponnder. Checked at this pass, the British 
moved toward the head of the creek ; hei'e they 
found the Americans in possession of the ford, 
where they were reinforced by Colonel Graham, 
of the New York line, with his regiment, and 
Lieutenant Jackson of the artillery, with a six- 
pounder. These skilful dispositions of his 
troops by General Heath had brought the ene- 
my to a stand. By the time Washington ar- 
rived in the vicinity, the British had encamped 
on the neck ; the riflemen and yagers keeping 
up a scattering fire at each other across the 
marsh ; and Captain Bryant now and then 
saluting the enemy with his field-piece. 

Having surveyed the ground, Washington 
ordered works to be thrown up at the passes 
from the neck to the mainland. The British 
also threw up a work at the end of the cause- 
way. In the afternoon nine sJiips, with a great 
number of schooners, sloops, and flat-bottomed 
boats fall of men, passed throngli Hell Gate 
toward Throg's Point ; and information re- 
ceived from two deserters, gave Washington 
reason to believe that the greater part of the 
enemy's forces were gathering in that quarter. 
General McDougall's brigade, in which were 
Colonel Smallwood and the independent com- 
panies, was sent in the evening to strengthen 
Heath's division at King's Bridge, and to throw 
up works opposite the ford of Harlem River. 



Am. Archives, 5th SerieB, ii. 1038. 



Greene, who had heard of the landing of the 
enemy at Throg's Neck, wrote over to Wash- 
ington, from Fort Constitution, informing him 
that he had three brigades ready to join him if 
required. " If the troops are wanted over your 
side," said he, " or likely to be so, they should 
be got over in the latter part of the night, as 
the shipping may move up from below, and 
impede, if not totally stop the troops from pass- 
ing." " The tents upon Staten Island," he add- 
ed, " had all been struck, as far as could be 
ascertained." It was plain the whole scene of 
action was changing. 

On the 14th, General Lee arrived in camp, 
where he was welcomed as the harbinger of 
good luck, Washington was absent, visiting 
the posts beyond King's Bridge, and the passes 
leading from Throg's Neck ; Lee immediately 
rode forth to join him. No one gave him a 
sincerer greeting than the commander-in-chief; 
who, diffident of his own military knowledge, 
had a high opinion of that of Lee. He imme- 
diately gave him command of the troops above 
King's Bridge, now the greatest part of the 
army, but desired that he would not exercise it 
for a day or two, until he had time to acquaint 
himself with the localities and arrangements of 
the post ; Heath, in the interim, held the com- 
mand. 

Lee was evidently elevated by his successes 
at the South, and disposed to criticize disparag- 
ingly the military operations of other com- 
manders. In a letter, written on the day of his 
arrival to his old associate in arms. General 
Gates, he condemns the position of the army, 
and censures Washington for submitting to the 
dictation of Congress, whose meddlesome in- 
structions had produced it. " Inter nos,^'' writes 
he, " the Congress seem to stumble every step. 
I do not mean one or two of the cattle, but 
the whole stable. I have been very free in de- 
livering my opinion to them. In my opinion 
General Washington is much to blame in not 
menacing 'em with resignation unless they re- 
frain from unhinging the army by their absurd 
interference. 

" Keep us Ticonderoga ; much depends upon 
it. We ought to have an army in the Dela- 
ware. I have roared it in the ears of Congress, 
but carent aurihus. Adieu, my dear friend ; if 
we do meet again — why, we shall smile." * 

In the mean time. Congress, on the 11th of 
October, having heard of the ingress of the 

* Am. Archives, 5th Series, ii. 1038. 



284 



COUN^L OF WAR— POPULARITY OF LEE. 



[1776. 



Phoenix, Eoebuck, and Tartar, passed a resolu- 
tion that General Washington be desired, if it 
be practicable, by every art, and at whatever 
expense, to obstruct effectually the navigation 
of the North River between Fort Washington 
and Mount Constitution, as well to prevent 
the regress of the enemy's vessels lately gone 
up as to hinder them from receiving succors. 

Under so many conflicting circumstances, 
Washington held a council of war on the 16th, 
at Lee's head-quarters, at w^hich all the major- 
generals were present excepting Greene, and 
all the brigadiers, as well as Colonel Knox, w' ho 
commanded the artillery. Letters from the 
Convention and from individual members of it 
were read, concerning the turbulence of the 
disaffected in the upper parts of the State ; in- 
telligence gained from desei'ters was likewise 
stated, showing the intention of the enemy to 
surround the camp. The policy was then dis- 
cussed of remaining in their present position 
on Manhattan Island, and awaiting there the 
menaced attack : the strength of the position 
was urged ; its being well fortified, and ex- 
tremely difficult of access. Lee, in reply, scoffed 
at the idea of a position being good merely be- 
cause its approaches were difBcult. IIow could 
they think of holding a position where the 
enemy wei'e so strong in front and rear ; where 
ships had the command of the water on each 
side, and where King's Bridge was their only 
pass by which to escape from being wholly en- 
closed? Had not their recent experience on 
Long Island and at New York taught them the 
danger of such positions ? " For my part," said 
he, " I would have nothing to do with the 
islands to which yoii have been clinging so per- 
tinaciously — I would give Mr, Howe a fee-simple 
of them." 

" After much consideration and debate," says 
the record of the council, " the following ques- 
tion was stated : Whether (it having appeared 
that the obstructions in the North River have 
proved insufficient, and that the enemy's whole 
force is now in our rear on Frog Point) it is 
now deemed impossible, in our situation, to 
prevent the enemy from cutting off the com- 
munication with the country, and compelling 
us to fight them at all disadvantages, or surren- 
der prisoners at discretion ? " 

All agreed, w- ith but one dissenting voice, that 
it was not possible to prevent the communica- 
tion from being cut off, and that one of the 
consequences mentioned in the question must 
follow. 



The dissenting voice was that of General 
George Clinton, a brave, downright man, but 
little versed in the science of warfare. He 
could not comprehend the policy of abandoning 
so strong a position ; they were equal in num- 
ber to the enemy, and, as they must fight them 
somewhere, could do it to more advantage there 
than anywhere else. Clinton felt as a guardian 
of the Hudson and the upper country, and 
wished to meet the enemy, as it were, at the 
very threshold. 

As the resolve of Congress seemed impera- 
tive with regard to Fort Washington, that post, 
it was agreed, should be " retained as long as 
possible." 

A strong garrison was accordingly placed in 
it, composed chiefly of troops from Magaw's 
and Shee's Pennsylvania regiments, the latter 
under Lieutenant-Colonel Lambert Cadwalader, 
of Philadelphia. Shee having obtained leave 
of absence. Colonel Magaw was put in command 
of the post, and solemnly charged by Washing- 
ton to defend it to the last extremity. The 
name of the opposite post on the Jersey shore, 
where Greene was stationed, was changed from 
Fort Constitution to Fort Lee, in honor of the 
general. Lee, in fact, was the military idol of 
the day. Even the family of the commander- 
in-chief joined in paying him homage. Colonel 
Tench Tilghmau, Washington's aide-de-camp, in 
a letter to a friend, writes : " You ask if Gen- 
eral Lee is in health, and our people bold. I 
answer both in the affirmative. His appearance 
amongst ns has contributed not a little to the 
latter." 



CHAPTER XXXVII. 

Previots to decamping from Manhattan Isl- 
and, Washington formed four divisions of the 
army, which were respectively assigned to 
Generals Lee, Heath, Sullivan (recently obtain- 
ed in exchange for General Prescott), and Lin- 
coln. Lee was stationed on Valentine's Hill, 
on the mainland, immediately opposite King's 
Bridge, to cover the transportation across it of 
the military stores and heavy baggage. The 
other divisions were to form a chain of fortified 
posts, extending about thirteen miles along a 
ridge of hills on the west side of the Bi'onx, 
from Lee's camp up to the village of White 
Plains. 

Washington's head-quarters continued to be 



.Et. 44.] SKIRMISH OF COLONEL GLOVER— TEOOPEPwS IN A ROUGH COUNTRY. 



285 



on Harlem Heights for several clays, during 
which time he was continually in the saddle, 
riding about a broken, woody, and half-wild 
country, forming posts, and choosing sites for 
breastworks and redoubts. By his skilful dis- 
position of the army, it was protected in its 
whole length by the Bronx, a narrow but deep 
stream, fringed with trees, which ran along the 
foot of the ridge ; at the same time his troops 
faced and outflanked the enemy, and covered 
the roads along which stol'es and baggage had 
to be transported. On the 21st, he shifted his 
head-quarters to Valentine's Hill, and on the 
23d to White Plains, where he stationed him- 
self in a fortified camp. 

While he was thus- incessantly in action. 
General, now Sir William Howe (liaving recent- 
ly, in reward for his services, been made a 
knight companion of the Bath), remained for 
six days passive in his camp on Throg's Point, 
awaiting the arrival of supplies and reinforce- 
ments, instead of pushing across to the Hudson, 
and throwing himself between Washington's 
army and the upper country. His inaction lost 
him a golden opportunity. By the time his 
supplies arrived, the Americans had broken up 
the causeway leading to the mainland, and 
taken positions too strong to be easily forced. 

Finding himself headed in this direction. Sir 
William re-embarked part of his troops in flat- 
boats on the 18th, crossed Eastchester Bay, and 
landed on Pell's Point, at the mouth of Hutch- 
inson's River. Here he was joined in a few 
hours by the main body, with the baggage and 
artillery, and proceeded through the manor of 
Pelliam towards New Rochelle ; still with a 
view to get above Washington's army. 

In their march, the British were waylaid 
and harassed by Colonel Glover of Massachu- 
setts, with his own, Reed's, and Shepard's regi- 
ments of infantry. Twice the British advance 
guards were thrown into confusion, and driven 
back with severe loss, by a sharp fire from be- 
hind stone fences. A third time they advanced 
in solid columns. The Americans gave them 
repeated volleys, and then retreated with the 
loss of eight killed and thirteen wounded, 
among whom was Colonel Shepard. Colonel 
Glover, and the officers and soldiers who were 
with him in this skirmish, received the public 
thanks of Washington for their merit and good 
behavior. 

On the 21st, General Howe was encamped 
about two miles north of New Rochelle, with 
his outposts extending to Mamaroneck on the 



Sound. At the latter place was posted Colonel 
Rogers, the renegade, as he was called, with 
the Queen's Rangers, his newly-raised corps of 
loyalists. 

Hearing of this, Lord Stirling resolved, if 
possible, to cut off this outpost and entrap the 
old hunter. Colonel Haslet, of his brigade, al- 
ways prompt on such occasions, undertook the 
exploit at the head of seven hundred and fifty 
Delaware troops, who had fought so bravely 
on Long Island. With these he crossed the 
line of the British march ; came undiscovered 
upon the post ; drove in the guard ; killed a 
lieutenant and several men, and brought away 
thirty-six prisoners, with a pair of colors, sixty 
stands of arms, and other spoils. He missed 
the main prize, however : Rogers skulked off 
in the dark at the first fire. He was too old a 
partisauito be easily entrapped. 

For this exploit. Colonel Haslet and his men 
were publicly thanked by Lord Stirling, on 
parade. 

These, and other spirited and successful 
skirmishes, while they retarded the advance 
of the enemy, had the far more important eftect 
of exercising and animating the American 
troops, and accustoming them to danger. 

While in this neighborhood, Howe was rein- 
forced by a second division of Hessians under 
General Knyphausen, and a regiment of Wah 
deckers, both of which had recently arrived in 
New York. He was joined, also, by the whole 
of the seventeenth light-dragoons, and a part of 
the sixteenth, which had arrived on the 3d in- 
stant from Ireland, with Lieutenant-Colonel 
(afterward Earl) Harcourt. Some of their 
horses had been brought with them across the 
sea, others had been procured since their ar- 
rival. 

The Americans at first regarded these troop- 
ers with great dread. Washington, therefore, 
took pains to convince them, that in a rough, 
broken country, like the present, full of stone 
fences, no troops were so inefBcient as cavalry. 
Tliey could be waylaid and picked ofi:' by sharp- 
shooters from behind walls and thickets, Avhile 
they could not leave the road to pursue their 
covert foe. 

Further to inspirit them against this new 
enemy, he proclaimed, in general orders, a re- 
ward of one hundred dollars for every trooper 
brought in with his horse and accoutrements, 
and so on, in proportion to the completeness 
of the capture. 

On the 25th, about two o'clock in the after- 



28G 



ALARMS AT WHITE PLAINS— FORTIFIED CAMP. 



[iTVe. 



noon, intelligence was brought to head-quar- 
ters that three or four detachments of the 
enemy were on the march, within four miles 
of the camp, and the main army following in 
columns. The drums beat to arms ; the men 
were ordered to tlieir posts ; an attack was 
expected. The day passed away, however, 
without any demonstration of the enemy. 
Howe detached none of his force on lateral 
expeditions, evidently meditating a general en- 
gagement. To ])repare for it, Washington 
drew all his troops from the posts along the 
Bronx into the fortified camp at White Plains. 
Here every thing remained quiet but expectant, 
throughout the 26th, In the morning of the 
27th, which was Sunday, the heavy booming 
of cannon was heai'd from a distance, seemingly 
in the direction of Fort Washington. Scouts 
galloped off to gain intelligence. We will an- 
ticipate their report. 

Two of the British frigates, at seven o'clock 
in the morning, had moved up the Hudson, and 
come to anchor near Bourdett's Ferry, below 
the Morris House, Washington's old head-quar- 
ters, apparently with the intention of stopping 
the ferry, and cutting off the communication 
between Fort Lee and Fort Washington. At 
the same time, troops made their appearance 
on Harlem Plains, where Lord Percy held com- 
mand. Colonel Morgan immediately manned 
the lines with troops from the garrison of Fort 
Washington. The ships opened a fire to en- 
filade and dislodge them. A barbette battery 
on the clitYs of the Jersey shore, to the left of 
the ferry, fired down upon the frigates, but with 
little eifect. Colonel Magaw got down an 
eighteen-pounder to the lines near the Morris 
House, and fired fifty or sixty rounds, two balls 
at a time. Two eighteen-pounders Avere like- 
wise brought down from Fort Lee, and planted 
opposite the ships. By the fire from both 
shores they were hulled repeatedly. 

It was the thundering of these cannonades 
which had reached Washington's camp at 
White Plains, and even startled the Highlands 
of the Hudson. The ships soon hoisted all sail. 
The foremost slipped her cable, and appeared 
to be in the greatest confusion. She could 
make no way, though towed by two boats. 
The other ship seeing her distress, sent two 
barges to her assistance, and by the four boats 
she was dragged out of reach of the American 
fire, her pumps going all the time. " Had the 
tide been flood one lialf liour longer," writes 
General Greene, " we should have sunk her." 



At the time that the fire from the ships be- 
gan. Lord Percy brought up his field-pieces and 
mortars, and made an attack upon the lines. 
He was resolutely answered by the troops sent 
down from Fort Washington, and several Hes- 
sians were killed. ■ An occasional firing was 
kept up until evening, when the ships fell 
down the river, and the troops which had ad- 
vanced on Harlem Plains drew within their 
lines again. 

" We take this day's movement to be only a 
feint," writes one of the garrison at Fort Lee ; 
" at any rate, it is little honorable to the red 
coats." Its chief efl:ect was to startle the dis- 
tant camp, and astound a quiet country with 
the thundering din of war. 

The celebrated Thomas Paine, author of 
" The Eights of Man," and other political 
works, was a spectator of the affair from the 
rocky summit of the Palisades, on the Jersey 
shore. 

While these things were passing at Fort 
Washington, Lee had struck his tents, and with 
the rear division, eight thousand strong, the 
baggage and artillery, and a train of waggons 
four miles long, laden with stores and ammu- 
nition, was lumbering along the rough coimtry 
roads to join the main army. It was not until 
Monday ninniing, after being on the road all 
night, that he arrived at White Plains. 

Washington's camp was situated on high 
ground, facing the east. The right wing 
stretched towards the south along a rocky hiU, 
at the foot of which the Bronx, making an 
elbow, protected it in fiank and rear. The left 
wing rested on a small deep lake among the 
hills. The camp was strongly intrenched in 
front. 

About a quarter of a mile to the right of the 
camp, and separated from the height on which 
it stood by the Bronx and a marshy interval, 
was a corresponding height called Chatterton's 
Hill. As this partly commanded the right 
fiank, and as the intervening bend of the Bronx 
was easily passable, Washington had stationed 
on its summit a militia regiment. 

The whole encampment was a temporary 
one, to be changed as soon as the military stores 
collected there coiild be removed ; and now 
that General Lee was arrived, Washington 
rode out with him and other general oflicers 
who were off duty, to reconnoitre a height 
which appeared more eligible. When arrived 
at it, Lee pointed to another on the north, still 
more commanding. " Yonder," said he, " is 



J3t. 44.] 



RECONNOITRING— THE AFFAIR AT CHATTERTON'S HILL. 



287 



the ground we ought to occupy." " Let us go, 
then, and view it," replied Washington. They 
were gently riding an that direction, when a 
trooper came spurring up his panting horse. 
'' The British are in the camp, sir ! " cried he. 
" Then, gentlemen," said Washington, " we 
have other business to attend to than recon- 
noitring." Putting spurs to his horse, he set 
ofF for the camp at full gallop, the others spur- 
ring after him. 

Arrived at head-quarters, he was informed 
by Adjutant-General Keed, that the picket 
guards had all been driven in, and the enemy 
were advancing : but that the whole American 
army was posted in order of battle. " Gentle- 
men," said Washington, turning calmly to his 
companions, " you will return to your respec- 
tive posts, and do the best you can." 

Apprehensive that tlie enemy might attempt 
to get possession of Ohatterton's Hill, he de- 
tached Colonel Haslet with his Delaware regi- 
ment, to reinforce the militia posted there. To 
these he soon added General McDougall's bri- 
gade, composed of Smallwood's Marylanders, 
Ritzema's New Yorkers, and two other regi- 
ments. These were much reduced by sickness 
and absence. General McDougall had com- 
mand of the whole force upon the hill, which 
did not exceed 1,600 men. 

These disi3ositions were scarcely made, when 
the enemy appeared glistening on the high 
grounds beyond the village of White Plains. 
They advanced in two columns, the right com- 
manded by Sir Henry Clinton, the left by the 
Hessian general, De Heister. There was also 
a troop of horse ; so formidable in the inex- 
perienced eyes of the Americans. " It was a 
brilliant but formidable sight," writes Heath 
in his Memoirs. " The sun shone bright, their 
arms glittered ; and perhaps troops never were 
shown to more advantage." 

For a time they halted in a wheat field, be- 
hind a rising ground, and the general officers 
rode up in the centre to hold a consultation. 
Washington supposed they were preparing to 
attack him in front, and such indeed was their 
intention ; but the commanding height of 
Chatterton's Hill had caught Sir William's 
eye, and he determined first to get possession 
of it. 

Colonel Rahl was accordingly detached with 
a brigade of Hessians, to make a circuit south- 
wardly round a piece of wood, cross the Bronx 
about a quarter of a mile below, and ascend 
the south side of the hill ; while General Leslie, 



with a large force, British and Hessian, should 
advance directly in front, throw a bridge across 
the stream, and charge up the hill. 

A furious cannonade was now opened by 
the British from fifteen or twenty pieces of 
artillery, placed on high ground opposite the 
hill ; under cover of which the troops of Gen- 
eral Leslie hastened to construct the bridge. 
In so doing, they were severely galled by two 
field -pieces, planted on a ledge of rock on Chat- 
terton's Hill, and in charge of Alexander Ham- 
ilton, the youthful captain of artillery. Small- 
wood's Maryland battalion, also, kept up a 
sharp fire of small arms. 

As soon as the bridge was finished, the 
British and Hessians under Leslie rushed over 
it, formed, and charged up the hill to take 
Hamilton's two field-pieces. Three times the 
two field-pieces were discharged, ploughing 
the ascending columns from hill-top to river ; 
while Smallwood's "blue and buff" Maryland- 
ers kept up their volleys of musketry. 

In the mean time, Eahl and his Hessian bri- 
gade forded the Bronx lower down, pushed up 
the south side of the hill, and endeavored to 
turn McDougall's right flank. The militia gave 
the general but little support. They had been 
dismayed at the opening of the engagement by 
a shot from a British cannon, which wounded 
one of them in the thigh, and nearly put the 
whole to flight. It was with the utmost difli- 
culty McDougall had rallied them, and posted 
them behind a stone wall. Here they did 
some service, until a troop of British cavalry, 
having gained the crest of the hill, came on, 
brandishing their sabres. At their first charge 
the militia gave a random, scattering fire, then 
broke, and fled in complete confusion. 

A brave stand was made on the summit of 
the hill by Haslet, Eitzema, and Smallwood, 
with their troops. Twice they repulsed horse 
and foot, British and Hessians, until, cramped 
for room and greatly outnumbered, they slowly 
and sullenly retreated down the north side of 
the hill, where there was a bridge across the 
Bronx. Smallwood remained upon the ground 
for some time after the retreat had begun, and 
received two flesh wounds, one in the hip, the 
other through the arm. At the bridge over 
the Bronx, the retreating troops were met by 
General Putnam, who was coming to their 
assistance with Beall's brigade. In the rear of 
this they marched back into the camp. 

The loss on both sides, in this short but 
severe action, was nearly equal. That of the 



2S8 CHANGE OF POSITION— COJilTRAST IN THE APPEAKANCE OF THE TROOPS. [1776. 



Americans was between three and four hun- 
dred men, killed, wounded, and taken prisoners. 
At first it was thought to be much more, many 
of the militia and a few of the regulars being 
counted as lost, who had scattered themselves 
among the hills, but afterwards returned to 
head-quarters. 

The British army now rested with their left 
wing on the hill they had just taken, and which 
they were busy intrenching. They were ex- 
tending their right wing to the left of the 
American lines, so that their two wings and 
centre formed nearly a semicircle. It was 
evidently their design to outflank the Ameri- 
can camp, and get in the rear of it. The day, 
however, being far advanced, was suffered to 
pass without any further attack ; but the mor- 
row was looked forward to for a deadly conflict. 
Washington availed himself of this interval to 
have the sick and wounded, and as umch of 
the stores as possible, removed from the camp. 
" The two armies," says General Heath in his 
Memoirs, " lay looking at each other, within 
long cannon shot. In the night time the 
British lighted up a vast number of fires, the 
weather growing pretty cold. These fires, 
some on the level ground, some at the foot of 
the hills, and at all distances to their brows, 
some of which were lofty, seemed to the eye 
to mix with the stars. The American side doubt- 
less exhibited to them a similar appearance." 

During this anxious night, "Washington was 
assiduously occupied throwing back his right 
wing to a stronger ground ; doubling his in- 
trenchments and constructing three redoubts, 
with a line in front, on the summit of his post. 
These works were principally intended for de- 
fence against small arms, and were thrown up 
with a rapidity that to the enemy must have 
savored of magic. They were, in fact, made 
of the stalks of Indian corn or maize taken 
from a neighboring corn-field, and pulled up 
with the earth clinging in masses to the large 
roots. " The roots of the stalks," says Heath, 
" and earth on them placed in the face of tlie 
works, answered the purpose of sods and fas- 
cines. The tops being placed inwards, as the 
loose earth was thrown upon them, became as 
so many trees to the work, which was carried 
up with a despatch scarcely conceivable." 

In the morning of the 29th, when Howe be- 
held how greatly "Washington had improved 
his position and strengthened it, by what ap- 
peared to be solidly constructed works, he 
])03tponed his meditated assault, ordered up 



Lord Percy from Harlem with the fourth bri- 
gade and two battalions of the sixth, and pro- 
ceeded to throw up lines and redoubts in front 
of the American camp, as if preparing to can- 
nonade it. As the enemy was endeavoring to 
outflank him, especially on his right wing, 
Washington apprehended one of tlieir objects 
might be to advance a part of their force, and 
seize on Pine's Bridge over Croton River, 
which would cut off his communication with 
the upper country. General Beall, with three 
Maryland regiments, was sent off with all ex- 
pedition to secure that pass. It was "Washing- 
ton's idea that, having possession of Croton 
River and the passes in the Highlands, his army 
would be safe from further pursuit, and have 
time to repose after its late excessive fatigue, 
and would be fresh, and ready to harass the 
enemy should they think fit to winter up the 
country. 

At present nothing could exceed the war- 
worn condition of the troops, unseasoned as 
they were to this kind of service. A scornful 
letter, written at this time by a British officer, 
to his friend in London, gives a picture of the 
ragged i)light to which tliey were reduced, in 
this rainy and inclement season. " The rebel 
army are in so wretched a condition, as to 
clothing and accoutrements, that I believe no 
nation ever saw such a set of tatterdemalions. 
There are few coats among them but what are 
out at elbows, and in a whole regiment there 
is scarce a pair of breeches. Judge, then, how 
they must be pinched by a winter's campaign. 
We, who are warmly clothed and well equipped, 
already feel it severely ; for it is even now 
much colder than I ever felt it in England." 

Alas for the poor half-naked, weather-beaten 
patriots, who had to cope with these well-fed, 
weU-clad, well-appointed mercenaries ! A let- 
ter written at the very same date (October 31), 
by General George Clinton, shows what, in 
their forlorn plight, they had to grapple with. 

" We had reason," writes he, " to apprehend 
an attack last night, or by daylight this morn- 
ing. Our lines were manned all niglit in con- 
sequence ; and a most horrid night it was to 
lay in cold trenches. Uncovered as we are, 
daily on fatigue, making redoubts, fleches, 
abattis, and retreating from them and the httle 
temporary huts made for our comfort before 
they are well finished, I fear will ultimately 
destroy our army without fighing." * " How- 



* George Clinton to John McKesson, Oct. 31. Am. 
Archives, 6th Series, ii. 1312. 



JEt. 44.] INCENDIARIES AT WHITE PLAINS— CONJECTURES AS TO THE ENEMY. 



289 



ever," adds he, honestly, " I would not be 
understood to condemn measures. They may 
be right for aught I know. I do not under- 
stand much of the refined art of war ; it is said 
to consist in stratagem and deception." In a 
previous letter to the same friend, in a moment 
of hurry and alarm, he writes, " Pray let Mrs. 
Clinton know that I am well, and that she need 
not be iineasy about me. It would be too 
much honor to die in so good a cause." 

Clinton, as we have before intimated, was 
an honest and ardent patriot, of resolute spirit, 
and plain, direct good senss; but an inexpe- 
rienced soldier. His main idea of warfare was 
straightforward fighting ; and he was greatly 
perplexed by the continual strategy which 
"Washington's situation required. One of the 
aides-de-camp of the latter had a truer notion 
on the subject. " The campaign hitherto," 
said he, " has been a fair trial of generalship, 
in which I flatter myself we have had the ad- 
vantage. If we, with our motley army, can 
keep Mr. Howe and his grand appointment at 
bay, I think we shall make no contemptible 
military figure." * 

On the night of the 31st, "Washington made 
another of those moves which perplexed the 
worthy Clinton. In the course of the night he 
shifted his whole position, set fire to the barns 
and out-houses containing forage and stores, 
which there was no time to remove, and, leav- 
ing a strong rear-guard on the heights, and in 
the neighboring woods, retired with his main 
army a distance of five miles, among the high, 
rocky hiUs about ISTorthcastle. Here he im- 
mediately set to work to intrench and fortify 
himself; hie policy at this time being, as he 
used to say, " to fight with the spade and mat- 
tock." 

General Howe did not attempt to dislodge 
him from this fastness. He at one time ordered 
an attack on the rear-guard, but a violent rain 
prevented it, and for two or three days he re- 
mained seemingly inactive. " All matters are 
as quiet as if the enemy were one hundred 
miles distant from us," writes one of "Washing- 
ton's aides on the 2d of November. During 
the night of the 4th, this quiet was interrupted. 
A mysterious sound was heard in the direction 
of the British camp ; like the rumbling of wag- 
gons and artillery. At daybreak the meaning 
of it was discovered. The enemy were de- 
camping. Long trains were observed, defiling 



* Tench Tilgbman to "William Duer, Oct. 31. 

19 



across the hilly country, along the roads lead- 
ing to Dobbs' Ferry on the Hudson. The move- 
ment continued for three successive days, imtil 
their whole force, British and Hessians, disap- 
peared from "White Plains. 

The night after their departure a party of 
Americans, heated with liquor, set fire to the 
court-house and other edifices in the village, as 
if they had belonged to the enemy ; an outrage 
which called forth a general order from "Wash- 
ington, expressive of his indignation, and 
threatening the perpetrators with signal pun- 
ishment when detected. "We notice this matter 
because, in British accounts, the burning of 
those buildings had been charged upon "Wash- 
ington himself; being, no doubt, confounded 
with the burning of the barns and out-houses 
ordered by him on shifting his encampment. 



CHAPTER XXXVIII. 

"Various were the speculations at head-quar- 
ters on the sudden movement of the enemy. 
"Washington writes to General "William Living- 
ston (now governor of the Jerseys) : " They 
have gone towards the North Eiver and King's 
Bridge. Some suppose they are going into 
winter quarters, and will sit down in 'New 
York without doing more than investing Fort 
"Washington. I cannot subscribe wholly to this 
opinion myself. That they will invest Fort 
"Washington, is a matter of which there can be 
no doubt ; and I think there is a strong proba- 
bility that General Howe will detach a part of 
his force to make an incursion into the Jerseys, 
provided he is going to New York. He must 
attempt something on account of his reputa- 
tion, for what has he done as yet, with his 
great army ? " 

In the same letter he expressed his deter- 
mination, as soon as it should appear that the 
present manoeuvre was a real reti'eat, and not 
a feint, to throw over a body of troops into 
the Jerseys to assist in checking Howe's pro- 
gress. He, moreover, recommended to the 
governor to have the militia of that State put 
on the best possible footing, and a part of them 
held in readiness to take the place of the State 
levies, whose term of service would soon ex- 
pire. He advised, also, that the inhabitants 
contiguous to the water, should be prepared to 
remove their stock, grain, effects, and carriages, 
on the earliest notice. 



290 



CORRESPONDENCE WITH GREENE RESPECTING FORT WASHINGTON. [1776. 



In a letter of the same date, he charged Gen- 
eral Greene, should Howe invest Fort Washing- 
ton with part of his force, to give the garrison 
all possible assistance. 

On the following day (Nov. 8), his aide-de- 
camp. Colonel Tilghman, writes to General 
Greene from head-quarters : " The enemy are 
at Dobbs' Ferry with a great number of boats, 
ready to go into Jersey, or proceed up the river y 

Greene doubted any intention of the enemy 
to cross the river ; it might only be a feint to 
mislead ; still, as a precaution, he had ordered 
troops up from the flying camp, and was posting 
them opposite Dobbs' Ferry, and at other passes 
where a landing might be attempted ; the whole 
being under the command of General Mercer. 

Affairs at Fort Washington soon settled the 
question of the enemy's intentions with regard 
to it. Lord Percy took his station with a body 
of troops before the lines to the south. Knyp- 
hausen advanced on the north. The Americans 
had previously abandoned Fort Independence, 
burnt its barracks, and removed the stores and 
cannon. Crossing King's Bridge, Knyphausen 
took a position between it and Fort Washington. 
The approach to the fort, on this side, was ex- 
ceedingly steep and rocky ; as, indeed, were aU 
its approaches, excepting that on the south, 
where the coimtry was more open, and the as- 
cent gradual. The fort could not hold within 
its walls above one thousand men ; the rest of 
the troops were distributed about the lines and 
outworks. While the fort was thus menaced, 
the chevaux-de-frise had again proved inefiicient. 
On the night of the 5th, a frigate and two 
transports, bound up to Dobbs' Ferry, with 
supplies for Howe's army, had broken through ; 
though, according to Greene's account, not 
without being considerably shattered by the 
batteries. 

Informed of these facts, Washington wrote 
to Greene on the 8th : " If we cannot prevent 
vessels from passing up the river, and the enemy 
are possessed of all the surrounding country, 
what valuable purpose can it answer to hold a 
post from which the expected benefit cannot be 
had ? I am, therefore, inclined to think, that it 
will not be prudent to hazard the men and 
stores at Mount Washington ; but, as you are 
,on the spot, I leave it to you to give such orders 
'as to evacuating Mount Washington as you may 
judge best, and so far revoking the orders given 
to Colonel Magaw, to defend it to the last." 

Accounts had been received at head-quarters 
of a considerable movement on the preceding 



evening (Nov. 7th), among the enemy's boats 
at Dobbs' Ferry, with the intention, it was said, 
of penetrating the Jerseys, and faUing down 
upon Fort Lee. Washington, therefore, in the 
same letter, directed Greene to have all the 
stores not necessary to the defence removed 
immediately, and to destroy all the stock, the 
hay and grain, in the neighborhood, which the 
owners refused to remove. " Experience has 
shown," adds he, " that a contrary conduct is 
not of the least advantage to the poor inhabit- 
ants, from whom all their effects of every kind 
are taken without distinction, and without the 
least satisfaction." 

Greene, in reply (Nov. 9th), adhered with te- 
nacity to the policy of maintaining Fort Wash- 
ington. "The enemy," said he, "must invest 
it with double the number of men required for 
its defence. They must keep troops at King's 
Bridge, to cut off all communication with the 
country, and in considerable force, for fear of 
an attack." He did not consider the fort in 
immediate danger. Colonel Magaw thought it 
would take the enemy until the end of Decem- 
ber to carry it. In the mean time, the garrison 
could at any time be brought off", and even the 
stores removed, should matters grow desperate. 
If the enemy should not find it an object of 
importance, they would not trouble themselves 
about it ; if they should, it would be a proof 
that they felt an injury from its being main- 
tained. The giving it up would open for them 
a free communication with the country by the 
way of King's Bridge.* 

It is doubtful when or where Washington re- 
ceived this letter, as he left the camp at North- 
castle at eleven o'clock of the following morn- 
ing. There being still considerable uncertainty 
as to the intentions of the enemy, all his ar- 
rangements were made accordingly. All the 
troops belonging to the States west of the Hud- 
son, were to be stationed in the Jerseys, under 
command of General Putnam. Lord Stilling 
had already been sent forward with the Mary- 
land and Virginia troops to Peekskill, to cross 
the river at King's Ferry. Another division, 
composed of Connecticut and Massachusetts 
troops, under General Heath, was to co-operate 
with the brigade of New York militia under 
General George Clinton, in securing the High- 
land posts on both sides of the river. 

The troops which would remain at Northcas- 
tle after the departure of Heath and his di- 



* Am. Archives, 5th Series, iii. 618. 



""■'"liiiiliiu 




/Et. 44.] LEE IN COMMAND AT NORTHCASTLE— WASHINGTON AT PEEKSKILL. 



291 



vision, were to be commanded by Lee. Wash- 
ington's letter of instructions to that general is 
characterized by his own modesty, and his de- 
ference for Lee's superior military experience. 
He suggests, rather than orders, yet his letter 
is sufficiently explicit. "A little time now," 
writes he, " must manifest the enemy's designs, 
and point out to you the measures proper to be 
pursued by tliat part of the army under your 
command. I shall give no directions, therefore, 
on this head, having the most entire confidence 
in your judgment and military exertions. One 
thing, however, I will suggest, namely, that the 
appearance of embarking troops for the Jerseys 
may be intended as a feint to weaken us, and 
render the post we now hold more vulnerable, 
or the enemy may find that troops are assembled 
with more expedition, and in greater numbers, 
than they expected, on the Jersey shore, to op- 
pose them ; and, as it is possible, from one or 
other of these motives, that they may yet pay 
the party under your command a visit, it will 
be unnecessary, I am persuaded, to recommend to 
you the propriety of putting this post, if you 
stay at it, into a proper posture of defence, and 
guarding against surprises. But I would re- 
commend it to your consideration whether, 
under the suggestion above, your retiring to 
Croton Bridge, and some strong post still more 
easterly (covering the passes through the High- 
lands), may not be more advisable than to run 
the hazard of an attack with unequal numbers. 
At any rate, I think all your baggage and stores, 
except such as are necessary for immediate use, 
ought to be to the northward of Croton River. 
* * * * You will consider the post at Cro- 
ton's (or Pine's) Bridge as under your immediate 
care. * * ■ * * If the enemy should remove 
the whole, or the greater part of their force to 
the west side of Hudson's River, I have no 
doubt of your following with all possible de- 
spatch, leaving the militia and invalids to cover 
the frontiers of Connecticut in case of need." 

We have been minute in stating these mat- 
ters, from their bearing on subsequent opera- 
tions. 

On the 10th of November, Washington left 
the camp at ISTorthcastle, at 11 o'clock, and 
arrived at Peekskill at sunset ; whither General 
Heath, with his division, had preceded him by 
a few hours. Lord Stirling was there, like- 
wise, having effected the transportation of the 
Maryland and Virginia troops across the river, 
and landed them at the ferry south of Stony 
Point ; though a better landing was subsequently 



found north of the point. His lordship had 
thrown out a scouting party in the advance, 
and a hundred men to take possession of a gap 
in the mountain, through which a road passed 
towards the Jerseys. 

Washington was now at the entrance of the 
Highlands, that grand defile of the Hudson, the 
object of so much precaution and solicitude. On 
the following morning, accompanied by Generals 
Heath, Stirling, James and George Clinton, 
Miflfiin, and others, he made a military visit in 
boats to the Highland posts. Fort Montgomery 
was in a considerable state of forwardness, and 
a work in the vicinity was projected to co-ope- 
rate with it. Fort Constitution commanded a 
sudden bend of the river, but Lord Stirling, in 
his report of inspection, had intimated that the 
fort itself was commanded by West Point op- 
posite. A glance of the eye, without going on 
shore, was sufficient to convince Washington of 
the fact. A fortress subsequently erected on 
that point, has been considered the Key of the 
Highlands. 

On the morning of the 12th, at an early hour, 
Washington rode out with General Heath to 
reconnoitre the east side of the Hudson, at the 
gorge of the Highlands. Henry Wisner, in a 
report to the New York Convention, had men- 
tioned a hill to the north of Peekskill, so situa- 
ted, with the road winding along the side of it, 
that ten men on the top, by rolling down stones, 
might prevent ten thousand from passing. " I 
believe," said he, " nothing more need be done 
than to keep great quantities of stones at the 
different places where the troops must pass, if 
they attempt penetrating the mountains." 

Near Robinson's Bridge, in this vicinity, about 
two miles from Peekskill, Washington chose 
a place where troops should be stationed, to 
cover the south entrance into the mountains ; 
and here, afterwards, was established an im- 
portant military depot called Continental 
Village. 

On the same day (12th), he wrote to General 
Lee, inclosing a copy of resolutions just received 
from Congress, respecting levies for the new 
army, showing the importance of immediately 
beginning the recruiting service. If no com- 
missioners arrived from Rhode Island, he was 
to appoint the officers recommended to that 
State by General Greene. " I cannot conclude," 
adds he, " without reminding you of the mili- 
tary and other stores about your encampment, 
and at Northcastle, and to press the removal 
of them above Croton Bridge, or such other 



292 



GENERAL HEATH— AFFAIRS OX LAKE CHAMPLAIN. 



[17Y6. 



places of security as you may think proper. 
General Howe, having sent no part of his force 
to Jersey yet, makes the measure more neces- 
sary, as he may turn his views another way, 
and attempt their destruction." 

It was evidently Washington's desire that 
Lee should post himself, as soon as possible, 
beyond the Croton, where he would be safe 
from surprise, and at hand to throw his troops 
l)romptly across the Hudson, should the Jerseys 
be invaded. 

Having made aU these surveys and arrange- 
ments, "Washington placed Heath in the general 
command of the Highlands, with written in- 
structions to fortify the passes with all possible 
despatch, and directions how the troops were 
to be distributed on both sides of the river ; 
and here we take occasion to give some per- 
sonal notice of this trusty officer. 

Heath was now in the fortieth year of his 
age. Like many of the noted officers of the 
Revolution, he had been brought up in rural 
life, on an hereditary farm near Boston ; yet, ac- 
cording to his own account, though passionately 
fond of agricultural pursuits, he had, also, al- 
most from childhood, a great relish for military 
affairs, and had studied every treatise on the 
subject in the English language, so that he con- 
sidered himself " fully acquainted with the 
theory of war, in all its branches and duties, 
from the private soldier to the commander-in- 
chief." 

He describes himself to be of middling stat- 
ure, light complexion, very corpulent, and bald- 
headed, so that the French officers who served 
in America, compared him, in person, to the 
Marquis of Granby.* 

Such was the officer intrusted with the com- 
mand of the Highland passes, and encamped 
at Peekskill, their portal. We shall find him 
faithful to his trust ; scrupulous in obeying the 
letter of his instructions ; but sturdy and punc- 
tilious in resisting any undue assumption of au- 
thority. 



OHAPTEE XXXIX. 

DtTEiNG his brief and busy sojourn at Peeks- 
kill, Washington received important intelligence 
from the Northern army ; especially that part 
of it on Lake Champlain, under the command 
of General Gates. A slight retrospect of af- 
fairs in that quarter is proper, before we pro- 



* Heath's Memoira. 



ceed to narrate the eventful campaign in the 
Jerseys. 

The preparations for the defence of Ticonde- 
roga, and the nautical service on the lake, had 
met with difficulties at every step. At length, 
by the middle of August, a small flotilla w^as 
completed, composed of a sloop and schooner, 
each of twelve guns (six and four-pounders), 
two schooners mounting eight guns each, and 
five gondolas, each of three guns. The flotilla 
was subsequently augmented, and the command 
given by Gates to Arnold, in compliance with 
the advice of Washington ; who had a high 
opinion of that officer's energy, intrepidity, and 
fertility in expedients. 

Sir Guy Carleton, in the mean time, was 
straining every nerve for the approaching con- 
flict. The successes of the British forces on 
the seaboard, had excited the zealous rivalry of 
the forces in Canada. The commanders, newly 
arrived, were fearful the war might be brought 
to a close, before they could have an opportu- 
nity to share in the glory. Hence the ardor 
with which they encountered and vanquished 
obstacles which might otherwise have appeared 
insuperable. Vessels were brought from Eng- 
land in pieces, and put together at St. Johns ; 
boats of various kinds and sizes were transport- 
ed over land, or dragged up the rapids of the 
Sorel. The soldiers shared with the seamen in 
the toil. The Canadian farmers, also, were 
taken from their agricultural pursuits, and com- 
pelled to aid in these, to them, unprofitable la- 
bors. Sir Guy was full of hope and ardor. 
Should he get the command of Lakes Cham- 
plain and George, the northern part of -New 
York would be at his mercy ; before winter set 
in he might gain possession of Albany. He 
would then be able to co-operate with General 
Howe in severing and subduing the northern 
and southern provinces, and bringing the war 
to a speedy and triumphant close. 

In despite of every exertion, three months 
elapsed before his armament was completed. 
Winter was fast approaching. Before it ar- 
rived, the success of his briUiant plan required 
that he should fight his way across Lake Cham- 
plain ; carry the strong posts of Crown Point 
and Ticonderoga; traverse Lake George, and 
pursue a long and dangerous march through a 
wild and rugged country, beset with forests and 
morasses, to Albany. That was the first post 
to the southward where he expected to find rest 
and winter quarters for his troops.* 



Civil "War in America, vol. i., p. 212. 



JSt. 44.] 



ARNOLD'S FLOTILLA— BRAVE RESISTANCE OF ARNOLD. 



293 



By the montli of October, between twenty 
and thirty sail were afloat and ready for action. 
The flag-ship (the Inflexible) mounted eighteen 
twelve-pounders ; the rest were gunboats, a 
gondola, and a flat-bottomed vessel called a ra- 
deau, and named the Thunderer ; carrying a 
battery of six twenty-four and twelve six- 
pounders, besides howitzers. The gunboats 
mounted brass field-pieces and howitzers. Seven 
hundred seamen navigated the fleet ; two hun- 
dred of them were volunteers from the trans- 
ports. The guns were worked by detachments 
from the corps of artillery. In a word, accord- 
ing to British accounts, " no equipment of the 
kind was ever better appointed, or more amply 
furnished with every kind of provision neces- 
sary for the intended service." * 

Captain Pringle conducted the armament, but 
Sir Guy Carleton was too full of zeal, and too 
anxious for the event, not to head the enter- 
prise ; he accordingly took his station on the 
deck of the flag-ship. They made sail early in 
October, in quest of the American squadron, 
which was said to be abroad upon the lake. Ar- 
nold, however, being ignorant of the strength 
of the enemy, and unwilling to encounter a su- 
perior force in the open lake, had taken his post 
under cover of Yalcour Island, in the upper 
part of a deep channel, or strait, between that 
island and the mainland. His force consisted 
of three schooners, two sloops, three galleys, 
and eight gondolas ; carrying in all seventy 
guns, many of them eighteen-pounders. 

The British ships, sweeping past Cumberland 
Head with a fair wind and flowing sail on the 
morning of the 11th, had left the southern end 
of Valcour Island astern, when they discovered 
Arnold's flotilla anchored behind it, in a line 
extending across tlie strait, so as not to be out- 
flanked. They immediately hauled close to the 
wind, and tried to beat up into the channel. 
The wind, however, did not permit the largest 
of them to enter. Arnold took advantage of 
the circumstance. lie was on board of the gal- 
ley Congress, and leaving the line, advanced 
with two other galleys and the schooner Eoyal 
Savage, to attack the smaller vessels as they en- 
tered, before the large ones could come up. 
About twelve o'clock the enemy's schooner 
Carleton opened a brisk fire upon the Eoyal 
Savage and the galleys. It was as briskly re- 
turned. Seeing the enemy's gunboats approach- 
ing, the Americans endeavored to return to the 



* Civil WarJn America, 1. 211. 



line. In so doing, the Royal Savage ran aground. 
Her crew set her on fire, and abandoned her. 
In about an hour the British brought all their 
gunboats in a range across the lower channel, 
within musket-shot of the Americans, the 
schooner Carleton in the advance. They land- 
ed, also, a large number of Indians on the island, 
to keep up a galling fire from the shore upon 
the Americans with their rifles. The action 
now became general, and was severe and san- 
guinary. The Americans, finding themselves 
thus hemmed in by a superior force, fought with 
desperation. Arnold pressed with his galley 
into the hottest of the fight. The Congress 
was hulled several times, received seven shots 
between wind and water, was shattered in 
mast and rigging, and many of the crew were 
killed and wounded. The ardor of Arnold in- 
creased with his danger. He cheered on his 
men by voice and example, often pointing the 
guns with his own hands. He was ably second- 
ed by Brigadier-General "Waterbury, in the 
"Washington galley, which, like his own vessel, 
was terribly cut up. The contest lasted through- 
out the day. Carried on as it was within a 
narrow compass, and on a tranquil lake, almost 
every shot took eflfect. The fire of the Indians 
from the shore was less deadly than had been 
expected ; but their whoops and yells, mingling 
witli the rattling of the musketry, and the 
thundering of the cannon, increased the horrors 
of the scene. Volumes of smoke rose above 
the woody shores, which echoed with the unu- 
sual din of war, and for a time this lovely recess 
of a beautiful and peaceful lake was rendered a 
perfect pandemonium. 

The evening drew nigh, yet the contest was 
undecided. Captain Pringle, after a consulta- 
tion with Sir Guy Carleton, called off the 
smaller vessels which had been engaged, and 
anchored his whole squadron in a line as near as 
possible to the Americans, so as to prevent their 
escape ; trusting to capture the whole of them 
when the wind should prove favorable, so that 
he could bring his large vessels into action. 

Arnold, however, eensible that with his in- 
ferior and crippled force all resistance would be 
unavailing, took advantage of a dark, cloudy 
night, and a strong north wind ; his vessels 
slipped silently through the enemy's line with- 
out being discovered, one following a light on 
the stern of the other ; and by daylight they 
were out of sight. They had to anchor, how- 
ever, at Schuyler's Island, about ten miles up 
the lake, to stop leaks and make repairs. Two 



294 



GALLANT CONDUCT OF ARNOLD AND WATERBURY. 



[1V76. 



of the gondolas were here sunk, heing past 
remedy. About noon the retreat was resumed, 
but the wind had become adverse ; and they 
made httle progress, Arnold's galley, the Con- 
gress, the "Washington galley, and four gondolas, 
all which had suffered severely in the late fight, 
fell astern of the rest of the squadron in the 
course of the night. In the morning, when the 
sun lifted a fog which had covered the lake, 
they beheld the enemy within a few miles of 
them in full chase, while their own comrades 
were nearly out of sight, making the best of 
their way for Crown Point. 

It was now an anxious trial of speed and 
seamanship. Arnold, with the crippled relics 
of his squadron, managed by noon to get within 
a few leagues of Crown Point, when they were 
overtaken by the Inflexible, the Carleton, and 
the schooner Maria of 14 guns. As soon as 
they came up, they poured in a tremendous 
fire. The "Washington galley, already shattered, 
and having lost most of her oflScers, was com- 
pelled to strike, and General Waterbury and 
the crew were taken prisoners. Arnold had 
now to bear the brunt of the action. For a 
long time he was engaged within musket-shot 
with the Inflexible, and the two schooners, un- 
til his galley was reduced to a wreck, and one- 
third of the crew were kiUed. The gondolas 
were nearly in the same desperate condition ; 
yet the men stood stoutly to their guns. See- 
ing resistance vain, Arnold determined that 
neither vessels nor crew should fall into the 
hands of the enemy. He ordered the gondolas 
to run on shore, in a small creek in the neigh- 
borhood, the men to set fire to them as soon as 
they grounded, to wade on shore with their 
muskets, and keep off the enemy until they 
were consumed. He did the same with his 
own galley ; remaining on board of her until 
she was in flames, lest the enemy should get 
possession and strike his flag, which was kept 
flying to the last. 

He now set off with his gallant crew, many 
of whom were wounded, by a road through the 
woods to Crown Point, where he arrived at 
night, narrowly escaping an Indian ambush. 
Two schooners, two galleys, one sloop and one 
gondola, the remnant which had escaped of this 
squadron, were at anchor at the Point, and 
General Waterbury and most of his men arrived 
there the next day on parole. Seeing that the 
place must soon fall into the hands of the ene- 
my, they set fire to the houses, destroyed every 
thing they could not carry away, and em- 



barking in the vessels, made sail for Ticon- 
deroga. 

The loss of the Americans in these two ac- 
tions is said to have been between eighty and 
ninety men ; that of the British about forty. 
It is worthy of mention, that among the young 
ofiicers in Sir Guy Carleton's squadron, was 
Edward Pellew, who afterwards rose to renown 
as Admiral Viscount Exmouth ; celebrated, 
among other things, for his victory at Algiers. 

The conduct of Arnold in these naval affairs 
gained him new laurels. He was extolled for 
the judgment with which he chose his position, 
and brought his vessels into action ; for his 
masterly retreat, and for the self-sacrificing de- 
votion with which he exposed himself to the 
overwhelming force of the enemy in covering 
the retreat of part of his fiotilla. 

Sir Guy Carleton took possession of the ruined 
works at Crown Point, where he was soon 
joined by the army. He made several move- 
ments by laud and water, as if meditating an 
attack upon Ticonderoga ; pushing strong de- 
tachments on both sides of the lake, which ap- 
proached within a small distance of the fort, 
while one vessel appeared within cannon-shot 
of a lower battery, sounding the depth of the 
channel, until a few shot obliged her to retire. 
General Gates, in the mean time, strengthened 
his works with incessant assiduity, and made 
every preparation for an obstinate defence. A 
strong easterly wind prevented the enemy's 
ships from advancing to attack the lines, and 
gave time for the arrival of reinforcements of 
militia to the garrison. It also afforded time 
for Sir Guy Carleton to cool in ardor, and cal- 
culate the chances and the value of success. 
The post, from its strength, and the apparent 
number and resolution of the garrison, could 
not be taken without great loss of life. If 
taken, the season was now too far advanced 
to think of passing Lake George, and exposing 
the army to the perils of a winter campaign in 
the inhospitable and impracticable wilds to the 
southward. Ticonderoga, too, could not be 
kept during the winter, so that the only result 
of the capture would be the reduction of the 
works and the taking of some cannon; all 
which damage the Americans could remedy 
before the opening of the summer campaign. 
If, however, the defence should be obstinate, 
the British army, even if successful, might sus- 
tain a loss sufficient to cripple its operations in 
the coming year.* 



* Civil War in America, vol. i., p. 214. 



JEt.44.] CARLETON EETURNS TO CANADA— AFFAIRS AT FORT WASHINGTON. 



295 



These, and other prudential reasons, induced 
Carleton to give up all attempt upon the for- 
tress at present ; wherefore, re-embarking his 
troops, he returned to St. Johns, and cantoned 
them in Canada for the winter. It was not until 
about the 1st of November, that a reconnoi- 
tring party, sent out from Ticonderoga by Gen- 
eral Gates, brought him back intelligence that 
Crown Point was abandoned by the enemy, and 
not a hostile sail in sight. All apprehensions 
of an attack upon Ticonderoga during the pres- 
ent year were at an end, and many of the troops 
stationed there were already on their march 
toward Albany. 

Such was the purport of the news from the 
north, received by "Washington at Peekskill. 
It relieved him for the present from all anxiety 
respecting affairs on Lake Champlain, and gave 
him the prospect of reinforcements from that 
quarter. 



CHAPTER XL. 

O^ the morning of the 12th of November, 
"Washington crossed the Hudson, to the ferry 
below Stony Point, with the residue of the 
troops destined for the Jerseys. Far below 
were to be descried the Phosnix, the Roebuck, 
and the Tartar, at anchor in the broad waters 
of Haverstraw Bay and the Tappan Sea, guard- 
ing the lower ferries. The army, , thus shut 
out from the nearer passes, was slowly winding 
its way by a circuitous route through the gap 
in the mountains, which Lord Stirling had se- 
cured. Leaving the troops which had just 
landed, to pursue the same route to the Hack- 
ensack, "Washington, accompanied by Colonel 
Reed, struck a direct course for Fort Lee, being 
anxious about affairs at Fort "Washing*- on. He 
arrived there on the following day, and found, 
to his disappointment, that General Greene had 
taken no measures for the evacuation of that 
fortress ; but, on the contrary, had reinforced 
it with apart of Colonel Durkee's regiment, and 
the regiment of Colonel Rawlings, so that its 
garrison now numbered upwards of two thou- 
sand men ; a great part, however, were militia. 
"Washington's orders for its evacuation had, in 
fact, been discretionary, leaving the execution 
of them to Greene's judgment, " as being on the 
spot." The latter had differed in opinion as to 
the policy of such a measure ; and Colonel 
Magaw, who had charge of the fortress, was 
likewise confident it might be maintained. 



Colonel Reed was of opposite counsels ; but 
then he was personally interested in the safety 
of the garrison. It was composed almost en- 
tirely of Pennsylvania troops under Magaw and 
Lambert Cadwalader ; excepting a small de- 
tachment of Maryland riflemen commanded by 
Otho 11. "Williams. They were his friends and 
neighbors, the remnant of the brave men who 
had suffered so severely under Atlee and Small- 
wood.* The fort was now invested on all 
sides but one ; and the troops under Howe 
which had been encamped at Dobbs' Ferry, 
were said to be moving down toward it. Reed's 
solicitude was not shared by the garrison itself. 
Colonel Magaw, its brave commander, still 
thought it was in no immediate danger. 

Washington was much perplexed. The main 
object of Howe was stiU a matter of doubt with 
him. He could not think that Sir William was 
moving his whole force upon that fortress, to 
invest which, a part would be sufficient. He 
suspected an ulterior object, probably a South- 
ern expedition, as he was told a large number 
of ships were taking in wood and water at New 
York. He resolved, therefore, to continue a 
few days in this neighborhood, during which 
he trusted the designs of the enemy would be 
more apparent ; in the mean time he would 
distribute troops at Brunswick, Amboy, Eliza- 
bethtown, and Fort Lee, so as to be ready at 
these various points, to check any incursions 
into the Jerseys. 

In a letter to the President of Congress, he 
urged for an increase of ordnance and field- 
artillery. The rough, hiUy country east of the 
Hudson, and the strongholds and fastnesses of 
which the Americans had possessed themselves, 
had prevented the enemy from profiting by the 
superiority of their artillery ; but this would 
not be the case, should the scene of action 
change to an open champaign country, like the 
Jerseys. 

Washington was mistaken in his conjecture 
as to Sir William Howe's design. The capture 
of Fort Washington was, at present, his main 
object ; and he was encamped on Fordham 
Heights, not far from King's Bridge, until pre- 
liminary steps should be taken. In the night 
of the 14th, thirty flat-bottomed boats stole 
quietly up the Hudson, passed the American 
forts undiscovered, and made their way through 
Spy t den Duivel Creek into H arlem River. The 
means were thus provided for crossing that 



* W. B. Reed'8 Life of Reed, i. 252. 



296 FORT WASHINGTON SUMMONED TO SURRENDER— ATTACK ON THE FORT, [1776. 



river and landing before unprotected parts of 
the American works. 

On the 15th, General Howe sent in a sum- 
mons to surrender, with a threat of extremities 
should he have to carry the place by assault. 
Magaw, in his reply, intimated a doubt that 
General Howe would execute a threat " so un- 
worthy of himself and the British nation ; but 
give me leave," added he, " to assure his Ex- 
cellency, that, actuated by the most gloi-ious 
cause that mankind ever fought in, I am deter- 
mined to defend this post to the very last ex- 
tremity." 

Apprised by the Colonel of his peril, General 
Greene sent over reinforcements, with an ex- 
hortation to him to persist in his defence ; and 
despatched an express to "Washington, who was 
at Hackensack, where the troops which had 
crossed from Peekskill were encamped. It was 
nightfall when Washington arrived at Fort 
Lee. Greene and Putnam were over at the be- 
sieged fortress. He threw himself into a boat, 
and had partly crossed the river, when he met 
those generals returning. They informed him 
of the garrison's having been reinforced, and 
assured him that it was in high spirits, and ca- 
pable of making a good defence. It was with 
difficulty, however, they could prevail on him 
to return with them to the Jersey shore, for 
he was excessively excited. 

Early the next morning (16th), Magaw made 
Ms dispositions for the expected attack. His 
forces, with the recent additions, amounted to 
nearly three thousand men. As the fort could 
not contain above a third of that number, most 
of them were stationed about the outworks. 

Colonel Lambert Cadwalader, with eight 
hundred Pennsylvanians, was posted in the 
outer lines, about two miles and a half south of 
the fort, the side menaced by Lord Percy with 
sixteen hundred men. Colonel Eawlings, of 
Maryland, with a body of troops, many of them 
riflemen, was stationed by a three-gun battery, 
on a rocky, precipitous hill, north of the fort, 
and between it and Spyt den Duivel Creek. 
Colonel Baxter, of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, 
with his regiment of militia, was posted east of 
the fort, on rough, vroody heights, bordering 
the Harlem PJver, to watch the motions of the 
enemy, who had thrown up redoubts on high 
and commanding ground, on the opposite side 
of the river, apparently to cover the crossing 
and landing of troops. 

Sir William Howe had planned four simulta- 
neous attacks; one on the north by Knyp- 



hausen, who was encamped on the York side 
of King's Bridge, within cannon-shot of Fort 
Washington, but separated from it by high and 
rough hills, covered with almost impenetrable 
woods. He was to advance in two columns, 
formed by detachments made from the Hessians 
of his corps, the brigade of Rahl, and the regi- 
ment of Waldeckers. The second attack was 
to be by two battalions of light infantry, and 
two battalions of guards, under Brigadier-Gen- 
eral Mathew, who was to cross Harlem Eiver 
in flat-boats, under cover of the redoubts above 
mentioned, and to land on the right of the fort. 
This attack was to be supported by the flrst and 
second grenadiers, and a regiment of light in- 
fantry under command of Lord Coruwallis. 
The third attack, intended as a feint to distract 
the attention of the Americans, was to be by 
Colonel Sterling, with the forty-second regi- 
ment, who was to drop down the Harlem Eiver 
in bateaux, to the left of the Americon lines, 
facing New York. The fourth attack was to 
be on the south, by Lord Percy, with the Eng- 
lish and Hessian troops under his command, on 
the right flank of the American intrench- 
ments.* 

About noon, a heavy cannonade thundering 
along the rocky hills, and sharp volleys of mus- 
ketry, proclaimed that the action was com- 
menced. Knyphausen's division was pushing 
on from the north in two columns, as had been 
arranged. . The right was led by Colonel Eahl, 
the left by himself. Eahl essayed to mount a 
steep, broken height, called Cock Hill, which 
rises from Spyt den Duivel Creek, and was 
covered with woods. Ivnyphausen undertook 
a hill rising from the King's Bridge road, but 
soon found himself entangled in a woody defile, 
difficult to penetrate, and where his Hessians 
were exposed to the fire of the three-gun bat- 
tery, and Eawlings' riflemen. 

While this Avas gojng on at the north of the 
fort. General Mathew, with his light infantry 
and guards, crossed the Harlem Elver in the 
flat-boats, under cover of a heavy fire from the 
redoubts. 

He made good his landing, after being severe- 
ly handled by Baxter and Ins men, from behind 
rocks and trees, and the breastworks thrown 
up on the steep river bank. A short contest 
ensued. Baxter, while bravely encouraging 
his men, was killed by a British officer. 'His 
troops, overpowered by numbers, retreated to 



* Sir William Howe to Lord George Germaine. 



JEt. 44.] 



THE SURRENDER OF FORT WASHINGTON. 



297 



the fort. General Mathew now pushed on with 
his guards and light infantry to cut off Cad- 
walader. That officer had gallantly defended 
the lines against the attack of Lord Percy, until 
informed that Colonel Sterling was dropping 
down Harlem River in bateaux to flank the 
lines, and take him in the rear. He sent off a 
detachment to oppose his landing. They did 
it manfully. About ninety of Sterling's men 
were killed or wounded in their boats, but he 
persevered, landed, and forced his way up a 
steep height, which was weU defended, gained 
the summit, forced a redoubt, and took nearly 
two hundred prisoners. Thus doubly assailed, 
Cadwalader was obliged* to retreat to the fort. 
He was closely pursued by Percy with his Eng- 
lish troops and Hessians, but turned repeatedly 
on his pursuers. Thus he fought his way to 
the fort, with the loss of several killed, and 
more taken prisoners ; but marking his track 
by the number of Hessians slain. 

The defence on the north side of the fort 
was equally obstinate and unsuccessful. Raw- 
lings with his Maryland riflemen and the aid 
of tlie three-gun battery, had for some time 
kept the left column of Hessians and "Waldeck- 
ers under Knyphausen at bay. At length Col- 
onel Rahl, with the right column of the divis- 
ion, having forced his way directly up the north 
side of the steep hill at Spyt den Duivel Creek, 
came upon Rawlings' men, whose rifles, from 
frequent discharges, had become foul and al- 
most useless; drove them from their strong 
post, and followed them until within a hundred 
yards of the fort, where he was joined by 
Knyphausen, who had slowly made his way 
through dense forests and over felled trees. 
Here they took post behind a large stone 
house, and sent in a flag, with a second sum- 
mons to surrender. 

Washington, surrounded by several of his 
officers, had been an anxious spectator of the 
battle from the opposite side of the Hudson. 
Much of it was hidden from him by interven- 
ing hills and forest ; but the roar of cannonry 
from the valley of Harlem River, the sharp 
and incessant reports of rifles, and the smoke 
rising above the tree tops, told him of the 
spirit with which the assault was received at 
various points, and gave him for a time a hope 
that the defence might be successful. The 
action about the lines to the south lay open to 
him, and could be distinctly seen througli a 
telescope ; and nothing encouraged him more 
than the gallant style in which Cadwalader 



with an inferior force maintained his position. 
When he saw him, however, assailed in flank, 
the line broken, and his troops, overpowered 
by numbers, retreating to the fort, he gave up 
the game as lost. The worst sight of aU, was 
to behold his men cut down and bayoneted by 
the Hessians while begging quarter. It is said 
so completely to have overcome him, that he 
wept " with the tenderness of a child." 

Seeing the flag go into the fort from Knyp- 
hausen's division, and surmising it to be a 
summons to surrender, he wrote a note to 
Magaw, telling him that if he could hold out 
until evening, and the place could not be main- 
tained, he would endeavor , to bring off the 
garrison in the night. Captain Gooch, of Bos- 
ton, a brave and daring man, ofiered to be the 
bearer of the note. "He ran down to the river, 
jumped into a small boat, pushed over the 
river, landed under the bank, ran up to the 
fort, and delivered the message : — came out, 
ran and jumped over the broken ground, dodg- 
ing the Hessians, some of whom struck at him 
with their pieces, and others attempted to 
thrust him with their bayonets; escaping 
through them, he got to his boat, and returned 
to Fort Lee." * 

Washington's message arrived too late. " The 
fort was so crowded by the garrison, and the 
troops which had retreated into it, that it was 
difficult to move about. The enemy, too, were 
in possession of the little redoubts around, and 
could have poured in showers of shells and 
ricochet balls that would have made dreadful 
slaughter," It was no longer possible for 
Magaw to get his troops to man the lines ; he 
was compelled, therefore, to yield himself and 
his garrison prisoners of war. The only terras 
granted them were, that the men should re- 
tain their baggage and the officers their swords. 

The sight of the American flag hauled down, 
and the British flag waving in its place, told 
Washington of the surrender. His instant care 
was for the safety of the upper country, now 
that the lower defences of the Hudson were at 
an end. Before he knew any thing about the 
terms of capitulation, he wrote to General Lee, 
informing him of the surrender, and calling his 
attention to the passes of the Highlands and 
those which lay east of the river ; begging him 
to have such measures adopted for their defence 
as his judgment should suggest to be necessary. 
" I do not mean," added he, " to advise aban- 



* Heath's Memoirs, p. 



298 



COMMENTS OF WASHINGTON ON THE STATE OF AFFAIRS. 



[_111&. 



doning your present post, contrary to your 
own opinion ; but only to mention my own 
ideas of the importance of those passes, and 
that you cannot give too much attention to 
their security, by having works erected on the 
most advantageous places for that purpose." 

Lee, in reply, objected to removing from his 
actual encampment at Northcastle. " It would 
give us," said he, " the air of being frightened ; 
it would expose a fine, fertile country to their 
ravages ; and I must add, that we are as se- 
cure as we could be in any position whatever." 
After stating that he should deposit his stores, 
&c., in a place fully as safe, and more central 
than Peekskill, he adds : " As to ourselves, 
light as we are, several retreats present them- 
selves. In short, if we keep a good look-out, 
we are in no danger ; but I must entreat your 
Excellency to enjoin the officers posted at Fort 
Lee, to give us the quickest intelligence, if they 
observe any embarkation on the North Eiver." 
As to the aflfair of Fort Washington, all that 
Lee observed on the subject was : " Oh, gen- 
eral, why would you be over-persuaded by 
men of inferior judgment to your own? It 
was a cursed affair." 

Lee's allusion to men of inferior judgment, 
was principally aimed at Greene, whose in- 
fluence with the commander-in-chief seems to 
have excited the jealousy of other officers of 
rank. So Colonel Tilghman, Washington's 
aide-de-camp, writes on the 17th, to Robert 
E. Livingston of New York, " We were in a 
fair way of finishing the campaign with credit 
to ourselves, and, I think, to the disgrace of 
Mr. Howe ; and, had the general followed his 
own opinion, the garrison would have been 
withdrawn immediately upon the enemy's fall- 
ing down from Dobbs' Ferry. But General 
Greene was positive that our forces might at 
any time be drawn off under the guns of Fort 
Lee. Fatal experience has evinced the con- 
trary." * 

Washington's own comments on the reduc- 
tion of the fort, made in a letter to his brother 
Augustine, are worthy of special note. " This 
is a most unforti;nate affair, and has given me 
great mortification ; as we have lost not only 
two thousand men,t that were there, but a 
good deal of artillery, and some of the best 
arms we had. And what adds to my morti- 



* Am. Archives, 5th Series, iii. '780. 

t The numher of prisoners, as returned by Sir William 
Howe, was 2,818, of whom 2,607 were privates. They 
were marched off to New York at midnight. 



fication is, that this post, after the last ships 
went past it, was held contrary to my wishes 
and opinion, as I conceived it to be a hazardous 
one : but it having been determined on by a 
full council of general officers, and a resolution 
of Congress having been received, strongly ex- 
pressive of their desire that the channel of the 
river which we had been laboring to stop for a 
long time at that place, might be obstructed, 
if possible ; and knowing that this could not 
be done, unless there were batteries to protect 
the obstructions, I did not care to give an ab- 
solute order for withdrawing the garrison, till I 
could get round and see the situation of things ; 
and then it became two late, as the place was 
invested. Upon the passing of the last ships, 
I had given it as my opinion to General Greene, 
under whose care it was, that it would be best 
to evacuate the place ; but, as the order was 
discretionary, and his opinion different from 
mine, it was unhappily delayed too long ; to 
my great grief." 

The correspondence of Washington with his 
brother, is full of gloomy anticipations. " In 
ten days from this date, there will not be above 
two thousand men, if that number, of the fixed 
established regiments on this side of Hudson 
Eiver, to oppose Howe's whole army ; and very 
little more on the other, to secure the eastern 
colonies, and the important passes leading 
through the Highlands to Albany, and the 
country about the lakes. In short, it is im- 
possible for me, in the compass of a letter, to 
give you any idea of our situation, of my diflS- 
culties, and of the constant perplexities I meet 
with, derived from the unhappy policy of 
short enlistments, and delaying them too long. 
Last fall, or wmter, before the army, which 
was then to be raised, was set about, I repre- 
sented in clear and explicit terms the evils 
which would arise from short enlistments, the 
expense which must attend the raising an army 
every year, and the futility of such an army 
when raised ; and if I had spoken with a 
prophetic spirit, I could not have foretold the 
evils with more accuracy than I did. All the 
year since, I have been pressing Congress to 
delay no time in engaging men upon such terms 
as would insure success, telling them that the 
longer it was delayed, the more difficult it 
would prove. But the measure was not com- 
menced imtil it was too late to be effected. 
* * * I am wearied almost to death with 
the retrograde motion of things ; and I solemn- 
ly protest, that a pecuniary reward of twenty 



^T. 44.] THE ENEMY CROSS THE HUDSON— CROSSING OF THE HACKENSACK. 



299 



thousand pounds a year would not induce me 
to undergo what I do, and, after all, perhaps 
to lose my character ; as it is impossible, under 
such a variety of distressing circumstances, to 
conduct matters agreeably to public expecta- 
tion." 



CHAPTER XLI. 

"With the capture of Fort Washington, the 
project of obstructing the navigation of the 
Hudson, at that point, was at an end. Fort 
Lee, consequently, became useless, and Wash- 
ington ordered all the ammunition and stores 
to be removed, preparatory to its abandon- 
ment. This was effected with the whole of 
the ammunition, and a part of the stores, and 
every exertion was making to hurry off the 
remainder, when, early in the morning of the 
20th, intelligence was brought that the enemy, 
with two hundred boats, had crossed the river 
and landed a few miles above. General Greene 
immediately ordered the garrison under arms, 
sent out troops to hold the enemy in check, 
and sent off an express to Washington, at 
Hackensack, 

The enemy had crossed the Hudson, on a 
very rainy night, in two divisions, one diago- 
nally upward from King's Bridge, landing on 
the west side, about eight o'clock ; the other 
marched up the east bank, three or four miles, 
and then crossed to the opposite shore. The 
whole corps, six thousand strong, and under 
the command of Lord Oornwallis, were landed, 
with their cannon, by ten o'clock, at a place 
called Closter Dock, five or six miles above 
Fort Lee, and under that line of lofty and per- 
pendicular cliffs known as the PaHsades. " The 
seamen," says Sir AVilliam Howe, " distinguish- 
ed themselves remarkably on this occasion, by 
their readiness to drag their cannon up a very 
narrow road, for nearly half a mile, to the top 
of a precipice, which bounds the shore for some 
miles on the west side." * 

Washington arrived at the fort in three- 
quarters of an hour. Being told that the 
enemy were extending themselves across the 
country, he at once saw that they intended 
to form a line from the Hudson to the Hacken- 



* Some writers have stated that Oornwallis crossed on 
the 18th. They have been misled by a letter of Sir "Wil- 
liam Howe, which gives that date. Lord Howe, in a letter 
to the Secretary of the Admiralty, gives the date we have 
stated (the 20th), which is the true one. 



sack, and hem the whole garrison in between 
the two rivers. Nothing would save it but a 
prompt retreat to secure the bridge over the 
Hackensack. No time was to be lost. The 
troops sent out to check the enemy were re- 
called. The retreat commenced in all haste. 
There was a want of horses and waggons ; a 
great quantity of baggage, stores, and provi- 
sions, therefore, was abandoned. So was all 
the artillery excepting two twelve-pounders. 
Even the tents were left standing, and camp- 
kettles on the fire. With all their speed they 
did not reach the Hackensack River before the 
vanguard of the enemy was close upon them. 
Expecting a brush, the greater part hurried 
over the bridge, others crossed at the ferry, 
and some higher up. The enemy, however, 
did not dispute the passage of the river ; but 
Oornwallis stated in his despatches, that, had 
not the Americans been apprised of his ap- 
proach, he would have surrounded them at 
the fort. Some of his troops that night occu- 
pied the tents they had abandoned. 

From Hackensack, Colonel Grayson, one of 
Washington's aides-de-camp, wrote instantly, 
by his orders, to General Lee ; informing him 
that the enemy had crossed into the Jerseys, 
and, as was reported, in great numhers. " His 
Excellency," adds Grayson, " thinks it would 
be advisable in you to remove the troops under 
your command on this side of the North River, 
and there wait for further commands." 

Washington himself wrote to Lee on the fol- 
lowing day (Nov. 21st). " I am of opinion," 
said he, " and the gentlemen about me concur 
in it, that the public interest requires your 
coming over to this side of the Hudson with the 
Continental troops. * * * * Xhe enemy 
is evidently changing the seat of war to this 
side of the North River, and the inhabitants of 
this coimtry will expect the Continental army 
to give them what support they can ; and fail- 
ing in that, they will cease to depend upon, or 
support a force from which no protection is 
derived. It is, therefore, of the utmost impor- 
tance, that at least an appearance of force 
should be made, to keep this province in con- 
nection with the others." 

In this moment of hurry and agitation. Col- 
onel Reed, also, Washington's fidus Ac7iates, 
wrote to Lee, but in a tone and spirit that may 
surprise the reader, knowing the devotion he 
had hitherto manifested for the commander-in- 
chief. After expressing the common wish that 
Lee should be at the principal scene of action, 



JOO 



REED'S LETTER TO LEE^A SECOND MOVE OF THE ARMY. 



[1V76. 



lie adds : " I do not mean to flatter or praise 
you, at the expense of any other ; but I do 
think it is entirely owing to you, that this army, 
and the liberties of America, so far as they are 
dependent on it, are not entirely cut off. You 
have decision, a quality often wanting in minds 
otherwise valuable, and I ascribe to this our 
escape from York Island, King's Bridge, and 
the Plains ; and I have no doubt, had you been 
here, the garrison of Mount Washington would 
now have composed a part of this army ; and 
from all these circumstances, I confess, I do 
ardently wish to see you removed from a place 
where there will be so little call for your judg- 
ment and experience, to the place where they 
are likely to be so necessary. Nor am I singular 
in my opinion ; every gentleman of the family, 
the officers and soldiers generally, have a con- 
fidence in you. The enemy constantly inquire 
where you are, and seem to be less confident 
when you are present." 

Then alluding to the late aff"air at Fort "Wash- 
ington, he continues : " General Washington's 
own judgment, seconded by representations 
from us, would, I believe, have saved the men, 
and their arms ; but, unluckily. General Greene's 
judgment was contrary. This kept the general's 
mind in a state of suspense, till the stroke was 
struck. Oh, general ! An indecisive mind is 
one of the greatest misfortunes that can befall 
an army ; how often have I lamented it this 
campaign. All circumstances considered, we 
are in a very awful and alarming situation ; 
one that requires the utmost wisdom, and firm- 
ness of mind. As soon as the season will ad- 
mit, I think yourself and some others should go 
to Congress, and form the plan of the new army. 
* * * * J must conclude, with my clear 
and explicit opinion, that your presence is of 
the last importance." * 

Well might Washington apprehend that his 
character and conduct, in the perplexities in 
which he was placed, would be liable to be 
misunderstood by the public, when the friend 
of his bosom could so misjudge him. 

Reed had evidently been dazzled by the dar- 
ing spirit and unscrupulous policy of Lee, who, 
in carrying out his measures, heeded but little 
the counsels of others, or even the orders of 
government; Washington's respect for both, 
and the caution with which he hesitated in adopt- 
ing measures in opposition to them, was stamped 
by the bold soldier and his admirers as indecision. 



* Memoirs of Reed, i. 255. 



At Hackensack the army did not exceed 
three thousand men, and they were dispirited 
by ill success, and the loss of tents and bag- 
gage. They were without intrenching tools, 
in a flat country, where there were no natural 
fastnesses. Washington resolved, therefore, to 
avoid any attack from the enemy, though, by 
so doing, he must leave a fine and fertile region 
open to their ravages ; or a plentiful store- 
house, from which they would draw voluntary 
supplies. A second move was necessary, agaia 
to avoid the danger of being enclosed between 
two rivers. Leaving three regiments, there- 
fore, to g&ard the passes of the Hackensack, 
and serve as covering parties, he again de- 
camped, and threw himself on the west bank 
of the Passaic, in the neighborhood of Newark. 

His army, small as it was, would soon be 
less. The term of enlistment of those under 
General Mercer, from the flying camp, was 
nearly expired ; and it was not probable that, 
disheartened as they were by defeats and losses, 
exposed to inclement weather, and unaccus- 
tomed to military hardships, they would longer 
forego the comforts of their homes, to drag 
out the residue of a ruinous campaign. 

In addition, too, to the superiority of the 
force that was following him, the rivers gave 
the enemy facilities, by means of their ship- 
ping, to throw troops in his rear. In this ex- 
tremity he cast about in every direction for 
assistance. Colonel Eeed, on whom he relied 
as on a second self, was despatched to Burling- 
ton, with a letter to Governor William Living- 
ston, describing his hazardous situation, and 
entreating him to call out a portion of the New 
Jersey militia ; and General Mifiiin was sent to 
Philadelphia to implore immediate aid from 
Congress, and the local authorities. 

His main reliance for prompt assistance, 
however, was upon Lee. On the 24th came a 
letter from that general, addressed to Colonel 
Reed. Washington opened it, as he was accus- 
tomed to do, in the absence of that oflacer, with 
letters addressed to him on the business of the 
army. Lee was at his old encampment at 
Northcastle. He had no means, he said, of 
crossing at Dobbs' Ferry, and the round by 
King's Ferry would be so great, that he could 
not get there in time to answer any purpose. 
" I have, therefore," added he, " ordered Gen- 
eral Heath, who is close to the only ferry which 
can be passed, to detach two thousand men to 
apprise his Excellency, and await his further 
orders; a mode which I flatter myself will 



Mr. 44.] 



CORRESPONDENCE AND SCHEMES OF LEE. 



301 



answer bettei- what I conceive to be the spirit 
of the orders, than should I move the corps 
from hence. Withdrawing our troops from 
hence would be attended with some very seri- 
ous consequences, which at present would be 
tedious to enumerate ; as to myself," adds he, 
" I hope to set out to-morrow." 

A letter of the same date (Nov. 23d), from 
Lee to James Bowdoin, president of the Massa- 
chusetts council, may throw some light on his 
motives for delaying to obey the orders of 
the comraander-in-cliief. " Before the unfor- 
tunate aifair of Fort Washington," writes he, 
" it was my opinion that the two armies — that 
on the east, and that on the west side of the 
North Eiver — must rest each on its own bot- 
tom ; that the idea of detaching and reinforcing 
from one side to the other, on every motion 
of the enemy, was chimerical ; but to harbor 
such a thought in our present circumstances, is 
absolute insanity. In this invasion, should the 
enemy alter the present direction of their op- 
erations, and attempt to open the passage of 
the Highlands, or enter New England, I should 
never entertain the thought of being succored 
by the western army. I know it is impossible. 
We must, therefore, depend upon ourselves. 
To Connecticut and Massachusetts I shall look 
for assistance. * * * ^^ * j j^opg the 
cursed job of Fort Washington will occasion no 
dejection : the place itself was of no value. 
For my own part, I am persuaded that if we 
only act with common sense, spirit, and de- 
cision, the day must be our own." 

In another letter to Bowdoin, dated on the 
following day, and enclosing an extract from 
Washington's letter of Nov. 21st, he writes : 
" Indecision bids fair for tumbling down the 
goodly fabric of American freedom, and, with 
it, the rights of mankind. 'Twas indecision 
of Congress prevented our having a noble army, 
and on an excellent footing. 'Twas indecision 
in our military councils which cost us the gar- 
rison of Fort Washington, the consequence of 
which must be fatal, unless remedied in time 
by a contrary spirit. Enclosed I send you an 
extract of a letter from the general, on which 
you will make your comments ; and I have no 
doubt you will concur with me in the necessity 
of raising immediately an army to save us from 
perdition. Aifairs appear in so important a 
crisis, that I think the resolves of the Congress 
must no longer too nicely weigh with us. We 
must save the community, in spite of the or- 
dinances of the legislature. There are times 



when we must commit treason against the laws 
of the State, for the salvation of the State. 
The present crisis demands this brave, virtuous 
kind of treason." He urges President Bow- 
doin, therefore, to waive all formalities, and 
not only complete the regiments prescribed to 
the province, but to add four companies to 
each regiment. " We must not only have a 
force sufficient to cover your province, and all 
these fertile districts, from the insults and 
irruptions of the tyrant's troops, but sufficient 
to drive 'em out of all .their quarters in the 
Jerseys, or all is lost. ^- * * in the mean 
time, send up a formidable body of militia to 
supply the place of the Continental troops, 
which I am ordered to convey over the river. 
Let your people be well supplied with bhxnkets, 
and warm clothes, as I am determined, by the 
help of God, to unnest 'em, even in the dead 
of winter." * 

It is evident Lee considered Washington's 
star to be on the decline, and his own in the 
ascendant. The " affair of Fort Washington," 
and the " indecision of the commander-in-chief," 
were apparently his watchwords. 

On the following day (24th), he writes to 
Washington from Northcastle, on the subject 
of removing troops across the Hudson. " I 
have received your orders, and shall endeavor 
to put them in execution, but question whether 
I shaU be able to carry with me any consider- 
able number ; not so much from a want of zeal 
in the men, as from their wretched condition 
with respect to shoes, stockings, and blankets, 
which the present bad weather renders more 
intolerable. I sent Heath orders to transport 
two thousand men across the river, apprise the 
general, and wait for further orders ; but that 
great man (as I might have expected) intrench- 
ed himself within the letter of his instructions, 
and refused to part with a single file, though I 
undertook to replace them with a part of my 
own." He concludes by showing that, so far 
from hurrying to the support of his commander- 
in-chief, he was meditating a side blow of his 
own devising. " I should march this day with 
Glover's brigade; but have just received in- 
telligence that Kogers' corps, a part of the 
light-horse, and another brigade lie in so ex- 
posed a situation, as to present us the fairest 
opportunity of carrying them off. If we suc- 
ceed, it will have a great effect, and amply 
compensate for two days' delay." 

* Am. Archives, 5th Series, iii. 811. 



302 PERPLEXITY OF GEORGE CLINTON— CRITICAL SITUATION OF THE ARMY. [1776. 



Scarce had Lee sent this letter, -when he re- 
ceived one from "Washington, informing him 
that he had mistaken his views in regard to 
the troops required to cross the Hudson; it 
was his (Lee's) division that he wanted to 
have over. The force under Heath must re- 
main to guard tlie posts and passes through the 
Highlands, the importance of which was so in- 
finitely great, that there should not be the 
least possible risk of losing them. In the same 
letter Washington, who presumed Lee was by 
this time at Peekskill, advised him to take 
every precaution to come by a safe route, and 
by all means to keep between the enemy and 
the mountains, as he understood they were 
taking measures to intercept his march. 

Lee's reply was still from Northcastle, He 
explained that his idea of detaching troops 
from Heath's division was merely for expedi- 
tion's sake, intending to replace them from his 
own. The want of carriages and other causes 
had delayed him. From the force of the enemy 
remaining in "Westchester County, he did not 
conceive the number of them in the Jerseys to 
be near so great as "Washington was taught to 
believe. He had been making a sweep of the 
country to clear it of the tories. Part of his 
army had now moved on, and he would set out 
on the following day. He concluded with the 
assurance, " I shall take care to obey your Ex- 
cellency's orders in regard to my march, as 
exactly as possible." 

On the same day, he vents his spleen in a 
tart letter to Heath. " I perceive," writes he, 
" that you have formed an idea, that should 
General "Washington remove to the Straits of 
Magellan, the instructions he left with you, 
i;pon a particular occasion, have, to all intents 
and purposes, invested you with a command 
separate from, and independent of any other 
superiors. * * * » xhat General Heath 
is by no means to consider himself obliged to 
obey the second in command." He concluded 
by informing him that, as the commander-in- 
chief was now separated from them, he (Lee) 
commanded, of course, on this side of the 
water, and for the future would, and must be 
obeyed. 

Before receiving this letter, Heath, doubtful 
whether "Washington might not be pressed, and 
desirous of having his troops across the Hud- 
son, had sent off an express to him for explicit 
instructions on that point, and, in the mean 
time, had kept them ready for a move. 

General George Clinton, who was with him. 



and had the safety of the Hudson at heart, was 
in an agony of solicitude. ""We have been 
under marching orders these three days past," 
writes he, " and only await the directions of 
General "Washington. Should they be to 
move, all's over with the river this season, 
and, I fear, forever. General Lee, four or five 
days ago, had orders to move with his division 
across the river. Instead of so doing, he ordered 
General Heath to march his men through, and 
he would replace them with so many of his. 
General Heath could not do this consistent 
with his instructions, but put his men under 
marching orders to wait his Excellency's or- 
ders." Honest George Clinton was still per- 
plexed and annoyed by these marchings and 
countermarchings : and especially with these 
incessant retreats. " A strange way of cook- 
ing business ! " writes he. " "We have no par- 
ticular accounts yet from head-quarters, hut 1 
am apt to believe retreating is yet fasMon- 
ableP 

The return of the express sent to "Washing- 
ton, relieved Clinton's anxiety about the High- 
lands; reiterating the original order, that the 
division under Heath should remain for the 
protection of the passes. 

"Washington was still at Newark when, on 
the 27th, he received Lee's letter of the 24th, 
speaking of his scheme of capturing Eogers the 
partisan. Under other circumstances it might 
have been a sufficient excuse for his delay, but 
higher interests were at stake ; he immediately 
wrote to Lee as follows : " My former letters 
were so full and explicit, as to the necessity of 
your marching as early as possible, that it is 
unnecessary to add more on that head. I con- 
fess I expected you would have been sooner in 
motion. The force here, when joined by yours, 
will not be adequate to any great opposition ; 
at present it is weak, and it has been more 
owing to the badness of the weather that the 
enemy's progress has been checked, than any 
resistance we could make. They are now 
pushing this way, — part of 'em have passed 
the Passaic. Their plan is not entii-ely un- 
folded, but I shall not be surprised if Philadel- 
phia should turn out the object of their move- 
ment." 

The situation of the little army was daily 
becoming more perilous. In a coimcil of war, 
several of the members urged a move to Mor- 
ristown, to form a junction with the troops 
expected from the Northern army. "Washing- 
ton, however, still cherished the idea of making 



Ml. 44.] 



DISPARAGING CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN LEE AND REED. 



303 



a stand at Brunswick on the Earitan, or, at all 
events, of disputing the passage of the Dela- 
ware ; and in this intrepid resolution he was 
warmly seconded by Greene. 

Breaking up his camp once more, therefore, 
he continned his retreat towards New Bruns- 
wick ; but so close was Cornwallis upon him, 
that his advance entered one end of Newark, 
just as the American rear-guard had left the 
other. 

From New Brunswick, "Washington wrote 
on the 29th to William Livingston, governor 
of the Jerseys, requesting him to have all 
boats and river craft for seventy miles along 
the Delaware, removed to the western bank 
out of the reach of the enemy, and put under 
guard. He was disappointed in his hope of 
making a stand on the banks of the Earitan. 
All the force he could muster at Brunswick, 
including the New Jersey militia, did not ex- 
ceed four thousand men. Colonel Eeed had 
failed in procuring aid from the New Jersey 
legislature. That body, shifted from place to 
place, was on the eve of dissolution. ■ The 
term of the Maryland and New Jersey troops 
in the flying camp had expired. General 
Mercer endeavored to retain them, represent- 
ing the disgrace of turning their back upon 
the cause when the enemy was at hand : his 
remonstrances were fruitless. As to the Penn- 
sylvania levies, they deserted in such numbers, 
that guards were stationed on the roads and 
ferries to intercept them. 

At this moment of care and perplexity, a 
letter, forwarded by express, arrived at head- 
quarters. It was from General Lee, dated from 
his camp at Northcastle, to Colonel Eeed, and 
was in reply to the letter written by that officer 
from Ilackensack on the 21st, which we have 
already laid before the reader. Supposing that 
it related to official business, Washington open- 
ed it, and read as follows : 

" My dear Eeed : — I received your most 
obliging, flattering letter ; lament with you 
that fatal indecision of mind, which in war is 
a much greater disqualification than stupidity, 
or even want of personal courage. Accident 
may put a decisive blunderer in the right ; but 
eternal defeat and miscarriage must attend the 
man of the best parts, if cursed with indecision. 
The General recommends in so pressing a 
manner as almost to amount to an order, to 
bring over the continental troops imder my 
command ; which recommendation, or order, 
throws me into the greatest dilemma from 



several considerations." After stating these 
considerations, he adds : " My reason for not 
having marched already is, that we have just 
received intelligence that Eogers' corps, the 
light-horse, part of the Highlanders, and an- 
other brigade, lie in so exposed a situation as 
to give the fairest opportunity of being carried. 
I should have attempted it last night, but the 
rain was too violent, and when our pieces are 
wet, you know our troops are Tiors du combat. 
This night I hope will be better. * * * * 
* * I only wait myself for this business of 
Eogers and company being over. I shall then 
fly to you ; for, to confess a truth, I really 
think our chief will do better with me than 
without me." 

A glance over this letter sufficed to show 
Washington that, at this dark moment, when 
he most needed support and sympathy, his 
character and military conduct were the sub- 
ject of disparaging comments, between the 
friend in whom he had so implicitly confided, 
and a sarcastic and apparently self-constituted 
rival. Whatever may have been his feelings 
of wounded pride and outraged friendship, he 
restrained them, and enclosed the letter to 
Eeed, with the following chilling note : 

" Deae Sie, — The enclosed was put into my 
hands by an express from White Plains. Hav- 
ing no idea of its being a private letter, much 
less suspecting the tendency of the correspond- 
ence, I opened it ; as I have done all other let- 
ters to you from the same place, and Peekskill, 
upon the business of your office, as I conceived, 
and found them to be. This, as it is the truth, 
must be my excuse for seeing the contents of 
a letter, which neither inclination nor inten- 
tion would have prompted me to," &c. 

The very calmness and coldness of this note 
must have had a greater effect upon Eeed, 
than could have been produced by the most 
vehement reproaches. In subsequent commu- 
nications, he endeavored to explain away the 
offensive paragraphs in Lee's letter, declaring 
there was nothing in his own inconsistent with 
the respect and affection he had ever borne 
for Washington's person and character. 

Fortunately for Eeed, Washington never 
saw that letter. There were passages in it 
beyond the reach of softening or explanation. 
As it was, the purport of it, as reflected in 
Lee's reply, had given him a sufficient shock. 
His magnanimous nature, however, was inca- 
pable of harboring long resentments ; especially 
in matters relating solely to himself. His per- 



304 WASHINGTON ARRIVES AT TRENTON— DESPONDENCY OF THE COUNTRY. [1776. 



sonal respect for Colonel Eeed continued ; he 
invariably manifested a high sense of his merits, 
and consulted him, as before, on military af- 
fairs ; but his hitherto affectionate confidence 
in him, as a sympathizing friend, had received 
an incurable wound. His letters, before so 
frequent, and such perfect outpourings of heart 
and mind, became few and far between, and 
confined to matters of business. 

It must have been consoling to "Washington, 
at this moment of bitterness, to receive the 
following letter (dated Nov. 27th) from "Wil- 
liam Livingston, the intelligent and patriotic 
governor of New Jersey. It showed that while 
many misjudged him, and friends seemed fall- 
ing from his side, others appreciated him truly, 
and the ordeal he was undergoing. 

" I can easily form some idea of the difficul- 
ties under which you labor," writes Livingston, 
" particularly of one for which the public can 
make no allowance, because your prudence, 
and fidelity to the cause, will not suffer you to 
reveal it to the public ; an instance of magna- 
nimity, superior, perhaps, to any that can be 
shown in battle. But depend upon it, my dear 
sir, the impartial world will do you ample jus- 
tice before long. May God support you under 
the fatigue, both of body and mind, to which 
you must be constantly exposed." * 

"Washington lingered at Brunswick until the 
1st of December, in the vain hope of being 
reinforced. The enemy, in the mean time, ad- 
vanced through the country, impressing wag- 
gons and horses, and collecting cattle and sheep, 
as if for a distant march. At length their van- 
guard appeared on the opposite side of the 
Earitan. Washington immediately broke down 
the end of the bridge next the village, and after 
nightfall resumed his retreat. In the mean 
time, as the river was fordable. Captain Alex- 
ander Hamilton planted his field-pieces on high, 
commanding ground, and opened a spirited fire 
to check any attempt of the enemy to cross. 

At Princeton, Washington left twelve hun- 
dred men in two brigades, under Lord Stirling 



* We cannot dismiss this painful incident in Washing- 
ton's life, -without a prospective note on the subject. Reed 
was really of too generous and intelligent a nature not to 
he aware of the immense value of the friendship he had 
put at hazard. Ho grieved over his mistake, especially as 
after events showed more and more the majestic greatness 
of "Washington's character. A letter in the following 
year, in which he sought to convince Washington of his 
Bincero and devoted attachment, is really touching in its 
appeals. "We are happy to add, that it appears to have 
been successful, and to have restored, in a great measure, 
their relations of friendly confidence. • 



and General Adam Stephen, to cover the coun- 
try, and watch the motions of the enemy. 
Stephen was the same ofiicer that had served 
as a colonel under Washington in the French 
war, as second in command of the Virginia 
troops, and had charge of Fort Cumberland. 
In consideration of his courage and military 
capacity, he had, in 1764, been intrusted with 
the protection of the frontier. He had recently 
brought a detachment of Virginia troops to the 
army, and received from Congress, in Septem- 
ber, the commission of brigadier-general. 

The harassed army reached Trenton on the 
2d of December. Washington immediately 
proceeded to remove his baggage and stores 
across the Delaware, In his letters from this 
place to the President of Congress, he gives 
his reasons for his continued retreat, " Noth- 
ing but necessity obliged me to retire before 
the enemy, and leave so much of the Jerseys 
unprotected. Sorry am I to observe that the 
frequent calls upon the militia of this State, the 
want of exertion in the principal gentlemen of 
the country, and a fatal supineness and insensi- 
bility of danger, till it is too late to prevent an 
evil that was not only foreseen, but foretold, 
have been the causes of our late disgraces. 

" If the militia of this State had stepped 
forth in season (and timely notice they had), 
we might have prevented the enemy's crossing 
the Hackensack. We might, with equal possi- 
bility of success, have made a stand at Bruns- 
wick on the Earitan. But as both these rivers 
were fordable in a variety of places, being knee 
deep only, it required many men to guard the 
passes, and these we had not." 

In excuse for the people of New Jersey, it 
may be observed, that they inhabited an open, 
agricultural country, where the sound of war 
had never been heard. Many of them looked 
upon the Revolution as rebellion ; others 
thought it a ruined enterprise ; the armies 
engaged in it had been defeated and broken 
up. They beheld the commander-in-chief re- 
treating through their country with a handful 
of men, weary, wayworn, dispirited ; without 
tents, without clothing, many of them bare- 
footed, exposed to wintry weather, and driven 
from post to post, by a well-clad, well-fed, tri- 
umphant force, tricked out in all the glittering 
bravery of war. Could it be wondered at, that 
peaceful husbandmen, seeing their quiet fields 
thus suddenly overrun by adverse hosts, and 
their very hearthstones threatened with out- 
rage, should, instead of flying to arms, seek for 



^T. 44.] PROCLAMATION OF LORD HOWE— EXULTATION OF THE ENEMY. 



305 



the safety of their wives and little ones, and 
the protection of their humble means, from 
the desolation which too often marks the course 
even of friendly armies ? 

Lord Howe and his brother sought to profit 
by this dismay and despondency. A proclama- 
tion, dated 30th of November, commanded all 
persons in arms against his majesty's govern- 
ment, to disband and return home, and all Con- 
gresses to desist from treasonable acts : offering 
a free pardon to all who should comply within 
fifty days. 

ITany who had been prominent in the cause, 
hastened to take advantage of this proclama- 
tion. Those who had most property to lose, 
were the first to submit. The middle ranks 
remained generally steadfast in this time of 
trial.* 

The following extract of a letter from a 
field-officer in New York, dated Dec. 2d, to his 
friend in London, gives the British view of 
aftairs : " The rebels continue flying before 
our army. Lord Oornwallis took the fort op- 
posite Brunswick, plunged into Raritan River, 
autl seized the town. Mr. "Washington had 
orders from the Congress to rally and defend 
that post, but he sent them word he could not. 
He was seen retreating with two brigades to 
Trenton, where they talk of resisting ; but such 
a panic has seized the rebels, that no part of 
the Jerseys will hold them, and I doubt 
whether Philadelphia itself will stop their 
career. The Congress have lost their authori- 
ty^ * * * * They are in such consterna- 
tion that they know not what to do. The two 
Adamses are in New England ; Franklin gone 
to France ; Lynch has lost his senses ; Rutledge 
has gone home disgusted ; Dana is persecuting 
at Albany, and Jay's in the country playing as 
bad a part ; so that the fools have lost the 
assistance of the knaves. However, should 
they embrace the enclosed proclamation, they 
may yet escape the halter. * * * Honest 
David Mathew, the mayor, has made his escape 
from them, and arrived here this day." f 

In this dark day of peril to the cause, and to 
himself, Washington remained firm and un- 
daunted. In casting about for some strong- 
hold, where he might make a desperate stand 
for the liberties of his country, his thoughts 
reverted to the moimtain regions of his early 
campaigns. General Mercer was at hand, who 
had shared his perils among these mountains. 



* Gordon's Ilist. Am. War, ii. 129. 
t Am. Archives, 5th Series, iii. 1037. 

20 



and his presence may have contributed to bring 
them to his mind. " What think you," said 
Washington ; " if we should retreat to the back 
parts of Pennsylvania, would the Pennsylva- 
nians support us ? " 

" If the lower counties give up, the back 
counties will do the same," was the discourag- 
ing reply. 

" We must then retire to Augusta County in 
Virginia," said AVashington. " Numbers will 
repair to us for safety, and Ave will try a pre- 
datory war. If overpowered, we must cross 
the AUeganies." 

Such Avas the indomitable spirit, rising under 
difficulties, and buoyant in the darkest moment, 
that kept our tempest-tost cause from founder- 



CHAPTER XLIL 

Notwithstanding the repeated and pressing 
orders and entreaties of the commander-in- 
chief, Lee did not reach Peekskill until the 30th 
of November. In a letter of that date to Wash- 
ington, who had complained of his delay, he 
simply alleges difficulties, which he would ex- 
plain lohen loth had leisure. His scheme to 
entrap Rogers, the renegade, had failed ; the 
old Indian hunter had been too much on the 
alert ; he boasted, however, to have rendered 
more service by his delay, than he would have 
done had he moved soonei*. His forces were 
thereby augmented, so that he expected to 
enter the Jerseys with four thousand firm and 
willing men, who would make a, very important 
diversion. 

" The day after to-morrow," added he, " we 
shall pass the river, when I should be glad to 
receive your instructions ; but I could wish 
you would bind me as little as possible ; not 
from any opinion, I do assure you, of my own 
pai'ts, but from a persuasion that detached 
generals cannot have too great latitude, unless 
they are very incompetent indeed." 

Lee had calculated upon meeting no further 
difficulty in obtaining men from Heath. He 
rode to that general's quarters in the evening, 
and was invited by him to alight and take tea. 
On entering the house, Lee took Heath aside, 
and alluding to his former refusal to supply 
troops as being inconsistent with the orders of 
the commander-in-chief, " in point of Zaw," said 
he, " you are right, but in point of policy I think 



306 



HEATH'S MILITARY PUNCTILIO— LEE CROSSES THE HUDSON. 



[1776. 



you are wrong. I am going into the Jerseys 
for tlie salvation of America ; I wish to take 
with me a larger force than I now have, and 
request you to order two thousand of your men 
to march with me." 

Heath answered that he could not spare that 
number. He was then asked to order one 
thousand ; to which he replied, that the busi- 
ness might as well be brought to a point at 
once — that not a single man should march from 
the post by Ms order. " Then," exclaimed Lee, 
" I will order them myself." " That makes a 
wide difference," rejoined Heath. " You are 
my senior, but I have received positive written 
instructions from hnn who is superior to us 
both, and I will not myself break those orders.'' 
In proof of his words. Heath produced the re- 
cent letter received from "Washington, repeating 
his former orders that no troops should be re- 
moved from that post. Lee glanced over the 
letter, " The commander-in-chief is now at a 
distance, and does not know what is necessary 
here so well as I do." He asked a sight of the 
return book of the division. It was brought 
by Major Huntington, the deputy adjutant-gen- 
eral. Lee ran his eye over it, and chose two 
regiments. " You will order them to march 
early to-morrow morning to join me," said he 
to the major. Heath, ruffling with the pride 
of military law, turned to the major with an 
air of authority. " Issue such orders at your 
peril ! " exclaimed he : then addressing Lee, 
" Sir," said he, " if you come to this post, and 
mean to issue orders here which will break the 
positive ones I have received, I pray you do it 
completely yourself, and through your own dep- 
uty adjutant-general, who is present, and not 
draw me or any of my family in as partners in 
the guilt." 

" It is right," said Lee ; " Colonel Scammel, 
do you issue the order." It was done accord- 
ingly ; but Heath's punctilious scruples were 
not yet satisfied. " I have one more request to 
make, sir," said he to Lee, " and that is, that 
you will be pleased to give me a certificate that 
you exercise command at this post, and order 
from it these regiments." 

Lee hesitated to comply, but George Clinton, 
who was present, told him he could not refuse 
a request so reasonable. He accordingly wrote, 
" For the satisfaction of General Heath, and at 
his request, I do certify that I am commanding 
officer, at this present writing, in this post, and 
that I have, in that capacity, ordered Prescott's 
and Wyllis's regiments to march." 



Heath's mOitary punctilio was satisfied, and 
he smoothed his ruffled plumes. Early the next 
morning the regiments moved from their can- 
tonments ready to embark, when Lee again 
rode up to his door. " Upon further considera- 
tion," said he, " I have concluded not to take 
the two regiments with me — you may order 
them to return to their former post." 

" This conduct of General Lee," adds Heath 
in his Memoirs, " appeared not a little extraor- 
dinary, and one is almost at a loss to account 
for it. He had been, a soldier from his youth, 
and had a perfect knowledge of service in all 
its branches, but was rather obstinate in his 
temper, and could scarcely brook being crossed 
in any thing in the line of his profession." '■' 

It was not until the 4th of December that 
Lee crossed the Hudson, and began a laggard 
march, though aware of the imminent peril of 
Washington and his army — how different from 
the celerity of his movements in his expedition 
to the South ! 

In the mean time, Washington, who was at 
Trenton, had profited by a delay of the enemy 
at Brunswick, and removed most of the stores 
and baggage of the army across the Delaware ; 
and, being reinforced by fifteen hundred of the 
Pennsylvania militia, procured by Mifflin, pre- 
pared to face about, and marCh back to Prince- 
ton with such of his troops as were fit for ser- 
vice, there to be governed by circumstances, 
and the movements of General Lee. Accord- 
ingly, on the 5th of December, he sent about 
twelve hundred men in the advance, to reinforce 
Lord Stirling, and the next day set oft" himself 
with the residue. 

" The general has gone forward to Prince- 
ton," writes Colonel Eeed, " where there are 
about three thousand men, with which, I fear, 
he will not be able to make any stand." t 

While on the march, Washington received a 
letter from Greene, who was at Princeton, in- 
forming him of a report that Lee was " at the 
heels of the enemy." I should think," adds 
Greene, " he had better keep on the flanks than 
the rear, unless it were possible to concert an 
attack at the same instant of time in front and 
rear. * * * j tjijuk General Lee must be 
confined within the lines of some general plan, 
or else his operations will be independent of 
yours. His own troops. General St. Clair's, and 
the militia, must form a respectable army." 



* The above scene is cj'vcn almost literally from Genera! 
Heath's Memoir,-. 

t Reed to the rrc:-ic!ent of Congress. 



^T. 44.] WASHINGTON CROSSES THE DELAWARE— PERIL OF PHILADELPHIA. 



307 



Lee had no idea of conforming to a general 
plan ; he had an independent plan of his own, 
and was at that moment at Pompton, indulging 
speculations on military greatness, and the 
lamentable Vv-ant of it in his American contem- 
poraries. In a letter from that place to Gov- 
ernor Cooke of Rhode Island, he imparts his 
notions on the subject. " Theory joined to 
practice, or a heaven-born genius, can alone 
constitute a general. As to the latter, God Al- 
mighty indulges the modern world very rarely 
Avith the spectacle ; and I do not know, from 
what I have seen, that he has been more profuse 
of this ethereal spirit to the Americans, than 
to other nations." 

While Lee was thus loitering and speculating, 
Cornwallis, knowing how far he was in the 
rear, and how weak was the situation of "Wash- 
ington's army, and being himself strongly rein- 
forced, made a forced march from Brunswick, 
and was within two miles of Princeton. Stir- 
ling, to avoid being surrounded, immediately 
set out with two brigades for Trenton. "Wash- 
ington, too, receiving intelligence by express of 
these movements, hastened back to that place, 
and caused boats to be collected from all quar- 
ters, and the stores and troops transported 
across the Delaware. He himself crossed with 
the rear-guard on Sunday morning, and took up 
his quarters about a mile from the river ; caus- 
ing the boats to be destroyed, and troops to be 
posted opposite the fords. He was conscious, 
however, as he said, that with his smflll force 
he could make no great opposition, should the 
enemy bring boats with them. Fortunately, 
they did not come thus provided. 

The rear-guard, says an American account, 
had barely crossed the river, when Lord Corn- 
wallis " came marching down with all the pomp 
of war, in great expectation of getting boats, 
and immediately pursuing." Not one was to 
be had there or elsewhere ; for "Washington had 
caused the boats, for an extent of seventy miles 
up and down the -river, to be secured on tlie 
right bank. His lordship was eifectually brought 
to a stand. He made some moves with two 
columns, as if he would cross the Delaware 
above and below, either to push on to Philadel- 
phia, or to entrap "Washington in the acute angle 
made by the bend of the river opposite Bor- 
dentown. An able disposition of American 
troops along the upper part of the river, and of 
a number of galleys belcfsv, discouraged any at- 
tempt of the kind. Cornwallis, therefore, gave 
np the pursuit, distributed the German troops j 



in cantonments along the left bank of the river, 
and stationed his main force at Brunswick, 
trusting to be able before long to cross the Dela- 
ware on the ice. 

On the 8th, Washington wrote to the President 
of Congress : " There is not a moment's time to 
be lost in assembling such a force as can be col- 
lected, as the object of the enemy cannot now be 
doubted in the smallest degree. Indeed, I shall 
be out in my conjecture, for it is only conjecture, 
if the late embarkation at New York is not for 
Delaware River, to co-operate with the army un- 
der General Howe, who, I am informed from 
good authority, is with the British troops, and his 
whole force upon this route. I have no certain 
intelligence of General Lee, although I have sent 
expresses to him, and lately a Colonel Humpton, 
to bring me some accurate accounts of his situ- 
ation. I last night despatched another gentle- 
man to him (Major Hoops), desiring he would 
hasten his march to the Delaware, on which I 
would provide boats near a place called Alexan- 
dria, for the transportation of his troops. I 
cannot account for the slowness of his march." 

In further letters to Lee, Washington urged 
the peril of Philadelphia. "Do come on," 
writes he ; " your arrival may be fortunate, 
and, if it can be effected without delay, it may 
be the means of preserving a city, whose loss 
must prove of the most fatal consequence to 
the cause of America." 

Putnam was now detached to take command 
of Philadelphia, and put it in a slate of defence, 
and General Mifflin to have charge of the mu- 
nitions of war deposited there. By their advice 
Congress hastily adjourned on the 12th of De- 
cember, to meet again on the 20th, at Baltimore. 

Washington's whole force at this time was 
about five thousand five hundred men ; one 
thousand of them Jersey militia, fifteen hundred 
militia from Philadelphia, and a battalion of 
five hundred of the German yeomanry of Penn- 
sylvania. Gates, however, he was informed, 
was coming on with seven regiments detached 
by Schuyler from the Northern department; 
reinforced by these, and the troops under Lee, 
he hoped to be able to attempt a stroke upon 
the enemy's forces, which lay a good deal scat- 
tered, and to all appearances, in a state of se- 
curity. " A lucky blow in this quarter," writes 
he, " would be fatal to them, and would most 
certainly raise the spirits of the peoi:)le, which 
are quite sunk by our late misfortunes." * 



* Washington to Gov. TnimbuU, 14th December. 



308 



MARCH OF LEE— GATES ON THE MARCH. 



[1776. 



■While cheering himself with these hopes, and 
trusting to speedy aid from Lee, that wayward 
commander, though nearly three weeks had 
elapsed since he had received Washington's or- 
ders and entreaties to join him with all possible 
despatch, was no farther on his march than 
Morristown, in the Jerseys ; where, with militia 
recruits, his force was about four thousand men. 
In a letter written by him on the 8th of Decem- 
ber to a committee of Congress, he says : " If 
I was not taught to think the army with Gen- 
eral Washington had been considerably rein- 
forced, I should immediately join him ; but as 
I am assured he is very strong, I should imagine 
we can make a better impression by beating 
up and harassing their detached parties in their 
rear, for which purpose, a good post at Chatham 
seems the best calculated. It is a happy dis- 
tance from Newark, Elizabethtown, Wood- 
bridge, and Boundbrook. We shall, I expect, 
annoy, distract, and consequently weaken them 
in a desultory war," * 

On the same day he writes from Chatham, in 
reply to Washington's letter by Major Hoops, 
just received : " I am extremely shocked to 
hear that your force is so inadequate to the ne- 
cessity of your situation, as I had been taught 
to think you had been considerably reinforced. 
Your last letters, proposing a plan of surprises 
and forced marches, convinced me that there 
was no danger of your being obliged to pass the 
Delaware ; in consequence of which proposals, 
I have put myself in a position the most con- 
venient to co-operate with you, by attacking 
their rear. I cannot persuade myself that Phila- 
delphia is their object at present. * * * jt 
will be difficult, I am afraid, to join you ; but 
cannot I do you more service by attacking their 
rear ? " 

This letter, sent by a light-horseman, received 
an instant reply from Washington. " Philadel- 
phia, beyond all question, is the object of the 
enemy's movements, and nothing less than our 
utmost exertions will prevent General Howe 
from possessing it. The force I have is weak, 
and utterly incompetent to that end. I must, 
therefore, entreat you to push on with every 
possible succor you can bring." f 

On the 9th, Lee, who was at Chatham, re- 
ceived infonnation from Heath, that three of 
the regiments detached under Gates from the 
Northern army, had arrived from Albany at 
Peekskill. He instantly writes to him to for 



* Am. Archives, 5th Scries, iii. 11'21. 
t Ibid., 5tli Beries, i[\. 11S8. 



ward them, without loss of time, to Morris- 
town : " I am in hopes," adds he, " to reconquer 
(if I may so express myself) the Jerseys. It 
was really in the hands of the enemy before 
my arrival." 

On the 11th, Lee writes to Washington from 
Morristown, where he says his troops had been 
obliged to halt two days for want of shoes. 
He now talked of crossing the great Brunswick 
post-road, and, by a forced night's march, mak- 
ing his way to the ferry above Burlington, 
where boats should be sent up from Philadelphia 
to receive him. 

" I am much surprised, " writes Washington 
in reply, " that you should be in any doubt re- 
specting the road you should take, after the in- 
formation you have received upon that head. 
A large number of boats was procured, and is 
still retained at Tinicum, under a strong guard, 
to facilitate your passage across the Delaware. 
I have so frequently mentioned our situation, 
and the necessity of your aid, that it is painful 
for me to add a word on the subject. * * * 
Congress have directed Philadelphia to be de- 
fended to the last extremity. The fatal conse- 
quences that must attend its loss, are but too 
obvious to every one ; your arrival may be the 
means of saving k.." 

In detailing the close of General Lee's march, 
so extraordinary for its tardiness, we shall avail 
ourselves of the memoir already cited of Gen- 
eral Wilkinson, who was at that time a brigade 
major, about twenty-two years of age, and was 
accompanying General Gates, who had been 
detached by Schuyler with seven regiments to 
reinforce Washington. Three of these regi- 
ments, as we have shown, had descended the 
Hudson to Peekskill, and were ordered by Lee 
to Morristown. Gates had embarked with the 
remaining four, and landed with them at Eso- 
pus, whence he took a back route by the Dela- 
ware and the Minisink. 

On the 11th of December he was detained 
by a heavy snow-storm, in a sequestered valley 
near the Wallpeck in New Jersey. Being cut 
off from all information respecting the adverse 
armies, he detached Major Wilkinson to seek 
Washington's camp, with a letter, stating the 
force under his command, and inquiring what 
route he should take. Wilkinson crossed the 
hills on horseback to Sussex court-house, took 
a guide, and proceeded down the country. 
Washington, he soon learnt, had passed the 
Delaware several days before ; the boats, he 
was told, had been i-emoved from the ferries, so 



^T. 44.] 



JOURNEY OF WILKINSON— CAPTURE OF LEE. 



309 



that he would find some difiiculty in getting 
over, hut Major-General Lee was at Morristown. 
Finding such obstacles in his way to the com- 
mander-in-chief, he determined to seek the sec- 
ond in command, and ask orders from him for 
General Gates. Lee had decamped from Mor- 
ristown on the 12th of December, but had 
marched no further than Vealtown, barely eight 
miles distant. There he left General Sullivan 
with the troops, while he took up his quarters 
three miles off, at a tavern, at Baskingridge. 
As there was not a British cantonment within 
twenty miles, he took but a small guard for his 
protection, thinking himself perfectly secure. 

About four o'clock in the morning, Wilkinson 
arrived at his qxiarters. He was presented to 
the general as he lay in bed, and delivered into 
his hands the letter of General Gates. Lee, 
observing it was addressed to Washington, de- 
clined opening it, nntil apprised by Wilkinson 
of its contents, and the motives of his visit. 
He then broke the seal, and recommended Wil- 
kinson to take repose. The latter lay down on 
his blanket, before a comf6rtabIe fire, among 
the officers of his suite ; " for we were not en- 
cumbered in those days," says he, " with beds 
or baggage." 

Lee, naturally indolent, lingered in bed until 
eight o'clock. He then came down in his usual 
slovenly style, half-dressed, in slippei's and blan- 
ket coat, his collar open, and his linen appa- 
rently of some days' wear. After some inmii- 
ries about the campaign in the North, he gave 
Wilkinson a brief account of the operations of 
the main army, which he condemned in strong 
terms, and in his usual sarcastic way. He 
wasted the morning in altercation with some 
of the militia, particularly the Connecticut light- 
horse ; " several of whom," says Wilkinson, 
*■' appeared in large, full-buttoned perukes, and 
were treated very irreverently. One wanted 
forage, another his horse shod, another his pay, 
a fourth provisions, &c. ; to which the general 
replied, ' Your wants are numerous ; but you 
have not mentioned the last, — you want to go 
home, and shall be indulged ; for, d — you, you 
do no good here.' " 

Colonel Scammel, the adjutant-general, called 
from General Sullivan for orders concerning the 
morning's march. After musing a moment or 
two, Lee asked if he had a manuscript map of 
the country. It was produced, and spread upon 
a table. Wilkinson observed Lee trace with his 
finger the route from Vealtown to Pluckamin, 
thence to Somerset court-house, and on, by 



Rocky Hill, to Princeton ; he then returned to 
Pluckamin, and traced the route in the same 
manner by Boundbrook to Brunswick, and after 
a close inspection carelessly said to Scammel, 
" Tell General Sullivan to move down towards 
Pluckamin ; that I will soon be with him." 
This, observes Wilkinson, was off his route to 
Alexandria on the Delaware, where he had been 
ordered to cross, and directly on that towards 
Brunswick and Princeton. He was convinced, 
therefore, that Lee meditated an attack on tlie 
British post at the latter place. 

From these various delays they did not sit 
down to breakfast before ten o'clock. After 
breakfast, Lee sat writing a reply to General 
Gates, in which, as usual, he indulged in sar- 
castic comments on the commander-in-chief. 
" The ingenious manoeuvre of Fort Wasliing- 
ton," writes he, "has completely unhinged the 
goodly fabric we had been building. There 
never was so d — d a stroke ; entre nous, a cer- 
tain great man is most damnably deficient. 
He has thi'own me into a situation where I 
have my choice of difficulties : if I stay in 
this province I risk myself and army ; and if I 
do not stay, the province is lost forever. * * 
* * * As to what relates to yourself, if you 
think yon can be in time to aid the general, I 
would have you by all means go ; you will at 
least save your army," &c.* 

While Lee was writing, Wilkinson was look- 
ing out of a window down a lane, about a 
hundred yards in length, leading from the 
house to the main road. Suddenly a party of 
British dragoons turned a corner of the avenue 
at a full charge. " Here, sir, are the British 
cavalry ! " exclaimed Wilkinson. " Where ? " 
replied Lee, who had just signed his letter. 
" Around the house ! " — for they had opened 
file and surrounded it. " Where is the guard ? 
d — the guard, why don't they fire ? " Then 
after a momentary pause — " Do, sir, see what 
has become of the guard." 

The guards, alas ! unwary as their general, 
and chilled by the air of a frosty morning, had 
stacked their arms, and repaired to the south 
side of a house on the opposite side of the 
road to sun themselves, and were now chased 
by the dragoons in different directions. In 
fact, a tory, who had visited the general the 
evening before to complain of the loss of a 
horse taken by the army, having found where 
Lee was to lodge and breakfast, had ridden 



* Am. Archives, 5th Series, iii. 1201. 



310 



SULLIVAN IN COMMAND— SPECULATIONS ON LEE'S CONDUCT. 



[1776. 



eighteen miles in the night to Brunswick and 
given the information, and hud piloted back 
Colonel Harcourt with his dragoons.* 

The women of the house would fain have 
concealed Lee in a bed, but he rejected the 
proposition with disdain. Wilkinson, accord- 
ing to his own account, posted himself in a 
place where only one person could approach at 
a time, and there took his stand, a pistol in 
each hand, resolved to shoot the first and sec- 
ond assailant, and then appeal to his sword. 
While in this " unpleasant situation," as he 
terms it, he heard a voice declare, " If the gen- 
eral does not surrender in five minutes, J will 
set fire to the house ! " After a short pause the 
threat was repeated, with a solemn oath. 
Within two minutes he heard it proclaimed, 
" Here is the general, he has surrendered." 

There was a shout of triumph, but a great 
hurry to make sure of the prize before the 
army should arrive to the rescue. A trumpet 
sounded the recall to the dragoons, who were 
chasing the scattej-ed guards. The general, 
bareheaded, and in his slippers and blanket 
coat, was mounted on Wilkinson's horse, which 
stood at the door, and the troop clattered off 
with their prisoner to Brunswick. In three 
hours the booming of cannon in that direction 
told the exultation of the enemy.t They 
boasted of having taken the American Palladi- 
um ; for they considered Lee the most scientific 
and experienced of the rebel generals. 

On the departure of the troops, Wilkinson, 
finding the coast clear, ventured from his 
stronghold, repaired to the stable, mounted the 
first horse he could find, and rode fuU speed in 
quest of General Sullivan, whom he found un- 
der march toward Pluckamin. He handed him 
the letter to Gates, written by Lee the moment 
before his capture, and still open. Sullivan 
having read it, retm'ned it to Wilkinson, and 
advised him to rejoin General Gates without 
delay : for his own part, being now in com- 
mand, he changed his route, and ])ressed for- 
ward to join the commander-in-chief. 

The loss of Lee was a severe shock to the 
Americans ; many of whom, as we have shown, 
looked to him as the man who was to rescue 
them from their critical, and well-nigh desper- 
ate situation. With their regrets, however, 
were mingled painful doubts, caused by his 
delay in obeying the repeated summons of his 



* Jos. Trumbell to Gov. Trumbull.— 4ot. Archives, hth 
Series, iii. 1265. 
t Idem. 



commander-in-chief, when the latter was in 
peril ; and by his exposing himself so unguard- 
edly in the very neighborhood of the enemy. 
Some at first suspected that he had done so 
designedly, and with collusion ; but this was 
soon disproved by the indignities attending his 
capture, and his rigorous treatment subsequent- 
ly by the British ; who affected to consider 
him a deserter, from his having formerly served 
in their army. 

Wilkinson, who was at that time conversant 
with the cabals of the camp, and apparently in 
the confidence of some of the leaders, points 
out what he considers*1,he true secret of Lee's 
conduct. His military reputation, originally 
very high, had been enhanced of late, by its 
being generally known that he had been op- 
posed to the occupation of Fort Washington ; 
while the fall of that fortress and other misfor- 
tunes of the campaign, though beyond the con- 
trol of the commander-in-chief, had quickened 
the discontent which, according to Wilkinson, 
had been generated against him at Cambridge, 
and raised a party against him in Congress. 
" It was confidently asserted at the time," adds 
he, " but it is not worthy of credit, that a mo- 
tion had been made in that body tending to su- 
persede him in the command of the army. In 
this temper of the times, if General Lee had an- 
ticipated General Washington in cutting the cor- 
don of the enemy between New York and the 
Delaware, the commander-in-chief would prob- 
ably have been superseded. In this case Lee 
would have succeeded him." 

What an unfortunate change would it have 
been for the country ! Lee was undoubtedly a 
man of brilliant talents, shrewd sagacity, and 
much knowledge and experience in the art of 
war ; but he was wilful and uncertain in his 
temper, self-indulgent in his habits, and an 
egotist in warfare ; boldly dashing for a sol- 
dier's glory, rather than warily acting for a 
country's good. He wanted those great moral 
qualities which, in addition to military capaci- 
ty, inspired such universal confidence in the wis- 
dom, rectitude, and patriotism of Washington, 
enabling him to direct and control legislative 
bodies as well as armies ; to harmonize the jar- 
ring passions and jealousies of a wide and im- 
perfect confederacy, and to cope with the varied 
exigencies of the Eevolution. 

The very retreat Avhich Washington had just 
efiected through the Jerseys bore evidence to 
his generalship. Thomas Paine, who had ac- 
companied the army " from Fort Lee to the 



^T.44.] WASHINGTON ON THE CAPTURE OF LEE— RECRUITING OF THE ARMY. 311 



edge of Pennsylvania," thus speaks in one of 
his writings published at the time : " "With a 
handful of men we sustained an orderly retreat 
* for near an hundred miles, brought off our am- 
munition, all our field-pieces, the greatest part 
of our stores, and had four rivers to pass. None 
can say that our retreat was precipitate, for we 
were three weeks in performing it, that the 
country might have time to come in. Twice 
we marched back to meet the enemy, and re- 
mained out until dark. The sign of fear was 
not seen in our camp ; and had not some of the 
cowardly and disaffected inhabitants spread 
false alarms through the country, the Jerseys 
had never been ravaged." 

And this is his testimony to the moral quali- 
ties of the commander-ia-chief, as evinced in 
this time of perils and hardships. " Voltaire 
has remarked, that King William never ap- 
peared to full advantage but in difficulties and 
in action. The same remark may be made of 
General Washington, for the character fits him. 
There is a natural firmness in some minds, 
which cannot be unlocked by trifles ; but 
which, when unlocked, discovers a cabinet of 
fortitude ; and I reckon it among those kinds 
of public blessings which we do not immediate- 
ly see, that God hath blessed him with unin- 
terrupted health, and given him a mind that 
can even flourish upon care." * 



CHAPTER XLIIL 

" Before you receive this letter," writes 
Washington to his brother Augustine, " you 
will undoubtedly have heard of the captivity 
of General Lee. This is an additional misfor- 
tune ; and the more vexatious, as it was by his 
own folly and imprudence, and without a view 
to effect any good that he was taken. As he 
went to lodge three miles out of his. own camp, 
and within twenty miles of the enemy, a ras- 
cally tory rode in the night to give notice of it 
to the enemy, who sent a party of light-horse 
that seized him, and carried him oft' with every 
mark of triumph and indignity." 

This is the severest comment that the mag- 
nanimous spirit of Washington permitted him 
to make on the conduct and fortunes of the 
man who would have supplanted him ; and 
this is made in his private correspondence with 

* American Crisis, ISTo. 1. 



his brother. No harsh strictures on them ap- 
pear in his ofiicial letters to Congress or the 
Board of War ; nothing but regret for his cap- 
ture, as a loss to the service. 

In the same letter he speaks of the critical 
state of affairs : " If every nerve is not strained 
to recruit the army with all possible expedition, 
I think the game is pretty nearly up. * * * 
You can form no idea of the perplexity of my 
situation. No man I believe ever had a greater 
choice of evils and less means to extricate him- 
self from them. However, under a full persua- 
sion of the justice of our cause, I cannot 
entertain an idea that it will finally sink ; 
though it may remain for some time under a 
cloud." 

Fortunately, Congress, prior to their adjourn- 
ment, had resolved that " until they should 
otherwise order, General Washington should be 
possessed of all power to order and direct all 
things relative to the department and to the 
operations of war." Thus empowered, he pro- 
ceeded immediately to recruit three battalions 
of artillery. To those whose terms were ex- 
piring, he promised an augmentation of twenty- 
five per cent, upon their pay, and a bounty of 
ten dollars to the men for six weeks' service. 
" It was no time," he said, " to stand upon 
expense ; nor in matters of self-evident exigen- 
cy, to refer to Congress at the distance of a 
hundred and thirty or forty miles." " If any 
good officers will offer to raise men upon con- 
tinental pay and establishment in this quarter, 
I shall encourage them to do so, and regiment 
them when they have done it. It may be 
thought that I am going a good deal out of the 
line of my duty, to adopt these measures, or to 
advise thus freely. A character to lose, an 
estate to forfeit, the inestimable blessings of 
liberty at stake, and a life devoted, must be 
my excuse." * 

The promise of increased pay and bounties, 
had kept together for a time the dissolving 
army. The local militia began to turn out 
freely. Colonel John Cadwalader, a gentleman 
of gallant spirit, and cultivated mind and man- 
ners, brought a large volunteer detachment, 
well equipped, and composed principally of 
Philadelphia troops. Washington, who held 
Cadwalader in high esteem, assigned him an 
important station at Bristol, with Colonel Reed, 
who was his intimate friend, as an associate. 
They had it in charge to keep a watchful eye 



Letter to the rrcsiJeiit of Congress. 



J12 



A COUP DE MAIN MEDITATED— COLONEL RAHL. 



[illC: 



Upon Count Donop's Hessians, who -were can- 
toned along the opposite shore from Borden- 
town to the Black Horse. 

On the 20th of December arrived General 
Sullivan in camp, with the troops recently 
commanded by the unlucky Lee. They were 
in a miserable plight ; destitute of almost every 
thing ; many of them fit only for the hospital, 
and those whose terms were nearly out, think- 
ing of notliing but their discharge. About four 
hundred of them, who were Rhode Islanders, 
were sent down under Colonel Hitchcock to 
reinforce Cadwalader ; who was now styled 
brigader-general by courtesy, lest the conti- 
nental troops might object to act under his 
command. 

On the same day arrived General Gates, with 
the remnants of four regiments from the 
Northern army. With him came Wilkinson, 
who now resumed his station as brigade-major 
in St. Clair's brigade, to which he belonged. 
To his memoirs we are indebted for notices of 
the commander-in-chief. " When the divisions 
of Sullivan and Gates joined General Washing- 
ton," writes Wilkinson, " he found his numbers 
increased, yet his difficulties were not sensibly 
diminished ; ten days would disband his corps, 
and leave him 1,400 men, miserably provided 
in all things. I saw him in that gloomy period ; 
dined with him, and attentively marked his 
aspect ; always grave and thoughtful, he ap- 
peared at that time pensive and solemn in the 
extreme." 

There were vivid schemes forming under 
that solemn aspect. The time seemed now 
propitious for the covj) de main which Washing- 
ton had of late been meditating. Every thing 
showed careless confidence on the part of the 
enemy. Howe was in winter quarters at New 
York. His troops were loosely cantoned about 
the Jerseys, from the Delaware to Brunswick, 
so that they could not readily be brought to 
act in concert on a sudden alarm. The Hes- 
sians were in the advance, stationed along the 
Delaware, facing the American lines, which 
were along the west bank. Cornwallis, think- 
ing his work accomplished, had obtained leave 
of absence, and was likewise at New York, 
preparing to embark for England. Washington 
had now between five and six thousand men 
fit for service ; with these he meditated to cross 
the river at night, at different points, and make 
simultaneous attacks upon the Hessian advance 
posts. 

He calculated upon the eager support of his 



troops, who were burning to revenge the out- 
rages on their homes and families, committed 
by these foreign mercenaries. They considered 
the Hessians mere hirelings ; slaves to a petty- 
despot, fighting for sordid pay, and actuated 
by no sentiment of patriotism or honor. They 
had rendered themselves the horror of the 
Jerseys, by rapine, brutality, and heartlessness. 
At first, their military discipline had inspired 
awe, but of late they had become careless and 
unguarded, knowing the broken an^ dispirited 
state of the Americans, and considering them 
incapable of any ofiensive enterprise. 

A brigade of three Hessian regiments, those 
of Eahl,* Lossberg, and Knyphausen, was sta- 
tioned at Trenton. Colonel Eahl had the com- 
mand of the post at his own solicitation, and 
in consequence of the laurels he had gained at 
White Plains and Fort Washington. We have 
before us journals of two Hessian lieutenants 
and a corporal, which give graphic particulars 
of the colonel and his post. According to their 
representations, he, with all his bravery, was 
little fitted for such an important command. 
He lacked the necessary vigilance and forecast. 

One of the lieutenants speaks of him in a 
sarcastic vein, and evidently with some degree 
of prejudice. According to his account, there 
was more bustle than business at the post. The 
men were harassed with watches, detachments, 
and pickets, without purpose and without end. 
The cannon must be drawn forth every day 
from their proper places, and paraded about 
the town, seemingly only to make a stir and 
uproar. 

The lieutenant was especially annoyed by 
the colonel's passion for music. Whether his 
men when off duty were well or ill clad, 
whether they kept their muskets clean and 
bright, and their ammunition in good order, 
was of little moment to the colonel, he never 
inquired about it ; — but the music ! that was 
the thing ! the hautboy — he never could have 
enough of them. The main guard was at no 
great distance from his quarters, and the music 
could not linger there long enough. There was 
a church close by, surrounded by palings ; the 
officer on guard must march round and round 
it, with his men and musicians, looking, says 
the lieutenant, like a Catholic procession, want- 



* Seldom lias a name of so few letters been spelled so 
many ways a ; that of this commander. "We find it written 
Rail in the military journals heforo us; yet we adhere to 
the one hitherto adopted hy us, apparently on good 
authority. 



JSt. 44.] 



GATES DECLINES TO CO-OPERATE WITH WASHINGTON. 



313 



ing only the cross and the banner, and chanting 
choristers. 

According to the same authority, Rahl was a 
•boon companion ; made merry until a late hour 
in the night, and then lay in bed until nine 
o'clock in the morning. When the officers 
came to parade between ten and eleven o'clock, 
and presented themselves at head-quarters, he 
was often in his bath, and the guard must be 
kept waiting half an hour longer. On parade, 
too, when any other commander would take 
occasion to talk with his staff officers and 
others upon duty about the concerns of the 
garrison, the colonel attended to nothing but 
the music — he was wrapped up in it, to the 
great disgust of the testy lieutenant. 

And then, according to the latter, he took 
no precautions against the possibility of be- 
ing attacked. A veteran officer, Major Von 
Dechow, proposed that some works should be 
thrown up, where the cannon might be placed, 
ready against any assault. " Works ! — pooh — 
pooh : " — the colonel made merry with the very 
idea — using an unseemly jest, which we for- 
bear to quote. " An assault by the rebels ! 
Let them come ! We'll at them with the bay- 
onet." 

The veteran Dechow gravely persisted in his 
counsels. " Herr Colonel," said he, respect- 
fqlly, " it costs almost nothing ; if it does not 
help, it does not harm." The pragmatical lieu- 
tenant, too, joined in the advice, and offered to 
undertake the work. The jovial colonel only 
repeated his joke, went away laughing at them 
both, and no works were thrown up. 

The lieutenant, sorely nettled, observes sneer- 
ingly : " He believed the name of Rahl more 
fearful and redoubtable than all the works of 
Vauban and Cohorn, and that no rebel would 
dare to encounter it. A fit man truly to com- 
mand a corps : and still more to defend a place 
lying so near an enemy having a hundred times 
his advantages. Every thing with him was 
done heedlessly and without forecast." * 

Such is the account given of this brave, but 
inconsiderate and light-hearted commander ; 
given, however, by an officer not of his regi- 
ment. The honest corporal already mentioned, 
who was one of Eahl's own men, does him 
more justice. According to his journal, rumors 
that the Americans meditated an attack had 
aroused the vigilance of the colonel, and on 
the 2l3t of December he had reconnoitred the 



* Tagebuch eines Ileseischen offlciers.— MS. 



banks of the Delaware, with a strong detach- 
ment, quite to Frankfort, to see if there were 
any movements of the Americans indicative of 
an intention to cross the river. He had re- 
turned without seeing any ; but had since 
caused pickets and alarm posts to be stationed 
every night outside the town.* 

Such was the posture of affairs at Trenton 
at the time the coup de main was meditated. 

Whatever was to be done, however, must be 
done quickly, before the river was frozen. An 
intercepted letter had convinced Washington 
of what he had before suspected, that Howe 
was only waiting for that event to resume ac- 
tive operations, cross the river on the ice, and 
push on triumphantly to Philadelphia. 

He communicated his project to Gates, and 
wished him to go to Bristol, take command 
there, and co-operate from that quarter. Gates, 
however, pleaded ill health, and requested leave 
to proceed to Philadelphia. 

The request may have surprised Washington, 
considering the spirited enterprise that was on 
foot ; but Gates, as has before been observed, 
had a disinclination to serve immediately under 
the commander-in-chief; like Lee, he had a 
disparaging opinion of him, or rather an im- 
patience of his supremacy. He had, more- 
over, an ulterior object in view. Having been 
disappointed and chagrined, in finding him- 
self subordinate to General Schuyler in the 
Northern campaign, he was now intent on 
making interest among the members of Con- 
gress for an independent command. Washing- 
ton urged that, on his way to Pliiladelphia, he 
would at least stop for a day or two at Bristol, 
to concert a plan of operations with Reed and 
Cadwalader, and adjust any little questions of 
etiquette and command that might arise be- 
tween the continental colonels who had gone 
thither with Lee's troops, and the volunteer 
officers stationed there.! 

He does not appear to have complied even 
with this request. According to Wilkinson's 
account, he took quarters at Newtown, and set 
out thence for Baltimore on the 24th of Decem- 
ber, the very day before that of the intended 
cou2y de main. He prevailed on Wilkinson to 
accompany him as far as Philadelphia. On the 
road he appeared to be much depressed in 
spirits ; but he relieved himself, like Lee, by 
criticizing the plans of the commander-in-chief. 
" He frequently," writes Wilkinson, "expressed 



* Tagebuch des corporals Johannes Reuber. — MS. 
t "Washington to Gates. Gates's papers. 



314 



PREPARATIONS FOR THE COUP DE MAIN. 



[1776. 



the opinion that, while Washiogton was watch- 
ing the enemy above Trenton, they would con- 
struct bateaux, pass the Delaware in his rear, 
and take possession of Philadelphia before he 
was aware ; and that, instead of vainly attempt- 
ing to stop Sir William Howe at the Delaware, 
General Washington ought to retire to the 
south of the Susquehanna, and there form an 
army. He said it was his intention to fro]^)Ose 
tliis measure to Congress at Baltimore, and 
urged me to accompany him to that place ; but 
my duty forbade the thought." 

Here Ave have somewhat of a counterpart to 
Lee's project of eclipsing the commander-in- 
chief. Evidently the two military veterans 
who had once been in conclave with him at 
Mount Vernon, considered the truncheon of 
command falling from his grasp. 

The projected attack upon the Hessian posts 
was to be threefold. 

1st. Washington was to cross the Delaware 
with a considerable force, at McKonkey's Ferry 
(now Taylorsville), about nine miles above 
Trenton, and march down upon that place, 
where Eahl's cantonment comprised a brigade 
of fifteen hundred Hessians, a troop of British 
light-horse, and a number of chasseurs. 

2d. General Ewing, with a body of Pennsyl- 
vania militia, was to cross at a ferry about a 
mile below Trenton ; secure the bridge over 
the Assunpink Creek, a stream flowing along 
the south side of the town, and cut off any re- 
treat of the enemy in that direction. 

3d. General Putnam, with the troops occu- 
pied in fortifying Pliiladelphia, and those under 
General Calwaladei-, was to cross below Bur- 
lington, and attack the lower posts under Count 
Donop. The several divisions were to cross 
the Delaware at night, so as to be ready for 
simultaneous action, by five o'clock in the 
morning. 

Seldom is a combined i")lan carried into full 
operation. Symptoms of an insurrection in 
Philadelphia, obliged Putnam to remain with 
some force in that city ; but he detached five 
or six hundred of the Pennsylvania militia 
under Colonel Griffin, his adjutant-general, who 
threw himself into the Jerseys, to be at hand 
to co-opex'ate with Cadwalader, 

A letter from Washington to Colonel Ptced, 
who was stationed with Cadwalader, shows 
the anxiety of his mind, and his consciousness 
of the peril of the enterprise. 

" Christmas day at night, one hour before 
day, is the time fixed upon for our attempt 



upon Trenton. For Heaven's sake keep this 
to yourself, as the discovery of it may prove 
fatal to us ; our numbers, I am sorry to say, 
being less than I had any conception of; yet 
nothing but necessity, dire necessity, will, nay 
must, justify an attack. Prepare, and in con- 
cert with Griffin, attack as many of their posts 
as you possibly can, with a prospect of success ; 
the more we can attack at the same instant, 
the more confusion we shall spread, and the 
greater good will result from it. * * I have 
ordered our men to be provided with three 
days' provision ready cooked, with which, and 
their blankets, they are to march ; for if we 
are successful, which Heaven grant, and the 
circumstances favor, we may push on. I shall 
direct every ferry and ford to be well guarded, 
and not a soul suftered to pass without an ofla- 
cer's going down with the piermit. Do the 
same with you." 

It has been said that Christmas night was 
fixed upon for the enterprise, because the Ger- 
mans are prone to revel and carouse on that 
festival, and it was supposed a great part of 
the troops would be intoxicated, and in a state 
of disorder and confusion ; but in ti-uth Wash- 
ington would have chosen an earlier day, had 
it been in his power. " We could not ripen 
matters for the attack before the time men- 
tioned," said he in his letter to Eeed, " so much 
out of sorts, and so much in want of every 
thing are the troops under Sullivan." 

Early on the eventful evening (Dec. 25th), 
the troops destined for Washington's part of 
the attack, about two thousand four hundred 
strong, with a train of twenty small pieces, 
were paraded near McKonkey's Ferry, ready 
to pass as soon as it grew dark, in the hope of 
being all on the other side by twelve o'clock. 
Washington repaired to the ground accom- 
panied by Generals Greene, Sullivan, Mercer, 
Stephen, and Lord Stirling. Greene was full 
of ardor for the enterprise ; eager, no doubt, 
to wipe out the recollection of Fort Washing- 
ton. It was, indeed, an anxious moment for 
all. 

We have here some circumstances furnished 
us by the Memoirs of Wilkinson. That officer 
bad returned from Philadelphia, and brought a 
letter from Gates to Washington. There was 
some snow on the ground, and he had traced 
the march of the troops for the last few miles 
by the blood from the feet of those whose shoes 
were broken. Being directed to Washington's 
quarters, he found him, he says, alone, with 



^T. 44.] 



CROSSING OF THE DELAWARE— THE HESSIAN PICKET. 



315 



his whip in his hand, prepared to mount his 
horse. " When I presented the letter of Gen- 
eral Gates to him, before receiving it, he ex- 
claimed with solemnity, — ' What a time is this 
to hand me letters ! ' I answered that I had 
been charged with it by General Gates. ' By 
General Gates ! Where is he ? ' 'I left him this 
morning in Philadelphia.' ' What was he doing 
there V 'I understood him that he was on 
his way to Congress.' He earnestly repeated, 
' On his way to Congress ! ' then broke the 
seal, and I made my bow, and joined General 
St. Clair on the bank of the river." 

Did Washington surmise the incipient in- 
trigues and cabals, that were already aiming to 
undermine him? Had Gates's eagerness to 
push on to Congress, instead of remaining with 
the army in a moment of daring enterprise, 
suggested any doubts as to his object ? Per- 
haps not. Washington's nature was too noble 
to be suspicious ; and yet he had received suffi- 
cient cause to be distrustful. 

Boats being in readiness, the troops began 
to cross about sunset. The weather was in- 
tensely cold ; the wind was high, the current 
strong, and the river full of floating ice. Col- 
onel Glover, with his amphibious regiment of 
Marblehead fishermen, was in advance ; the 
same who had navigated the army across the 
Sound, in its retreat from Brooklyn on Long 
Island, to New York. They were men accus- 
tomed to battle with the elements, yet with all 
their skill and experience, the crossing was 
difficult and pei'ilous. Washington, who had 
crossed with the troops, stood anxiously, yet 
patiently, on the eastern bank, while one pre- 
cious hour after another elapsed, until the trans- 
portation of the artillery should be effected. 
The night was dark and tempestuous, the drift- 
ing ice drove the boats out of their course, and 
threatened them with destruction. Colonel 
Knox, who attended to the crossing of the artil- 
lery, assisted with his labors, but still more with 
his " stentorian lungs," giving orders and direc- 
tions. 

It was three o'clock before the artDlery was 
landed, and ne§,rly four before the troops took 
up their line of march. Trenton was nine 
miles distant ; and not to be reached before 
daylight. To surprise it, therefore, was out 
of the question. There Avas no making a re- 
treat without being discovered, and harassed 
in repassing the river. Beside, the troops from 
the other points might have crossed, and co- 
operation was essential to their safety. Wash- 



ington resolved to push forward, and trust to 
Providence. 

He formed the troops into two columns. 
The first he led himself, accompanied by 
Greene, Stirling, Mercer, and Stephen ; it was 
to make a circuit by the upper or Pennington 
road, to the north of Trenton. The other led 
by Sullivan, and including the brigade of St. 
Clair, was to take the lower river road, lead- 
ing to the west end of the town. Sullivan's 
column was to halt a few momenls at a cross- 
road leading to Howland's Perry, to give 
Washington's column time to effect its circuit, 
so that the attack might be simultaneous. On 
arriving at Trenton, they were to force the 
outer guards, and push directly into the town 
before the enemy had time to form. 

The Hessian journals before us enable us to 
give the reader a glance into the opposite camp 
on this eventful night. The situation of Wash- 
ington was more critical than he was aware. 
Notwithstanding the secrecy with which his 
plans had been conducted. Colonel Eahl had 
received a warning from General Grant, at 
Princeton, of the intended attack, and of the 
very time it was to be made, but stating that 
it was to be by a detachment under Lord Stir- 
ling. Eahl was accordingly on the alert. 

It so happened that about dusk of this very 
evening, when Washington must have been 
preparing to cross the Delaware, there were 
alarm guns and firing at the Trenton outpost. 
The whole garrison was instantly drawn out 
under arms, and Colonel Eahl hastened to the 
outpost. It was found in confusion, and six 
men wounded. A body of men had emerged 
from the woods, fired upon the picket, and im- 
mediately retired.* Colonel Eahl, with two 
companies and a field-piece, marched through 
the woods, and made the rounds of the out- 
posts, but seeing and hearing nothing, and find- 
ing all quiet, returned. Supposing this to be 
the attack against which he had been warned, 
and that it was " a mere flash in the pan," he 
relapsed into his feeling of security ; and, as 
the night was cold and stormy, permitted the 
troops to return to their quarters and lay aside 



* "Who it was that made this atlacli upon the outpost ia 
not clearly ascertained. The Hessian lieutenant who com- 
manded at the picket, sa3-8 it was a patrol sent out by 
Washington, under command of a captain, to reconnoitre, 
with strict orders not to engage, but if discovered, to retire 
instantly as silently as possible. Col. Reed, in a memoran- 
dum, says, it was an advance party returning from the 
Jerseys to Pennsylvania. — Sec Life and Correspondence, 
vol. i., p. 277. 



316 



THE ATTACK ON THE HESSIAN" FORCES AT TRENTTON. 



[1116. 



their arms. Thus the garrison and its unwary 
commander slept in fancied security, at the 
very time that "Washington and his troops were 
making their toilsome way across the Dela- 
Avare. How perilous would have been their 
situation had their enemy been more vigilant ! 

It began to hail and snow as the troops com- 
menced theirtnarch, and increased in violence 
as they advanced, the storm driving the sleet 
in their faces. So bitter was the cold that two 
of the men were frozen to death that night. 
The day dawned by the time Sullivan halted 
at the cross-road. It was discovered that the 
storm had rendered many of the muskets wet 
and useless. " "What is to be done ? " inquired 
Sullivan of St. Clair. " You have nothing for 
it than to push on, and use the bayonet," was 
the reply. "While some of the soldiers were 
endeavoring to clear their muslcets, and squib- 
bing off priming, Sullivan despatched an officer 
to apprise the commander-in-chief of the con- 
dition of their arms. He came back half-dis- 
mayed by an indignant burst of "Washington, 
who ordered him to return instantly and tell 
General Sullivan to " advance and charge." 

It was about eight o'clock when "Washing- 
ton's column arrived in the vicinity of the 
village. The storm, which had rendered the 
march intolerable, had kept every one within 
doors, and the snow had deadened the tread of 
the troops and the rumbling of the artillery. 
As they approached the village, "Washington, 
who was in front, came to a man that was 
chopping wood by the roadside, and inquired, 
" "Which way is the Hessian picket ? " "I don't 
know," was the surly reply. " You may tell," 
said Captain Forest of the artillery, " for that 
is General "Washington." The aspect of the 
man changed in an instant, Eaisiug his hands 
to heaven, " God bless and prosper you ! " cried 
he. " The picket is in that house, and the 
sentry stands near that tree." * 

The advance guard was led by a brave young 
officer. Captain "William A. "^"ashington, second- 
ed by Lieutenant James Monroe (in after years 
President of the United States). They received 
orders to dislodge the picket. Here happened 
to be stationed the very lieutenant whose cen- 
sures of the negligence of Colonel Eahl we 
have just quoted. By his own account, he was 
very near being entrapped in the guard-house. 
His sentries, he says, were not alert enough ; 
and had he not stepped out of the picket house 



* Wilkinson's Memoirs, vol. i., p. 129. 



himself, and discovered the enemy, they would 
have been upon him before his men could 
scramble to their arms. " Der feind ! der 
feind ! herans ! heraus ! " (the enemy ! the 
enemy ! turn out ! turn out !) was now the 
cry. He at first, he says, made a stand, think- 
ing he had a mere marauding party to deal 
with ; but seeing heavy battalions at hand, 
gave way, and fell back upon a company sta- 
tioned to support the picket, but which ap- 
pears to have been no better prepared against 
surprise. 

By this time the American artillery was un- 
limbered ; "Washington kept beside it, and the 
column proceeded. The report of fire-arms 
told that Sullivan was at the lower end of the 
town. Colonel Stark led his advanced guard, 
and did it in gallant style. The attacks, as 
concerted, were simultaneous. The outposts 
were driven in ; they retreated, firing from be- 
hind houses. The Hessian drums beat -to arms ; 
the trumpets of the light-horse sounded the 
alarm ; the whole place was in an uproar. 
Some of the enemy made a wild and undirected 
fire from the windows of their quarters ; others 
rushed forward in disorder, and attempted to 
form in the main street, while dragoons hastily 
mounted, and galloping about, added to the 
confusion. "W^ashington advanced with his 
column to the liead of King Street ; riding be- 
side Captain Forest of the artillery. "When 
Forest's battery of six guns was opened, the 
general kept on the left and advanced with it, 
giving directions to the fire. His position was 
an exposed one, and he was repeatedly en- 
treated to fall back ; but all such entreaties 
were useless, when once he became heated in 
action. 

The enemy were training a couple of cannon 
in the main street to form a battery, which 
might have given the Americans a serious 
check ; but Captain "Washington and Lieuten- 
ant Monroe, with a part of the advanced guard 
rushed forward, drove the artillerists from 
their guns, and took the two pieces when on 
the point of being fired. Both of these officers 
were Avounded ; the captain in the wrist, the 
lieutenant in the shoulder. 

While "Washington advanced on the north 
of the town, Sullivan approached on the 
west, and detached Stark to press on the lower 
or south end of the town. The British light- 
horse, and about five hundred Hessians and 
Chasseurs, had been quartered in the lower 
part of the town. Seeing "Washington's column 



^T. 44.] 



THE SURPRISAL— SURRENDER OF THE HESSIANS. 



317 



pressing in front, and hearing Stark thunder- 
ing in their rear, they took headlong flight by 
the bridge across the Assunpink, and so along 
the banks of the Delaware toward Count Do- 
nop's encampment at Bordentown. Had Wash- 
ington's plan been carried into full effect, their 
retreat would have been cut off by General 
Ewing; but that officer had been prevented 
from crossing the river by the ice. 

Colonel Eahl, according to the account of 
the lieutenant who had commanded the picket, 
completely lost his head in the confusion of the 
surprise. The latter, when driven in by the 
American advance, found the colonel on horse- 
back, endeavoring to rally his panic-stricken 
and disordered men, but himself sorely be- 
wildered. He asked the lieutenant what was 
the force of the assailants. The latter an- 
swered that he had seen four or five battalions 
in the woods ; three of them had fired upon 
him before he had retreated — "but," added 
he, " there are other troops to the right and 
left, and the town will soon be surrounded." 
The colonel rode in front of his troops : — 
" Forward ! march ! advance ! advance ! " cried 
he. With some difficulty he succeeded in ex- 
tricating his troops from the town, and leading 
them into an adjacent orchard. Now was the 
time, writes the lieutenant, for him to have 
pushed for another place, there to make a 
stand. At this critical moment he might have 
done so with credit, and without loss. The 
colonel seems to have had such an intention. 
A rapid retreat by the Princeton road was 
apparently in his thoughts ; but he lacked de- 
cision. The idea of flying before the rebels 
was intolerable. Some one, too, exclaimed at 
the ruinous loss of leaving all their baggage to 
be plundered by the enemy. Changing his 
mind, he made a rash resolve. " All w\w are 
my grenadiers, forward ! " cried he, and went 
back, writes his corporal, like a storm upon 
the town. " What madness was this ! " writes 
the critical lieutenant. " A town that was of 
no use to us ; that but ten or fifteen minutes 
before he had gladly left ; that was now filled 
with three or four thousand enemies, stationed 
in houses or behind walls and hedges, and a 
battery of six cannon planted on the main 
street. And he to think of retaking it with 
his six or seven hundred men and their bay- 
onets ! " 

Still he led his grenadiers bravely but rashly 
on, when, in the midst of his career, he re- 
ceived a fatal wound from a musket ball, and 



fell from his horse. His men, left without 
their chief, were struck with dismay ; heedless 
of the orders of the second in command, they 
retreated by the right up the banks of the 
Assunpink, intending to escape to Princeton. 
Washington saw their design, and threw Col- 
onel Hand's corps of Pennsylvania riflemen in 
their way ; while a body of Virginia troops 
gained their left. Brought to a stand, and 
perfectly bewildered, Washington thought they 
were forming in order of battle, and ordered a 
discharge of canister shot. "Sir, they have 
struck," exclaimed Forest. " Struck ! " echoed 
the general. "Yes, sir, their colors are down." 
" So they are ! " replied Washington, and 
spurred in that direction, followed by Forest 
and his whole command. The men grounded 
their arms and surrendered at discretion ; " but 
had not Colonel' Eahl been severely wounded," 
remarks his loyal corporal, " we would never 
have been taken alive ! " 

The skirmishing had now ceased in every 
direction. Major Wilkinson, who was with 
the lower column, was sent to the com- 
mander-in-chief for orders. He rode up, he 
says, at the moment that Colonel Eahl, sup- 
ported by a file of sergeants, was presenting 
his sword. " On my approach," continues he, 
"the commander-in-chief took me by the 
hand, and observed, ' Major Wilkinson, this is 
a glorious day for our country ! ' his counte- 
nance beaming with complacency ; whilst the 
unfortunate Eahl, who the day before would 
not have changed fortunes with him, now pale, 
bleeding, and covered with blood, in broken 
accents seemed to implore those attentions 
which the victor was well disposed to bestow 
on him." 

He was, in fact, conveyed with great care to 
his quarters, which were in the house of a kind 
and respectable Quaker family. 

The number of prisoners taken in this af- 
fair was nearly one thousand, of which thirty- 
two were officers. The veteran Major Von 
Deohow,who had urged in vain the throwing up 
of breastworks, received a mortal wound, of 
which he died in Trenton. Washington's tri- 
umph, however, was impaired by the failure 
of the two simultaneous attacks. General 
Ewing, who was to have crossed before day at 
Trenton Ferry, and taken possession of the 
bridge leading out of the town, over which the 
light-horse and Hessians retreated, was pre- 
vented by the quantity of ice in the river. 
Cadwalader was hindered by the same obstacle. 



318 



DEATH OF COLONEL RAHL— HIS CHARACTER. 



[1776. 



He got part of his troops over, but found it 
impossible to embark his cannon, and was 
obliged, therefore, to return to the Pennsylvania 
side of the river. Had he and Ewing crossed, 
Donop's quarters would have been beaten up, 
and the fugitives from Trenton intercepted. 

By the failure of this part of his plan, "Wash- 
ington had been exposed to the most imminent 
hazard. The force with which he had crossed, 
twenty -four hundred men, raw troops, was not 
enough to cope with the veteran garrison, had 
it been properly on its guard ; and then there 
were the troops under Donop at hand to co- 
operate with it. Nothing saved him but the 
utter panic of the enemy ; their want of proper 
alarm places, and their exaggerated idea of his 
forces : for one of the journals before us (the 
corporal's) states that he had with him 15,000 
men, and another 6,000.'"' Even now that the 
place was in his possession he dared not linger 
in it. There was a superior force under Donop 
below him, and a strong battalion of infantry 
at Princeton. His own troops were exhausted 
by the operations of the night and morning in 
cold, rain, snow, and storm. They had to guard 
about a thousand prisoners, taken in action or 
found concealed in houses ; there was little 
prospect of succor, owing to the season and the 
state of the river. Washington gave up, there- 
fore, all idea of immediately pursuing the enemy 
orkeepingpossessionof Trenton, and determined 
to recross the Delaware with his prisoners and 
captured artillery. Understanding that the 
brave but unfortunate Eahl was in a dying 
state, he paid him a visit before leaving Tren- 
ton, accompanied by General Greene. They 
found him at his quarters in the house of a 
Quaker family. Their visit and the respect- 
ful consideration and unaffected sympathy 
manifested by them, evidently soothed the 
feelings of the unfortunate soldier ; now strip- 
ped of his late won laurels, and resigned to die 
rather than outlive his honor.f 

We have given a somewhat sarcastic portrait 
of the colonel drawn by one of his lieutenants ; 
another, Lieutenant Piel, paints with a soberer 
and more reliable pencil. 

" For our whole ill luck," writes he, " we 
have to thank Colonel Eahl. It never occurred 
to him that the rebels might attack us ; and. 



therefore, he had taken scarce any precautions 
against such an event. In truth I must confess 
we have universally thought too little of the 
rebels, who, until now, have never on any oc- 
casion been able to withstand us. Our brig- 
adier (Eahl) was too proud to retire a step 
before such an enemy ; although nothing re- 
mained for us but to retreat. 

" General Howe had judged this man from a 
wrong point of view, or he would hardly have 
intrusted such an important post as Trenton to 
him. He was formed for a soldier, but not for 
a general. At the capture of Fort "Washington 
he had gained much honor while under the 
command of a great general, but he lost all his 
renown at Trenton where he himself was gen- 
eral. He had courage to dare the hardiest en- 
terprise ; but he alone wanted the cool presence 
of mind necessary in a surprise like that at 
Trenton. His vivacity was too great ; one 
thought crowded on another, so that he could 
come to no decision. Considered as a private 
man, he was deserving of high regard. He 
was generous, open-handed, hospitable ; never 
cringing to his superiors, nor arrogant to his 
inferiors ; but courteous to all. Even his do- 
mestics were treated more like friends than 
servants." 

The loyal corporal, too, contributes his mite 
of praise to his dying commander. " In h^g 
last agony," writes the grateful soldier, "he 
yet thought of his grenadiers, and entreated 
General Washington that nothing might be 
taken from them but their arms. A promise 
was given," adds the corporal, "and was kept." 

Even the satirical lieutenant half mourns 

over his memory. " He died," says he, " on 

the following evening, and lies buried in this 

place which he has rendered so famous, in the 

graveyard of the Presbyterian church. Sleep 

well ! dear Commander ! (theurer Feldherr). 

Tlie Americans will hereafter set up a stone 

above thy grave with this inscription : 

" Hier licgt der Oberst Rahl, 
Mit ihm ist alles all 1 

(Here lies the Colonel Rahl, 
With him all is over.") 



* The lieutenant gives the latter number on the author- 
ity of Lord Stirling : but his lordship meant the whole 
number of men intended for the three several attacks. 
The force that actually crossed with Washington -was 
■what we have stated. 

t Journal <t£ Lieut. Piel. 



CHAPTER XLIV. 

The Hessian prisoners were conveyed across 
the Delaware by Johnson's Ferry into Pennsyl- 
vania ; the private soldiers were marched oif 
immediately to Newtown ; the officers, twenty- 



^T. 44.] 



INTERVIEWS OF THE HESSIANS WITH WASHINGTON. 



319 



three in number, remained in a small chamber 
in the Ferry House, where, according to their 
o\ni account, ■ they passed a dismal night ; sore 
at heart that their recent triumphs at White 
Plains and Fort Washington should be so sud- 
denly eclipsed. 

On the following morning they were con- 
ducted to Newtown, under * the escort of 
Colonel Weedon. His extei-ior, writes Lieuten- 
ant Piel, spoke but little in his favor, yet he won 
all our hearts by his kind and friendly conduct. 

At Newtown the ofBcers were quartered in 
inns and private houses, the soldiers in the 
church and jail. The officers paid a visit to 
Lord Stirling, whom some of them had known 
from his being captured at Long Lsland. He 
received them with great kindness. " Your 
general, Van Heister," said he, "treated me 
like a brother when I was a pri;>oner, and so, 
gentlemen, will you be treated by me." 

" We had scarce seated ourselves," continues 
Lieutenant Piel, '' when a long, meagre, dark- 
looking man, whom we took for the parson of 
the place, stepped forth and held a discourse 
in German, in which he endeavored to set 
forth the justice of the American side in this 
war. He told us he was a Hanoverian born ; 
called the king of E jlaud nothing but 
the Elector of Hanover, and spoke of him so 
contemptuously that his garrulity became in- 
tolerable. We answered that we had not come 
to America to inquire which party was in the 
right ; but to fight for the king. 

" Lord Stirling, seeing how little we were 
edified by the preacher, relieved us from him 
by proposing to take us with him to visit 
General Washington. The latter received us 
very courteously, though we understood very 
little of what he said, as he spoke nothing but 
English, a language in which none cf us at that 
time were strong. In his aspect shines forth 
nothing of the great man that he is universally 
considered. His eyes have scarce any fire. 
There is, however, a smiling expression on Ins 
countenance when he speaks, that wins affec- 
tion and respect. He invited four of our 
officers to dine with him ; the rest dined with 
Lord Stirling." One of these ofilcers who dined 
with the commander-in-chief, was the satirical 
lieutenant whom we have so often quoted, and 
who was stationed at the picket on the morn- 
ing of the attack. However disparagingly he 
may have thought of his unfortunate com- 
mander, he evidently had a very good opinion 
of himself. 



" General Washington," writes he in his 
journal, " did me the honor to converse a good 
deal with me concerning the unfortunate aftair. 
I told him freely my opinion that our disposi- 
tions had been bad, otherwise we should not 
have fallen into his hands. He asked me if I 
could have made better dispositions, and in 
what manner? I told him yes; stated all the 
faults of our arrangements, and showed him 
how I would have done ; and would have 
managed to come out of the affair with honor." 

We have no doubt, from the specimens 
furnished in the lieutenant's journal, that he 
went largely into his own merits and achieve- 
ments, and the demerits and shortcomings of 
his luckless commander. Washington, he 
added, not only applauded his exposition of 
what he would have done, but made him a 
eulogy thereupon, and upon his watchfulness, 
and the defence he had made with his handful 
of men when his picket was attacked. Yet 
according to his own account, in his journal, 
with all his watchfulness, he came near being 
caught napping. 

" General Washington," continues he, " is a 
courteous and polite man, but very cautious 
and reserved; talks little; and has a crafty 
(listige) physiognomy." We surmise the lieu- 
tenant had the most of the talk on that occasion, 
and that the crafty or sly expression in Wash- 
ington's physiognomy, may have been a lurking 
but suppressed smile, provoked by the lieu- 
tenant's self-laudation and wordiness. 

Tlie Hessian prisoners were subsequently 
transferred from place to place, until they 
reached Winchester in the interior of Virginia. 
Wherever they arrived, people thronged from 
far and near to see these terrible beings, of 
whom they had received such formidable 
accounts ; and were surprised and disappointed 
to find them looking like other men. At first 
they had to endure the hootings and revilings 
of the multitude, for having hired themselves 
out to the trade of blood ; and they especially 
speak of the scoldings they received from old 
women in the villages, who upbraided them 
for coming to rob them of their liberty. '• At 
length," writes the corporal in his journal, 
" General Washington had written, notices 
put up in town and country, that we were 
innocent of this war, and had joined in it not 
of our free will, but through compulsion. We 
should, therefore, be treated not as enemies, 
but friends. From this time," adds he, " things 
went better with us. Every day came many 



320 



EPISODE— FLIGHT OF HESSIANS AND REFUGEES. 



[me. 



out of the towns, old and young, rich and poor, 
and brought us provisions, and treated us with 
kindness and humanity." * 



CHAPTEE XLV. 

There was a kind of episode in the affair at 
Trenton. Colonel Griffin, who had thrown him- 
self previously into the Jerseys with his de- 
tachment of Pennsylvania militia, found him- 
self, through indisposition and the scanty num- 
ber of his troops, unable to render efficient ser- 
vice in the proposed attack. He sent word to 
Cadwalader, therefore, that he should probably 
render him more real aid by making a demon- 
stration in front of Donop, and drawing him 
off so far into the interior as to be out of the 
way of rendering support to Colonel Rhal. 

He accordingly presented himself in sight of 
Donop's cantonment on the 25th of December, 
and succeeded in drawing him out with nearly 
Iiis whole force of two thousand men. lie 
then retired slowly before him, skirmishing, 
but avoiding any thing like an action, until he 
had lured him as far as Mount Holly ; when he 
left him to find his way back to his post at 
his leisure. 

The cannonade of Washington's attack in 
Trenton on the morning of the 26th, was dis- 
tinctly heard .at Cadwalader's camp at Bristol. 
Imperfect tidings of the result reached there 
about eleven o'clock, and produced the highest 
exultation and excitement. Cadwalader made 
another attempt to cross the river and join 
Washington, whom he supposed to be still in 
the Jerseys, following up the blow he had 
struck. He could not effect the passage of the 
river with the most of his troops, until mid- 
day of the 27th, when he received from Wash- 
ington a detailed account of his success, and of 
his having recrossed into Pennsylvania. 

Cadwalader was now in a dilemma. Donop, 
he presumed, was still at Mount Holly, whither 
Griffin had decoyed him ; but he might soon 
march back. His forces were equal, if not 
superior in number to his own, and veterans 
instead of raw militia. But then there was the 
glory of rivalling the exploit at Trenton, and 
the importance of following out the effort for 
the relief of the Jerseys, and the salvation of 
Philadelphia. Besides, Washington, in all prob- 
ability, after disposing of his prisoners, had 



* Tagebuch dea corporals Johannes Reuber.— MS. 



again crossed into the Jerseys, and might be 
acting offensively. 

Eeed relieved Cadwalader from his dilem- 
ma, by proposing that they should push on to 
Burlington, and there determine, according to 
intelligence, whether to proceed to Borden- 
town or Mount Holly. The plan was adopted. 
There was an alarm that the Hessian yagers 
lurked in a neighboring wood. Eeed, accom- 
panied by two officers, rode in advance to re- 
connoitre. He sent word to Cadwalader that 
it was a false alarm, and the latter took up his 
line of march. 

Eeed and his companions spurred on to 
reconnoitre the enemy's outposts, about four 
miles from Burlington, but pulled up at the 
place where the picket was usually stationed. 
There was no smoke, nor any sign of a human 
being. They rode up and found the place 
deserted. From the country people in the; 
neighborhood they received an explanation. 
Count Donop had returned to his post from 
the pursuit of Griffin, only in time to hear of 
the disaster at Trenton. He immediately 
began a retreat in the utmost panic and con- 
fusion, calling in his guards and parties as he 
hurried forward. The troops in the neighbor- 
hood of Burlington had decamped precipitately 
the preceding evening. 

Colonel Eeed sent back intelligence of this to 
Cadwalader, and still pushed on with his com- 
panions. As they rode along, they observed the 
inhabitants pulling down red rags which had 
been nailed to the doors ; tory signs to Insure 
good-will frona the British. Arrived at Bor- 
dentown, not an enemy was to be seen ; the 
fugitives from Trenton had spread a panic on 
the 26th, and the Hessians and their refugee 
adherents had fled in confusion, leaving their 
sick behind them. The broken and haggard 
looks of the inhabitants showed what they had 
suffered during the Hessian occupation. One 
of Eeed's companions returned to Cadwalader, 
v/ho had halted at Burlington, and advised him 
to proceed. 

Cadwalader wrote in the night to Washing- 
ton, informing him of his whereabouts, and 
that he should march for Bordentown in the 
morning. " If you should think proper to cross 
over," added he, " it inay easily be effected at 
the place where we passed ; a pursuit would 
keep up the panic. They went off with great 
precipitation, and pressed all the waggons in 
their reach ; I am told many of them are 
gone to South Amboy. If we can drive them 



^T. 44.] WASHINGTON REC£OSSES THE DELAWARE AND FOLLOWS UP HIS BLOW. 321 



from West Jersey, the success will raise an 
army next spring, and establish the credit of 
the Continental money to support it." 

There was another letter from Cadwalader, 
dated on the following day, from Bordentown. 
He had eighteen hundred men with him. Five 
hundred more were on their way to join him. 
General MifBin, too, had sent over five hun- 
dred from Philadelphia, and three hundred from 
Bui-lington, and was to follow with seven or 
eight hundred more. 

Colonel Eeed, too, wrote from Trenton on 
the 28th. He had found that place without a 
single soldier of either army, and in a still 
more wretched condition than Bordentown. 
He urged Washington to recross the river, and 
pursue the advantages already gained. Donop 
might be overtaken before he could reach 
Princeton or Brunswick, where the enemy 
were yet in force. * 

Washington needed no prompting of the 
kind. Bent upon following up his blow, he 
had barely^aUowed his troops a day or two to 
recover from recent exposure and fatigue, that 
they might have strength and spirit to pursue 
the retreating enemy, beat up other of their 
quarters, and entirely reverse affairs in the 
Jerseys. In this spirit he had written to 
Generals McDougall and Maxwell at Morris- 
town, to collect as large a body of militia as pos- 
sible, and harass the enemy in flank and rear. 
Heath, also, had been ordered to abandon the 
Highlands, which there was no need of guard- 
ing at this season of the year, and hasten down 
with the eastern militia, as rapidly as possible, 
by the way of Hackensack, continuing on until 
he should send him further orders. " A fair 
opportunity is offered," said he, " of driving 
the enemy entirely from the Jerseys, or at 
least to the extremity of the province." 

Men of influence also were despatched by 
him into different parfs of the Jerseys, to 
spirit up the militia to revenge the oppression, 
the ravage, and Insults they had experienced 
from the enemy, especially from the Hessians. 
"If what they have sufifered," said he, "does 
not arouse their resentment, they must not pos- 
sess the feelings of humanity." 

On the 29th, his troops began to cross the 
river. It would be a slow and difficult opera- 
tion, owing to the ice ; two parties of light 
troops, therefore, were detached in advance, 
whom Colonel Reed was to send in pursuit of 



* Life and Correspondence of Pres. Keed, vol. i., p. 281. 

21 



the enemy. They marched into Trenton about 
two o'clock, and were immediately put on the 
traces of Donop, to hang on his rear and harass 
him until other troops should come up. Cad- 
walader also detached a party of riflemen from 
Bordentown with like orders. Donop, in re- 
treating, had divided his force, sending one 
part by a cross road to Princeton, and hurrying 
on with the remainder to Brimswick. Not- 
withstanding the severity of the weather, and 
the wretchedness of the road, it was a service 
of animation and delight to the American troops 
to hunt back these Hessians through the coun- 
try they had recently outraged, and over 
ground which they themselves had trodden so 
painfully and despondingly, in their retreat. 
In one instance, the riflemen surprised and 
captured a party of refugees who lingered in 
the rear-guard, among whom were several 
newly-made officers. Never was there a more 
sudden reversal in the game of war than this 
retreat of the heavy German veterans, harassed 
by light parties of a raw militia, which they 
so lately had driven like chaff before them. 

While this was going on, Washington was 
effecting the passage of his main force to Tren- 
ton. He himself had crossed on the 29th of 
December, but it took two days more to get 
the troops and artiDery over the icy river, and 
that with great labor and difficulty. And now 
came a perplexity. With the year expired the 
term of several regiments, which had seen most 
service, and become inured to danger. Know- 
ing how indispensable were such troops to lead 
on those which were raw and undiscipHned, 
Washington had them paraded and invited to 
re-enlist. It was a difficult task to persuade 
them. They were haggard with fatigue, and 
hardship and privation of every kind ; and their 
hearts yearned for home. By the persuasions 
of their officers, howevei-, and a bounty of ten 
dollars, the greater proportion of those from 
the eastward were induced to remain six weeks 
longer. 

Hard money was necessary in this emergency. 
How was it to be furnished? The military 
chest was incompetent. On the 30th, Wash- 
ington wrote by express to Robert Morris, the 
patriotic financier at Philadelphia, whom he 
knew to be eager that the blow should be fol- 
lowed up. " If you could possibly collect a 
sum, if it were but one hundred, or one hun- 
dred and fifty pounds, it would be of service." 

Morris received the letter in the evening. 
He was at his wits' end to raise the sum, for 



322 



WASHINGTON MADE MILITARY DICTATOR— HIS CRITICAL SITUATION. 



[1776. 



hard money was scarce. Fortunately a wealthy 
Quaker, in this moment of exigency, supplied 
the "sinews of war," and early the next 
morning the money was forwarded by the ex- 
press. 

At this critical moment, too, "Washington 
received a letter from a committee of Congress, 
transmitting him resolves of that body dated 
the 27th of December, investing him with mili- 
tary powers quite dictatorial. " Happy is it 
for this country," write the committee, " that 
the general of their forces can safely be intrust- 
ed with the most unlimited power, and neither 
personal security, liberty, or property, be in the 
least degree endangered thereby." * 

"Washington's acknowledgment of this great 
mark of confidence was noble and characteris- 
tic. " I find Congress have done me the honor 
to intrust me with powers, in my military ca- 
j)acity, of the highest nature and almost un- 
limited extent. Instead of thinking myself 
freed from all civil obligations by this mark of 
their confidence, I shall constantly bear in 
mind that, as the sword was the last resort for 
the preservation of our liberties, so it ought to 
be the first thing laid aside when those liberties 
are firmly established." 



CHAPTER XLVI. 

Geneeal Howe was taking his ease in winter 
quarters at New York, waiting for the freezing 
of the Delaware to pursue his triumphant 
march to Philadelphia, when tidings were 
brought him of the surprise and capture of the 
Hessians at Trenton. " That three old estab- 
lished regiments of a people who made war 
their profession, should lay down their arms to 
a ragged and undisciplined militia, and that 
with scarcely any loss on either side," was a 
matter of amazement. He instantly stopped 
Lord Cornwallis, who was on the point of em- 
barking for England, and sent him back in all 
haste to resume the command in the Jerseys. 

The ice in the Delaware impeded the cross- 
ing of the American troops, and gave the Brit- 
ish time to draw in their scattered canton- 
ments, and assemble their whole force at 
Princeton. "While his troops were yet cross- 
ing, "Washington sent out Colonel Eeed to 
reconnoitre the position and movements of the 



Am. Archives, 5th Series, iii. 1510. 



enemy, and obtain information. Six of the 
Philadelphia light-horse, spirited young fellows, 
but who had never seen service, volunteered 
to accompany Eeed. They patrolled the coun- 
try to the very vicinity of Princeton, but could 
collect no information from the inhabitants ; 
who were harassed, terrified, and bewildered 
by the ravaging marches to and fro of friend 
and enemy. 

Emerging from a wood almost within view 
of Princeton, they caught sight, from a rising 
ground, of two or three red coats passing from 
time to time from a barn to a dwelling-house. 
Here must be an outpost. Keeping the barn 
in a line with the house so as to cover their 
approach, they dashed up to the latter without 
being discovered, and surrounded it. Twelve 
British dragoons were within, who, though 
well armed, were so pa'nic-stricken that they 
surrendered without making defence. A com- 
missary, also, was taken ; the sergeant of the 
dragoons alone escaped. Colonel Reed and his 
six cavaliers returned in triumph to head-quar- 
ters. Important information was obtained 
from their prisoners. Lord CornwaUis had 
joined General Grant the day before at Prince- 
ton, with a reinforcement of chosen troops. 
They had now seven or eight thousand men, 
and were pressing waggons for a march upon 
Trenton.* 

Cadwalader, stationed at Crosswicks, about 
seven miles distant, between Bordentown and 
Trenton, sent intelligence to the same purport, 
received by him from a young gentleman who 
had escaped from Princeton. 

"Word, too, was brought from other quarters, 
that General Howe was on the march with a 
thousand light troops, with which he had land- 
ed at Amboy. 

The situation of "Washington was growing 
critical. The enemy were beginning to advance 
their large pickets towards Trenton. Every 
thing indicated an approaching attack. The 
force with him was small ; to retreat across 
the river, would destroy the dawn of hope 
awakened in the bosoms of the Jersey militia 
by the late exploit ; but to make a stand with- 
out reinforcements was impossible. In this 
emergency, he called to his aid General Cad- 
walader from Crosswicks, and General Mifflin 
from Bordentown, with their collective forces, 
amounting to about three thousand six hundred 
men. He did it with reluctance, for it seemed 



* Life of Reed, i. 282. 



Mt. 45.] 



CRITICAL SITUATION OF WASHINGTON. 



323 



like iBvolving them in the common danger, but 
the exigency of the case admitted of no alterna- 
tive. They promptly answered to his call, and 
marching in the night, joined him on the 1st 
of January. 

Washington chose a position for his main 
body on the east side of the Assunpink. Thei-e 
was a narrow stone bridge across it, where the 
water was very deep ; the same bridge over 
which part of Rahl's brigade had escaped in 
the recent affair. He planted his artillery so 
as to command the bridge and the fords. His 
advance guard was stationed about three miles 
off in a wood, having in front a stream called 
Shabbakong Creek. 

Early on the morning of the 2d, came certain 
, word that Cornwallis was approaching with all 
his force. Strong parties were sent out under 
General Greene, who skirmished with the ene- 
my, and harassed them in their advance. By 
twelve o'clock they reached the Shabbakong, 
and halted for a time on its northern bank. 
Then crossing it, and moving forward with 
rapidity, they drove the advance guard out of 
the woods, and pushed on until they reached 
a high ground near the town. Here Hand's 
corps of several battalions was drawn up, and 
held them for a time in check. All the parties 
in advance ultimately retreated to the main 
body, on the east side of the Assunpink, and 
found some difficulty in crowding across the 
narrow bridge. 

From all these checks and delays, it was 
nearly sunset before Cornwallis with the head 
of his army entered Trenton. His reai'-guard 
under General Leslie rested at Maiden Head, 
about six miles distant, and nearly half way 
between Trenton and Princeton. Forming his 
troops into columns, he now made repeated 
attempts to cross the Assunpink at the bridge 
and the fords, but was as often repulsed by the 
artillery. For a part of the time Washington, 
mounted on a white horse, stationed himself 
at the south end of the bridge, issuing his 
orders. Each time the enemy was repulsed 
there was a shout along the American lines. 
At length they drew off, came to a halt, and 
hghted their camp fires. The Americans did 
the same, using the neighboring fences for the 
purpose. Sir William Erskine, who was with 
Cornwallis, urged him, it is said, to attack 
Washington that evening in his camp ; but his 
lordship declined ; he felt sure of the game 
which had so often escaped him ; he had at 
length, he thought, got Washington into a situa- 



tion from which he could not escape, but where 
he might make a desperate stand ; and he was 
wiUing to give his wearied troops a night's re- 
pose to prepare them for the closing struggle. 
He would be sure, he said, to " bag the fox in 
the morning." 

A cannonade was kept up on both sides until 
dark ; but with little damage to the Americans. 
When night closed in, the two camps lay in 
sight of each other's fires, ruminating the 
bloody action of the following day. It was 
the most gloomy and anxious night that had 
yet closed in on the American army, through- 
out its series of perils and disasters ; for there 
was no concealing the impending danger. But 
what must have been the feelings of the com- 
mander-in-chief, as he anxiously patrolled his 
camp, and considered his desperate position ? 
A small stream, fordable in several places, was 
aU that separated his raw, inexperienced army, 
from an enemy vastly superior in numbers and 
disciphne, and stung to action by the mortifica- 
tion of a late defeat. A general action with 
them must be ruinous ; but how was he to re- 
treat ? Behind him was the Delaware, impas- 
sable from floating ice. Granting even (a thing 
not to be hoped) that a retreat across it could 
be effected, the consequences would be equally 
fatal. The Jerseys would be left in possession 
of the enemy, endangering the immediate cap- 
ture of Philadelphia, and sinking the public 
mind into despondency. 

In this darkest of moments a gleam of hope 
flashed upon his mind : a bold expedient sug- 
gested itself. Almost the whole of the enemy's 
forces must by this time be drawn out of 
Princeton, and advancing by detachments 
toward Trenton, while their baggage and prin- 
cipal stores must remain weakly guarded at 
Brunswick. Was it not possible, by a rapid 
night-march along the Quaker road, a different 
road from that on which General Leslie with 
the rear-guard was resting, to get past that 
force undiscovered, come by surprise upon 
those left at Princeton, capture or destroy 
what stores were left there, and then push on 
to Brunswick? This would save the army 
from being cut off; would avoid the appear- 
ance of a defeat ; and might draw the enemy 
away from Trenton, while some fortunate 
stroke might give additional reputation to the 
American arms. Even should the enemy march 
on to Philadelphia, it could not in any case be 
prevented ; while a counter-blow in the Jerseys 
would be of great consolation. 



324 



NIGHT MARCH OF WASHINGTON— AFFAIR AT PRlNq^TON. 



11111. 



Such was the plan which Washington re- 
volved in his mind on the gloomy banks of the 
Assunpink, and which he laid before his officers 
in a council of war, held after nightfall, at the 
quarters of General Mercer. It met with instant 
concurrence, being of that hardy, adventurous 
kind, which seems congenial with the American 
character. One formidable difficulty presented 
itself. The weather was unusually mild; there 
was a thaw, by which the roads might be ren- 
dered deep and miry, and almost impassable. 
Fortunately, or rather providentially, as "Wash- 
ington was prone to consider it, the wind veered 
to the north in the course of the evening ; the 
weatl^er became intensely cold, and in two 
hours the roads were once more hard and frost- 
bound. In the mean time, the baggage of the 
army was silently removed to Burlington, and 
every other preparation was made for a rapid 
march. To deceive the enemy, men were em- 
ployed to dig trenches near the bridge within 
hearing of the British sentries, with orders to 
continue noisily at work until daybreak ; others 
were to go the rounds ; relieve guards at the 
bridge and fords ; keep up the camp fires, and 
maintain all the appearance of a regular en- 
campment. At daybreak they were to hasten 
after the army. 

In the dead of the night, the army drew 
quietly out of the encampment and began its 
march. General Mercer, mounted on a favorite 
gray horse, was in the advance with the rem- 
nant of his flying camp, now but about three 
hundred and fifty men, principally relics of the 
brave Delaware and Maryland regiments, ^ith 
some of the Pennsylvania militia. Among the 
latter were youths belonging to the best fami- 
lies in Philadelphia. The main body followed, 
under AVashington's immediate command. 

The Quaker road was a complete roundabout, 
joining the main road about two miles from 
Princeton, where "Washington expected to arrive 
before daybreak. The road, however, was 
new and rugged ; cut through woods, where 
the stumps of trees broke the wheels of some of 
the baggage trains, and retarded the march of 
the troops ; so that it was near sunrise of a 
bright, frosty morning, when "Washington 
reached the bridge over Stony Brook, about 
three miles from Princeton. After crossing 
the bridge, he led his troops along the bank of 
the brook to the edge of a wood, where a by- 
road led off on the right through low grounds, 
and was said by the guides to be a short cut to 
Princeton, and less exposed to view. By this 



road Washington defiled with the main body, 
ordering Mercer to continue along the brook 
with his brigade, until he should arrive at the 
main road, where he was to secure, and if 
possible, destroy a bridge over which it passes ; 
so as to intercept any fugitives from Princeton, 
and check any retrograde movements of the 
British troops which might have advanced 
towards Trenton. 

Hitherto the movements of the Americans 
had been undiscovered by the enemy. Three 
regiments of the latter, the 17th, 40th, and 
55th, with three troops of dragoons, had been 
quartered all night in Princeton, under march- 
ing orders to join Lord Coi-nwallis in the morn- 
ing. The 17th regiment, under Colonel Maw- 
hood, was already on the march ; the 55th 
regiment was preparing to follow. Mawhood' 
had crossed the bridge by which the old or 
main road 'to Trenton passes over Stony Brook, 
and was proceeding through a wood beyond, 
when, as he attained the summit of a hill about 
sunrise, the glittering of arms betrayed to him 
the movement of Mercer's troops to the left, 
who were filing along the Quaker road to secure 
the bridge, as they had been ordered. 

The woods prevented him from seeing their 
number. He supposed them to be some broken 
portion of the American army flying before 
Lord CornwaUis. With this idea, he faced 
about, and made a retrograde movement, to 
intercept them or hold them in check ; while 
messengers spurred off in all speed, to hasten 
forward the regiments still lingering at Prince- 
ton, so as completely to surround them. 

The woods concealed him until he had re- 
crossed the bridge of Stony Brook, when he 
came in full sight of the van of Mercer's bri- 
gade. Both parties pushed to get possession 
of a rising ground on the right near the house 
of a Mr. Clark, of the peaceful Society of 
Friends, The Americans being nearest, reached 
it fh'st, and formed behind a hedge fence which 
extended along a slope in front of the house ; 
whence, being chiefly armed with rifles, they 
opened a destructive fire. It was returned 
with great spirit by the enemy. At the first 
discharge Mercer was dismounted, " his gallant 
gray " being crippled by a musket ball in the 
leg. One of his colonels, also, was mortally 
wounded, and carried to the rear. Availing 
themselves of the confusion thus occasioned, 
the British charged with the bayonet; the 
American riflemen having no weapon of the 
kind, were thrown into disorder and retreated. 



^T. 45.] 



AFFAIR AT PRINCETON— MERCER MORTALLY WOUNDED. 



Mercer, who was on foot, endeavored to rally 
them, Avlien a blow from the butt end of a 
musket felled him to the ground. He rose and 
defended himself with his sword, but was sur- 
rounded; bayoneted repeatedly, and left for 
dead. 

Mawhood pursued the broken and retreating 
troops to the brow of the rising ground, on 
which Clark's house was situated, when he be- 
held a large force emerging from a wood and 
advancing to the rescue. It was a body of 
Pennsylvania militia, which Washington", on 
hearing the firing, had detached to the support 
of Mercer. Mawhood instantly ceased pursuit, 
drew up his artillery, and by a heavy discharge 
brought the militia to a stand. 

At this moment Washington himself arrived 
at the scene of action, having galloped from 
the by-road in advance of his troops. From 
a rising ground he beheld Mercer's troops re- 
treating in confusion, and the detachment of 
militia checked by Mawhood's artillery. Every 
thing was at peril. Putting spurs to his horse 
he dashed past the hesitating militia, waving 
his hat and cheering them on. His command- 
ing figure, and white horse, made him a con- 
spicuous object for the enemy's marksmen ; but 
he heeded it not. Galloping forward under the 
fire of Mawhood's battery, he called upon Mer- 
cer's broken brigade. • The Pennsylvanians 
rallied at the sound of his voice, and caught 
fire from his example. At the same time the 
7th Virginia regiment emerged from the wood, 
and moved forward with loud cheers, while a 
fire of grapeshot was opened by Captain Moul- 
der of the American artillery, from the brow 
of a ridge to the south. 

Colonel Mawhood, -who a moment before 
had thought his triumph secure, found himself 
assailed on every side, and separated from the 
other British regiments. He fought, however, 
with great bravery, and for a short time the 
action was desperate. Washington was in the 
midst of it ; equally endangered by the random 
fire of his own men, and the artillery and mus- 
ketry of the enemy. His aide-de-camp. Col- 
onel Fitzgerald, a young and ardent Irishman, 
losing sight of him in the heat of the fight 
when enveloped in dusk and smoke, dropped 
the bridle on the neck of his horse and drew 
his hat over his eyes ; giving him up for lost. 
When he saw him, however, emerge from the 
cloud, waving his hat, and beheld the enemy 
giving way, he spurred up to his side. " Thank 
God," cried he, " your excellency is safe ! " 



" Away, my dear colonel, and bring up the 
troops," was the reply ; " the day is our own ! " 
It was one of those occasions in which the 
latent fire of Washington's character blazed 
forth. 

Mawhood, by this time, had forced his way, 
at the point of the bayonet, through gathering 
foes, though with heavy loss, back to the main 
road, and was in full retreat towards Trenton 
to join Cornwallis. Washington detached Major 
KeUy with a party of Pennsylvania troops, to 
destroy the bridge at Stony Brook, over which 
Mawhood had retreated, so as to impede the 
advance of General Leshe from Maiden Head. 

In the mean time the 55th regiment, which 
had been on the left and nearer Princeton, had 
been encountered by the American advance 
guard under General St. Clair, and after some 
sharp fighting in a ravine had given way, and 
was retreating across fields and along a by- 
road to Brunswick. The remaining regiment, 
the 40th, had not been able to come up in time 
for the action ; a part of it fled toward Bruns- 
wick ; the residue took refuge in the college at 
Princeton, recently occupied by them as bar- 
racks. Artillery was now brought to bear on 
the college, and a few shot compelled those 
within to surrender. 

In this brief but brilliant action, about one 
hundred of the British were left dead on tlie 
field, and nearly three hundred taken prisoners, 
fourteen of Avhom were oificers. Among the 
slain was Captain Leslie, son of the Earl of 
Leven. His death was greatly lamented by 
his captured companions. 

The loss of the Americans was about twenty- 
five or thirty men, and several ofllcers. Among 
the latter was Colonel Haslet, who had distin- 
guished himself throughout the campaign, by 
being among the foremost in services of danger. 
He was indeed a gallant ofllcer, and gallantly 
seconded by his Delaware troops. 

A greater loss was that of General Mercer. 
He was said to be either dead or dying, in the 
house of Mr. Clark, whither he had been con- 
Veyed by his aide-de-camp. Major Armstrong, 
who found him, after the retreat of Mawhood's 
troops, lying on the field gashed with sevevtl 
wounds, and insensible from cold and loss of 
blood. Washington would have ridden back 
from Princeton to visit him, and have him con- 
veyed to a place of greater security ; but Avas 
assured, that, if alive, he was too desperately 
wounded to bear removal ; in the mean time 
he was in good hands, being faithfully attended 



326 



CORNWALLIS OUTGENERALLED, BAFFLED, AND PERPLEXED. 



[1111. 



to by his aide-de-camp. Major Armstrong, and 
treated with the utmost cai-e and kindness by 
Mr. Clark's family.* 

Under these circumstances "Washington felt 
compelled to leave his old companion in arms 
to his fate. Indeed, he was called away by 
the exigencies of his command, having to pur- 
sue the routed regiments, which were making a 
headlong retreat to Brunswick. In this pur- 
suit he took the lead at the head of a detach- 
ment of cavalry. At Kingston, however, three 
miles to the north-east of Princeton, he pulled 
up, restrained his ardor, and held a council of 
war on horseback. Should he keep on to 
Brunswick or not ? The capture of the British 
stores and baggage would make his triumph 
complete ; but, on the other hand, his troops 
were excessively fatigued by their rapid march 
all night, and hard fight in the morning. All 
of them had been one night without sleep, and 
some of them two, and many were half-starved. 
They were without blankets, thinly clad, some 
of them barefooted, and this in freezing weather. 
Oornwallis would be upon them before they 
could reach Brunswick. His rear-guard, under 
General Leslie, had been quartered but six 
miles from Princeton, and the retreating troops 
must have roused them. Under these con- 
siderations, it was determined to discontinue 
the pursuit, and push for Morristown. There 
they would be in a mountainous country, heav- 
ily wooded, in an abundant neighborhood, and 
on the flank of the enemy, with various defiles 
by which they might change their position ac- 
cording to his movements. 

Filing oflf to the left, therefore, from Kings- 
ton, and breaking down the bridges behind 
him, "Washington took the narrow road by 
Rocky HiU to Pluckamin. His troops were so 
exhausted, that many in the course of the 
march would lie down in the woods on the 
frozen ground and fall asleep, and were with 
diSiculty roused and cheered forward. At 
Pluckamin he halted for a time, to allow them 
a little repose and refreshment. "While they 
are taking breath, we will cast our eyes back 
to the camp of Oornwallis, to see what was the 
etiect upon him of this masterly movement of 
Washington. 

His lordship had retired to rest at Trenton 
with his sportsman's vaunt that he would " bag 
the fox in the morning." Nothing could sur- 
pass his surprise and chagrin, when at day- 



' Sec Washington to Col. Reed, Jan. 15. 



break the expiring watchfires and deserted 
camp of the Americans told him that the prize 
had once more evaded his grasp ; that the gen- 
eral whose military skill he had decried had 
outgeneralled him. 

For a time he could not learn whither the 
army, which had stolen away so silently, had 
directed its stealthy march. By sunrise, how- 
ever, there was the booming of cannon, like 
the rumbling of distant thunder, in the direc- 
tion of Princeton. The idea flashed upon him 
that "Washington had not merely escaped, but 
was about to make a dash at the British maga- 
zines at Brunswick. Alarmed for the safety 
of his military store--^, his lordship forthwith 
broke up his camp, and made a rapid march 
towards Princeton. As he arrived in sight of 
the bridge over Stony Brook, he beheld Major 
Kelly and his party busy in its destruction. A 
distant discharge of round shot from his field- 
pieces drove them away, but the bridge was 
already broken. It would take time to repair it 
for the passage of the artillery ; so Oornwallis 
in his impatience urged his troops breast-high 
through the turbulent and icy stream, and again 
pushed forward. He was brought to a stand by 
the discharge of a thirty -two pounder from a 
distant breastwork. Supposing the Americans 
to be there in force, and prepared to make re- 
sistance, he sent out some horsemen to recon- 
noitre, and advanced to storm the battery. 
There was no one there. The thirty-two 
pounder had been left behind by the Ameri- 
cans, as too unwieldy, and a match had been 
applied to it by some lingerer of "Washington's 
rear-guard. 

Without further delay Oornwallis hurried 
forward, eager to save his magazines. Cross- 
ing the bridge at Kingston, he kept on along 
the Brunswick road, supposing "Washington 
still before him. The latter had got far in the 
advance, during the delays caused by the 
broken bridge at Stony Brook, and the dis- 
charge of the thirty-two pounder ; and the alter- 
ation of his course at Kingston had carried him 
completely out of the way of Oornwallis. His 
lordship reached Brunswick towards evening, 
and endeavored to console himself, by the 
safety of the military stores, for being so com- 
pletely foiled and out-manoeuvred. 

"Washington, in the mean time, was all on 
the alert ; the lion part of his nature was 
aroused ; and while his weary troops were in 
a manner panting upon the ground around him, 
he was despatching missives, and calling out 



^T. 45.] 



DEATH OF MERCER— WASHINGTON" AT MORRISTOWN. 



327 



aid to enable him to follow up his successes. 
In a letter to Putnam, written from Pluckamin 
during the halt, he says : " The enemy appear 
to be panic-struck. I am in hopes of driving 
them out of the Jerseys. March the troops 
under your command to Crosswicks, and keep 
a strict watch upon the enemy in this quarter. 
Keep as many spies out as you think proper. 
A number of horsemen in the dress of the 
country must be kept constantly going back- 
wards and forwards for this purpose. If you 
discover any motion of the enemy of conse- 
quence, let me be informed thereof as soon as 
possible, by express." 

To General Heath, also, who was stationed 
in the Highlands of the Hudson, he wrote at 
the same hurried moment. " The enemy are 
in great consternation ; and as the panic aifords 
us a favorable opportunity to drive them out 
of the Jerseys, it has been determined in coun- 
cil that you should move down towards New 
York with a considerable force, as if you had 
a design upon the city. That being an object 
of great importance, the enemy will be reduced 
to the necessity of withdrawing a considerable 
part of their force from the Jerseys, if not the 
whole, to secure the city." 

These letters despatched, he continued for- 
ward to Morristown, where at length he came 
to a halt from his incessant and harassing 
marchings. There he learnt that General Mer- 
cer was still alive. He immediately sent his 
own nephew, Major George Lewis, under the 
protection of a flag, to attend upon him. 
Mercer had indeed been kindly nursed by a 
daughter of Mr. Clark and a negro woman, 
who had not been frightened from their home 
by the storm of battle which raged round it. 
At the time that the troops of Cornwallis ap- 
proached, Major Armstrong was binding up 
Mercer's wounds. The latter insisted on his 
leaving him in the kind hands of Mr. Clark's 
household, and rejoining the army. Lewis 
found him languishing in great pain ; he had 
been treated with respect by the enemy, and 
great tenderness by the benevolent family who 
had sheltered him. He expired in the arms of 
Major Lewis on the 12th of January, in the 
fifty-sixth year of his age. Dr. Benjamin 
Rush, afterwards celebrated as a physician, was 
with him when he died. 

He was upright, intelligent, and brave ; es- 
teemed as a soldier and beloved as a man, and 
by none more so than by "Washington. His 
career as a general had been brief ; but long 



enough to secure him a lasting renown. His 
name remains one of the consecrated names of 
the Revolution. 

From Morristown, "Washington again wrote 
to General Heath, repeating his former orders. 
To Major-General Lincoln, also, who was just 
arrived at Peekskill, and had command of the 
Massachusetts militia, he writes on the 7th, 
" General Heath jsvill communicate mine of this 
date to you, by which you will find that the 
greater part of your troops are to move down 
towards New York, to draw the attention of 
the enemy to that quarter ; and if they do not 
throw a considerable body back again, you 
may, in all probability, carry the city, or at 
least blockade them in it, * * * * Be as 
expeditious as possible in moving forward, for 
the sooner a panic-struck enemy is followed 
the better. If we can oblige them to evacuate 
the Jerseys, we must drive them to the utmost 
distress ; for they have depended upon the sup- 
plies from that State for their winter's sup- 
port," 

Colonel Eeed was ordered to send out rangers 
and bodies of militia to scour the country, way- 
lay foraging parties, cut off supplies, and keep 
the cantonments of the enemy in a state of 
siege, " I would not suffer a man to stir be- 
yond their lines," writes "Washington, " nor 
suffer them to have the least communication 
with the country," 

The expedition under General Heath toward 
New York, from which much had been antici- 
pated by "Washington, proved a failure. It 
moved in three divisions, by different routes, 
but all arriving nearly at the same time at the 
enemy's outposts at King's Bridge, There was 
some skirmishing, but the great feature of the 
expedition was a pompous and peremptory 
summons of Fort Independence to surrender, ' 
" Twenty minutes only can be allowed," said 
Heath, " for the garrison to give their answer, 
and, should it be in the negative, they must 
abide the consequences." The garrison made 
no answer but an occasional cannonade. Heath 
failed to follow up his summons by correspond- 
ing deeds. He hovered and skirmished for 
some days about the outposts and Spyt den 
Duivel Creek, and then retired before a threat- 
ened snow-storm, and the report of an enemy's 
fleet from Rhode Island, with troops under 
Lord Percy, who might land in "Westchester, 
and take the besieging force in rear. 

"Washington, while he spoke of Heath's fail- 
ure witli indulgence in his despatches to gov- 



328 



THE TABLES TURNED UPON THE ENEMY. 



[1111. 



ernment, could not but give him a rebuke in a 
private letter. "Your summons," writes be, 
" as you did not attempt to fulfil your threats, 
was not only idle, but farcical ; and will not 
fail of turning the laugh exceedingly upon us. 
These things I mention to you as a friend, for 
you will perceive they have composed no part 
of my public lettel'." 

But though disappointed in this part of his 
plan, Washington, having received reinforce- 
ments of militia, continued, with his scanty 
army, to carry on his system of annoyance. 
The situation of Cornwallis, who, but a short 
time before, traversed the Jerseys so triumph- 
antly, became daily more and more irksome. 
Spies were in his camp, to give notice of every 
movement, and foes without to take advantage 
of it ; so that not a foraging party could sally 
forth without being waylaid. By degrees he 
drew in his troops which were posted about 
the country, and collected them at New Bruns- 
wick and Amboy, so as to have a communica- 
tion by water with New York, whence he was 
now compelled to draw nearly all his supplies ; 
" presenting," to use the words of Hamilton, 
*'the extraordinary spectacle of a powerful 



army, straitened within narrow limits by the 
phantom of a military force, and never permit- 
ted to transgress those limits with impunity." 

In fact, the recent operations in the Jerseys 
had suddenly changed the whole aspect of the 
war, and given a triumphant close to what had 
been a disastrous campaign. 

The troops, which for months had been 
driven from post to post, apparently an undis- 
ciplined rabble, had all at once turned upon 
their pursuers, and astounded them by brilliant 
stratagems and daring exploits. The com- 
mander, whose cautious policy had been sneered 
at by enemies, and regarded with impatience by 
misjudging friends, had all at once shown that 
he possessed enterprise, as well as circumspec- 
tion, energy as well as endurance, and that 
beneath his wary coldness lurked a fire to 
break forth at the proper moment. This year's 
campaign, the most critical one of the war, 
and especially the part of it which occurred in 
the Jerseys, was the ordeal that made his great 
qualities fully appreciated by his countrymen, 
and gained for him from the statesmen and 
generals of Europe the appellation of the Ameb- 
icAN Fabitjs. 



END or VOL. n. 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 



YOLUME THIRD. 



CHAPTER I. 

The news of "WasMngton's recrossing the 
Delaware, and of his subsequent achievements 
in the Jerseys, had not reached London on the 
9th of January. " The affairs of America seem 
to be drawing to a crisis," writes Edmund 
Burke. " The Howes are at this time in pos- 
session cf, or able to awe the whole middle 
coast of America, from Delaware to the west- 
ern boundary of Massachusetts Bay ; the naval 
barrier on the side of Canada is broken. A 
great tract is open for the supply of the troops ; 
the river Hudson opens a way into the heart of 
the provinces, and nothing can, in all proba- 
bility, prevent an early and offensive campaign. 
What the Americans have done is, in their cir- 
cumstances, >;ruly astonishing ; it is indeed in- 
finitely more than I expected from them. But, 
having done so much for some short time, I 
began to entertain an opinion that they might 
do more. It is now, however, evident that 
they cannot look standing armies in the face. 
They are inferior in every thing — even in num- 
bers. There seem by the best accounts not to 
be above ten or twelve thousand men at most 
in their grand army. The rest are militia, and 
not wonderfully well composed or disciplined. 
They decline a general engagement ; prudently 
enough, if their object had been to make the 
war attend upon a treaty of good terms of sub- 
jection ; but when they look further, this will 
not do. An army that is obliged at all times, 
and in all situations, to decline an engagement, 
may delay their ruin, but can never defend 
their country." * 

At the time when this was written, the 



* Burke's Worke, vol. v., p. 125. 



Howes had learnt to their mortification, that 
" the mere running through a province, is not 
subduing it." The British commanders had 
been outgeneralled, attacked, and defeated. 
They had nearly been driven out of the Jer- 
seys, and were now hemmed in and held in 
check by "Washington and his handful of men 
castled among the heights of Morristown. So 
far from holding possession of the territory 
they had so recently overrun, they were fain 
to ask safe conduct across it for a convoy to 
their soldiers captured in battle. It must have 
been a severe trial to the pride of Cornwallis, 
when he had to inquire by letter of "Washing- 
ton, whether money and stores could be sent 
to the Hessians captured at Trenton, and a sur- 
geon and medicines to the wounded at Prince^ 
ton ; and "Washington's reply must have con- 
veyed a reproof still more mortifying : No 
molestation, he assured his lordship, would be 
offered to the convoy by any part of the regu- 
lar army under his command ; but " Tie could, 
not answer for the militia, who were resorting 
to arms in most parts of the State, and were ex- 
cessively exasperated, at the treatment they had 
met with from toth Hessian and British trooi^sy 
In fact, the conduct of the enemy had roused 
the whole country against them. The pro- 
clamations and printed protections of the 
British commanders, on the faith of which the 
inhabitants in general had stayed at home, and 
forbore to take up arms, had proved of no 
avail. The Hessians could not or would not 
understand them, but plundered friend and 
foe alike.* The British soldiery often followed 



* " These rascals plunder all indiscriminately. If they 
see any thing they like, they say, ' Rehel good for Hesse- 
man'e,' and seize upon it for their own use. They have no 



330 



THE AMERICAN ENCAMPMENT AT MOREISTOWN. 



[1111. 



their example, and the plunderings of both 
were at times attended by those brutal out- 
rages on the weaker sex, which inflame the 
dullest spirits to revenge. The whole State 
was thus roused against its invaders. In "Wash- 
ington's retreat of more than a hundred miles 
through the Jerseys, he had never been joined 
by more than one hundred of its inhabitants ; 
now suft'erers of both parties rose as one man 
to avenge their personal injuries. The late 
quiet yeomanry armed themselves, and scoured 
the country in small parties to seize on strag- 
glers, and the militia began to signalize them- 
selves in voluntary skirmishes with regular 
troops. 

In efiect, "Washington ordered a safe conduct 
to be given to the Hessian baggage as far as 
Philadelphia, and to the surgeon and medicines 
to Princeton, and permitted a Hessian sergeant 
and twelve men, unarmed, to attend the bag- 
gage until it was delivered to their countrymen. 

Morristown, where the main army was en- 
camped, had not been chosen by Washington 
as a permanent post, but merely as a halting- 
place, where his troops might repose after their 
excessive fatigues and their sufferings from the 
inclement season. Further considerations per- 
suaded liira that it was well situated for the 
system of petty warfare which he meditated, 
and induced him to remain there. It was pro- 
tected by forests and rugged heights. All ap- 
proach from the seaboard was rendered diffi- 
cult and dangerous to a hostile force by a chain 
off sharp hiUs, extending from Pluckamin, by 
Boundbrook and Springfield, to the vicinity of 
the Passaic Eiver, while various defiles in the 
rear afforded safer retreats into a fertile and 
weU-peopled region.* It was nearly equidistant 
from Amboy, Newark, and Brunswick, the 
principal posts of the enemy ; so that any move- 
ment made from them could be met by a coun- 
ter movement on his part ; while the forays and 
skirmishes by which he might harass them, 
would school and season his own troops. He 
had three faithful generals with him : Greene, 
his reliance on all occasions ; swarthy Sullivan, 
whose excitable temper and quick sensibilities 
he had sometimes to keep in check by friendly 
counsels and rebukes, but who was a good oflS- 
cer, and loyally attached to him ; and brave, 
genial, generous Knox, never so happy as when 
by his side. He had lately been advanced to 

idea of the distinctions between Whig and Tory."— Letter 
of Hazard the Postmaster. 
■ * "Wilkinson's Memoirs, vol. i., p. 149. 



the rank of brigadier at his recommendation, 
and commanded the artillery, 

"Washingon's military family at this time 
was composed of his aides-de-camp. Colonels 
Meade and Trench Tilghman of Philadelphia ; 
gentlemen of gallant spirit, amiable tempers, 
and cultivated manners ; and his secretary, 
Colonel Eobert H. Harrison of Maryland ; the 
" old secretary," as he was familiarly called 
among his associates, and by whom he was 
described as " one in whom every man had con- 
fidence, and by whom no man was deceived." 

"Washington's head-quarters at first were in 
what was called the Freemason's Tavern, on 
the north side of the village green. His troops 
were encamped about the vicinity of the 
village, at first in tents, until they could build 
log huts for shelter against the winter's cold. 
The main encampment was near Bottle Hill, 
in a sheltered valley, which was thickly 
wooded, and had abundant springs. It ex- 
tended south-easterly from Morristown ; and 
was called the Lowantica Yalley, from the 
Indian name of a beautiful limpid brook which 
ran through it, and lost itself in a great swamp.* 

The enemy being now concentrated at New 
Brunswick and Amboy, General Putnam was 
ordered by "Washington to move from Cross- 
wicks to Princeton, with the troops under his 
command. He was instructed to draw his 
forage as much as possible from the neighbor- 
hood of Brunswick, about eighteen miles off, 
thereby contributing to distress the enemy ; to 
have good scouting parties continually on the 
look-out, to keep nothing with him but what 
could be moved off at a moment's warning, 
and, if compelled to leave Princeton, to retreat 
towards the mountains, so as to form a junc- 
tion with the forces at Morristown. 

Putnam had with him but a few hundred 
men. " You will give out your strength to be 
twice as great as it is," writes "Washington ; a 
common expedient with him in those times of 
scanty means. Putnam acted up to the advice. 
A British officer. Captain Macpherson, was 
lying desperately wounded at Princeton, and 
Putnam, in the kindness of his heart, was in- 
duced to send in a flag to Brunswick in quest 
of a friend and military comrade of the dying 
man, to attend him in his last moments and 
make his will. To prevent the weakness of 
the garrison from being discovered, the visitor 
was brought in after dark. Lights gleamed in all 



Notes of the Rev. Joseph F. Tuttle.— MS. 



Mt. 45.] WASHINGTON ISSUES A PROCLAMATION— SMALL-POX IN THE CAMP. 



331 



the college windows, and in the vacant houses 
about the town ; the handful of troops capable 
of duty were marched hither and thither, and 
backward and forward, and paraded about to 
such effect, that tlie visitor, on his return to the 
British camp, reported the force under the old 
general to be at least five thousand strong.* 

Cantonments were gradually formed between 
Princeton and the Highlands of the Hudson, 
which made the left flank of Washington's po- 
sition, and where General Heath had command. 
General Philemon Dickinson, who commanded 
the New Jersey militia, was stationed on the 
west side of Millstone Kiver, near Somerset 
court-house, one of the nearest posts to the 
enemy's camp at Brunswick, A British 
foraging party, of five or six hundred strong, 
sent out by Oornwallis with forty waggons, 
and upwards of one hundred draught horses, 
mostly of the English breed, having collected 
sheep and cattle about the country, were sack- 
ing a mill on the opposite side of the river, 
where a large quantity of flour was deposited. 
While thus employed, Dickinson set upon them 
with a force equal in number, but com- 
posed of raw militia and fifty Philadelphia 
riflemen. He dashed through the river, waist 
deep, with his men, and charged the enemy 
so suddenly and vigorously, that, though sup- 
ported by three field-pieces, they gave way, 
left their convoy, and retreated so precipitately, 
that he made only nine prisoners. A number 
of killed and wounded were carried oft' by the 
fugitives on light waggons.f 

These exploits of the militia were noticed 
with high encomiums by Washington, while, 
at the same time, he was rigid in prohibiting 
and punishing the excesses into which men are 
apt to run when suddenly clothed with mili- 
tary power. Such is the spirit of a general 
order issued at this time. " The general pro- 
hibits, in both the militia and continental troops, 
the infamous practice of plundering the inhabi- 
tants under the specious pretence of their being 
tories. * * * It is our business to give 
protection and support to the poor distressed 
inhabitants, not to multiply and increase their 
calamities," After the publication of this 
order, all excesses of this kind were to be 
punished in the severest manner. 

To counteract the proclamation of the 
British commissioners, promising amnesty to 

* Sparks' Am. Biography, vol. vii., p. 196. 
t Washington to the President of Congress. Also note 
to Sparks, voi. iv., p. 290. 



all in rebellion, who should, in a given time, re- 
turn to their allegiance, Washington now issued 
a counter proclamation (Jan. 25), commanding 
every person who had subscribed a declaration 
of fidelity to Great Britain, or taken an oath 
of allegiance, to repair within thirty days to 
head-quarters, or the quarters of the nearest 
general oflicer of the continental army or of 
the militia, and there take the oath of alle- 
giance to the United States of America, and 
give up any protection, certificate, or passport 
he might have received from the enemy ; at 
the same time granting full liberty to all such 
as preferred the interest and protection of 
Great Britain to the freedom and happiness of 
their country, forthwith to withdraw them- 
selves and families within the enemy's lines. 
All who should neglect or refuse to comply 
with this order were to be considered adher- 
ents to the crown, and treated as common 
enemies. 

This measure met with objections at the 
time, some of the timid or over cautious think- 
ing it inexpedient; others, jealous of the 
extraordinary powers vested in Washington, 
questioning whether he had not transcended 
these powers, and exercised a despotism. 

The small-pox, which had been fatally prev- 
alent in the preceding year, had again broken 
out, and Washington feared it might spread 
through the whole army. He took advantage 
of the interval of comparative quiet to have 
his troops inoculated. Houses were set apart 
in various places as hospitals for inoculation, 
and a church was appropriated for the use 
of those who had taken the malady in the 
natural way. Among these the ravages were 
frightful. The traditions of the place and 
neighborhood, give lamentable pictures of dis- 
tress caused by this loathsome disease in the 
camp and in the villages, wherever it had not 
been parried by inoculation. 

" Washington," we are told, " was not an 
unmoved spectator of the griefs around him, 
and might be seen in Hanover and in Lowan- 
tica VaUey, cheering the faith and inspiring 
the courage of his suffei'ing men."* It was 
this paternal care and sympathy which attached 
his troops personally to him. They saw that 
he regarded them, not with the eye of a 
general, but of a patriot, whose heart yearned 
towards them as countrymen suftering in one 
common cause. 



* Notes of the Rev.' Joseph F. Tuttle.— MS. 



r.i2 



CONTRAST OF THE GENERALS AND ARMIES— ETHAN ALLEN. 



[1111. 



A striking contrast was offered throughout 
the winter and spring, between the rival com- 
manders, Howe at New York, and "Washington 
at Morristown. Howe was a soldier by pro- 
fession. War, with him, was a career. The 
camp was, for the time, country and home. 
Easy and indolent by nature, of convivial and 
luxurious habits, and somewhat addicted to 
gaming, he found himself in good quarters at 
New York, and was in no hurry to leave them. 
The tories rallied around him. The British 
merchants residing there regarded him with 
profound devotion. His officers, too, many of 
them young men of rank and fortune, gave a 
gayety and brilliancy to the place ; and the 
wealthy royalists forgot in a round of dinners, 
balls, and assemblies, the hysterical alarms they 
had once experienced under the military sway 
of Lee. 

"Washington, on the contrary, was a patriot 
soldier, grave, earnest, thoughtful, self-sacri- 
ficing. "War, to him, was a painful remedy, 
hateful in itself, but adopted for a great 
national good. To the prosecution of it all his 
pleasures, his comforts, his natural inclinations 
and private interests were sacrificed ; and his 
chosen officers were earnest and anxious like 
himself, with their whole thoughts directed to 
the success of the magnanimous struggle in 
which they were engaged. 

So, too, the armies were contrasted. The 
British troops, many of them, perchance, 
slightly metamorphosed from vagabonds into 
soldiers, all mere men of the sword, were well 
clad, well housed, and surrounded by all the 
conveniences of a thoroughly appointed army 
with a " rebel country " to forage. The Amer- 
ican troops for the most part were mere 
yeomanry, taken from their rural homes ; ill 
sheltered, ill clad, ill fed, and ill paid ; with 
nothing to reconcile them to their hardships 
but love for the soil they were defending, and 
the inspiring thought that it was thei7' country. 
"Washington, with paternal care, endeavored to 
jprotect them from the depraving influences of 
the camp. " Let vice and immorality of every 
kind be discouraged as much as possible in 
your brigade," writes he in a circular to his 
brigadier-generals ; " and, as a chaplain is 
allowed to each regiment, see that the men 
regularly attend divine worship. Gaming of 
every kind is expressly forbidden, as being the 
foundation of evil, and the cause of many a 
brave and gallant officer's ruin." 



CHAPTER II. 

A OAETEL for the exchange of prisoners had 
been a subject of negotiation previous to the 
affair of Trenton, without being adjusted. The 
British commanders were slow to recognize 
the claims to equality of those they considered 
rebels ; "Washington was tenacious in holding 
them up as patriots ennobled by their cause. 

Among the cases which came up for atten- 
tion was .that of Ethan Allen, the brave, but 
eccentric captor of Ticonderoga. His daring 
attempts in the " path of renown " had cost 
him a world of hardships. Thrown into irons 
as a felon ; threatened with a halter ; carried 
to England to be tried for treason ; confined in 
Pendeunis Castle ; retransported to Halifax, and 
now a prisoner in New York. " I have suffered 
every thing short of death," writes he to the 
Assembly of his native State, Connecticut. He 
had, however, recovered health and suppleness 
of limb, and with them all his swelling spirit 
and swelling rhetoric. " I am fired," writes 
he, " with adequate indignation to revenge 
both my own and my country's wrongs. I am 
experimentally certain I have fortitude suffi- 
cient to face the invaders of America in the 
place of danger, spread with all the horrors of 
war." And he concludes with one of his mag- 
niloquent, but really sincere expressions of 
patriotism : " Provided you can hit upon some 
measure to procure my liberty, I will appro- 
priate my remaining days, and freely hazard 
my life in the service of the colony, and main- 
taining the American Empire. I thought to 
have enrolled my name in the list of illustrious- 
American heroes, but was nipped in the bud." 

Honest Ethan Allen ! his name will ever 
stand enrolled on that list ; not illustrious, per- 
haps, but eminently popular. 

His appeal to his native State had produced 
an appeal to Congress, and "Washington had 
been instructed, considering his long imprison- 
ment, to urge his exchange. This had scarce 
been urged, when tidings of the capture of 
General Lee presented a case of still greater 
importance to be provided for. " I feel much 
for his misfortune," writes "Washington, "and 
am sensible that in his captivity our country 
has lost a warm friend and an able officer." 
By direction of Congress, he had sent in a flag 
to inquire about Lee's treatment, and to convey 
him a sum of money. This was just previous 
to the second crossing of the Delaware. 



JEt. 45.] 



CORRESPONDENCE OF WASHINGTON AND SIR WILLIAM UOWE. 



333 



Lee was now reported to be in rigorous con- 
finement in New York, and treated witli harsh- 
ness and indignity. The British professed to 
consider him a deserter, he having been a 
heutenant-colonel in their service, although he 
alleged that he had resigned his commission 
before joining the American army. Two let- 
ters which he addressed to General Howe, were 
returned to him unopened, enclosed in a cover 
directed to Lieutenant- Colonel Lee. 

On the 13th of January, Washington ad- 
dressed the following letter to Sir William 
Howe : " I am directed by Congress to pro- 
pose an exchange of five of the Hessian field- 
officers taken at Trenton for Major-General 
Lee ; or if this proposal should not be ac- 
cepted, to demand his liberty upon parole, 
within certain bounds, as has ever been granted 
to your officers in our custody. I am inform- 
ed, upon good authority, that your reason for 
keeping him hitherto in stricter confinement 
than usual is, that you do not look upon him 
in the light of a common prisoner of war, but 
as a deserter from the British service, as his 
resignation has never been accepted, and that 
you intend to try him as such by a court-mar- 
tial. I will not undertake to determine how 
far this doctrine may be justifiable among your- 
selves ; but I must give you warning, that 
Major-General Lee is looked upon as an officer 
belonging to, and under the protection of, the 
United Independent States of America, and 
tliat any violence you may commit upon his 
life and liberty, will be severely retaliated upon 
the lives or liberties of the British officers, or 
those of their foreign allies in our hands." 
■ In this letter ho likewise adverted to the 
treatment of American prisoners in New York ; 
several who had recently been released, having 
given the most shocking account of the bar- 
barities they had experienced, " which their 
miserable, emaciated countenances confirmed." 
— " I would beg," added he, " that some certain 
rule of conduct towards prisoners may be set- 
tled ; and, if you are determined to make cap- 
tivity as distressing as possible, let me know it, 
that we may be upon equal terms, for your 
conduct shall regulate mine." 

Sir WUliam, in reply, proposed to send an 
officer of rank to Washington, to confer upon 
a mode of exchange and subsistence of prison- 
ers. " This expedient," observes he, " appear- 
ing to me eSectual for settling all difierences, 
wUl, I hope, be the means of preventing a repe- 
tition of the improper terms in which your 



letter is expressed and founded on the grossest 
misrepresentations. I shall not make any fur- 
ther comment upon it, than to assure yon, that 
your threats of retaliating upon the innocent 
such punishment as may be decreed in the cii"- 
cumstances of Mr. Lee by the laws of his coun- 
try, will not divert me from my duty in any 
respect ; at the same time, you may rest satis- 
fied that the proceedings against him will not 
be precipitated ; and I trust that, in this, or in 
any other event in the course of my command, 
you will not have just cause to accuse me of 
inhumanity, prejudice, or passion." 

Sir William, in truth, was greatly perplexed 
with respect to Lee, and had written to Eng- 
land to Lord George Germaine for instructions 
in the case. " General Lee," writes he, " being 
considered in the light of a deserter, is kept a 
close prisoner ; but I do not bring him to trial, 
as a doubt has arisen, whether, by a public 
resignation of his half pay prior to his entry 
into the rebel army, he was amenable to the 
military law as a deserter." 

The proposal of Sir William, that all disputed 
points relative to the exchange and subsistence 
of prisoners should be adjusted by referees, led 
to the appointment of two officers for the pur- 
pose ; Colonel Walcott by General Howe, and 
Colonel Harrison, "the old secretary," by 
Washington. In the contemplated exchanges 
was that of one of the Hessian field-officers for 
Colonel Ethan Allen. 

The haughty spirit of Lee had experienced a 
severe humiliation in the late catastrophe ; his 
pungent and caustic humor is at an end. In a 
letter addressed shortly afterwards to Washing- 
ton, and enclosing one to Congress which Lord 
and General Howe had permitted him to send, 
he writes, " as the contents are of the last im- 
portance to me, and perhaps not less so to the 
community, I most earnestly entreat, my dear 
general, that you despatch it immediately, and 
order the Congress to be as expeditious as 
possible." 

The letter contained a request that two or 
three gentlemen might be sent immediately to 
New York, to whom he would communicate 
what ho conceived to be of the greatest impor- 
tance. " If my own interest were alone at 
stake," writes he, " I flatter myself that the 
Congress would not hesitate a single instant in 
acquiescing in my request ; but this is far from 
the case ; the interests of the public are equally 
concerned. * * Lord and General Howe will 
grant a safe conduct to the gentlemen deputed." 



334 



CASE OF GENERAL LEE— RETALIATORY MEASURES. 



11111. 



The letter having been read in Congress, 
Washington was directed to inform General 
Lee that they were pursuing and would con- 
tinue to pursue every means in their power to 
provide for his personal safety, and to obtain 
his liberty ; but that they considered it im- 
proper to send any of their body to communi- 
cate with him, and could not perceive how it 
would tend to his advantage or the interest of 
the public. 

Lee repeated his request, but with no better 
success. He felt this refusal deeply ; as a brief, 
sad note to Washington indicates. 

" It is a most unfortunate circumstance for 
myself, and I think not less so for the public, 
that Congress have not thought proper to com- 
ply with my request. It could not possibly 
have been attended with any ill consequences, 
and might with good ones. At least it was an 
indulgence which I thought my situation en- 
titled me to. But I am unfortunate in every 
thing, and this stroke is the severest I have yet 
experienced. God send you a different fate. 
Adieu, my dear general. 

" Yours most truly and affectionately, 

" Chaeles Lee." 

How different from the humorous, satirical, 
self-confident tone of his former letters. Yet 
Lee's actual treatment was not so harsh as had 
been represented. He was in close confine- 
ment, it is true ; but three rooms had been fit- 
ted up for his reception in the Old City Hall 
of New York, having nothing of the look of a 
prison, excepting that they were secured by 
bolts and bars. 

Congress, in the mean time, had resorted to 
their threatened measure of retaliation. On 
the 29th of February, they had resolved that 
the Board of War be directed immediately to 
order the five Hessian field-officers and Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel Campbell into safe and close 
custody, " it being the xmalterable resolution 
of Congress to retaliate on them the same pun- 
ishment as may be inflicted on the person of 
General Lee." 

The Colonel Campbell here mentioned had 
commanded one of General Eraser's battalions 
of Highlanders, and had been captured on board 
of a transport in Nantasket road, in the preced- 
ing summer. He was a member of Parliament, 
and a gentleman of fortune, Eetaliation was 
carried to excess in regard to him, for he was 
thrown into the common jail at Concord in 
Massachusetts. 



From his prison he made an appeal to Wash- 
ington, which at once touched his quick sense of 
justice. He immediately wrote to the council 
of Massachusetts Bay, quoting the words of the 
resolution of Congress. "By this you will 
observe," adds he, "that exactly the same treat- 
ment is to be shown to Colonel Campbell and 
the Hessian officers, that General Howe shows ^ 
to General Lee, and as he is only confined to a 
commodious house with genteel accommoda- 
tions, we have no right or reason to be more 
severe on Colonel Campbell, who I would wish 
should upon the receipt of this be removed ' 
from his present situation, and be put into a 
house where he may live comfortably." 

In a letter to the President of Congress on 
the following day, he gives his moderating 
counsels on the whole subject of retaliation. 
" Though I sincerely commiserate," writes he, i 
" the misfortunes of General Lee, and feel 
much for his present unhappy situation, yet 
with all possible deference to the opinion of 
Congress, I fear that these resolutions will not 
have the desired effect, are founded in impolicy, 
and will, if adhered to, produce consequences 
of an extensive and melancholy nature." * * 

" The balance of prisoners is greatly against 
us, and a general regard to the happiness of 
the whole should mark our conduct. Can we 
imagine that our enemies will not mete the 
same punishments, the same indignities, the 
same cruelties, to those belonging to us, in their 
possession, that we impose on theirs in our 
power? Why should we suppose them to 
possess more humanity than we have our- 
selves ? Or why should an ineffectual attempt 
to relieve the distresses of one brave, uufor-" 
tunate man, involve many more in the same ca- 
lamities ? * * Suppose," continues he, " the 
treatment prescribed for the Hessians "should 
be pursued, wiU it not establish what the ene- 
my have been aiming to effect by every arti- 
fice, and the grossest misrepresentations, I mean 
an opinion of our enmity towards them, and 
of the cruel treatment they experience when 
they fall into our hands, a prejudice which we 
on our part have heretofore thought it politic 
to suppress, and to root out by every act of 
lenity and of kindness ? " 

" Many more objections," added he, " might 
be subjoined, were they material. I shall only 
observe, that the present state of the army, if 
it deserves that name, will not authorize the 
language of retaliation, or the style of menace. 
This will be conceded by all who know that 



^T. 45.] 



HARSH TREATMENT OF AMERICAN PRISONERS. 



335 



the whole of our force is weak and trifling, and 
composed of militia (a very few regular troops 
excepted) whose service is on the eve of ex- 
piring." 

In a letter to Mr. Robert Morris also, he 
writes : " I wish, with all my heart, that Con- 
gress had gratified General Lee in his request. 
If not too late, I wish they would do it still. I 
can see no possible evil that can result from it ; 
some good, I think, might. The request to see 
a gentleman or two came from the general, not 
from the commissioners ; there could have been 
no harm, therefore, in hearing what he had to 
say on any subject, especially as he had declar- 
ed that his own personal interest was deeply 
concerned. The resolve to put in close con- 
finement Lieutenant-Colonel Campbell and the 
Hessian field-officers, in order to retaliate upon 
them General Lee's punishment, is, in my opin- 
ion, injurious in every point of view, and must 
have been entered into without due attention 
to the consequences. ***** jf ^j^g 
resolve of Congress respecting General Lee 
strikes you in the same point of view it has 
done me, I could wish you would signify as 
much to that body, as I really think it fraught 
with every evil." 

Washington was not always successful in in- 
stilling his wise moderation into public coun- 
cils. Congress adhered to their vindictive 
policy, merely directing that no other hardships 
should be inflicted on the captive oflicers, than 
such confinement as was necessary to carry 
their resolve into efifect As to their refusal to 
grant the request of Lee, Robert Morris sur- 
mised they were fearful of the injurious efi'ect 
that might be produced in the court of France, 
should it be reported that members of Congress 
visited General Lee by permission of the Brit- 
ish commissioners. There were other circum- 
stances beside the treatment of General Lee, to 
produce this indignant sensibility on the part of 
Congress. Accounts were rife at this juncture, 
of the cruelties and indignities almost invaria- 
bly experienced by American prisoners at New 
York ; and an active correspondence on the 
subject was going on between "Washington and 
the British commanders, at the same time with 
that regarding General Lee. 

The captive Americans who had been in the 
naval service were said to be confined, officers 
and men, in prison-ships, which, for their loath- 
some condition, and the horrors and sufferings 
of all kinds experienced on board of them, had 
acquired the appellation oi floating hells. Those 



who had been in the land service, were crowd- 
ed into jails and dungeons like the vilest male- 
factors ; and were represented as pining in 
cold, in filth, in hunger, and nakedness. 

" Our poor devoted soldiers," writes an eye- 
witness, " were scantily supplied with provi- 
sions of bad quality, wretchedly clothed, and 
destitute of sufficient fuel, if indeed they had 
any. Disease was the inevitable consequence, 
and their prisons soon became hospitals. A 
fatal malady was generated, and the mortality, 
to every heart not steeled by the spirit of party, 
was truly deplorable." * According to popular 
account, the prisoners confined on shipboard, 
and on shore, were perishing by hundreds. » 

A statement made by Captain Gamble, re- 
cently confined on board of a prison-ship, had 
especially roused the ire of Congress, and by 
their directions had produced a letter from 
Washington to Lord Howe. " I am sorry," 
writes he, " that I am under the disagreeable 
necessity of troubling your lordship with a let- 
ter, almost wholly on the subject of the cruel 
treatment which our officers and men in the 
naval department, who are unhappy enough to 
fall into your hands, receive on board the pris- 
on-ships in the harbor of New York." After 
specifying the case of Captain Gamble, and 
adding a few particulars, he proceeds : " From 
the opinion I have ever been taught to enter- 
tain of your lordship's humanity, I will not 
suppose that you are privy to proceedings of so 
cruel and unjustifiable a nature ; and I hope, 
that upon making the proper inquiry, you will 
have the matter so regulated, that the unhappy 
persons whose lot is captivity, may not in 
future have the miseries of cold, disease, and 
famine, added to their other misfortunes. You 
may call us rebels, and say that we deserve 
no better treatment ; but remember, my lord, 
that, supposing us rebels, we still have feelings 
as keen and sensible as loyalists, and will, if 
forced to it, most assuredly retaliate upon those 
upon whom we look as the unjust invaders of 
our rights, liberties, and properties. I should 
not have said thus much, but my injured coun- 
trymen have long called upon me to endeavor 
to obtain a redress of their grievances, and I 
should think myself as culpable as those who 
inflict such severities upon them, were I to 
continue silent," &c. 

Lord Howe, in reply (Jan. 17), expresses 
himself surprised at the matter and language 



* Graydon's Memoirs, p. 232. 



336 



HARSH TREATMENT OF AMERICAN PRISONERS. 



[1111. 



of Washington's letter, " so different from the 
liberal vein of sentiment he had been habituated 
to expect on every occasion of personal inter- 
course or correspondence with him." He was 
surprised, too, that " the idle and unnatural 
report " of Captain Gamble, respecting the 
dead and dying, and the neglect of precautions 
against infection, should meet with any credit. 
" Attention to preserve the lives of these men," 
writes he, " whom we esteem the misled sub- 
jects of the king, is a duty as binding on us 
where we are able from circumstances to exe- 
cute it with effect, as any you can plead for the 
interest you profess in their welfare." 

«He denied that prisoners were ill treated in 
his particular department (the naval). They 
had been allowed the general liberty of the 
prison-ship, until a successful attempt of some 
to escape, had rendered it necessary to restrain 
the rest within such limits as left the com- 
manding parts of the ship in possession of the 
guard. They had the same provisions in quali- 
ty and quantity that were furnished to the 
seamen of his own ship. The want of cleanli- 
ness was the result of their own indolence and 
neglect. In regard to health, they had the 
constant attendance of an American surgeon, 
a fellow-prisoner ; who was furnished with 
medicines from the king's stores ; and the visits 
of the physician of the fleet. 

" As I abhor every imputation of wanton 
cruelty in multiplying the miseries of the 
wretched," observes his lordship, " or of treat- 
ing them with needless severity, I have taken 
the trouble to state these several facts." 

In regard to the hint of retaliation, he leaves 
it to Washington to act therein as he should 
think fit ; but adds he grandly, " the innocent 
at my disposal will not have any severities to 
apprehend from me on that account." 

We have quoted this correspondence the 
more freely, because it is on a subject deeply 
worn into the American mind; and about 
which we have heard too many particulars, 
from childhood upwards, from persons of un- 
questionable veracity, who suff'ered in the cause, 
to permit us to doubt about the fact. The 
Jersey Prison-ship is proverbial in our revolu- 
tionary history ; and the bones of the unfor- 
tunate patriots who perished on board, form a 
monument on the Long Island shore. The 
horrors of the Sugar Jlouse, converted into a 
prison, are traditional in New York ; and the 
brutal tyranny of Cunningham, the provost 
marshal, over men of worth confined in the 



common jail, for the sin of patriotism, has been 
handed down from generation to generation. 

That Lord Howe and Sir William were igno- 
rant of the extent of these atrocities we really 
believe, but it was their duty to be well in- 
formed. War is, at best, a cruel trade, that 
habituates those who follow it to regard the 
suff'eriugs of others with indifference. There 
is no doubt, too, that a feeling of contumely 
deprived the patriot prisoners of all sympathy 
in the early stages of the Eevolution. They 
were regarded as criminals rather than cap- 
tives. 'The stigma of reiels seemed to take 
from them all the indulgences, scanty and mis- 
erable as they are, usually granted to prisoners 
of war. The British officers looked down with 
haughty contempt upon the American officers, 
who had fallen into their hands. The British 
soldiery treated them with insolent scurrility. 
It seemed as if the very ties of consanguinity 
rendered their hostility more intolerant, for it 
was observed that American prisoners were 
better treated by the Hessians than by the 
British. It was not until our countrymen had 
made themselves formidable by their successes 
that they were treated, when prisoners, with 
common decency and humanity. 

The difficulties arising out of the case of 
General Lee interrupted the operations with 
regard to the exchange of prisoners ; and gal- 
lant men, on both sides, suffered prolonged 
detention in consequence ; and among the 
number the brave, but ill-starred Ethan AUen. 
Lee, in the mean time, remained in con- 
finement, until directions with regard to 
him should be received from government. 
Events, however, had diminished his impor- 
tance in- the eyes of the enemy ; he was no 
longer considered the American palladium. 
" As the capture of the Hessians and the 
manoeuvres against the British took place after 
the surprise of General Lee," observes a 
London writer of the day, " we find that he is 
not the only efficient officer in the American 
service " * 



CHAPTER III. 

The early part of the year brought the 
annual embarrassments caused by short enlist- 
ments. The brief term of service for which 
the continental soldiery had enlisted, a few 



* Am. Archives, 5th Series, lii. 1244. 



JEt. 45.] FLUCTUATING ASPECT OF THE ARMY— DIFFICULTIES AND PERPLEXITIES. 337 



months perhaps, at most a year, were expir- 
ing; and the men, glad to be released from 
camp duty, were hastening to their rustic 
homes. Militia had to be the dependence, 
until the new army could be raised and or- 
ganized ; and "Washington called on the coun- 
cil of safety of Pennsylvania, speedily to fur- 
nish temporary reinforcements of the kind. 

All his officers that could be spared were 
ordered away, some to recruit, some to collect, 
the scattered men of the different regiments, who 
were dispersed, he said, almost over the conti- 
nent. General Knox was sent off to Massachu- 
setts, to expedite the raising of a battalion of 
artillery. Different States were urged to levy 
and equip their quotas for the continental 
army. " Nothing but the united efforts of 
every State in America," writes he, " can save 
us from disgrace, and probably from ruin." 

Rhode Island is reproached with raising 
troops for home service before furnishing its 
supply to the general army. " If each State," 
writes he, " were to prepare for its own de- 
fence independent of each other, they would 
all be conquered, one by one. Our success 
must clejJend on a firm union, and a strict ad- 
herence to the general plan.'''' * 

He deplores the fluctuating state of the 
army while depending on militia ; — full one 
day, almost disbanded the next. " I am much 
afraid that the enemy, one day or other, 
taking advantage of one of these temporary 
weaknesses, will make themselves masters of 
our magazines of stores, arms, and artillery." 

The militia, too, on being dismissed, were 
generally suffered by their officers to carry 
home with them the arms with which they had 
been furnished, so that the armory was in a 
manner scattered over all the world, and for- 
ever lost to the public. 

Then an earnest word is spoken by him in 
behalf of the yeomanry, whose welfare always 
lay near his heart. " You must be fully sensi- 
ble," writes he, " of the hardships imposed 
upon individuals, and how detrimental it must 
be to the public to have farmers and tradesmen 
frequently called out of the field, as militia 
men, whereby a total stop is put to arts and 
agriculture, without which we cannot long 
subsist," 

"While thus anxiously exerting himself to 
strengthen his own precarious army, the secu- 
rity of the Northern department was urged 

* Letter to Governor Cooke, Sparks, iv. 285. 

22 



upon his attention. Schuyler represented it as 
in need of reinforcements and supplies of all 
kinds. He apprehended that Carleton might 
make an attack upon Ticonderoga, as soon as 
he could cross Lake Champlain on the ice ; 
that important fortress was under the com- 
mand of a brave officer, Colonel Anthony 
Wayne, but its garrison had dwindled down to 
six or seven hundred men, chiefly New Eng- 
land militia. In the present destitute situa- 
tion of his department as to troops, Schuyler 
feared that Carleton might not only succeed 
in an attempt on Ticonderoga, but might push 
his way to Albany. 

He had written in vain, to the Convention of 
New York, and to the Eastern States, for re- 
inforcements, and he entreated "Washington to 
aid him with his influence. He wished to 
have his army composed of troops from as 
many different States as possible ; the South- 
ern people, having a greater spirit of discipline 
and subordination, might, he thought, intro- 
duce it among the Eastern people. 

He wished also for the assistance of a 
general officer or two in his department. " I 
am alone," writes he, " distracted with a 
variety of cares, and no one to take part of the 
burden." * 

Although "Washington considered a winter 
attack of the kind specified by Schuyler, too 
difficult and dangerous to be very probable, 
he urged reinforcements from Massachusetts 
and New Hampshire, whence they could be 
furnished most speedily. Massachusetts, in 
fact, had already determined to send four 
regiments to Schuyler's aid as soon as pos- 
sible. 

"Washington disapproved of a mixture of 
troops in the present critical juncture, know- 
ing, he said, "the difficulty of maintaining 
harmony among men from different States, and 
bringing them to lay aside all attachments and 
distinctions of a local and provincial nature, 
and consider themselves the same people, en- 
gaged in the same nolile struggle, and having 
one general interest to defend.'''' t 

The quota of Massachusetts, under the pres- 
ent arrangement of the army, was fifteen 
regiments : and Washington ordered General 
Heath, who was in Massachusetts, to forward 
them to Ticonderoga as fast as they could be 
raised. % 

Notwithstanding all "Washington's exertions 



* Schuyler's Letter Book, MS. t Ibid. 

t Sparks. Washington's Writings, iv. 361, note. 



338 



EXPEDITION OF THE BRITISH AGAINST PEEKSKILL. 



[1777. 



ia behalf of the army under his immediate 
command, it continued to be deplorably in 
want of reinforcements, and it was necessary 
to maintain the utmost vigilance at all his 
posts to prevent his camp from being surprised. 
The operations of the enemy might be delayed 
b}' the bad condition of the roads, and the 
want of horses to move their artillery, but he 
anticipated an attack as soon as the roads 
were passable, and apprehended a disastrous 
result unless speedily reinforced. 

" The enemy," writes he, "must be ignorant 
of our numbers and situation, or they would 
never suffer us to remain unmolested, and 1 
must tax myself with imprudeijce in commit- 
ting the fact to paper, lest this letter should 
fall into other hands than those for which it 
is intended." And again : " It is not in my 
power to make Congress fully sensible of the 
real situation of our affairs, and that it is with 
difficulty I can keep the life and soul of the 
army together. In a word, they are at a dis- 
tance ; they think it is but to say presto^ begone, 
and every thing is done ; they seem not to 
have any conception of the difficulty and per- 
plexity of those who have to execute." 

The designs of the enemy being mere matter 
of conjecture, measures varied accordingly. 
As the season advanced, "Washington was led 
to believe that Philadelphia would be their 
first object at the opening of the campaign, 
and that they would bring round all their 
troops from Canada by water to aid in the 
enterprise. Under this persuasion he wrote to 
General Heath, ordering him to send eight of 
the Massachusetts battalions to Peekskill, in- 
stead of Ticonderoga ; and explained his rea- 
sons for so doing in a letter to Schuyler. 
At Peekskill, he observed, " they would be 
well placed to give support to any of the 
Eastern or Middle States ; or to oppose the 
enemy, should they design to penetrate the 
country up the Hudson ; or to cover New 
England, should they invade it. Should they 
move westward, the Eastern and Southern 
troops could easily form a junction, and this, 
besides, would oblige the enemy to leave a 
much stronger garrison at New York. Even 
should the enemy pursue their first plan 
of invasion from Canada, the troops at Peeks- 
kill would not be badly placed to reinforce 
Ticonderoga, and cover the country around 
Albany." "I am very sure," concludes he, 
" the operations of this army will, in a great 
degree, govern the motions of that in Canada. 



If this is held at bay, curbed and confined, the 
northern army will not dare attempt to pene- 
trate.'''' The last sentence will be found to 
contain the policy which governed "Washing- 
ton's personal movements throughout the 
campaign. 

On the 18th of March he despatched General 
Greene to Philadelphia, to lay before Congress 
such matters as he could not venture to com- 
municate by letter. " He is an able and good 
officer," writes he, " who has my entire confi- 
dence, and is intimately acquainted with my 
ideas." 

Greene had scarce departed, when the 
enemy began to show signs of life. Tl:»e delay 
in the arrival of artillery, more than hi- 
natural indolence, had kept General Howe 
from formally taking the field ; he now made 
preparations for the next campaign, by de- 
tachiiig troops to destroy the American depos- 
its of military stores. One of the chief of 
these was at Peekskill, the very place whither 
"Washington had directed Heath to send troops 
from Massachusetts ; and whicli he thought of 
making a central point of assemblage. Howe 
terms it "the port of that rough and moun- 
tainous tract called the Manor of Courtlandt." 
Brigadier-General McDougall had the command 
of it in the absence of General Heath, but his 
force did not exceed two hundred and fifty 
men. 

As soon as the Hudson was clear of ice, 
a squadron of vessels of war and transports, 
with five hundred troops under Colonel Bird, 
ascended the river, McDougall had intelli- 
gence of the intended attack, and while the 
ships were making their way across the Tap- 
pan Sea and Haverstraw Bay, exerted himself 
to remove as much as possible of the provis- 
ions and stores to Forts Montgomery and Con- 
stitution iu the Highlands, On the morning 
of the 23d, the whole squadron came to 
anchor in Peekskill Bay ; and five hundred 
men landed in Lent's Cove, on the south side 
of the bay, whence they pushed forward with 
four light field-pieces drawn by sailors. On 
their approach, McDougall set fire to the 
barracks and principal storehouses, and ]-e- 
treated about two miles to a strong post, com- 
manding the entrance to the Highlands and 
the road to Continental Village, the place of 
the deposits. It was the post which had been 
noted by "Washington in the preceding year, 
where a small force could make a stand, 
and hurl down masses of rock on their assail- 



^T. 45.] 



SCHUYLER'S AFFAIRS IN THE NORTHERN DEPARTMENT. 



339 



ants. Hence McDongall sent an express to 
Lieutenant-Colonel Marinus Willett, who had 
charge of. Fort Constitution, to hasten to his 
assistance. 

The British, finding the wharf in flames 
where they had intended to embark their 
spoils, completed the conflagration, beside 
destroying several small craft laden with pro- 
visions. They kept possession of the place till 
the following day, when a scouting party, 
which had advanced towards the entrance of 
the Highlands, was encountered by Colonel 
Marinus Willett with a detachment from Fort 
Constitution, and driven back to the main body 
after a sharp skirmish, in which nine of the 
marauders were killed. Four more were slain 
on the banks of Canopas Creek as they were 
setting fire to some boats. The enemy were 
disappointed in the hope of carrying oif a 
great deal of booty, and finding the country 
around was getting under arms, they con- 
tented themselves with the mischief they had 
done, and re-embarked in the evening by 
moonlight, when the whole squadron swept 
down the Hudson. 



CHAPTER IV. 

"We have now to enter upon a tissue of cir- 
cumstances connected with the ISTorthern de- 
partment, which will be found materially to 
influence the course of atTairs in that quarter 
throughout the current year, and ultimately to 
be fruitful of annoyance to Washington him- 
self. To make these more clear to the reader, 
it is necessary to revert to events in the pre- 
ceding year. 

The question of command between Schuyler 
and Gates, when settled as we have shown by 
Congress, had caused no interruption to the 
hai'mony of intercourse between these generals. 

Schuyler directed the affairs of the depart- 
ment with energy and activity from his head- 
quarters at Albany, where they had been fixed 
by Congress, while Gates, subordinate to him,' 
commanded the post of Ticonderoga. 

The disappointment of an independent com- 
mand, however, still rankled in the mind of 
the latter, and Avas kept alive by the oflBcious 
suggestions of meddling friends. In the course 
of the autumn, his hopes in this respect re- 
vived. Schuyler was again disgusted with the 
service. In the discharge of his various and 



harassing duties, he had been annoyed by sec- 
tional jealousies and ill will. His motives and 
measures had been maligned. The failures in 
Canada had been attributed to him, and he had 
repeatedly entreated Congress to order an in- 
quiry into the many charges made against him, 
" that he might not any longer be insulted." 

" I assure you," writes he to Gates, on the 
25th of August, " that I am so sincerely tired 
of abuse, that I will let my enemies arrive at 
the completion of their wishes by retiring, as 
soon as I shall have been tried ; and attempt 
to serve my injured country in some other 
way, where envy and detraction will have no 
temptation to follow me." 

On the 14th of September, he actually offered 
his resignation of his commission as major- 
general, and of every other office and appoint- 
ment ; still claiming a court of inquiry on his 
conduct, and expressing his determination to 
fulfil the duties of a good citizen, and promote 
the weal of his native country, but in some 
other capacity. " I trust," writes he, " that 
my successor, whoever lie may be, will find 
that, matters are as prosperously arranged in 
this department as the nature of the service 
will admit. I shall most readily give him any 
information and assistance in my power." 

He immediately wrote to General Gates, ap- 
prising him of his having sent in his resigna- 
tion. " It is much to be lamented," writes he, 
" that calumny is so much cherished in this un- 
happy country, and that so few of the ser- 
vants of the public escape the malevolence of a 
set of insidious miscreants. It has driven me 
to the necessity of resigning." 

As the command of the department, should 
his resignation be accepted, would of course 
devolve on Gates, he assures him he will render 
every assistance in his power to any officer 
whom Gates might appoint to command in 
Albany. 

All his letters to Gates, while they were 
thus in relation in tlie department, had been 
kind and courteous ; beginning with, " My 
dear General," and ending with, " adieu " and 
" every friendly wish." Schuyler was a warm- 
hearted man, and his expressions were proba- 
bly sincere. 

The hopes of Gates, inspired by this profl['ered 
resignation, were doomed to be again over- 
clouded. Schuyler was informed by President 
Hancock, " that Congress, during the present 
state of affairs, could not consent to accept of 
his resignation ; but requested that he would 



}40 



MISUNDERSTANDINGS WITH CONGRESS. 



[im. 



continue in the command lie held, and be as- 
sured that the aspersions thrown out by his 
enemies against his character, had no influence 
upon the minds of the members of that House ; 
and that more effectually to put calumny to 
silence, they would at an early day appoint a 
committee to inquire fully into his conduct, 
which they trusted would establish his reputa- 
tion in the opinion of aU good men." 

Schuyler received the resolve of Congress 
with grim acquiescence, but showed in his 
reply that he was but half soothed. " At this 
very critical juncture," writes he, October 16, 
" I shall waive those remarks which, injustice 
to myself, I must make at a future day. The 
calumny of my enemies has arisen to its height. 
Their malice is incapable of heightening the 



injury. 



* * * * Jq the alarming; situation 



of our affairs, I shall continue to act some time 
longer, but Congress must prepare to put the 
care of this department into other hands. I 
shall be able to render my country better ser- 
vices in another line : less exposed to a repeti- 
tion of the injuries I have sustained." 

He had remained at his post, therefore, dis- 
charging the various duties of his department 
with his usual zeal and activity ; and Gates, at 
the end of the campaign, had repaired, as we 
have shown, to the vicinity of Congress, to 
attend the fluctuation of events. 

Circumstances in the course of the winter 
had put the worthy Schuyler again on points 
of punctilio with Congress. Among some 
letters intercepted by the enemy and retaken 
by the Americans, was one from Colonel Joseph 
Trumbull, the commissary-general, insinuating 
that General Schuyler had secreted or sup- 
pressed a commission sent for his brother, 
Colonel John Trumbull, as deputy adjutant- 
general.* The purport of the letter was re- 
ported to Schuyler. He spurned at the in- 
sinuation. " If it be true that he has asserted 
such a thing," writes he to the president, " I 
shall expect from Congress that justice which is 
due to me." 

Three weeks later he enclosed to the presi- 
dent a copy of Trumbull's letter. " I hope," 
writes he, " Congress will not entertain the 
least idea that I can tamely submit to such in- 
jurious treatment. I expect they will imme- 
diately do what is incumbent on them on the 



* The reader may recollect that it was Commissary- 
General Trumbull who wrote the letter to Gates calculated 
\o inflame his jealousy against Schuyler, when the question 
of command had risen between them. (See vol. i. eh. 28.) 



occasion. Until Mr. Trumbull 'and I are upon 
a footing, I cannot do what the laws of honor 
and a regard to my own reputation render in- 
dispensably necessary. Congress can put us 
on a par by dismissing one or the other from 
the service." 

Congress failed to comply with the general's 
request. They added also to his chagriu, by 
dismissing from the service an army physician, 
in whose appointment he had particularly in- 
terested himself. 

Schuyler was a proud-spirited man, and, at 
times, somewhat irascible. In a letter to Con- 
gress on the 8th of February, he observed : 
" As Dr. Stringer had my recommendation to 
the office he has sustained, perhaps it was a 
compliment due to me that I should have been 
advised of the reason of his dismission." 

And again : " I was in hopes some notice 
would have been taken of the odious suspicion 
contained in Mr. Commissary Trumbull's inter- 
cepted letter. I really feel myself deeply cha- 
grined on the occasion. I am incapable of the 
meanness he suspects me of, and I confidently 
expected that Congress would have done me 
that justice which it was in their power to 
give, and which I humbly conceive they ought 
to have done." 

This letter gave great umbrage to Congress, 
but no immediate answer was made to it. 

About this time the office of adjutant-general, 
which had remained vacant ever since the res- 
ignation of Colonel Reed, to the great detri- 
ment of the service, especially now when a 
new army was to be formed, was offered to 
General Gates, who had formerly filled it with 
ability ; and President Hancock informed him, 
by letter, of the earnest desire of Congi-ess that 
he should resume it, retaining his present rank 
and pay. 

Gates almost resented the proposal. " Un- 
less the commander-in-chief earnestly makes 
the same request with your Excellency," re- 
plies he, " all my endeavors as adjutant-general 
would be vain and fruitless. I had, last year, 
the honor to command in the second post in 
America ; and had the good fortune to prevent 
the enemy from making their so much wished- 
for junction with General Howe. After this, 
to be expected to dwindle again to the ad- 
jutant-general, requires more philosophy on 
my part, and something more than words on 
yours." * 



* Gates's papers, N. Y. Hist. Lib. 



.Et. ^5. GATES DECLINES TO BE ADJUTANT-GENERAL— SCHUYLER REPRIMANDED. 341 



He wrote to "Washington to the same effect, 
hut declared that, should it he his Excellency's 
wish, he would resume the office with alacrity. 

Washington promptly replied that he had 
often wished it in secret, though he had never 
even hinted at it ; supposing Gates might have 
scruples on the suhject. " Yoii cannot con- 
ceive the pleasure I feel," adds he, " when you 
tell me that, if it is my desire that you should 
resume your former office, you will with cheer- 
fulness and alacrity proceed to Morristown." 
He thanks him for this mark of attention to 
his wishes ; assures him that he looks upon his 
resumption of the office as the only means of 
giving form and regularity to the new army ; 
and will he glad to receive a line from him 
mentioning the time he would leave Philadel- 
phia. 

He received no such line. Gates had a 
higher object in viev>\ A letter from Schuyler 
to Congress, had informed that body that he 
should set out for Pliiladelphia about the 21st 
of March, and should inmiediately on his ar- 
rival require the promised inquiry into his con- 
duct. Gates, of course, was acquainted with 
this circumstance. He knew Schuyler had 
given offence to Congress ; he knew he had 
been offended on his own part, and hud re- 
peatedly talked of resigning. He had active 
friends in Congress ready to push his interests. 
On the 12th of March his letter to President 
Hancock about the proffered adjutancy was 
read, and ordered to he taken into considera- 
tion on the following day. 

On the 13th, a committee of five was ap- 
pointed to confer with him upon the general 
state of affairs. 

On the 15th, the letter of General Schuyler 
of the 3d of February, which had given such 
offence, was brought before the House, and it 
was resolved that his suggestion concerning the 
dismission of Dr. Stringer was highly deroga- 
tory to the honor of Congress, and that it was 
e^cpected his letters in future would be written 
in a style suitable to the dignitf of the rep- 
resentative body of these free and independent 
States, and to his own character as their offi- 
cer. His expressions, too, respecting the inter- 
cepted letter, that he had expected Congress 
would have done him all the justice in their 
power, wei'e pronounced, "to say the least, 
ill-advised and highly indecent." * 

"While Schuyler was thus in partial echpse, 

* Journals of Congress. 



the House proceeded to appoint a general offi- 
cer for the 'Northern department, of which he 
had stated it to be in need. 

On the 25th of March, Gates received the 
following note from President Hancock : " I 
have it in charge to direct that you repair to 
Ticonderoga immediately, and take command 
of the army stationed in that department." 

Gates obeyed with alacrity. Again the vision 
of an independent command floated before his 
mind, and he was on his way to Albany, at 
the time that Schuyler, ignorant of this new 
arrangement, was journeying to Philadelphia. 
Gates was accompanied by Brigadier-General 
Fermois, a French officer, recently commis- 
sioned in the continental army. A rumor of 
his approach preceded him. ""What are the 
terms on v.hich Gates is coming on ? " was 
asked in Albany. " Has Schuyler been super- 
seded, or is he to be so, or has he resigned ? " 
For a time all was rumor and conjecture. A 
report reached his family that he was to be 
divested of all titles and rank other than that 
of Philip Schuyler, Esquire. They heard it 
with joy, knowing the carking cares and an- 
noyances that had beset him in his command. 
His military friends deprecated it as a great 
loss to the service.* 

"When Gates arrived in Albany, Colonel 
"Varick, Schuyler's' secretary, waited on him 
with a message from Mrs. Schuyler, inviting 
him to take up his quarters at the general's 
house, which was in the vicinity. He declined, 
as the despatch of affairs required him to be 
continually in town ; bat took his breakfast 
with Mrs. Schuyler the next morning. He re- 
mained in Albany, unwilling to depart for 
Ticonderoga until there should be sufficient 
troops there to support him. 

Schuyler arrived in Philadelphia in the sec- 
ond week in April, and found himself super- 
seded in effect by General Gates in the North- 
ei*n department. He enclosed to the committee 
of Albany the recent resolutions of Congress, 
passed before his arrival. ^ " By these," writes 
he, " you will readily perceive that I shall not 
return a general. Under what influence it has 
been brought about, I am not at liberty now 
to mention. On my return to Albany, I shall 
give the committee the fullest information." f 

Taking his seat in Congress as a delegate 
from New York, he demanded the promised 



* Letter of Col. Kichard Varick. Schuyler's Letter- 
Book. 

t Sctuyler's Letter Book. 



342 



EMBARRASSMENT ABOUT FOREIGX OFFICER.-^. 



[1111. 



investigation of his conduct during the time he 
had held a command in the army. It was his 
intention, when the scrutiny had taken place, 
to resign his commission, and retire from the 
service. On the 18th, a committee of inquiry 
was ai^pointed, as at his request, composed of a 
member from each State. 

In the mean time, as second major-general of 
the United States (Lee being the first), he held 
active command at Phdadelphia, forming a 
camp on the western side of the Delaware, 
completing the works on Fort Island, throwing 
up works on Eed Bank, and accelerating the 
despatch of troops and provisions to the com- 
mander-in-chief. During his sojourn at Phila- 
delphia, also, he contributed essentially to re- 
organize the commissary department ; digest- 
ing rules for its regulations, which were mainly 
adopted by Congress. 



CHAPTER V. 

The fame of the American struggle for in- 
dependence was bringing foreign officers as can- 
didates for admission into the patriot army, 
and causing great embarrassment to the com- 
mander-in-chief. "They seldom," writes Wash- 
ington, " bring more than a commission and a 
passport; which we know may belong to a 
bad as well as a good officer. Their ignorance 
of our language, and their inabihty to recruit 
men, are insurmountable obstacles to their 
being ingrafted in our continental battalions ; 
for our officers, who have raisod their men, 
and have served through the war upon pay 
that has not hitherto borne their expenses, 
would be disgusted if foreigners were put over 
their head ; and I assure you, few or none of 
these gentlemen look lower than field-ofScers' 
commissions. * ''= * Some general mode 
of disposing of them must be adopted, for it is 
ungenerous to keep them in suspense, and a 
great charge to themelves ; but I am at a loss 
to know how to point out this mode." 

Congress determined that no foreign officers 
should receive commissions who were not well 
acquainted with the English language, and did 
not bring strong testimonials of their abilities. 
Still there was embarrassment. Some came 
with brevet commissions from the French gov- 
ernment, and had been assured by Mr. Deane, 
American commissioner at Paris, that they 



would have the same rank in the American 
army. This would put them above American 
officers of merit and hard service, whose com- 
missions were of more recent date. One Mon- 
sieur Ducoudray, on the strength of an agree- 
ment with Mr. Deane, expected to have the 
rank of major-general, and to be put at the 
head of the artillery. Washington deprecated 
the idea of intrusting a department on which 
the very salvation of the army might depend, 
to a foreigner, who had no other tie to bind 
him to the interests of the country than lionor ; 
besides, he observed, it would endanger the 
loss to the service of General Knox, " a man 
of great military reading, sound judgment, and 
clear perceptions. He has conducted the affairs 
of that department with honor to himself and 
advantage to the public, and will resign if any 
one is put over him." 

In fact, the report that Ducoudray was to be 
a major-general, with a commission dated in 
the preceding year, caused a commotion among 
the American officers of that rank, but whose 
commissions were of later date. Congress 
eventually determined not to ratify the contract 
entered into between Mr. Deane and Monsieur 
Ducoudray, and resolved that the commissions 
of foreign officers received into the service, 
should bear date on the day of their being filled 
up by Washington. 

Among the foreign candidates for appoint- 
ments was one Colonel Conway, a native of 
Ireland, but who, according to his own account, 
had been thirty years in the service of France, 
and claimed to be a chevalier of the order of 
St. Louis, of which he wore the decoration. 
Mr. Deane had recommended him to Washing- 
ton as an officer of merit, and had written to 
Congress that he considered him well qualified 
for the office of adjutant or brigadier-general, 
and that he had given him reason to hope for 
one or the other of these appointments. Col- 
onel Conway pushed for that of brigadier- 
general. It had been conferred some time be- 
fore by Congress on two French officers, De 
Fermois and Deborre, who, he liad observed, 
had been inferior to him in the French service, 
and it would be mortifying now to hold rank 
below them. 

" I cannot pretend," writes Washington to 
the president, " to speak of Colonel Conway's 
merits or abilities of my own knowledge. He 
appears to be a man of candor, and, if he has 
been in service as long as he says, I should 
suppose him infinitely better qualified to serve 



^T. 45.] WASHINGTON'S GUARDS— ARNOLD OMITTED IN THE ARMY PROMOTIONS. 34^ 



us than many who have been promoted ; as he 
speaks our language." 

Conway accordingly received the rank of 
brigadier-general, of which he subsequently 
proved himself unworthy. He was boastful 
and presumptuous, and became noted for his 
intrigues, and for a despicable cabal against the 
conimander-in-chief, winch went by his name, 
and of which we shall have to speak hereafter. 

A candidate of a difterent stamp had pre- 
sented himself in the preceding year, the gal- 
lant, generous-spirited, Thaddeus Kosciuszko. 
He was a Pole, of an ancient and noble family 
of Lithuania, and had been educated for the 
profession of arms at tlie military school at 
"Warsaw, and subsequently in France. Disap- 
pointed in a love affair with a beautiful lady of 
rank, with whom he had attempted to elope, he 
had emigrate^l to this country, and came pro- 
vided with a letter of introduction from 'Dr. 
Franklin to Washington. 

" What do you seek here ? " inquired the 
commander-in-chief. 

" To fight for American independence." 

" What can you do ? " 

" Try me." 

Washington was pleased with the curt, yet 
comprehensive reply, and with his chivalrous 
air and spirit ; and at once received him into 
his family as an aide-de-camp.* Congress 
shortly afterwards appointed him an engineer, 
with the rank of colonel. He proved a valu- 
able officer throughout the Revolution, and won 
an honorable and lasting name in our country. 

Among the regiments which had been formed 
in the spring, one had been named by its offi- 
cers, " The Congress's Own," and another 
" General Washington's Life Guards." A re- 
solve of Congress ])romptly appeared, pronounc- 
ing those appellations improper, and ordering 
that they should be discontinued. Washing- 
ton's own modesty had already administered a 
corrective. In a letter to the President of 
Congress, he declared, that the regiments had 
been so named without his consent or privity. 
" As soon as I heard of it," writes he, " I 
wrote to several of the officers in terms of 
severe reprehension, and expressly charged 
them to suppress the distinction, adding that 
all the battalions were on the same footing, 
and all under the general name of Continental." 
No man was less desirous for all individual dis- 
tinctions of the kind. 

* Poreign Quarterly Review, vol. sv., p. 114. 



Somewhat later he really formed a company 
for his guard. Colonel Alexander Spotswood 
had the selection of the men, four from each 
regiment ; and was charged to be extremely 
cautious, " because," writes Washington, " it is 
more than probable that, in the course of the 
campaign my baggage, papers, and other mat- 
ters of great public import, may be committed 
to the sole care of these men." That the com- 
pany might look well and be nearly of a size, 
none were to be over five feet ten, nor under 
five feet nine inches in stature, and to be sober, 
young, active, and well-made, of good charac- 
ter, and proud of appearing clean and soldier- 
like. As there would be a greater chance for 
fidelity among such as had family connections 
in the country, Spotswood was charged to 
send none but natives, and, if possible, men of 
some property, " I must insist," concludes 
Washington, " that, in making this choice, you 
give no intimation of my preference of natives, 
as I do not want to create any invidious dis- 
tinction between them and the officers." * 

Questions of rank among his generals, were, 
as we have repeatedly shown, perpetual sources 
of perplexity to Washington, and too often 
caused by what the sarcastic Lee termed, " the 
stumblings of Congress ; " such was the case at 
present. In recent army promotions. Con- 
gress had advanced Stirling, Mifflin, St. Clair, 
Stephen, and Lincoln, to the rank of major- 
general, while Arnold, their senior in service, 
and distinguished by so many brilliant ex- 
ploits, was passed over and left to remain a 
brigadier. 

Washington was surprised at not seeing his 
name on the list, but supposing it might have 
been omitted through mistake, he wrote to 
Arnold, who was at Providence in Rhode Isl- 
and, advising him not to take any hasty step in 
consequence, but to alloAV time for recollec- 
tion, promising his own endeavors to remedy 
any error that might have been made. He 
wrote also to Henry Lee in Congress, inquiring 
whether the omission was owing to accident 
or design. " Surely,'' said he " a more active, 
a more spirited, and sensible officer, fills no 
department of your army. Not seeing him, 
then, in the list of major-generals, and no men- 
tion made of him, has given me uneasiness ; as 
it is not presumed, being the oldest brigadier, 
that he will continue in service under such a 
slight." 



Sjirvrks. Writings of Washington, iv. 407. 



344 



BRITISH EXPEDITION AGAINST DANBUKY. 



[1- 



Arnold was, in truth, deeply wounded by 
the omission, " I am greatly obliged to your 
Excellency," writes he to Washington, "for 
interesting yourself so much in respect to my 
appointment, which I have had no advice of, 
and know not by what means it was announced 
in the papers. Congress undoubtedly have a 
right of promoting those whom, from their 
abilities, and their long and arduous services, 
they esteem most deserving. Their promoting 
junior officers to the rank of major-generals, I 
view as a very civil way of requesting my resig- 
nation, as unqualified for the office I hold. My 
commission was conferred unsolicited, and re- 
ceived with pleasure only as a means of serving 
my country. With equal pleasure I resign it, 
when I can no longer serve my country with 
honor. The person who, void of the nice feel- 
ings of honor, will tamely condescend to give 
up his right, and retain a commission at the 
expense of his reputation, I hold as a disgrace 
to the army, and unworthy of the glorious 
cause in which Ave are engaged. * * * * 
Injustice, therefore, to my own character, and 
for the satisfiiCtion of my friends, I must re- 
quest a court of inquiry into my conduct ; and 
though I sensibly feel the ingratitude of my 
countrymen, yet every personal injury shall be 
buried in my zeal for the safety and happiness 
of my country, in whose cause I have repeat- 
edly fought and bled, and am ready at all times 
to risk my life." 

He subsequently intimated that he should 
avoid any hasty step, and should remain at his 
post until he could leave it without any damage 
to the public interest. 

The i)rinciple upon which Congress had pro- 
ceeded in their recent promotions was explain- 
ed to Washington. The number of general 
officers promoted from each State was propor- 
tioned to the number of men furnished by it. 
Connecticut (Arnold's State) had already two 
major-generals, which was its full share. " I 
confess," writes Washington to Arnold, " this 
is a strange mode of reasoning ; but it may 
serve to show you that the promotion, which 
was due to your seniority, was not overlooked 
for want of merit in you." 

" The point," observes he, " is of so delicate 
a nature that I Avill not even undertake to ad- 
vise. Your own feelings must be your guide. 
As no particular charge is alleged against you, 
I do not see upon what grounds you can de- 
mand a court of inquiry. Your determination 
not to quit your present command while any 



danger to the public might ensue from your 
leaving it, deserves my thanks, and justly en- 
titles you to the thanks of the country." 

An opportunity occurred before long, for 
Arnold again to signalize himself. 

The amount of stores destroyed at Peekskill 
had fallen far short of General Howe's expec- 
tations. Something more must be done to 
cripple the Americans before the opening of 
the campaign. Accordingly, another expedi- 
tion was set on foot against a still larger deposit 
at Danbury, within the borders of Connecticut, 
and between twenty and thirty miles from 
Peekskill. 

Ex-governor Tryon, recently commissioned 
major-general of provincials, conducted it, ac- 
companied by Brigadier-General Aguew, and 
Sir William Erskine. He had a mongrel force, 
two thousand strong ; Americaji, Irish, and 
British refugees from various parts of the con- 
tinent, and made his appearance on the Sound 
the latter part of April, with a fleet of twenty- 
six sail, greatly to the disquiet of every assaila- 
ble place along the coast. On the 25th, tow- 
ards evening, he landed his troops on the beach 
at the foot of Oanepo Hill, near the mouth of 
the Saugatuck Kiver. The yeomanry of the 
neighborhood had assembled to resist them, 
but a few cannon-shot made them give way, 
and the troops set off for Danbury, about 
twenty-three miles distant ; galled at first by 
a scattering fire from behind a stone fence. 
They were in a patriotic neighborhood. Gen- 
eral Silliman, of the Connecticut militia, who 
resided at Fairfield, a few miles distant, sent 
out expresses to rouse the country. It so 
happened that General Arnold was at New 
Haven, between twenty and thirty miles off, on 
his way to Philadelphia for the purpose of set- 
tling his accounts. At the alarm of a British 
inroad, he forgot his injuries and irritation, 
mounted his horse, and, accompanied by Gen- 
eral Wooster, hastened to join General Silli- 
man, As they spurred forward, every farm- 
house sent out its warrior, until upwards of a 
hundred were pressing on with them, full of the 
fighting spirit. Lieutenant Oswald, Arnold's 
secretary in the Canada campaign, who had led 
the forlorn hope in the attempt upon Quebec, 
was at this time at New Haven, enlisting men 
for Lamb's regiment of artillery. He, too, 
heard the note of alarm, and mustering his re- 
cruits, marched off with three field-pieces for 
the scene of action.* 



Life of Lamb, p. 157. 



^T. 45.] 



DEATH OF GENERAL WOOSTER— GALLANTRY OF ARNOLD. 



345 



In the mean while the British, marching all 
night with short halting?, reached Danhury 
about two o'clock in the afternoon of the 26th. 
There were but fifty Continental soldiers and 
one hundred militia in that place. These re- 
treated, as did most of the inhabitants, except- 
ing such as remained to take care of the sick 
and aged. Four men, intoxicated, as it Avas 
said, fired upon the troops from the windows 
of a large house. The soldiers rushed in, drove 
them into the cellar, set fire to the house, and 
left them to perish in the flames. 

There was a great quantity of stores of all 
kinds in the village, and no vehicles to convey 
them to the ships. The work of destruction 
commenced. The soldiers made free with the 
liquors found in abundance ; and throughout 
the greater part of the night there was rev- 
el, drunkenness, blasphemy, and devastation. 
Tryon, full of anxiety, and aware that the 
country was rising, ordered a retreat before 
daylight, setting fire to the magazines to com- 
plete the destruction of the stores. The flames 
spread to the other edifices, and almost the 
whole village was soon in a blaze. The ex- 
treme darkness of a rainy night made the con- 
flagration more balefully apparent throughout 
the country. 

"While these scenes had been transacted at 
Danbury, the Connecticut yeomanry had been 
gathering. Fairfield and the adjacent counties 
had poured out their minute men. General 
Silliman had advanced at the head of five hun- 
dred. Generals "Wooster and Arnold joined 
him with their chatiee followers, as did a few 
more militia. A heavy rain retarded their 
march ; it was near midnight when they reach- 
ed Bethel, within four miles of Danbury. Here 
they halted to take a little repose and put their 
arms in order, rendered almost unserviceable 
by the rain. They were now about six hundred 
strong. Wooster took the command, as first 
major-general of the militia of the State. 
Though in the sixty-eighth year of his age, he 
was full of ardor, with almost youthful fire and 
daring. A plan was concerted to punish the 
enemy on their retreat ; and the lurid light of 
Danbury in flames redoubled the provocation. 
At dawn of day, "Wooster detached Arnold with 
four hundred men, to push across the country 
and take post at Eidgefield, by Avhich the Brit- 
ish must pass ; while he with two hundred 
remained to hang on and harass them in fiank 
and rear. 

The British began their retreat early in the 



morning, conducting it in regular style, with 
flanking parties, and a rear-guard well furnished 
with artiUery. As soon as they had passed his 
position, "Wooster attacked the rear guard with 
great spirit and efiect ; there was sharp skir- 
mishing until within two miles of Eidgefield, 
when, as the veteran was cheering on his men, 
who began to waver, a musket ball brought 
him down from his horse, and finished his gal- 
lant career. On his fall his men retreated in 
disorder. 

The delay which his attack had occasioned 
to the enemy, had given Arnold time to throw 
up a kind of breastwork or barricade across the 
road at the north end of Eidgefield, protected 
by a house on the right, and a high rocky 
bank on the left, where he took his stand with 
his little force now increased to about five hun- 
dred men. At about eleven o'clock the enemy 
advanced in column, with artillery and flanking 
parties. They were kept at bay for a time, and 
received several volleys from the barricade, 
until it was outflanked and carried. Arnold or- 
dered a retreat, and was bringing off" the rear- 
guard, when his horse was shot under him, and 
came down upon his knees. Arnold remained 
seated in the saddle, with one foot entangled 
in the stirrups. A tory soldier, seeing his 
plight, rushed towards him with fixed bayonet. 
He had just time to draw a pistol from the hol- 
ster. " You're my prisoner," cried the tory, 
" Not yet ! " exclaimed Arnold, and shot him 
dead. Then extricating his foot from the stir- 
rup, he threw himself into the thickets of a 
neighboring swamp, and escaped, unharmed 
by the bullets that whistled after him, and join- 
ed his retreating troops. 

General Tryon intrenched for the night in 
Eidgefield, his troops having sufi'ered greatly 
in their harassed retreat. The next morning, 
after having set fire to four houses, he con- 
tinued his march for the ships. Colonel Hunt- 
ington, of the Continental army, with the troops 
which had been stationed at Danbury, the 
scattered force of "Wooster which had joined 
him, and a number of militia, hung on the rear of 
the enemy as soon as they were in motion. 
Arnold was again in the field, with his rallied 
forces, strengthened by Lieutenant-Colonel 
Oswald with two companies of Lamb's artillery 
regiment and three field-pieces. "With these 
he again posted himself on the enemy's route. 

DiSiculties and annoyances had multiplied 
upon the latter at every step. "When they 
came in sight of the position where Arnold 



346 ARNOLD REWARDED BY CONGRESS— ENTERPRISE AGAINST SAG HARBOR. [1111. 



was waiting for them, they changed their 
route, wheeled to the left, and made for a ford 
of Saugatuck Eiver. Arnold hastened to cross 
the hridge and take them in flank, but they 
were too quick for him. Colonel Lamb had 
now reached the scene of action, as had about 
two hundred volunteers. Leaving to Oswald 
the charge of the artillery, he put himself at 
the head of the volunteers, and led them up to 
Arnold's assistance. 

The enemy, finding themselves hard pressed, 
pushed for Canepo Hill. They reached it in 
the evening, without a round of ammunition in 
their cartridge-boxes. As they were now with- 
in cannon shot of their ships, the Americans 
ceased the pursuit. The British formed upon 
the high ground, brought their artillery to the 
front, and sent off to the ships for reinforce- 
ments. Sir William Erskine landed a large 
body of marines and sailors, who drove the 
Americans back for some distance, and covered 
the embarkation of the troops. Colonel Lamb, 
while leading on his men gallantly to capture 
the British field-pieces, was wounded by a 
grape-shot, and Arnold, while cheering on the 
militia, had another horse sfiot under him. In 
the mean time, the harassed marauders effected 
theii» embarkation, and the fleet got under 
way. 

In this inroad the enemy destroyed a consid- 
erable amount of military stores, and seventeen 
hundred tents prepared for the use of Washing- 
ton's army in the ensuing campaign. The loss 
of General Wooster was deeply deplored. He 
survived the action long enough to be consoled 
in his dying moments at Danbury, by the pres- 
ence of his wife and son, who hastened thither 
from New Haven. As to Arnold, his gallantry 
in this affair gained him fresh laurels, and Con- 
gress, to remedy their late error, promoted 
him to the rank of major-general. Still his 
promotion did not restore him to his former 
position. He was at the bottom of the list of 
major-generals, with four officers above him, 
his juniors in service. Washington felt this in- 
justice on the part of Congress, and wrote 
about it to the president. " He has certainly 
discovered,'' said he, " in every instance where 
he has had an opportunity, much bravery, ac- 
tivity, and enterprise. But what will be done 
about his rank ? He will not act, most prob- 
ably, under those he commanded but a few 
weeks ago." 

As an additional balm to Arnold's wounded 
pride, Congress, a few days afterwards, voted 



that a horse properly caparisoned should be 
presented to him in their name, as a token of 
their approbation of his gallant conduct in the 
late action, " in which he had one horse shot 
under him and another wounded." But after 
all he remained at tlie bottom of the list, and 
the wound still rankled in his bosom. 

The destructive expeditions against the 
American depots of military stores, were re- 
taliated in kind by Colonel Meigs, a spirited 
oflBcer, who had accompanied Arnold in his 
expedition through the wilderness against 
Quebec, and had caught something of his love 
for hardy exploit. Having received intelli'gence 
that the British commissaries had collected a 
great amount of grain, forage, and other sup- 
plies at Sag Harbor, a small port in the deep 
bay which forks the east end of Long Island, 
he crossed the Sound on the 23d of May from 
Guilford in Connecticut, with about one hun- 
dred and seventy men in whale boats convoyed 
by two armed sloops : landed on the island 
near Southold ; carried the boats a distance of 
fifteen miles across the north fork of the bay, 
launched them into the latter, crossed it, landed 
within four miles of Sag Harbor, and before 
daybreak carried the place, which was guarded 
by a company of foot. A furious fire of round 
and grape-shot was opened upon the Americans 
from an ai'med schooner, anchored about one 
hundred and fifty yards fi-om shore ; and stout 
defence was made by the crews of a dozen 
brigs and sloops lying at the wharf to take in 
freight ; but Meigs succeeded in burning these 
vessels, destroying every thing on shore, and — 
carrying off ninety prisoners ; among whom 
were the officers of the company of foot, the 
commissaries, and the captains of most of these 
small vessels. With these he and his party 
recrossed the bay, transported their boats again 
across the fork of land, launched them on the 
Sound, and got safe back to Guilford, having 
achieved all this, and traversed about ninety 
miles of land and water, in twenty-five hours. 
Washington was so highly pleased with the 
spirit and success of this enterprise, that he 
publicly returned thanks to Colonel Meigs and 
the officers and men engaged in it. It could 
not fail, he said, greatly to distress the enemy 
in the important and essential article of forage. 
But it was the moral effect of the enterprise 
which gave it the most vakie. It is difiicult, 
at the present day, sufficiently to appreciate 
the importance of partisan ex|)loits of the kind 
in the critical stage of the war of which we are 



JEt. 45.] HONORABLE ACQUITTAL OF SCHUYLER— THE NORTHERN DEPARTMENT. 347 



treating. They cheered the spirit of the people, 
depressed by overshadowing dangers and severe 
privations, and kept alive the military spark 
that Avas to kindle into the future flame. 



CHAPTER VI. 

The time was at hand for the committee of 
inquiry on General Schuyler's conduct to make 
their report to Oongi-ess, and he awaited it with 
impatience. " I propose in a day or two to 
resign my commission," writes he to Washing- 
ton on the 3d of May. " As soon as I have 
done it, I shall transmit to your Excellency my 
reasons for such a step." 

"Washington Avas grieved at receiving this 
intimation. He had ever found Schuyler a 
faithful coadjutor. He knew his peculiar fit- 
ness for the Northern department, from his 
knowledge of the country and its people ; his 
influence among its most important citizens ; 
his experience in treating with the Indians ; his 
fiery energy ; his fertility in expedients, and 
his " sound military sense." But he knew also 
his sensitive nature, and the peculiar annoy- 
ances with which he had to contend. On a 
former occasion he had prevented him from 
resigning, by an appeal to his patriotism ; he 
no longer felt justified in interfering. " I am 
sorry," writes he, " that circumstances are 
such as to dispose you to a resignation ; but 
you are the best judge of the line of conduct 
most reconcilable to your duty, both in a public 
and personal view ; and your own feelings 
must determine you in a matter of so delicate 
and interesting a nature." * 

Affairs, however, were taking a more favor- 
able turn. The committee of inquiry made a 
report which placed the character of Schuy- 
ler higher than ever as an able and active 
commander, and a zealous and disinterested 
patriot. 

He made a memorial to Congress explaining 
away or apologizing for, the expressions in his 
letter of the -ith of February, which had given 
offence to the House. His memorial was satis- 
factory ; and he was officially informed that 
Congress now " entertained the same favorable 
sentiments concerning him that they had en- 
tertained before that letter was received." 

There were warm discussions in the House 

* Schuyler's Letter-Book. 



on the subject of the Northern department. 
Several of the most important of the New 
York delegates observed that General Gates 
misapprehended his position. He considered 
himself as liolding the same command as that 
formerly held by General Schuyler. Such was 
not the intention of Congress in sending him to 
take command of the army at Ticonderoga. 
There had been a question between send- 
ing him to that post, or giving him the ad- 
jutancy-general, and it had been decided for 
the former. 

It would be nonsense, they observed, to give 
him command of the Northern department, 
and confine him to Ticonderoga and Mount 
Independence, where he could not have an ex- 
tensive idea of the defence of the frontier 
of the Eastern States ; but only of one spot, to 
which the enemy were not obliged to confine 
their operations, and, as it were, to knock their 
heads against a single rock. The affairs of the 
north-east, it was added, and of the State of 
New York in particular, were in a critical con- 
dition. Much disaflfection prevailed, and great 
clashing of interests. There was but one man 
capable of keeping all imited against the com- 
mon enemy, and he stood on the books as 
commander-in-chief of the Middle, or, as it was 
sometimes called, the Northern department. 
His presence was absolutely necessary in his 
home quarters for their immediate succor, but 
if he returned, he would be a general without 
an army or military chest ; and why Avas he 
thus disgraced ? 

The friends of Gates, on the other hand, who 
were chiefly delegates from New England, pro- 
nounced it an absurdity, that an officer holding 
such an important post as Ticonderoga, should 
be under the absolute orders of another one 
hundred miles distant, engaged in treaties with 
Indians, and busied in the duties of a prove- 
dore. The establishment of commands in de- 
partments was entirely wrong; there should 
be a commander-in-chief, and commanders of 
the different armies. 

We gather these scanty particulars from a 
letter addressed to Gates by Mr. Lovell. The 
latter expresses himself with a proper spirit. 
" I wish," writes he, " some course could be 
taken which would suit you both. It is plain 
all the Northern army cannot be intended for 
the single garrison of Ticonderoga. Who then 
has the distribution of the me'mbers? This 
mus,t depend on one opinion, or there can be 
no decision in the defence of the Northern 



s^is 



GATES' LETTER TO WASHINGTON— DIGNIFIED REPLY OF THE LATTER. [1111. 



frontiers. It is an unhappy circumstance that 
such is the altercation at the opening of the 
campaign." 

This letter produced an anxious reply : 
" Why," writes Gates, " when the argument in 
support of General Schuyler's command was 
imposed upon Congress, did not you or some- 
body say, ' the second post upon this continent 
next campaign Avill he at or near Peekskill. 
There General Schuyler ought to go and com- 
mand ; that will be the curb in the mouth of 
the New York tories, and the enemy's army. 
He will then be near the convention, and in 
the centre of the colony, have a military chest, 
and all the insignia of office.' This command 
in honor could not be refused, without owning 
there is something more alluring than com- 
mand to General Schuyler, by fixing him at 
Albany. By urging this matter home you 
would have proved the man. He would have 
resigned all command, have accepted the gov- 
ernment of New York, and been fixed to a sta- 
tion where he must do good, and which could 
not interfere with, or prevent any arrangement 
Congress have made, or may hereafter make. 
Unhappy State ! That has but one man in it 
who can fix the wavering minds of its inhabi- 
tants to the side of freedom ! How could you 
sit patiently, and, uncontradicted, suffer such 
impertinence to be crammed down your 
throats ? " 

"Why is it nonsense," pursues Gates, "to 
station the commanding general in the North- 
ern department at Ticonderoga ? Was it not 
the uniform practice of the royal army all last 
war ? Nothing is more certain than that the 
enemy must first possess that single rock before 
they can penetrate the country. * * * j^ 
is foolish in the extreme, to believe the enemy 
this year can form any attack from the north- 
ward but by Ticonderoga. WTiere, then, ought 
the commanding general to be posted ? Cer- 
tainly at Ticonderoga. If General Schuyler is 
solely to possess all the power, aU the intelli- 
gence, and that particular favorite, the military 
chest, and constantly reside at Albany, I can- 
not, with any peace of mind, serve at Ticon- 
deroga." * 

This letter was despatched by private hand 
to Philadelphia. 

While Gates was in this mood, his aide-de- 
camp, Major Troup, reported an unsuccessful 
application to the commander-in-chief for tents. 



* Letter to James Lovell, of Massachusetts. Gates's 
papers, N. Y. Hist. Library. 



In the petulance of the moment, Gates ad- 
dressed the following letter to Washington : 
" Major Troup, upon being disappointed in pro- 
curing tents at Fishkill, acquaints me that he 
went to head-quarters to implore your Excel- 
lency's aid in that particular for the Northern 
army. He says your Excellency told him you 
should want every tent upon the continent for 
the armies to the southward, and that you did 
not see any occasion the Northern army could 
have for tents, for, being a fixed post, they 
might hut. Refusing this army what you have 
not in your power to bestow, is one thing," 
adds Gates, " but saying that this army has not 
the same necessities as the Southern armies, is 
another. I can assure your Excellency the 
service of the northward reqiiires tents as much 
as any service I ever saw." * 

However indignant Washington may have 
felt at the disrespectful tone of this letter, and 
the unwarrantable imputation of sectional par- 
tiality contained in it, he contented himself 
with a grave and measured rebuke. " Can 
you suppose," writes he, "if there had been an 
ample supply of tents for the whole army, that 
I should have hesitated one moment in comply- 
ing with your demand ? I told Major Troup, 
that on account of our loss at Danbury there 
would be a scarcity of tents ; that our army 
would be a moving one, and that consequently 
nothing but tents would serve Our turn ; and 
that, therefore, as there would be the greatest 
probability of your being stationary, you should 
endeavor to cover your troops with barracks 
and huts. Certainly this was not a refusal of 
tents, but a request that you should, in our 
contracted situation, make every shift to do 
■ without them, or at least with as few as pos- 
sible. 

" The Northern army is, and ever has been, 
as much the object of ray care and attention as 
the one immediately under my command. * * 
* * I will make particular inquiry of the 
quartermaster-general, concerning his prospect 
and expectations as to the article of tents ; and 
if, as I said before, there appears a sufficiency 
for the whole army, you shall most willingly 
have your share. But, if there is not, surely 
that army whose movement is uncertain, must 
give up its claims for the present to that which 
must inevitably take the field the moment the 
weather will admit, and must continue in it 
the whole campaign." f 



* Gates's Papers. 

t Washington's Writings. Sparks, iv. 427. 



JiT. 45.] GATES' VISIT TO PHILADELPHIA— APPEARS OX THE FLOOR OF CONGRESS. 349 



Notwithstanding this reply, Gates insisted 
in imputing sectional partiality to the com- 
mander-in-chief, and sought to impart the same 
idea to Congress. " Either I am exceedingly 
dull or unreasonably jealous," writes he to his 
correspondent Mr. Lovell, " if I do not discover 
by the style and tenor of the letters from Mor- 
ristown, how little I have to expect from 
thence. Generals are so far like parsons, they 
are all for christening their own child first ; 
hut let an impartial moderating power decide 
between us, and do not sufi"er Southern preju- 
dices to weigh heavier in the balance than the 
Northern." * 

A letter from Mr. Lovell, dated the 23d of 
May, put an end to the suspense of the general 
with respect to his position. " Misconceptions 
of past resolves and consequent jealousies," 
writes he, " have produced a definition of the 
Northern department, and General Schuyler is 
ordered to take command of it. The resolve, 
also, which was thought to fix, head-quarters 
at Albany, is repealed." 

Such a resolve had actually been passed on 
the 22d, and Albany, Ticonderoga, Fort Stan- 
wix, and their dependencies, were thencefor- 
ward to be considered as forming the Northern 
department. The envoy of Gates, bearing the 
letter in which he had carved out a command 
for Schuyler at Peekskill, arrived at Philadel- 
phia too late. The general was already pro- 
vided for. 

Schuyler was received with open arms at 
Albany, on the 3d of June. " I had the satis- 
faction," writes he, " to experience the finest 
feelings which my country expressed on my 
arrival and reappointment. The day after my 
arrival, the whole county committee did me' 
the honor in form to congratulate me." 

Gates was still in Albany, delaying to pro- 
ceed with General Fermois to Ticonderoga un- 
til the garrison should be sufliciently strength- 
ened. Although the resolve of Congress did 
but define his position, which had been misun- 
derstood, he persisted in considering himself 
degraded ; declined serving under General 
Schuyler, who would have given him the post 
at Ticonderoga in his absence ; and obtaining 
permission to leave the department, set out on 
the 9th for Philadelphia to demand redress of 
Congress. 

General St. Clair was sent to take command 
of the troops at Ticonderoga, accompanied by 



Gatee'B Papers, N. Y. Hist. Lib. 



Gen. de Fermois. As the whole force in the 
Northern department would not be sufficient 
to command the extensive works there on both 
sides of the lake, St. Clair was instructed to 
bestow his first attention in fortifying Mount 
Independence, on the east side, Schuyler con- 
sidering it much the most defensible, and that 
it might be made capable of sustaining a long 
and vigorous siege. 

"I am fully convinced," writes he, "that 
between two and three thousand men can elfect- 
ually maintain Mount Independence and secure 
the pass." 

It would be imprudent, he thought, to station 
the greater part of the forces at 'Fort Ticonde- 
roga ; as, should the enemy be able to invest it, 
and cut oif the communication with the country 
on the east side, it might experience a disaster 
similar to that at Fort "Washington. 

The orders of Schuyler to officers command- 
ing posts in the department, are characterized 
by his Dutch attention to cleanliness a^ to the 
quarters of the soldiers, their bedding, cloth- 
ing, and equipments. 

All officers mounting guard were to have 
their hair dressed and powdered. The adju- 
tants of the several corps were to be particular- 
ly careful, that none of the non-commissioned 
officers and soldiers mount guard without hav- 
ing their hair dressed and powdered, their per- 
sons perfectly clean, and their arms and accou- 
trements in the most complete order. 

While Schuyler was thus providing for the 
security of Ticonderoga, and enforcing cleanli- 
ness in his department, Gates was wending his 
Avay to Philadelphia, his bosom swelling Avith 
imaginary wrongs. He arrived there on the 
18th. The next day at noon, Mr. Eoger Sher- 
man, an Eastern delegate, informed Congress 
that General Gates was waiting at the door, 
and wished admittance. 

" For what purpose ? " it was asked. 

" To communicate intelligence of importance," 
replied Mr. Sherman. 

Gates was accordingly ushered in, took his 
seat in an elbow chair, and proceeded to give 
some news concerning the Indians ; their 
friendly dispositions, their delight at seeing 
French officers in the American service, and 
other matters of the kind ; then drawing forth 
some papers from his pocket, he opened upon 
the real object of his visit ; stating from his 
notes, in a flurried and disjointed manner, the 
easy and happy life he had left to take up arms 
for the liberties of America ; and how strenu- 



350 GATES MEETS WITH A REBUFF— THE HIGHLAND PASSES OF THE HUDSON. [1777. 



ously he had exerted himself in its defence ; 
how that some time in March he had been ap- 
pointed to a command in the Northern depart- 
mient ; but that a few days ago, without havmg 
given any cause of offence, without accusation, 
without trial, without hearing, without notice, 
he had received a resolution by which he was, 
in a most disgraceful manner, superseded in his 
command. Here his irritated feelings got the 
better of his judgment, and he indulged in 
angry reproaches of Congress, and recitals of a 
conversation which had taken place between 
him and Mr. Duane, a member of the House, 
whom he considered his enemy. Here Mr. 
Duane rose, and addressing himself to the pres- 
ident, hoped the general would observe order, 
and cease any personal observations, as he could 
not, in Congress, enter into any controversy 
with him u-^on the subject of former conversa- 
tions. 

Other of the members took fire ; the conduct of 
the general was pronounced disrespectful to the 
House, and unworthy of himself, and it was 
moved and seconded that he be requested to with- 
draw. Some of the Eastern delegates opposed 
the motion, and endeavored to palliate his con- 
duct. A wordy clamor ensued, during which the 
general stood, his papers in his hand, endeavor- 
ing several times to be heard ; but the clamor 
increasing, he withdrew with the utmost in- 
dignation. It was then determined that he 
should not again be admitted on the floor ; but 
should be informed that Congress were ready 
and willing to hear, by way of memorial, any 
grievances of which he might have to com- 
plain.* 



CHAPTER VII. 

The Highland passes of the Hudson, always 
objects of anxious thought to Washington, were 
especially so at this juncture. General Mc- 
Dougall still commanded at Peekskill, and 
General George Clinton, who resided at New 
"Windsor, had command of the Highland forts. 
The latter, at the earnest request of the New 
York Convention, had received from Congress 
the command of brigadier-general in the Conti- 
nental army. " My precarious state of health 
• and want of military knowledge," writes he, 
" would have rather induced me to have led a 
more retired life than that of the army, had I 



Letter of the lion. Wm. Ducv. Schuyler's Papers. 



been consulted on the occasion ; but as, early 
in the present contest, I laid it down as a max- 
im not to refuse my best, though poor services, 
to my country in any way they should think 
proper to employ me, I cannot refuse the honor 
done me in the present appointment." * 

He was perfectly sincere in what he said, 
George Clinton was one of the soldiers of the 
Revolution who served from a sense of duty, 
not from military inclination or a thirst for 
glory. A long career of public service in 
various capacities illustrated his modest worth 
and devoted patriotism. 

When the " unhappy affair of Peekskill " had 
alarmed the Convention of New York for the 
safety of the forts on the Highlands, Clinton, 
authorized by that body, had ordered out part 
of the militia of Orange, Dutchess, and West- 
chester counties, without waiting for Washing- 
ton's approbation of the measure. He had 
strengthened, also, with anchors and cables, 
the chain drawn across the river at Fort Mont- 
gomery. " Had the Convention suffered me 
to have paid my whole attention to this busi- 
ness," writes he to Washington (18th April), 
" it would have been nearly completed by this 
time." 

A few days later came word that several 
transports were anchored at Dobbs' Ferry in 
the Tappan Sea. It might be intended to 
divert attention from a movement towards the 
Delaware ; or to make incursions into the 
country back of Morristown, seize on the passes 
through the mountains, and cut off the com- 
munication between the army and the Hudson. 
To frustrate such a design, Washington ordered. 
Clinton to post as good a number of troops 
from his garrison as he could spare, on the 
mountains west of the river. 

In the month of May, he writes to General 
McDougall : " The imperfect state of the forti- 
fications of Fort Montgomery gives me great 
uneasiness, because I think, from a concurrence 
of circumstances, that it begins to look as if the 
enemy intended to turn their view towards 
the North River instead of the Delaware. I 
therefore desire that General George Clinton, 
and yourself, will fall upon every measure to 
put the fortifications in such a state that they 
may at least resist a sudden attack, and keep 
the enemy employed till reinforcements may 
arrive. If the North River is their object, 
they cannot accomplish it unless they with- 



* Clinton to Washington. 



JEj. 45.] REPORT ON THE DEFENCES OF THE HIGHLANDS— ARNOLD AND PUTNAM. 35I 



draw their forces from the Jerseys, and that 
they cannot do unknown to us." 

On the 12th of May, General Greene received 
instructions from Washington to proceed to 
the Highlands, and examine the state and con- 
dition of the forts, especially Fort Montgom- 
ery ; the probability of an attack by water, 
the practicabihty of an approach by land ; 
where and how this could be effected, and the 
eminences whence the forts could be annoyed. 
This done, and the opinions of the general otS- 
cers present having been consulted, he was to 
give stich orders and make such disposition of 
the troops as might appear necessary for the 
greater security of the passes by land and water. 
When reconnoitring the Highlands in the pre- 
ceding year, Washington had remarked a wild 
and rugged pass on the western side of the 
Hudson round Bull Hill, a rocky, forest-clad 
mountain, forming an advance rampart at the 
entrance to Peekskill Bay. " This pass," he 
observed, " should also be attended to, lest the 
enemy iy a coup de main sJiould 2)ossess them- 
selves of it lefore a sufficient force could l)e as- 
semiled to oppose themy Subsequent events 
will illustrate, though unfortunately, the saga- 
city and foresight of this particular instruc- 
tion. 

General Knox was associated with General 
Greene in this visit of inspection. They ex- 
amined the river and the passes of the High- 
lands in company with Generals McDougall, 
George ' Clinton, and Anthony Wayne. The 
latter, recently promoted to the rank of brig- 
adier, had just returned from Ticonderoga. 
The five generals made a joint report to Wash- 
ington, in which they recommended the com- 
pletion of the obstructions in the river already 
commenced. These consisted of a boom, or 
heavy iron chain, across the river from Fort 
Montgomery to Anthony's Nose, with cables 
stretched in front to break the force of any 
ship under way, before she should strike it. 
The boom was to be protected by the guns of 
two ships and two row galleys stationed just 
above it, and by batteries on shore. This, it 
was deemed, would be suflScient to prevent the 
enemy's ships from ascending the river. If 
these obstructions could be rendered effective, 
they did not think the enemy would attempt 
to operate by laud ; "the passes through the 
Highlands being so exceedingly difficult." 

The general command of the Hudson, from 
the number of troops to be assembled there, 
and the variety of points to be guarded, was 



one of the most important in the service, and 
required an officer of consummate energy, ac- 
tivity, and judgment. It was a major-general's 
command, and as such was offered by Wash- 
ington to Arnold ; intending thus publicly to 
manifest his opinion of his deserts, and hoping, 
by giving him so important a post, to appease 
his irritated feelings. 

Arnold, however, declined to accept it. In 
an interview with Washington at Morristown, 
he alleged his anxiety to proceed to Philadel- 
phia and settle his public accounts, which 
were of considerable amount ; especially as re- 
ports had been circulated injurious to his char- 
acter as a man of integrity. He intended, 
therefore, to wait on Congress, and request a 
committee of inquiry into his conduct. Beside, 
he did not consider the promotion conferred 
on him by Congress sufficient to obviate their 
previous neglect, as it did not give him the 
rank, he had a claim to, from seniority in the 
line of brigadiers. In their last resolve re- 
specting him, they had acknowledged him com- 
petent to the station of major-general, and, 
therefore, had done away every objection im- 
plied by their former omission. With these 
considerations he proceeded to Philadelphia, 
bearing a letter from Washington to the Presi- 
dent of Congress, countenancing his complaints, 
and testifying to the excellence of his military 
character. We may here add, that the accusa- 
tions against him were pronounced false and 
slanderous by the Board of War ; and the re- 
port of the board was confirmed by Congress, 
but that Arnold was still left aggrieved and 
unredressed in point of rank. 

The important command of the Hudson be- 
ing declined by Arnold, was now given to Put- 
nam, who repaired forthwith to Peekskill. 
General McDougall was requested by Washing- 
ton to aid the veteran in gaining a knowledge 
of the post. " You are well acquainted," writes 
he, "with the old gentleman's -temper ; he is 
active, disinterested, and open to conviction." 

Putnam set about promptly to carry into 
effect the measures of security which Greene 
and Knox had recommended ; especially the 
boom and chain at Fort Montgomery, about 
which General George Clinton had busied him- 
self. Putnam had a peculiar fancy for river 
obstructions of the kind. A large part of the 
New York and New England troops were sta- 
tioned at this post, not merely to guard the 
Hudson, but to render aid either to the Eastern 
or Middle States in case of exigency. 



85i 



WASHINGTON AT MIDDLEBROOK— STATE OF THE ARMY. 



[1111. 



About this time, "Washington had the satis- 
faction of drawing near to him his old friend 
and travelling companion, Dr. James Craik, 
the same who had served with him in Brad- 
dock's campaign, and had voyaged with him 
down the Oliio ; for whom he now procured 
the appointment of assistant director-general 
of the Hospital department of the middle dis- 
trict, which included the States between the 
Hudson and the Potomac. In ottering the 
situation to the doctor, he writes, " you know 
how far you may be benefited or injured by 
such an appointment, and whether it is advis- 
able or practicable for you to quit your family 
and practice at this time. I request, as a 
friend, that my proposing this matter to you 
may have no influence upon your acceptance 
of it. I have no other end in view than to 
serve you." Dr. Craik, it will be found, remained 
his attached and devoted friend through life. 

It had been Washington's earnest wish in 
the early part of the spring, to take advantage 
of the inactivity of the enemy, and attempt 
some " capital stroke " for the benefit of the 
next campaign ; but the Avaut of troops pre- 
vented him. He now planned a night expe- 
dition for Putnam, exactly suited to the humor 
of the old general. He was to descend the 
Hudson in boats, surprise Fort Independence 
at Spyt den Duivel Creek, capture the garri- 
son, and sweep the road between that post and 
the Highlands. Putnam was all on fire for the 
enterprise, when movements on the part of the 
enemy, seemingly indicative of a design upon 
Philadel])hia, obliged Washington to abandon 
the project, and exert aU his vigilance in watch- 
ing the hostile operations in the Jerseys. 

Accordingly, towards the end of May, he 
broke up his cantonments at Morristowu, and 
shifted his camp to Middlebrook, within ten 
miles of Brunswick. His whole force fit for 
duty was now about seven thousand three 
hundred men, all from the States south of the 
Hudson. There were forty-three regiments, 
forming ten brigades, commanded by Briga- 
diers Muhlenberg, Weedon, Woodford, Sxjott, 
Smallwood, Deborre, Wayne, Dehaas, Conway, 
and Maxwell. These were apportioned into 
five divisions of two brigades each, under 
Major-Generals Greene, Stephen, SuUivan, Lin- 
coln, and Stirling. The artillery was com- 
manded by Knox. Sullivan, with his division, 
was stationed on the right at Princeton. With 
the rest of his force, Washington fortified him- 
self in a position naturally strong, among hills, 



in the rear of the village of Middlebrook. His 
camp was, on all sides, difficult of approach, 
and he rendered it still more so by intrench- 
ments. The high grounds about it commanded 
a wide view of the country around Brunswiclc, 
the road to Philadelphia, and the course of the 
Earitan, so that the enemy could make no im- 
portant movement on land, without his per- 
ceiving it. 

It was now the beautiful season of the year, 
and the troops from their height beheld a fer- 
tile and well-cultivated country spread before 
them, " painted with meadows, green fields, 
and orchards, studded with villages, and afford- 
ing abimdant supplies and forage." A part of 
their duty was to guard it from the ravage of 
tlie enemy, while they held themselves ready 
to counteract his movements in every direction. 

On the 31st of May, reports were brought 
to camp that a fleet of a hundred sail had left 
jSTew Yoi'k, and stood out to sea. Whither 
bound, and how freighted, was unknown. If 
they carried troops, their destination might be 
Delaware Bay. Eighteen transports, also, had 
arrived at New York, with troops in foreign 
uniforms. Were they those which had been 
in Canada, or others immediately from Ger- 
many ? Those who had reconnoitred them 
with glasses could not tell. All was matter of 
anxious conjecture. 

Lest the fleet which had put to sea should 
be bound farther south than Delaware Bay, 
Washington instantly wrote to Patrick Henry, 
at that time governor of Virginia, putting him 
on his guard. " Should this fleet arrive on 
your coast, and the enemy penetrate the coun- 
try, or make incursions, I would recommend 
that the earliest opposition be made by parties 
and detachments of militia, without Avaiting to 
collect a large body. I am convinced that this 
would be attended with the most salutary con- 
sequences, and that greater advantages would 
be derived from it, than by deferring the op- 
position till you assemble a number equal to 
that of the enemy." 

The troops in foreign uniforms which had 
landed from the transports, proved to be An- 
spachers, and other German mercenaries ; there 
were British reinforcements also ; and, Avhat 
was particularly needed, a supply of tents and 
camp equipage. Sir William Howe had been 
waiting for the latter, and likewise until the 
ground should be covered with grass.* 

* Evidence of Major-Genoral Grey before the House of 
Commons. 



Ml. 45.] HOWE CROSSES INTO THE JERSEYS— REED'S APPEAL TO WASHINGTON. 35? 



The country was now in full verdure, aflford- 
ing " green forage " in abundance, and all 
things seemed to Sir William propitious for 
the opening of the campaign. Early in June, 
therefore, he gave up ease and gayety, and lux- 
urious life at New York, and crossing into the 
Jerseys, set up his head-quarters at Bruns- 
wick. 

As soon as Washington ascertained that Sir 
William's attention was completely turned to 
this quarter, he determined to strengthen his 
position with all the force that could be spared 
from other parts, so as to be able, in case a 
favorable opportunity presented, to make an 
attack upon the enemy ; in the mean time, he 
would harass them with his light militia troops, 
aided by a few Continentals, so as to weaken 
their numbers by continual skirmishes. With 
this view, he ordered Qeneral Putnam to send 
down most of the Continental troops from 
Peekskill, leaving only a number suflBcient, in 
conjunction with the militia, to guard that 
post against surprise. They were to proceed 
in three divisions under Generals Parsons, Mc- 
Dougall, and Glover, at one day's march dis- 
tance from each other. 

Arnold, in this critical juncture, had been 
put in command of Philadelphia, a post which 
he had been induced to accept, although the 
question of rank had not been adjusted to his 
satisfaction. His command embraced the west- 
ern bank of the Delaware, with all its fords and 
passes, and he took up his station there with a 
strong body of militia, supported by a few 
Continentals, to oppose any attempt of the 
enemy to cross the river. He was instructed 
by Washington to give him notice by expresses, 
posted on the road, if any fleet should appear 
in Delaware Bay ; and to endeavor to concert 
signals with the camp of Sullivan at Princeton, 
by alarm fires upon the hills. 

On the night of the 13th of June, General 
Howe sallied forth in great force from Bruns- 
wick, as if pushing directly for the Delaware ; 
but his advanced guard halted at Somerset 
court-house, about eight or nine miles distant. 
Apprised of this movement, Washington at day- 
break reconnoitred the enemy from the heights 
before the camp. He observed their front 
halting at the court-house, but a few miles dis- 
tant, while troops and artillery were grouped 
here and there along the road, and the rear- 
guard was still at Brunswick. It was a ques- 
tion with Washington and his generals, as they 
reconnoitred the enemy with their glasses, 
23 



whether this was a real move toward Phila- 
delphia, or merely a lure to tempt them down 
from their strong position. In this uncertainty, 
Washington drew out his anny in battle array 
along the heights, but kept quiet. In the pres- 
ent State of his forces it was his plan not to 
risk a general action ; but, should the enemy 
really march toward the Delaware, to hang 
heavily upon their rear. Their principal diffi- 
culty would be in crossing that river, and there, 
he trusted, they would meet with spirited op- 
position from the Continental troops and militia, 
stationed on the western side under Arnold and 
Mifflin. 

The British took up a strong position, having 
Millstone Crfek on their left, the Earitan all 
along their front, and their right resting on 
Brunswick, and proceeded to fortify them- 
selves with bastions. 

While thus anxiously situated, Washington, 
on the 14:th, received a letter from Colonel 
Eeed, his former secretary and confidential 
friend. A coolness had existed on the gen- 
eral's part, ever since he had unwarily opened 
the satirical letter of General Lee ; yet he had 
acted towards Keed with his habitual high- 
mindedness, and had recently nominated him as 
general of cavalry. The latter had deeply de- 
plored the interruption of their once unreserv- 
ed intercourse ; he had long, he said, desired to 
have one hour of private conversation with 
Washington on the subject of Lee's letter, but 
had deferred it in the hope of obtaining his 
own letter to which that was an answer. In 
that he had been disappointed by Lee's captivity, 
On the present occasion, Reed's heart was full, 
and he refers to former times in language that 
is really touching : 

" I am sensible, my dear sir," writes he, 
" how difficult it is to regain lost friendship ; 
but the consciousness of never having justly 
forfeited yours, and the hope that it may be in 
my power fully to convince you of it, are some 
consolation for an event which I never think 
of but with the greatest concern. In the mean 
time, my dear general, let me entreat you to 
judge of me by realities, not by appearances ; 
and belipve that I never entertained or ex- 
pressed a sentiment incompatible with that re- 
gard I professed for your person and charac- 
ter, and which, whether I shall be so happy as 
to possess your future good opinion or not, I 
shall carry to my grave with me. 

" A late perusal of the letters you hon- 
ored me with at Cambridge and Few York,. 



354 WASHINGTON'S KEPLY TO REED— RUMOEED INROADS FROM THE NORTH. [IVIT. 



last year, afforded me a melanclioly j^leasure. 
I cannot help acknowledging myself deeply 
affected in a comparison with those which I 
have since received. I should not, my dear 
sir, have trespassed on your time and patience 
at this juncture so long, but that a former letter 
upon this subject I fear has miscarried ; an-d 
whatever may be my future destination and 
course of life, I could not support the reflection 
of being thought ungrateful and insincere to a 
friendship which was equally my pride and my 
pleasure. May God Almighty crown your 
virtue, my dear and much respected general, 
with deserved success, and make your life as 
happy and honorable to yourself as it has been 
useful to your country." 

The heart of "Washington was moved by this 
appeal, and though in the midst of military 
preparations, with a hostile army at hand, he 
detained Colonel Reed's messenger long enough 
to write a short letter in reply : " to thank 
you," said he, " as I do most sincerely, for the 
friendly and affectionate sentiments contained 
in yours towards me, and to assure you that I 
am perfectly convinced of the sincerity of 
them. 

" True it is, I felt myself hurt by a certain 
letter, which appeared at that time to be the 
echo of one from you ; I was hurt — not be- 
cause I thought my judgment wronged by the 
expressions contained in it, but because the 
same sentiments were not communicated im- 
mediately to myself. The favorable manner in 
which your opinions, upon all occasions, had 
been received, the impressions they made, and 
the unreserved m^ner in which I wished and 
required them to be given, entitled me, I 
thought, to your advice upon any point in 
which I appeared to be wanting. To meet 
with any thing, then, that carried with it a 
complexion of withholding that advice from 
me, and censuring my conduct to another, was 
such an argument of disingenuity, that I was 
not a little mortified at it. However, I am 
perfectly satisfied that matters were not as 
they appeared from the letter alluded to." 

Washington was not of a distrustful spirit. 
From this moment, Ave are told that all es- 
trangement disappeared, and the ancient rela- 
tions of friendly confidence between him and 
Colonel Reed were restored.* His whole con- 
duct throughout the affair bears evidence of 
his candor and magnanimity. • 

* Life of Reed, Ijy his grandson. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

The American and British armies, strongly 
posted, as we liave shown, the former along 
the heights of Middlebrook, the other beyond 
the Raritan, remained four days grimly regard- 
ing each other ; both waiting to be attacked. 
The Jersey militia, which now turned out with 
alacrity, repaired some to Washington's camp, 
others to that of Sullivan. The latter had 
fallen back from Princeton, and taken a po- 
sition behind the Sourland HUls. 

Howe pushed out detachments, and made 
several feints, as if to pass by the American 
camp, and march to the Delaware ; but Wash- 
ington was not to be deceived. " The enemy 
will not move that way," said he, " until they 
have given this army a severe blow. The risk 
would be too great to attempt to cross a river 
where they must expect to meet a formidable 
opposition in front, and would have such a 
force as ours in their rear." He kept on the 
heights, therefore, and strengthened his in- 
trenchments. 

Baffled in these attempts to draw his cautious 
adversary into a general action, Howe, on the 
19th, suddenly broke up his camp, and pre- 
tended to return with some precipitation to 
Brunswick, burning as he went several valuable 
dwelling-houses. Washington's light troops 
hovered round the enemy as far as the Raritan 
and Millstone, which secured their flanks, would 
permit ; but the main army kept to its strong- 
hold on the heighfs. 

On the next day came warlike news from 
the North. Amesbury, a British spy, had been 
seized and examined by Schuyler. Burgoyne 
was stated as being arrived at Quebec to com- 
mand the forces in an invasion from Canada. 
While he advanced with his main force by 
Lake Cham plain, a detachment of British ' 
troops, Canadians, and Indians, led by Sir John 
Johnson, was to penetrate by Oswego to the \ 
Mohawk River, and place itself between Fort i 
Stanwix and Fort Edward. 

If this information was correct, Ticonderoga s 
would soon be attacked. The force there i 
might be sufilcient for its defence, but Schuyler 
would have no troops to oppose the inroad of 
Sir John Johnson, and he urged a reinforce- 
ment. Washington forthwith sent orders to 
Putnam to procure sloops, and hold four Mas- fi 
sachusetts regiments in readiness to go up the » 
river at a moment's warning. Still, if the in- ^ 



/Et. 45.] CORNWALLIS ATTACKS STIRLING— THE ENEMY EVACUATE THE JERSEYS. 355 



formation of the spy was correct, he doubted 
the ability of the enemy to carry the reported 
plan into effect. It did not appear that Bur- 
goyne had brought any reinforcements from 
Europe. If so, he could not move with a 
greater force than five thousand men. The 
garrison at Ticonderoga was sufficiently strong, 
according to former accounts, to hold it against 
an attack. Burgoyne certainly would never 
leave it in his rear, and if he invested it, he 
would not have a sufficient number left to send 
one body to Oswego and another to cut off 
the communications between Fort Edward and 
Fort George. Such was Washington's reason- 
ing in reply to Schuyler. In the mean time, 
he retained his mind unflurried by these new 
rumors ; keeping from his heights a vigilant 
eye upon General ITowe. 

On the 22d, Sir William again marched out 
of Brunswick, but this time proceeded towards 
Amboy, again burning several houses on the 
way ; hoping, perhaps, that the sight of col- 
umns of smoke rising from a ravaged country, 
would irritate the Americans and provoke an 
attack. Washington sent out three brigades 
under General Greene to fall upon the rear of 
the enemy, while Morgan hung upon their 
skirts with his riflemen. At the same time 
the army remained paraded on the heights, 
ready to yield support, if necessary . 

Finding that Howe had actually sent his 
heavy baggage and part of his troops over to 
Staten Island by a bridge of boats, which he 
had thrown across, Washington, on the 24th, 
left the heights and descended to Quibbletown 
(now New Market), six or seven miles on the 
road to Amboy, to be nearer at hand for the 
protection of his advanced parties ; while Lord 
Stirling with his division and some light troops 
was at Matouchin church, closer to the enemy's 
lines, to watch their motions, and be ready to 
harass them while crossing to the island. 

General Howe now thought he had gained 
his point. Eecalling those who had crossed, 
he formed his troops into two columns, the 
right led by Cornwallis, the left by himself, 
and marched back rapidly by different routes* 
from Amboy. He had three objects in view : 
to cut off the principal advanced parties of the 
Americans ; to come up with and bring the main 
body into an engagement near Quibbletown ; 
or that Lord Cornwallis, making a consider- 
able circuit to the right, should turn the left 
of Washington's position, get to the heights, 
take possession of the passes, and oblige him 



to abandon that stronghold where he had 
hitherto been so seciare.* 

Washington, however, had timely notice of 
his movements, and penetrating his design, 
regained his fortified camp at Middlebrook, and 
secured the passes of the mountains. He then 
detached a body of light troops under Brigadier- 
General Scott, together with Morgan's riflemen, 
to hang on the flank of the enemy and watch 
their motions. 

Cornwallis, in his circuitous march, dispersed 
the light parties of the advance, but fell in with 
Lord Stirling's division, strongly posted in a 
woody country, and well covered by artillery 
judiciously disposed. A sharp skirmish ensued, 
when the Americans gave way and retreated 
to the hills, with the loss of a few men and 
three field-pieces ; while the British halted at 
Westfield, disappointed in the main objects of 
their enterprise. They remained at Westfield 
until the afternoon of the 27th, when they 
moved toward Spanktown (now Eahway), 
plundering aU before them, and, it is said, 
burning several houses ; but pursued and ha- 
rassed the whole way by the American light 
troops.t 

Perceiving that every scheme of bringing 
the Americans to a general action, or at least 
of withdrawing them from their strong- 
holds, was rendered abortive by the caution 
and prudence of Washington, and aware of the 
madness of attempting to march to the Dela- 
ware, through a hostile country, with such a 
force in his rear. Sir William Howe broke up 
his head-quarters at Amboy on the last of 
Jnne, and crossed over to Staten Island on 
the floating bridge ; his troops that were en- 
camped opposite to Amboy struck their tents 
on the following day, and marched. off to the 
old camping ground on the Bay of New York ; 
the ships got under way, and moved down 
round the island ; and it was soon apparent, 
that at length the enemy had really evacuated 
the Jerseys. 

The question now was, what would be their 
next move ? A great stir among the shipping 
seemed to indicate an expedition by water. 
But whither ? Circumstances occurred to per- 
plex the question. 

Scarce had the last tent been struck, and the 
last transport disappeared from before Amboy, 
when intelligence arrived from General St. 
Clair, announcing the appearance of a hostile 



* Civil "War in America, v. i., p. 247. 

t Letter to the President of ConrxreF?, 2Stli June, 1777. 



356 



MOVEMENTS OF THE ENEMY— SPECULATIONS OF WASHINGTON. 



[1111. 



fleet on Lake Champlain, and that General 
Burgoyne with the whole Canada army was 
approaching Ticonderoga. The judgment and 
circumspection of Washington were never more 
severely put to the proof. Was this merely a 
diversion with a small force of light troops and 
Indians, intending to occupy the attention of 
the American forces in that quarter, while the 
main body of the army in Canada should come 
round by sea, and form a junction with the 
army under Howe? But General Burgoyne, 
in Washington's opinion, was a man of too 
mucb spirit and enterprise to return from 
England merely to execute a plan from which 
no honor was to be derived. Did be really 
intend to break through by the way of Ticon- 
deroga ? In that case it must be Howe's plan 
to co-operate with him. Had all the recent 
manceuvres of the enemy in the Jerseys, which 
bad appeared so enigmatical to Washington, 
been merely a stratagem to amuse bim until 
they should receive intelligence of the move- 
ments of Burgoyne ? If so, Sir William must 
soon throw off the mask. His next move, in 
such case, would be to ascend the -Hudson, 
seize on the Highland passes before Washing- 
ton could form a union with the troops station- 
ed there, and thus open the way for the junc- 
tion with Burgoyne. Should Washmgton, 
however, on such a presumption, hasten with 
his troops to Peekskill, leaving General Howe 
on Staten Island, what would prevent the lat- 
ter from pushing to Philadelphia by South 
Amboy, or any other route 1 

Such were the perplexities and difficulties 
presenting themselves under every aspect of 
the case, and discussed by Washington in his 
correspondence with his accustomed clearness. 
In this dilemma he sent Generals Parsons and 
Varnum with a couple of brigades in all haste 
to Peekskill; and wrote to Generals George 
Clinton and Putnam ; the former to call out 
the New York militia from Orange and Ulster 
Counties; the latter to summon the militia 
from Connecticut ; and as soon as such rein- 
forcements should be at hand, to despatch four 
of the strongest Massachusetts regiments to 
the aid of Ticonderoga ; at the same time the 
expediency was suggested to General Schuyler, 
of having all the cattle and vehicles removed 
from such parts of the country which he 
might think the enemy intended to pene- 
trate. 

General Sullivan, moreover, was ordered to 
advance with his division towards the High- 



lands, as far as Pompton, while Washington 
moved his own camp back to Morristown, to 
be ready either to push on to the Highlands, 
or fall back upon his recgnt position at Middle- 
brook, according to the movements of the 
enemy. " If I can keep General Howe below 
the Highlands," said he, " I think tlieir schemes 
will be entirely baffled." 

Deserters from Staten Island and New York 
soon brought word to the camp that transports 
were being fitted up with berths for horses, 
and taking in three weeks' supply of water 
and provender. All this indicated some other 
destination than that of the Hudson. Lest an 
attempt on the Eastern States should be in- 
tended, Washington sent a circular to their 
governors to put them on their guard. 

In the midst of his various cares, his yeoman 
soldiery, the Jersey militia, were not forgotten. 
It was their harvest time ; and the State being 
evacuated, there was no immediate call for 
their services ; he dismissed, therefore, almost 
the whole of them to their homes. 

Captain Graydon, whose memoirs we have 
heretofore had occasion to quote, paid a visit 
to the camp at this juncture, in company with 
Colonel Miles and Major West, all American 
prisoners on Long Island, but who had been 
liberated on parole. Graydon remarks that, 
to their great surprise, they saw no military 
parade upon their journey, nor any indication 
of martial vigor on the part of the country. 
Here and there a militia man with his con- 
trasted colored cape and facings; doubtless 
some one who had received his furlough, and 
was bound home to his farm. Captains, 
majors, and colonels abounded in the land, 
but were not to be found at the head of their 
men. 

When he arrived at the camp, he could see 
nothing which deserved the name of army. 
" I was told, indeed," remarks he, " that it 
was much weakened by detachments, and I 
was glad to find there was some cause for the 
present paucity of soldiers. I could not doubt, 
however, that things were going on well. The 
commander-in-chief and all about him were in 
excellent spirits." The three officers waited 
on Washington at his marquee in the evening. 
In the course of conversation, he asked them 
what they conceived to be the objects of Gen- 
eral Howe. Colonel Miles replied, a co-opera- 
tion with the Northern army, by means of the 
Hudson. Washmgton acknowledged that in- 
dications and probabilities tended to that con- 



^T. 45.] HAMILTON AT HEAD-QUARTERS— BRITISH INVASION FROM CANADA. 



J57 



elusion ; nevertheless, he had little doubt the 
object of Howe was Philadelphia. 

Graydon and his companions dined the next 
day at head-quarters ; there was a large party, 
in which were several ladies. Colonel Alex- 
ander Hamilton, who, in the preceding month 
of April, had been received into "Washington's 
family as aide-de-camp, presided at the head 
of the table, and " acquitted himself," writes 
Graydon, " with an ease, propriety, and viva- 
city which gave me the most favorable impres- 
sion of his talents and accomplishments." 

"We may here observe that the energy, skill, 
and intelligence displayed by Hamilton through- 
out the last year's campaign, whenever his 
limited command gave him opportunity of 
evincing them, had won his entrance ' to head- 
quarters ; where his quick discernment and 
precocious judgment were soon fuUy appreci- 
ated. Strangers were surprised to see a youth, 
scarce twenty years of age, received into the 
implicit confidence, and admitted into the 
gravest counsels of a man like "Washington. 
"While his uncommon talents thus commanded 
respect, rarely inspired by one of his years, his 
juvenile appearance and buoyant spirit made 
him a universal favorite. Harrison, the " old 
secretary," much his senior, looked upon him 
with an almost paternal eye, and regarding his 
diminutive size and towering spirit, used to 
call him " the little lion ; " while "Washington 
would now and then speak of him by the 
cherishing appellation of '' my boy." * 

The following is Graydon's amusing account 
of "Wayne, whom he visited at his quarters, 
" He entertained the most sovereign contempt 
for the enemy. In his confident way, he af- 
firmed that? the two armies had interchanged 
their original modes of warfare. That for our 
parts, we had thrown away the shovel, and 
the British had taken it up, as they dared not 
face us without the cover of an intrenchment. 
I made some allowance for the fervid manner 

* Communicated to the autlior by the late Mrs. Ham- 
ilton. 

NOTE. 

A veteran officer of the Revolution used to speak 
in his old days of the occasion on which he first saw 
Hamilton. It was during the memorable retreat 
through the Jerseys. " I noticed," said he, " a youth, 
a mere stripling, small, slender, almost delicate in 
frame, marching beside a piece of artillery, with a 
cocked hat pulled down over his eyes, apparently lost 
in thought, with his hand resting on the cannon, and 
every now and then patting it as he mused, as if it 
were a favorite horse, or a pet plaything." 



of the general, who, though unquestionably as 
brave a man as any in the army, was neverthe- 
less somewhat addicted to the vaunting style 
of Marshal Villars, a man who, like himself, 
could fight as well as brag." 

Graydon speaks of the raotly, shabby cloth- 
ing of the troops. " Even in General "Wayne 
himself, there was in this particular a consid- 
erable falling oflP. His quondam regimentals as 
colonel of the 4th battalion were, I think, blue 
and white, in which he had been accustomed 
to appear with exemplary neatness ; whereas 
he was now dressed in character for Macheath 
or Captain Gibbet, in a dingy red coat, with a 
black rusty cravat and tarnished hat." "Wayne 
was doubtless still rusty from his campaigning 
in the north. 

Graydon, during his recent captivity, had 
been accustomed to the sight of British troops 
in the completeness of martial array, and looked 
with a rueful eye on patriotism in rags. From 
all that he saw at the camp, he suspected 
affairs were not in a prosperous train, notwith- 
standing the cheerful countenances at head- 
quarters. There appeared to be a want of 
animated co-operation both on the part of the 
government and the people " General "Wash- 
ington, with the little remnant of his army at 
Morristown, seemed left to scuffle for liberty, 
like another Cato at Utica." "' 

"We will now turn to the Forth, and lift the 
curtain for a moment, to give the reader a 
glance at affairs in that quarter about which 
there were such dubious rumors. 



CHAPTER IX. 

The armament advancing against Ticonde- 
roga, of which General St. Clair had given 
intelligence, was not a mere diversion, but a 
regular invasion ; the plan of which had been 
devised by the king. Lord George Germain, 
and General Burgoyne, the latter having re- 
turned to England from Canada in the preced- 
ing year. The junction of the two armies, — 
that in Canada and that under General Howe 
in E"ew York, — was considered the speediest 
mode of quelling the rebellion; and as the 
security and good government of Canada re- 
quired the presence of Governor Sir Guy Carle- 
ton, three thousand men were to remain there 



* Graydou'8 Memoirs, ji. 282. 



858 



PLANS OF BURGOYNE— SCHUYLER ON THE ALERT. 



[im. 



with him ; tlie residue of the array was to be 
employed upon two expeditions ; the one under 
General Burgoyne, who was to force his way 
to Albany, the other under Lieutenant-Colonel 
St. Leger, who was to make a diversion on the 
Mohawk Eiver. 

The invading army was composed of three 
thousand seven hundred and twenty-four Brit- 
ish rank and file, three thousand sixteen Ger- 
mans, mostly Brunswickers, two hundred and 
fifty Canadians, and four hundred Indians ; be- 
side these there were four hundred and seventy- 
three artillery men, in all nearly eight thousand 
men. The army was admirably appointed. 
Its brass train of artillery was extolled as per- 
haps the finest ever allotted to an army of the 
size. General Phillips, who commanded the 
artillery, had gained great reputation in the 
wars in Germany. Brigadiers-General Eraser, 
Powel, and Hamilton, were also officers of dis- 
tinguished merit. So was Major-General the 
Baron Eiedesel, a Brunswicker, who command- 
ed the German troops. 

While Burgoyne with the main force pro- 
ceeded from St. Johns, Colonel St, Leger, with 
a detachment of regulars and Canadians, about 
seven hundred strong, was -to land at Oswego, 
and, guided by Sir John Johnson at the head 
of his loyalist volunteers, tory refugees from 
his former neighborhood, and a body of Indians, 
was to enter the Mohawk country, draw the 
attention of General Schuyler in that direction, 
attack Fort Stanwix, and having ravaged the 
valley of the Mohawk, rejoin Burgoyne at Al- 
bany ; where it was expected they would make 
a triumphant junction with the army of Sir 
"\Yilliara Howe. 

General Burgoyne left St. Johns on the 16th 
of June. Some idea may be formed of his 
buoyant anticipation of a triumphant progress 
through the country, by the manifold and lum- 
bering appurtenances of a European camp with 
which his army was encumbered. In this re- 
spect he had committed the same error in his 
campaign through a wilderness of lakes and 
forests, that had once embarrassed the unfortu- 
nate Braddock in his march across the moun- 
tains of Virginia. 

Schuyler was uncertain as to the plans and 
force of the enemy. If information gathered 
i'rom scouts and a captured spy might be relied 
on, Ticonderoga would soon be attacked ; but 
he trusted the garrison was sufficient to main- 
tain it. This information he transmitted to 
■Washington from Eort Edward on the 16th, 



the very day that Burgoyne embarked at St. 
Johns. 

On the following day Schuyler was at Ticon- 
deroga. The works were not in such a state 
of forwardness as he had anticipated, owing to 
the tardy arrival of troops, and the want of a 
sufticient mmiber of artificers. The works in 
question related chiefly to Mount Independence, 
a high circular hiU on the east side of the lake, 
immediately opposite to the old fort, and con- 
sidered the most defensible. A star fort with 
pickets crowned the summit of the hill, which 
was table land ; half way down the side of a 
hill was a battery, and at its foot were strongly 
intrenched works well mounted v>-ith cannon. 
Here the French General de Fermois, who had 
charge of this fort, was posted. 

As this part of Lake Champlain is narrow, a 
connection was kept up between the two forts 
by a floating bridge, supported on twenty-two 
sunken piers in caissons, formed of very strong 
timber. Between the piers were separate 
floats,' fifty feet long and twelve feet wide, 
strongly connected by iron chains and rivets. 
On the north side of the bridge was a boom, 
composed of large pieces of timber, secured by 
riveted bolts, and beside this was a double iron 
chain with links an inch and a half square. 
The bridge, boom, and chain were four hundred 
yards in length. This immense work, the labor 
of months, on which no expense had been 
spared, was intended, while it afforded a com- 
munication between the two forts, to protect 
the upper part of the lake, presenting, under 
cover of their guns, a barrier, which it was 
presumed no hostile ship would be able to 
break through. 

Having noted the state of affairs and the 
wants i)f the garrison, Schuyler hastened to 
Fort George, whence he sent on provisions for 
upwards of sixty days ; and from the banks of 
the Hudson additional carpenters and working 
cattle. ''Business will now go on in better 
train, and I hope with much more spirit," 
Avrites ho to Congress ; " and I trust we shall 
stiU be able to put every thing in such order as 
to give the enemy a good reception, and, I hope 
a repulse, should they attempt a real attack, 
which I conjecture will not be soon, if at all; 
although I expect they will approach Avith 
their fleet to keep us in alarm, and to draw our 
attention from other quarters where they may 
mean a real attack." 

His idea was that, while their fleet and a 
small body of troops might appear before Ti- 



J3t. *5.] BURGOYNE OX LAKE CHAMPLAIN— HIS WAR-SPEECH TO THE INDIANS. 359 



conderoga, and keep up continual alarms, the 
main army might march from St. Francois or 
St. Johns towards the Connecticut River, and 
make an attempt on the Eastern States. " A 
manoeuvre of this kind," observes he, " would 
be in General Burgoyne's way, and, if success- 
ful, would be attended with much honor to 
him. * * * * I am the more confirmed 
in this conjecture, as the enemy cannot be ig- 
norant how very difficult, if not impossible, it 
will be for them to penetrate to Albany, unless 
in losing Ticonderoga we should lose not only 
all our cannon, but most of the army designed 
for this department." 

In the mean time, Burgoyne, with his am- 
phibious and semi-barbarous armament, was 
advancing up the lake. On the 21st of June 
he encamped at the river Boquet, several miles 
north of Crown Point ; here he gave a war 
feast to his savage allies, and made them a 
speech ir^ tliat pompous and half poetical vein 
in which it is the absurd practice to address 
our savages, and which is commonly reduced 
to flat prose by their interpreters. At the 
same time he was strenuous in enjoining hu- 
manity toward prisoners, dwelling on the dif- 
ference between ordinary wars carried on 
against a common enemy, and this against a 
country in rebellion, where the hostile parties 
were of the same blood, and loyal subjects of 
the crown might be confounded with the rebel- 
lious. It was a speech intended to excite their 
ardor, but restrain their cruelty ; a difficult 
medium to attain with Indian warriors. 

The garrison at Ticonderoga, meanwhile, 
were anxiously on the look-out. Their fortress, 
built on a hiU, commanded an extensive pros- 
pect over the bright and beautiful lake and its 
surroimding forests, but there were long points 
and promontories at a distance to intercept the 
view. 

By the 24th, scouts began to bring in word 
of the approaching foe. Bark canoes had been 
seen filled with white men and savages. Then 
three vessels under sail, and one at anchor, 
above Split Rock, and behind it the radeau 
Thunderer, noted in the last year's naval fight. 
Anon came word of encampments sufficient for 
a large body of troops, on both sides of Gilli- 
l;ind's Creek, with bateaux plying about its 
waters, and painted warriors gliding about in 
canoes ; while a number of smokes rising out 
of the forest at a distance beyond, gave signs 
of an Indian camp. 

St. Clair wrote word of all this to Schuyler, 



and that it was supposed the enemy were wait- 
ing the arrival of more force ; he did not, how- 
ever, think they intended to attack, but to 
harass, for the purpose of giving confidence to 
the Indians. 

Schuyler transmitted a copy of St. Clair's 
letter to Washington. " If the enemy's object 
is not to attack Ticonderoga," writes he, " I 
suspect tlieir movement is intended to cover 
an attempt on New Hampshire, or the Mohawk 
River, or to cut off the communication between 
Fort Edward and Fort George, or perhaps all 
three, the more to distract us and divide our 
force." He urged Washington for reinforce- 
ments as soon as possible. At the same time 
he wrote to St. Clair, to keep scouts on the 
east side of the lake near the road leading 
from St. Johns to New Hampshire, and on the 
west, on the road leading to the north branch 
of the Hudson. This done, he hastened to 
Albany to forward reinforcements and bring 
up the militia. 

While there, he received word from St. 
Clair, that the enemy's fleet and army were 
arrived at Crown Point, and had sent off de- 
tachments, one up Otter Creek to cut off the 
communication by Skenesborough ; and an- 
other on the west side of the lake to cut off 
Fort George. It was evident a real attack on 
Ticonderoga was intended. Claims for assist- 
ance came hurrying on from other quarters. 
A large force (St. Leger's) Avas said to be arrived 
at Oswego, and Sir John Jolmson with his 
myrmidons on his way to attack Fort Schuyler, 
the garrison of which was weak and poorly 
supplied with cannon. 

Schuyler bestirs himself with his usual zeal 
amid the thickening alarms. He writes lU'gent 
letters to the committee of safety of New York, 
to General Putnam at Peekskill, to the Governor 
of Connecticut, to the President of Massachu- 
setts, to the committee of Berkshire, and lastly 
to Washington, stating the impending dangers 
and imploring reinforcements. He exhorts 
General Herkimer to keep the militia of Tryon 
County in readiness to protect the western 
frontier and to check the inroad of Sir John 
Johnson, and he assures St. Clair that he will 
move to his aid with the militia of New York, 
as soon as he can collect them. 

Dangers accumulate at Ticonderoga accord- 
ing to advices from St. Clair (28th). Seven of 
the enemy's vessels are lying at Crown Point ; 
the rest of their fleet is probably but a little 



360 ADVAXCE OF THE ENEMY— BURGOYNE INTRENCHES NEAR TICONDEROGA. [1171. 



]j at various places. Some troops have de- 
barked and encamped at Chimney Point. 
There is no prospect, he says, of being able to 
defend Ticouderoga unless militia come in, and he 
has thought of calling in those from Berkshire. 
" Should the enemy invest and blockade us," 
writes he, " we are infallibly ruined ; we shall 
be obliged to abandon this side (of the lake), 
and then they will soon force the other from us, 
nor do I see that a retreat will in any shape 
be practicable. Every thing, however, shall be 
done that is practicable to frustrate the ene- 
my's designs ; but what can be expected from 
troops ill armed, naked, and unaccoutred ? " 

Schuyler's aide-de-camp, Major Livingston,* 
who had been detained at Ticonderoga by in- 
disposition, writes to him (June SO) in a differ- 
ent vein, and presents a yoimg man's view of 
affairs. 

" The enemy, after giving us several alarms, 
made their appearance early this morning off 
Three Mile Point, in eighteen gunboats, and 
about nine landed a party of two or three hun- 
dred Indians and Canadians. These soon fell 
in with a scout from us, but being superior 
in number, obliged them to retreat, though 
without any loss on our side. The Indians 
then marched to the front of the French lines, 
drove in a picket guard, and came so near as 
to wound two men who were standing behind 
the works. They have stopped the communi- 
cation between this and Lake George. 

" We have a fair view of their boats, but 
cannot see that they have brought many regu- 
lars with them. At least the number of red- 
coats in them is very small. The wind having 
been contrary for several days, has prevented 
'their fleet from coming up. The first fair 
breeze I shall expect to see them. Many bets 
are depending that we shaU be attacked in the 
course of this week. Our troops are deter- 
mined, and in great spirits. They wish to be 
permitted to drive the savages from Three Mile 
Point, but General St. Clair chooses to act on 
the sure side, and risk nothing. The few 
alarms we have had have been of great service 
in making the men alert and vigilant ; but I 
am afraid the enemy will repeat them so fre- 
quently as to throw them into their former in- 
dolence and inattention. General St. Clair has 
taken the precaution to move most of the 
stores to the mount [Independence]. This mo- 
ment two ships and as many sloops have hove 

* Henry Brockholst Livingston : in after years Judge of 
the Supremo Court of the United States. 



in sight. The spirits of the men seem to in- 
crease in proportion to the number of the enemy. 

" I cannot but esteem myself fortimate that 
indisposition prevented my returning with you, 
as it has given me an opportunity of being 
present at a battle, in which I promise myself 
the pleasure of seeing our army flushed with 
victory." * 

The enemy came advancing up the lake on 
the 30th, their main body under Burgoyne on 
the west side, the German reserve mider Baron 
Eiedesel on the east ; communication being 
maintained by frigates and gunboats, which, in 
a manner, kept pace between them. It was a 
magnificent array of warlike means, and the 
sound of drum and trumpet along the shores, 
and now and then the thundering of a cannon 
from the ships, were singularly in contrast 
with the usual silence of a region little better 
than a wilderness. 

On the 1st of July, Burgoyne encamped four 
miles north of Ticonderoga, and began to in- 
trench, and to throw a boom across the lake. 
His advanced guard, under General Eraser, took 
post at Three Mile Point, and the ships an- 
chored just out of gunshot of the fort. 

Here he issued a proclamation still more 
magniloquent than his speech to the Indians, 
denouncing woe to all who sliould persist in 
rebellion, and laying particidar stress upon his 
means, with the aid of the Indians, to overtake 
the hardiest enemies of Great Britain and 
America wherever they might lurk. 

General St. Clair was a gallant Scotchman, 
who had seen service in the old French war as 
well as in this, and beheld the force arrayed 
against him without dismay. It is true his 
garrison was not so numerous as it had been 
represented to "Washington, not exceeding three 
thousand five hundred men, of whom nine 
hundred were militia. Tliey were badly equip- 
ped also, and few had bayonets ; yet, as Major 
Livingston reported, they were in good heart. 
St. Clair confided, however, in the strength of 
his position and the works which had been 
constructed in connection with it, and trusted 
he should be able to resist any attempt to take 
it by storm. 

Schuyler at this time was at Albany, sending 
up reinforcements of Continental troops and 
militia, and awaiting the arrival of further re- 
inforcements, for which sloops had been sent 
down to Peekskill. 



Letter of Major Livingston to General Schuyler, MS. 



JEt. 45.] 



HOPEFUL LETTERS OF SCHUYLER— A MILITARY ENIGMA. 



361 



He was endeavoring also to provide foi* tlie 
security of the d%)artmeut in other quarters. 
The savages had been scalping in the neighbor- 
hood of Fort Schuyler ; a set of renegade In- 
dians were harassing the settlements on the 
Susquehanna ; and the threatenings of Brant, 
the famous Indian chief, and the prospect of a 
British inroad by the way of Oswego, had 
spread terror through Tryon County, the in- 
habitants of which called upon, him for sup- 
port. 

" The enemy are harassing us in every quar- 
ter of this department," writes he. " I am 
however, happily, thank God, in full health 
and spirits to enable me to extend my atten- 
tion to those various quarters, and hope we 
shall all do well." * 

The enemy's manoeuvre of intrenching them- 
selves and throwing a boom across the lake, of 
which St. Clair informed him, made him doubt 
of their being in great force, or intending a 
serious attack. "I shall have great hopes," 
writes he to St. Clair, " if General Burgoyne 
continues in the vicinity of your post until we 
get up, and dares risk an engagement, we shall 
give a good account of him." f 

To General Herkimer, who commanded the 
militia in Tryon County, he writes in the same 
encouraging strain. " From intelligence which 
I have just now received from Ticonderoga I 
am not very apprehensive that any great effort 
wiU be made against the Mohawk Kiver. I 
shall, however, keep a watchful eye to the 
preservation of the western quarter, and have 
therefore directed Colonel Van Schaick to re- 
main in Tryon County with the [Continental] 
troops under his command. 

" If we act with vigor and spirit, we have 
nothing to fear ; but if once despondency takes 
place, the worst consequences are to be appre- 
hended. It is, therefore, incumbent on you to 
labor to keep up the spirits of the people." 

In the mean time he awaited the arrival of 
the troops from Peekskill with impatience. 
On the 5th they had not appeared. "'The mo- 
ment they do," writes he, " I shall move with 
them. If they do not arrive by to-morrow, I 
go without them, and will do the best I can 
with the militia." He actually did set out at 
8 o'clock on the morning of the 7th. 

Such was the state of affairs in the north, of 
which "Washington from time to time had been 
informed. An attack on Ticonderoga appeared 

* Letter to the Hon. George Clymer. 
t Schuyler's Letter-Book. 



to be impending ; but as the garrison was in 
good heart, the commander resolute, and troops 
were on the way to reinforce him, a spirited 
and perhaps successful resistance was antici- 
pated by "Washington. His surprise may there- 
fore be imagined, on receiving a letter from 
Schuyler dated July Vth, conveying the as- 
tounding intelligence that Ticonderoga was 
evacuated ! 

Schuyler had just received the news at Still- 
water on the Hudson when on his way with 
reinforcements for the fortress. The first ac- 
count was so vague that "Washington hoped it 
might prove incorrect. It was confirmed by 
another letter from Schuyler, dated on the 9th 
at Fort Edward. A part of the garrison had 
been pursued by a detachment of the enemy as 
far as Fort Anne in that neighborhood, where 
the latter had been repulsed ; as to St. Clair 
himself and the main part of his forces, they 
had thrown themselves into the forest, and 
nothing was known what had become of them ! 

" I am here," writes Schuyler, " at the head 
of a handful of men, not above fifteen hundred, 
with little ammunition, not above five rounds 
to a man, having neither balls, nor lead to 
make any. The country is in the deepest con- 
sternation ; no carriages to remove the stores 
from Fort George, which I expect every mo- 
ment to hear is attacked ; and what adds to 
my distress is, that a report prevails that I had 
given orders for the evacuation of Ticonde- 
roga." 

"Washington was totally at a loss to account 
for St. Clair's movement. To abandon a for- 
tress which he had recently pronounced so de- 
fensible ; and to abandon it apparently without 
firing a gun ! and then the strange uncertainty 
as to his subsequent fortunes, and the where- 
abouts of himself and the main body of his 
troops ! " The affair," writes "Washington, " is 
so mysterious that it bafi3es even conjecture." 

His first attention was to supply the wants 
of General Schuyler, An express was sent to 
Springfield for musket cartridges, gunpowder, 
lead, and cartridge papers. Ten pieces of artil- 
lery with harness and proper officers were to 
be forwarded from Peekskill, as well as in- 
trenching tools. Of tents he had none to fur- 
nish, neither could heavy cannon be spared 
from the defence of the Highlands. 

Six hundred recruits, on their march from 
Massachusetts to Peekskill, were ordered to 
repair to the reinforcement of Schuyler ; this 
was all the force that "Washington could ven- 



362 ST. CLAIR EVACUATES TICONDEROGA— PARTICULARS OF THE EVACUATION. [1111. 



ture at this moment to send to his aid ; but 
this addition to his troops, supposing those 
under St. Clair should have come in, and any 
number of militia have turned out, would 
probably form an army equal, if not superior, 
to that said to be under Burgoyne. Beside, it 
was Washington's idea that the latter would 
suspend his operations until General Howe 
should make a movement in concert. Suppos- 
ing that movement would be an immediate 
attempt against the Highlands, he ordered Sul- 
livan with his division to PeekskUl to reinforce 
General Putnam. At the same time he ad- 
vanced with his main army to Pompton, and 
thence to the Clove, a rugged defile through 
the Highlands on the west side of the Hudson, 
Here he encamped within eighteen miles of the 
river, to watch, and be at hand to oppose the 
designs of Sir William Howe, whatever might 
be their direction. 

On the morning of the 14th came another 
letter from Schuyler, dated Fort Edward, July 
10th. He had that morning received the first 
tidings of St. Clair and his missing troops, and 
of their being fifty mUes east of him, 

Washington liailed the intelligence with that 
hopeful spirit which improved every ray of 
light in the darkest moments, " I am happy 
to hear," writes he, " that General St. Clair 
and his army are not in the hands of the en- 
emy. I really feared they had become prison- 
ers. The evacuation of Ticonderoga and Mount 
Independence is an event of chagrin and sur- 
prise not apprehended, nor within the compass 
of my reasoning. * * * 'pjjjg stroke is se- 
vere indeed, and has distressed us much. But 
notwithstanding things at present have a dark 
and gloomy aspect, I hope a spirited opposition 
will check the progress of General Burgoyne's 
army, and that the confidence derived from his 
success, will hurry him into measures that will 
in their consequences be favorable to us. We 
should never despair. Our situation "before has 
been wipromising and has changed for fhe bet- 
ter, so I trust it will again. If new difficulties 
arise, loe must only put forth new exertions, and 
proportion our efforts to the exigency of the 
times.'''' 

His spirit of candor and moderation is evinced 
in another letter, "I will not condemn or 
even pass censure upon any ofiicer unheard, 
but I think it a duty which General St. Clair 
owes to his own character, to insist upon 
an opportunity of giving his reasons for his 
sudden evacuation of a post, which, but a few 



days before, he, by his own letters, thought 
tenable, at least for a while. People at a dis- 
tance are apt to form wrong conjectures, and 
if General St. Clair has good reasons for the 
step he has taken, I think the sooner he justi- 
fies himself the better. I have mentioned 
these matters, because he may not know that 
his conduct is looked upon as very unaccounta- 
ble by all ranks of people in this part of the 
country. If he is reprehensible, the public 
have an undoubted right to call for that justice 
which is due from an officer, who betrays or 
gives up his post in an unwarrantable man- 
ner." * 

Having stated the various measures adopted 
by Washington for the aid of the Northern ar- 
my at this critical juncture, we will leave him 
at his encampment in the Clove, anxiously 
watching the movements of the fleet and the 
lower army, while we turn to the north, to ex- 
plain the mysterious retreat of General St. 
Clair. 



CHAPTEK X. 

liSr the accounts given in the preceding chap- 
ter of the approach of Burgoyne to Ticonde- 
roga, it was stated that he had encamped four 
miles north of the fortress, and intrenched 
himself. On the 2d of July, Indian scouts 
made their appearance in the vicinity of a 
blockhouse and some outworks about the strait 
or channel leading to Lake George. As Gene- 
ral St. Clair did not think the garrison sufli- 
cient to defend all the outposts, these works, 
with some adjacent saw-mills, were set on fire 
and abandoned. The extreme left of Ticonde- 
roga was weak, and might easily be turned ; a ^ 
posWaad therefore been established in the pre- 
ceding year, nearly half a mile in advance of 
the old French lines, on an emiaence to the 
north of them. General St. Clair, through sin- 
gular reipissness, had neglected to secure it, 
Burgoyne soon discovered this neglect, and 
hastened to detach Generals Phillips and Eraser 
with a body of infantry and light artillery, to 
take possession of this post. They did so with- 
out opposition. Heavy guns were mounted 
upon it; Eraser's whole corps was stationed 
there ; the post commandec^ the communication 
by land and water with Lake George, so as to 
cut off all supplies from that quarter. In fact, 



Letter to Schuyler, ISth Jaly, 1777. 



^T. 45.] 



TICONDEROGA INVESTED— PREPARATIONS FOR EVACUATION. 



coo 



such Tvere the advantages expected from this 
post, thus neglected by St. Clair, that the Brit- 
ish gave it the significant name of Mount Hope. 

The enemy now proceeded gradually to in- 
vest Ticonderoga. A line of troops was drawn 
from the western part of Mount Hope round to 
Three Mile Point, where General Fraser was 
posted with the advance guard, while General 
Eiedesel encamped with the German reserve 
in a parallel line, on the opposite side of Lake 
Champlain, at the foot of Mount Independence. 
For two days the enemy occupied themselves 
in making their advances and securing these 
positions, regardless of a cannonade kept up by 
the American batteries. 

St. Clair began to apprehend that a regular 
siege was intended, which would be more diffi- 
cult to withstand than a direct assault ; he 
kept up a resolute aspect, however, and went 
about among his troops, encouraging them with 
the hope of a successful resistance, but enjoin- 
ing incessant vigilance, and punctual attendance 
at the alarm posts at morning and evening roll- 
call. 

With all the pains and expense lavished by 
the Americans to render these works impreg- 
nable, they had strangely neglected the master 
key by which they were all commanded. This 
was Sugar Hill, a rugged height, the termina- 
tion of a mountain ridge which separates Lake 
Champlain from Lake George. It stood to 
the south of Ticonderoga, beyond the narrow 
channel which connected the two lakes, and 
rose precipitously from the waters of Cham- 
plain to the height of six hundred feet. It had 
been pronounced by the Americans too distant 
to be dangerous. Colonel .Trumbull, some time 
an aide-de-camp to Washington, and subse- 
quently an adjutant, had proved the contrary 
in the preceding year, by throwing a shot from 
a sis-pounder in the fort nearly to the summit. 
It was then pronounced inaccessible to an enemy. 
This Trumbull had likewise proved to be an 
error, by clambering with Arnold and Wayne 
to the top, whence they perceived that a prac- 
ticable road for artillery might easily and read- 
ily be made. Trumbull had insisted that this 
was the true point for the fort, commanding 
the neighboring heights, the narrow parts of 
both lakes, and the communication between. 
A small, but strong fort here, with twenty-five 
heavy guns and five hundred men, would be as 
efllcient as one hundred guns and ten thousand 
men on the extensive works of Ticonderoga.* 

* Trumbull's Autobiography, p. 32. 



His suggestions were disregarded. Their wis- 
dom was now to be proved. 

The British General Phillips, on taking his 
position, had regarded the hill with a practised 
eye. lie caused it to be reconnoitred by a 
skilful engineer. The report was, that it over- 
looked, and had the entire command of Fort 
Ticonderoga and Fort Independence; being 
about fourteen hundred yards from the former, 
and fifteen hundred from the latter ; that the 
ground could be levelled for cannon, and a road 
cut up the defiles of the mountain in four and 
twenty hours. 

Measures were instantly taken to plant a 
battery on that height. While the American 
garrisons were entirely engaged in a different 
direction, cannonading Mount Hope and the 
British lines without material effect, and with- 
out provoking a reply ; the British troops were 
busy throughout the day and night cutting a 
road through rocks and trees and up rugged 
defiles. Guns, ammunition, and stores, all 
were carried up the hiU in the night ; the can- 
non were hauled up from tree to tree, and be- 
fore morning the ground was levelled for the 
battery on which they were to be mounted. 
To this work, thus achieved by a coup de main, 
they gave the name of Fort Defiance. 

On the fifth of July, to. their astonishment 
and consternation, the garrison beheld a legion 
of red-coats on the summit of this hill, con- 
structing works which must soon lay the for- 
tress at their mercy. 

In this sudden and appalling emergency, Gen- 
eral St. Clair called a council of war. What 
was to be done ? The batteries from this new 
fort would probably be open the next day : by 
that time Ticonderoga might be completely in- 
vested, and the whole garrison exposed to cap- 
ture. They had not force sufficient for one- 
half the works, and General Schuyler, supposed 
to be at Albany, could afford them no relief. 
The danger was imminent ; delay might prove 
fatal. It was unanimously determined to evac- 
uate both Ticonderoga and Mount Independ- 
ence, that very night, and retreat to Skenes- 
borough (now Whitehall), at the upper part of 
the lake, about thirty miles distant, where 
there was a stockaded fort. The main body 
of the army, led by General St. Clair, were to 
cross to Mount Independence and push for 
Skenesborough by land, taking a circuitous 
route through the woods on the east side of 
the lake, by the way of Castleton. 

The cannon, stores, and provisions, together 



364 



THE EVACUATION— THE BRITISH IN PURSUIT. 



[1111. 



with the woTinded and the women, were to be 
embarked on board of two hundred bateaux, 
and conducted to the upper extremity of the 
lake, by Colonel Long with six hundred men ; 
two hundred of whom in five armed galleys 
were to form a rear-guard. 

It was now three o'clock in the afternoon ; 
yet all the preparations were to be made for 
the coming night, and that with as little bustle 
and movement as possible ; for they were over- 
looked by Fort Defiance and their intentions 
might be suspected. Every thing, therefore, 
was done quietly, but alertly ; in the mean 
time, to amuse the enemy, a cannonade was 
kept up every half hour toward tbe new bat- 
tery on the hill. As soon as the evening closed, 
and their movements could not be discovered, 
they began in all haste to load the boats. Such 
of the cannon as could not be taken were or- 
dered to be spiked. It would not do to knock 
off their trunnions, lest the noise should awaken 
suspicions. In the hurry several were left un- 
injured. The lights in the garrison being pre- 
viously extinguished, their tents were struck 
and put on board of the boats, and the women 
and the sick embarked. Every thing was con- 
ducted in such ' silence and address, that, al- 
though it was a moonlight night, the flotilla 
departed undiscovered ; and was soon under 
the shadows of mountains and overhanging 
forests. 

The retreat by land was not conducted with 
equal discretion and mystery. General St. 
Clair had crossed over the bridge to the Ver- 
mont side of the lake by three o'clock in the 
morning, and set forward with his advance 
through the woods toward Hubbardton ; but, 
before the rear-guard under Colonel Francis 
got in motion, the house at Fort Independence, 
which had been occupied by the French Gen- 
eral de Fennois, was set on fire — by his orders, 
it is said, though we are loth to charge him 
with such indiscretion ; such gross and wanton 
violation of the plan of retreat. The conse- 
quences were disastrous. The British sentries 
at Mount Hope were astonished by a conflagra- 
tion suddenly lighting up Mount Independence, 
and revealing the American troops in fuU re- 
treat ; for the rear-guard, disconcerted by this 
sudden exposure, pressed forward for the woods 
in the utmost haste and confusion. 

The drums beat to arms in the British camp. 
Alarm guns were fired from Mount Hope: 
General Fraser dashed into Ticonderoga with 
his pickets, giving orders for his brigade to 



arm in all haste and follow. By daybreak he 
had hoisted the British flag over the deserted 
fortress ; before sunrise he had passed the 
bridge, and was in full pursuit of the American 
rear-guard. Burgoyne was roused from his 
morning slumbers on board of the frigate Royal 
George, by the alarm guns from Fort Hope, 
and a message from General Fraser, announc- 
ing the double retreat of the Americans by 
land and water. From the quarter-deck of the 
frigate he soon had confirmation of the news. 
The British colors were flying on Fort Ticon- 
deroga, and Eraser's troops Avere glittering on 
the opposite shore. 

Burgoyne's measures were prompt. General 
Riedesel was ordered to follow and support 
Fraser with a part of the German troops ; gar- 
risons were thrown into Ticonderoga and Mount 
Independence ; the main part of the army was 
embarked on board of the frigates and gun- 
boats ; the floating bridge with its boom and 
chain, which had cost months to construct, was 
broken through by nine o'clock ; when Bur- 
goyne set out with his squadron in pursuit of 
the flotilla. 

We left the latter making its retreat on the 
preceding evening towards Skenesborough, 
The lake above Ticonderoga becomes so narrow 
that, in those times, it was frequently called 
South Eiver, Its beautiful waters wound 
among mountains covered with primeval for- 
ests. The bateaux, deeply laden, made their 
way slowly in a lengthened line ; sometimes 
imder the shadows of the mountains, sometimes 
in the gleam of moonlight. The rear-guard of 
armed galleys followed at wary distance. No 
immediate pursuit, however, was apprehended. 
The floating bridge was considei*ed an efiectual 
impediment to the enemy's fleet. Gayety, 
therefore, prevailed among the fugitives. They 
exulted in the secrecy and dexterity with which 
they had managed their retreat, and amused 
themselves with the idea of what would be 
the astonishment of the enemy at daybreak. 
The oflicers regaled merrily on the stores saved 
from Ticonderoga, and knocking off the necks 
of bottles of wine, drank a pleasant reveille to 
"General Burgoyne. 

About three o'clock in the afternoon of the 
succeeding day, the heavily laden bateaux ar- 
rived at Skenesborough. The disembarkation 
had scarcely commenced when the thundering 
of artillery was heard from below. Could the 
enemy be at hand? It was even so. The 
British gunboats having pushed on in advance 



^T. 4j.] 



FIGHT AT WOOD CREEK, AND RETREAT. 



365 



of the frigates, had overtaken and were firing 
upon the galleys. The latter defended them- 
selves for a while, but at length two struck, 
and three were blown up. The fugitives from 
them brought word that the British ships not 
being able to come up, troops and Indians were 
landing from them and scrambling up the hills ; 
intending to get in the rear of the fort and 
cut oft' all retreat. 

All now was consternation and confusion. 
The bateaux, the storehouses, the fort, the mill 
were all set on fire, and a general flight took 
place toward Fort Anne, about twelve miles 
distant. Some made their way in boats up 
Wood Creek, a winding stream. The main 
body under Colonel Long, retreated by a nar- 
row defile cut through the woods; harassed 
all night by alarms that the Indians were close 
in pursuit. Both parties reached Fort Anne 
by daybreak. It was a small picketed fort, 
near the junction of Wood Creek and East 
Creek, about sixteen miles from Fort Edward. 
General Schuyler arrived at the latter place on 
the following day. The number of troops with 
him was inconsiderable, but, hearing of Colonel 
Long's situation, he immediately sent him a 
small reinforcement, with provisions and am- 
munition, and urged him to maintain his post 
resolutely. 

On the same day Colonel Long's scouts 
brought in word that there were British red- 
coats approaching. They were in fact a regi- 
ment under Lieutenant-Colonel Hill, detached 
from Skenesborough by Burgoyne in pursuit 
of the fugitives. Long sallied forth to meet 
them ; posting himself at a rocky defile, where 
there was a narrow pathway along the border 
of Wood Creek. As the enemy advanced he 
opened a heavy fire upon them in front, while 
a part of his troops crossing and recrossing the 
creek, and availing themselves of their knowl- 
edge of the ground, kept up a shifting attack 
from the woods in flank and rear. Apprehen- 
sive of being surrounded, the British took post 
upon a high hill to their right, where they 
were warmly besieged for nearly two hours, 
and, according to their own account, would 
certainly have been forced, had not some of 
their Indian allies arrived and set up the much- 
dreaded war-whoop. It was answered with 
three cheers by the British upon the hill. This 
changed the fortune of the day. The Ameri- 
cans had nearly expended their ammunition, 
and had not enough left to cope with this new 
enemy. They retreated, therefore, to Fort 



Anne, carrying with them a number of prison- 
ers, among whom were a captain and surgeon. 
Supposing the troops under Colonel Hill an ad- 
vance guard of Burgoyne's array, they set fire 
to the fort and pushed on to Fort Edward ; 
where they gave the alarm that the main force 
of the enemy was close after them, and that 
no one knew what had become of General St. 
Clair and the troops who had retreated with 
him. We shall now clear up the mystery of 
his movements. 

His retreat through the woods from Mount 
Independence continued the first day until 
night, when he arrived at Castleton, thirty 
miles from Ticonderoga. His rear-guard halted 
about six miles short, at Hubbardton, to await 
the arrival of stragglers. It was composed of 
three regiments, under Colonels Seth Warner, 
Francis, and Hale ; in all about thirteen hun- 
dred men. 

Early the next morning, a sultry morning 
of July, while they were taking their breakfast, 
they were startled by the report of fire-arms. 
Their sentries had discharged their muskets, 
and came running in with word that the enemy 
were at hand. 

It was General Eraser, with his advance of 
eight hundred and fifty men, who had pressed 
forward in the latter part of the night, and 
now attacked the Americans with great spirit, 
notwithstanding their superiority in numbers ; 
in fact, he expected to be promptly reinforced 
by Kiedesel and his Germans. The Americans 
met the British with great spirit ; but at the 
very commencement of the action Colonel Hale, 
with a detachment placed under his command 
to protect the rear, gave way, leaving Warner 
and Francis with but seven hundred men to 
bear the brunt of the battle. These posted 
themselves behind logs and trees in 'back- 
wood ' style, whence they kept up a destruc- 
tive fire, and were evidently gaining the ad- 
vantage, when General Kiedesel came pressing 
into the action with his German troops ; drums 
beating and colors flying. There was now an 
impetuous charge with the bayonet. Colonel 
Francis was among the first who fell, gallantly 
fighting at the head of his men. The Ameri- 
cans, thinking the whole German force upon 
them, gave way and fled, leaving the ground 
covered with their dead and wounded. Many 
others who had been wounded perished in the 
woods, where they had taken refuge. Their 
whole loss in killed, wounded, and taken, was 
upwards of three hundred ; that of the enemy 



360 



EFFECTS OF THE EVACUATION— CAPTURE OF GENERAL PRESCOTT. 



[1111. 



one hundred and eighty-three. Several officers 
were lost on hoth sides. Among those wound- 
ed of the British was Major Ackland of the 
grenadiers, of whose further fortunes in the 
war we shaU have to speak hereafter. 

The noise of the firing when the action com- 
menced had reached General St. Clair at Oas- 
tleton. He immediately sent orders to two 
militia regiments which were in his rear, and 
within two miles of the battle ground, to 
hasten to the assistance of his rear-guard. 
They refused to obey, and hurried forward to 
Castleton, At this juncture St. Clair received 
information of Burgoyne's arrival at Skenes- 
borough, and the destruction of the American 
works there : fearing to be intercepted at Fort 
Anne, he immediately changed his route, struck 
into the woods on his left, and directed his 
march to Rutland, leaving word for "Warner to 
follow him. The latter overtook him two 
days' afterwards, with his shattered force re- 
duced to ninety men. As to Colonel Hale, 
who had pressed towards Castleton at the be- 
ginning of the action, he and his men were 
overtaken the same day by the enemy, and the 
whole party captured, without making any 
fight. It has been alleged in his excuse, with 
apparent justice, that he and a large portion 
of his men were in feeble health, and unfit for 
action ; for his own part, he died while yet a 
prisoner, and never had the opportunity which 
he sought, to vindicate himself before a court- 
martial. 

On tlie 12th St. Clair reached Fort Edward, 
his troops haggard and exhausted by their long 
retreat through the woods. Such is the story 
of the catastrophe at Fort Ticonderoga, which 
caused so much surprise and concern to Wash- 
ington, and of the seven days' mysterious dis- 
appearance of St. Clair, which kept every one 
in the most painful suspense. 

The loss of artillery, ammunition, provisions, 
and stores, in consequence of the evacuation of 
these northern posts, was prodigious ; but the 
worst effect was the consternation spread 
throughout the country. A panic prevailed 
at Albany, the people running about as if dis- 
tracted, sending off their goods and furniture.* 
The great barriers of the North, it was said, 
were broken through, and there was nothing 
to check the triumphant career of the enemy. 

The invading army, both ofincers and men, 
according to a British writer of the time, " were 



MS. Letter of Richard Varick to Schuyler. 



highly elated with their fortune, and deemed 
that and their prowess to be irresistible. They 
regarded their enemy with the greatest con- 
tempt, and considered their own toils to be 
nearly at an end, and Albany already in their 
hands." 

In England, too, according to the same 
author, the joy and exultation were extreme ; 
not only at court, but with all those who hoped 
or wished the unqualified subjugation and un- 
conditional submission of the colonies. " The 
loss in reputation was greater to the Ameri- 
cans," adds he, " and capable of more fatal con- 
sequences, than that of ground, of posts, of 
artillery, or of men. All the contemptuous 
and most degrading charges which had been 
made by their enemies, of their wanting the 
resolution and abilities of men, even in the de- 
fence of what was dear to them, were now re- 
peated and believed." * * * « Jt -^yag not 
difficult to diffuse an opinion that the war, in 
effect, was over, and that any further resist- 
ance would render the terms of their submis- 
sion worse. Such," he concludes, " were some 
of the immediate effects of the loss of those 
grand keys of North America, Ticonderoga and. 
the lakes." * 



CHAPTKE XI. 

A spiEiTED exploit to the eastward was per- 
formed during the prevalence of adverse news 
from the North. General Prescott had com- 
mand of the British forces in Ehode Island. 
His harsh treatment of Colonel Ethan Allen, 
and his haughty and arrogant conduct on va- 
rious occasions, had rendered him peculiarly 
odious to the Americans. Lieutenant-Colonel 
Barton, who was stationed with a force of 
Rhode Island militia on the mainland, received 
word that Prescott was quartered at a country 
house near the western shore of the island, about 
four miles from Newport, totally unconscious 
of danger, though in a very exposed situation. 
He determined, if possible, to surprise and cap- 
ture him. Forty resolute men joined him in 
the enterprise. Embarking at night in two 
boats at Warwick Neck, they pulled quietly 
across the bay with muffled oars, undiscovered 
by the ships of war and guard-boats ; landed 
in silence ; eluded the vigilance of the guard 
stationed near the house ; captured the sentry 



* nist. Civil "War in America, vol. 5., p. 283 



JEt. 45. PRESCOTT mOFFERED IN EXCHANGE FOR LEE— ARNOLD SENT NORTH. 



367 



at the door, and surprised the general in his 
bed. Eis aide-de-camp leaped from the win- 
dow, but was likewise taken. Colonel Barton 
returned with equal silence and address, and 
arrived safe at Warwick with his prisoners. 
A sword was voted to him by Congress, and he 
received a colonel's commission in the regular 
army. 

Washington hailed the capture of Prescott 
as a peculiarly fortunate circumstance, furnish- 
ing him with an equivalent for General Lee. 
He accordingly wrote to Sir William Howe, 
proposing the exchange. " This proposition," 
writes he, " being agreeable to the letter and 
spirit of the agreement subsisting between us, 
will, I hope, have your approbation. I am the 
more induced to expect it, as it will not only 
remove one ground of controversy between us, 
but in its consequences effect the exchanges of 
Lieutenant-Colonel Campbell and the Hessian 
officers, for a like number of ours of equal rank 
in your possession." 

No immediate reply was received to this 
letter, Sir William Howe being at sea ; in the 
mean time Prescott remained in durance. " I 
would have him genteelly accommodated, but 
strongly guarded," writes Washington. " I 
would not admit him to parole, as General 
Howe has not thought proper to grant General 
Lee that indulgence." * 

Washington continued his anxioxas exertions 
to counteract the operations of the enemy ; 
forwarding artillery and ammunition to Schuy- 
ler with all the camp furniture that could be 
spared from his own encampment and from 
Peekskill. A part of Nixon's brigade was all 
the reinforcement he could afford in his present 
situation. " To weaken this army more than 
is prudent," Avrites he, " would perhaps bring 
destruction upon it, and I look upon the keep- 
ing it upon a respectable footing as the only 
means of preventing a junction of Howe's and 
Burgoyne's armies, which, if effected, may 
have the most fatal consequences," 

Schuyler had earnestly desired the assistance 
of an active officer well acquainted with the 
country. Washington sent him Arnold. "I 
need not," writes he, " enlarge upon his well- 
known activity, conduct, and bravery. Tlie 
proofs he has given of all these have gained 
him the confidence of the public and of the 
army, the Eastern troops in particular." 

The question of rank, about which Arnold 

* Letter to Governor Trumbull. Correspondence of 
the Revolution, vol. i., Sparks. 



was so tenacious, was yet unsettled, and though,, 
had his promotion been regular, he would have 
been superior in command to General St. Clair, 
he assured Washington that, on the present 
occasion, his claim should create no dispute. 

Schuyler, in the mean time, aided by Kosci- 
uszko the Pole, who was engineer in his de- 
partment, had selected two positions on Moses 
Creek, four miles below Fort Edward ; where 
the troops which had retreated from Ticon- 
deroga, and part of the militia, were throwing 
up works. 

To impede the advance of the enemy, he had 
caused trees to be felled into Wood Creek, so 
as to render it unnavigable, and the roads be- 
tween Fort Edward and Fort Anne to be 
broken up ; the cattle in that direction to be 
brought away, and the forage destroyed. He 
had drawn off the garrison from Fort George, 
who left the buildings in flames. " Strength- 
ened by that garrison, who are in good health," 
writes he, " and if the militia, who are here, 
or an equal number, can be prevailed on to 
stay, and the enemy give me a few days more, 
which I think they will be obliged to do, I 
shall not be apprehensive that they wiU be 
able to force the posts I am about to occupy." 

Washington cheered on his faithful coadju- 
tor. His reply to Schuyler (July 22d) was full 
of that confident hope, founded on sagacious 
forecast, with which he was prone to animate 
his generals in time of doubt and difficulty. 
" Though our affairs for some days past have 
worn a dark and gloomy aspect, I yet look for- 
ward to a fortunate and happy change. I trust 
General Burgoyne's army will meet sooner or 
later an effectual check, and, as I suggested be- 
fore, that the success he has had will precipi- 
tate his ruin. From your accounts, he appears 
to be pursuing that line of conduct, which, of 
all others, is most favorable to us ; I mean 
acting in detachment. This conduct will 
certainly give room for enterprise on our 
part, and expose his parties to great hazard. 
Could we be so happy as to cut one of them 
off, supposing it should not exceed four, five, 
or six hundred men, it would inspirit the peo- 
ple, and do away much of their present anxiety. 
In such an event they would lose sight of past 
misfortunes, and, urged at the same time by a 
regard to their own security, they would fly to 
arms and afford every aid in their power." 

While he thus suggested bold enterprises, he 
cautioned Schuyler not to repose too much 
confidence in the works he was projecting, so 



368 



WASHINGTON'S CAUTIONS— PLANS TO HARASS BURGOYNE. 



[1111. 



as to collect in them a large quantity of stores. 
" I begin to consider lines as a kind of trap ; " 
writes he, " and not to answer the valuable 
purposes expected from them, unless they are 
in passes which cannot be avoided by the 
enemy." 

In circulars addressed to the brigadier-gen- 
erals of militia in the western parts of Massa- 
chusetts and Connecticut, he warned them 
that the evacuation of Ticonderoga had opened 
a door by which the enemy, unless vigorously 
opposed, might penetrate the northern part of 
the State of New York, and the western parts 
of New Hampshire and Massachusetts, and, 
forming a junction with General Howe, cut off 
the communication between the Eastern and 
Northern States. "It cannot be supposed," 
adds he, " that the small number of Continental 
troops assembled at Fort Edward, is alone suffi- 
cient to check the progress of the enemy. To 
the militia, therefore, must we look for support 
in this time of trial ; and I trust that you will 
immediately upon receipt of this, if you have 
not done it already, march with at least one- 
third of the militia under your command, and 
rendezvous at Saratoga, unless directed to some 
other place by General Schuyler or General 
Arnold." 

"Washington now ordered that all the vessels 
and river craft, not required at Albany, should 
be sent down to New "Windsor and Eishkill, 
and kept in readiness ; for he knew not how 
soon the movements of General Howe might 
render it suddenly necessary to transport part 
of his forces up the Hudson. 

Further letters from Schuyler urged the in- 
creasing exigencies of his situation. It was 
harvest time. The militia, impatient at being 
detained from their rural labors, were leaving 
him in great numbers. In a council of general 
officers it had been thought advisable to give 
leave of absence to half, lest the whole should 
depart. He feared those who remained would 
do so but a few days. The enemy were stead- 
ily employed cutting a road toward him from 
Skenesborough. From the number of horse 
they Avere reported to have, and to expect, 
they might intend to bring their provisions on 
horseback. If so, they would be able to move 
with expedition. In this position of affairs, 
he urged to be reinforced as speedily as pos- 
sible. 

"Washington, in reply, informed him that he 
had ordered a further reinforcement of General 
Glover's brigade, which was all he could pos- 



sibly furnish in his own exigencies. He trusted 
affairs with Schuyler would soon wear a more 
smiling aspect, that the Eastern States, who 
were so deeply concerned in the matter, would 
exert themselves, by effectual succors, to enable 
him to check the progress of the enemy, and 
repel a danger by which they were immediately 
threatened. From the information he had re- 
ceived, he supposed the force of the enemy to 
be little more than five thousand. "They 
seem," said he, " to be unprovided with wag- 
gons to transport the immense quantity of 
baggage and warlike apparatus, without which 
they cannot pretend to penetrate the country. 
Yoi; mention their having a great number of 
horses, but they must nevertheless require a 
considerable number of waggons, as there are 
many things which cannot be transported on 
horses. They can never think of advancing 
without securing their rear, and the force with 
which they can act against you, will be greatly 
reduced by detachments necessary for that 
purpose ; and as they have to cut out their 
passage, and to remove the impediments you 
have thrown in their way, before they can 
proceed, this circumstance, with the encum- 
brance they must feel in tlieir baggage, stores, 
&c., will inevitably retard their march, and give 
you leisure and opportunity to prepare a good 
reception for them. * * * * I have direct- 
ed General Lincoln to repair to you as speedily 
as the state of his health, which is not very 
perfect, will permit ; this gentleman has always 
supported the character of a judicious, brave, 
active officer, and he is exceedingly popular in 
the State of Massachusetts, to which he be- 
longs ; he will have a degree of influence over 
the militia which cannot fail of being highly 
advantageous. I have intended him more par- 
ticularly for the command of the militia, and I 
promise myself it will have a powerful ten- 
dency to make them turn out with more cheer- 
fulness, and to inspire them with perseverance 
to remain in the field, and with fortitude and 
spirit to do their duty while in it." * 

"Washington highly approved of a measure 
suggested by Schuyler, of stationing a body of 
troops somewhere about the Hampshire Grants 
(Vermont), so as to be in the rear or on the 
flank of Burgoyne, should he advance. It 
would make the latter, he said, very circum- 
spect in his advances, if it did not entirely pre- 
vent them. It would keep him in continual 



* Schuyler's Letter-Book. 



^T. 45.] 



THE BRITISH FLEET PUTS TO SEA— A DELUSIVE LETTER. 



369 



anxiety for liis rear, and oblige him to leave 
the posts behind him much stronger than he 
would otherwise do. He advised that General 
Lincoln should have command of the corps thts 
posted, " as no person could be more proper 
for it." 

He recommended, moreover, that in case 
the enemy should make any formidable move- 
ment in the neighborhood of Fort Schuyler 
(Stanwix), on the Mohawk River, General 
Arnold, or some other sensible, spirited officer, 
should be sent to take charge of that post, keep 
up the spirits of the inhabitants, and cultivate 
and improve the favorable disposition of the 
Indians. 

The reader will find in the sequel what a 
propitious effect all these measures had upon 
the fortunes of the Northern campaign, and 
with what admirable foresight "Washington cal- 
culated all its chances. Due credit must also 
be given to the sagacious counsels and execu- 
tive energy of Schuyler ; who suggested some 
of the best moves in the campaign, and carried 
them vigorously into action. Never was "Wash- 
ington more ably and loyally seconded by any 
of his generals. 

But now the attention of the commander-in- 
chief is called to the seaboard. On the 23d of 
July, the fleet, so long the object of watchful 
solicitude, actually put to sea. The force em- 
barked, according to subsequent accounts, con- 
sisted of thirty-sis British and Hessian batta- 
lions, including the light infantry and grena- 
diers, with a powerful artillery ; a New York 
corps of provincials, or royalists, called the 
Queen's Eangers, and a regiment of light-horse ; 
between fifteen and eighteen thousand men in 
all. The force left with General Sir Henry 
Clinton for the protection of New York, con- 
sisted of seventeen battalions, a regiment of 
light-horse, and the remainder of the provincial 
corps.* 

The destination of the fleet was still a matter 
of conjecture. Just after it had sailed, a young 
man presented himself at one of General Put- 
nam's outposts. He had been a prisoner in 
New York, he said, but had received liis liber- 
ty and a large reward on undertaking to be 
the bearer of a letter from General Howe to 
Burgoyne. This letter his feelings of patriot- 
ism prompted him to deliver up to General 
Putnam. The letter was immediately trans- 
mitted by the general to "Washington. It was 

* Civil "War in America, vol. i., p. 250. 

24 



in the handwriting of Howe, and bore his sig- 
nature. In it he informed Burgoyne, that, 
instead of any designs up the Hudson, he was 
bound to the east against Boston. " If," said 
he, " according to my expectations, we may 
succeed in getting possession of it, I shall, with- 
out loss of time, proceed to co-operate with 
you in the defeat of the rebel army opposed to 
you. Clinton is sufiiciently strong to amuse 
"Washington and Putnam. I am now making 
demonstrations to the southward, which I 
think will have the full effect in carrying our 
plan into execution." 

"Washington at once pronounced the letter a 
feint. " No stronger proof could be given," said 
he, " that Howe is not going to the eastward. 
The letter was evidently intended to fall into 
our hands. If there were not too great a risk 
of the dispersion of their fleet. I should think 
their putting to sea a mere manoeuvre to de- 
ceive, and the North River still their object. 
I am persuaded, more than ever, that Philadel- 
phia is the place of destination." 

He now set out with his army for the Dela- 
ware, ordering Sullivan and Stirling with their 
divisions to cross the Hudson from Peekskill, 
and proceed towards Philadelphia. Every 
movement and order showed his doubt and 
perplexity, and the circumspection with which 
he had to proceed. On the 30th he writes 
from Coryell's Ferry, about thirty miles from 
Philadephia, to General Gates, who was in th# 
city : " As we are yet uncertain as to the real 
destination of the enemy, though the Delaware 
seems the most probable, I have thought it 
prudent to halt the army at this place, How- 
ell's Ferry, and Trenton, at least tiU the fleet 
actually enters the bay and puts the matter 
beyond a doubt. From hence we can be on 
the proper ground to oppose them before they 
can possibly make their arrangements and dis- 
positions for an attack. * * * That the 
post in the Highlands may not be left too much 
exposed, I have ordered General Sullivan's di- 
vision to halt at Morristown, whence it will 
march southward, if there should be occasion, 
or northward upon the first advice that the 
enemy should be throwing any force up the 
North River. General Howe's in a manner 
abandoning General Burgoyna, is so unac- 
countable a matter, that, till I am fully assured 
it is so, I cannot help casting iivy eyes continually 
leMnd me. As I shall pay no regard to any 
flying reports of the appearance of the fleet, I 
shall expect an account of it from you, the mo- 



370 



ORDERS AND COUNTER ORDERS— AMBITION OF GATES. 



[1717. 



ment you have ascertained it to your satisfac- 
tion." 

On the 31st, he was informed that the ene- 
my's fleet of two hundred and twenty-eight 
sail, had arrived the day previous at the Capes 
of Delaware. He instantly wrote to Putnam 
to hurry on two brigades, which had crossed 
the river, and to let Schuyler and the com- 
manders in the Eastern States know that they 
had nothing to fear from Howe, and might 
bend all their forces, Continental and militia, 
against Burgoyne. ,In the mean time he moved 
his camp to Germantown, about sis miles from 
Philadelphia, to be at hand for the defence of 
that city. 

The very next day came word, by express, 
that the fleet had again sailed out of the Capes, 
and apparently shaped its course eastward. 
" This surprising event gives me the greatest 
anxiety," writes he to Putnam (Aug. 1), " and 
unless every possible exertion is made, may be 
productive of the happiest consequences to the 
enemy and the most injurious to us. * * * 
The importance of preventing Mr. Howe's get- 
ting possession of the Highlands by a cou2) de 
main, is infinite to America ; and, in the pres- 
ent situation of things, every effort that can be 
thought of must be used. The probability of 
his going to the eastward is exceedingly small, 
and the ill effects that might attend such a step 
inconsiderable, in comparison with those that 
Tfould inevitably attend a successful stroke on 
the Highlands." 

Under this impression "Washington sent or- 
ders to Sullivan to hasten back with his divi- 
sion and the two brigades which had recently 
left Peekskill, and to recross the Hudson to that 
post as speedily as possible, intending to for- 
ward the rest of the army with all the expedi- 
tion in his power. He wrote, also, to General 
George Clinton to reinforce Putnam with as 
many of the New York militia as could be col- 
lected. Clinton, be it observed, had just been 
installed Governor of the State of New York ; 
the first person elevated to that ofiice under 
the Constitution. He still continued in actual 
command of the militia of the State, and it was 
with great satisfaction that "Washington subse- 
quently learnt he had determined to resume 
the command of Fort Montgomery in the High- 
lands : " There cannot be a more proper man," 
writes he, " on every account." 

"Washington, moreover, requested Putnam to 
send an express to Governor Trumbull, urging 
assistance from the militia of his State without 



a moment's loss of time. " Connecticut cannot 
be in more danger through any channel than 
this, and every motive of its own interest' and 
tlfe general good demands its utmost endeavors 
to give you eflPectual assistance. Governor 
Trumbull will, I trust, be sensible of this." 

And here we take occasion to observe, that 
there could be no surer reliance for aid in time 
of danger than the patriotism of Governor 
Trumbull ; or were there men more ready to 
obey a sudden appeal to arms than the yeo- 
manry of Connecticut ; however much their 
hearts might subsequently yearn toward the 
farms and firesides they had so promptly aban- 
doned. No portion of the Union was more 
severely tasked, throughout the Revolution, 
for military services ; and "Washington avowed, 
when the great struggle was over, that, " if all 
the States had done their duty as well as the 
little State of Connecticut, the war would have 
been ended long ago." * 



CHAPTER XII. 

"We have cited in a preceding page a letter 
from "Washington to Gates at Philadephia, re- 
quiring his vigilant attention to tlie movements 
of the enemy's fleet ; that ambitious oflScer, 
however, was engrossed at the time by matters 
more important to his individual interests. 
The command of the Northern department 
seemed again within his reach. The evacua- 
tion of Ticonderoga had been imputed by many 
either to cowardice or treachery on the part 
of General St. Clair, and the enemies of Schuy- 
ler had, for some time past, been endeavoring 
to involve him in the disgrace of the transac- 
tion. It is true he was absent from the fortress 
at the time, zealously engaged, as we have 
shown, in procuring and forwarding reinforce- 
ments and supplies; but it was alleged that 
the fort had been evacuated by his order, and 
that, while there, he had made such dispositions 
as plainly indicated an intention to deliver it 
to the enemy. In the eagerness to excite pop- 
ular feeling against him, old slanders were re- 
vived, and the failure of the invasion of Canada, 
and all the subsequent disasters in that quarter, 
were again laid to his charge as commanding- 
general of the Northern department. "In 
short," writes Schuyler in one of his letters, 



Communicated by Professor B. SilUman. 



/Ex. 45.] 



GATES APPOINTED TO THE NORTHERN DEPARTMENT. 



371 



" every art is made use of to destroy that con- 
fidence which it is so essential the army should 
have in its general officers, and this too by 
people pretending to be friends to the coun- 
try." * 

These charges, which for some time existed 
merely in popular clamor, had recently been 
taken up in Congress, and a strong demonstra- 
tion had been made against him by some of the 
New England delegates. " Your enemies in 
this quarter," writes his friend the lion, Wil- 
liam Duer (July 29th), " are leaving no means 
uuessayed to blast your character, and to im- 
pute to your appointment in that department 
a loss which, rightly investigated, can be im- 
puted to very different causes. 

" Be not surprised if you should be desired 
to attend Congress, to give an account of the 
loss of Ticonderoga. "With respect to the result 
of the inquiry I am under no apprehensions. 
Like gold tried in the fire, I trust that you, my 
dear friend, will be found more pure and bright 
than ever. ****** From the na- 
ture of your department, and other unavoidable 
causes, you have not had an opportunity, during 
the course of this war, of evincing that spirit 
which / and your more intimate friends know 
you to possess ; of this circumstance prejudice 
takes a cruel advantage, and malice lends an 
easy ear to her dictates. A hint on this sub- 
ject is sufiicient. You will not, I am sure, see 
this place till your conduct gives the lie to this 
insinuation, as it has done before to every other 
which your enemies have so industriously cir- 
culated." t 

Schuyler, in reply, expressed the most ardent 
wish that Congress would order him to attend 
and give an account of his conduct. He wished 
his friends to push for the closest scrutiny, con- 
fident that it would redound to his honor. '• I 
would not, however, wish the scrutiny to take 
place immediately," adds he, " as we shall 
probably soon have an engagement, if we are 
so reinforced with militia as to give us a proba- 
ble chance of success. * * * Be assured, 
my dear friend, if a general engagement takes 
place, whatever may be the event, j'ou will 
not have occasion to blush for your friend." I 

It seemed to be the object of Mr. Schuyler's 
enemies to forestall his having such a chance 
of distinguishing himself. The business was 
pushed in Congress more urgently than even 
Mr. Duer had anticipated. Beside the allega- 



* Schuyler to Governor Trumbull. Letter-Book. 

t Schuyler's Papers. J Schuyler's Letter-Book. 



tions against him in regard to Ticonderoga, his 
unpopularity in the Eastern States was urged 
as a sufficient reason for discontinuing him in 
his present command, as the troops from that 
quarter were unwilling to serve under him. 
This had a great effect in the present time of 
peril, with several of the delegates from the 
East, who discredited the other charges against 
him. The consequence was that after long 
and ardent debates, in which some of the most 
eminent delegates from New York, who inti- 
mately knew his worth, stood up in his favor, 
it was resolved (Aug. 1st), that both General 
Schuyler and General St. Clair should be sum- 
moned to head-qiiarters to account for the 
misfortunes in the North, and that Washington 
should be directed to order such general officer 
as he should think proper to succeed General 
Schuyler in the command of the Northern de- 
partment. 

The very next day a letter was addressed to 
Washington by several of the leading Eastern 
members, men of imquestionable good faith, 
such as Samuel and John Adams, urging the 
appointment of Gates. " No man, in our opin- 
ion," said they," will be more likely to restore 
harmony, order, and discipline, and retrieve our 
affairs in that quarter. He has, on experience, 
acquired the confidence and stands high in 
the esteem of the Eastern troops." 

Washington excused himself from making 
any nomination, alleging that the Northern 
department had, in a great measure, been con- 
sidered a separate one ; that, moreover, the 
situation of the department was delicate, and 
might involve interesting and delicate conse- 
quences. The nomination, therefore, was made 
by Congress ; the Eastern influence prevailed, 
and Gates received the appointment, so long 
the object of his aspirations, if not intrigues. 

Washington deeply regretted the removal of 
a noble-hearted man with whom he had acted 
so harmoniously, whose exertions had been so 
energetic and unwearied, and who was so pe- 
culiarly fitted for the various duties of the 
department. He consoled himself, however, 
with the thought that the excuse of want of 
confidence in the general officers, hitherto alleg- 
ed by the Eastern States for withholding rein- 
forcements, would be obviated by the presence 
of this man of their choice. 

With the prevalent wisdom of his pen, he 
endeavored to aUay the distrusts and apprehen- 
sions awakened by the misfortune at Ticonde- 
roga, which he considered the worst conse- 



372 



GATES ORDERED TO THE NORTH— PREJUDICES AGAINST SCHUYLER. 



[1777. 



quence of that eveut. " If the matter were 
coolly and dispassionately considered," writes 
he to the council of safety of the State of New 
York, " there would be nothing found so formi- 
dable in General Burgoyne and the force under 
him with all his successes to countenance the 
least degree of despondency, and experience 
would show, that even the moderate esertions 
of the States more immediately interested, 
would be sufficient to check his career, and, 
perhaps, convert the advantages he has gained 
to his ruin. * * * :k if j ([q not give so 
effectual aid as I could wish to the Northern 
army, it is not from want of inclination, nor 
from being too little impressed with the impor- 
tance of doing it ; but because the state of 
affairs in this quarter will not possibly admit 
of it. It would be the height of impolicy to 
weaken ourselves too much here, in order to 
increase our strength there ; and it must cer- 
tainly be considered more difficult, as well as 
of greater moment, to control the main army 
of the enemy, than an inferior, and, I may say, 
dependent one ; for it is pretty obvious that if 
General Howe can be kept at bay, and pre- 
vented from effecting his purposes, the successes 
of General Burgoyne, whatever they may be, 
must be partial and temporary." 

The sagacity and foresight of this policy will 
be manifested by after events. 

On the same day on which the above letter 
was written, he officially announced to Gates 
his appointment, and desired him to proceed 
immediately to the place of his destination : 
wishing him success, and that he " might 
speedily be able to restore the face of affairs in 
that quarter." 

About this time took effect a measure of 
Congress, making a complete change in the 
commissariat. This important and complicated 
department had hitherto been under the man- 
agement of one commissary-general, Colonel 
Joseph Trumbull of Connecticut. By the new 
arrangement there were to be two commis- 
saries-general, one of purchases, the other of 
issues ; each to be appointed by Congress. 
They were to have several deputy commissaries 
under them, but accountable to Congress, and 
to be appointed and removed by that body. 
These, and many subordinate arrangements, had 
been adopted in opposition to the opinion of 
Washington, and, most unfortunately, were 
brought into operation in the midst of this 
perplexed and critical campaign. 

The first effect was to cause the resignation 



of Colonel Trumbull, who had been nominated 
commissary of purchases ; and the entrance 
into office of a number of inexperienced men. 
The ultimate effect was to paralyze the organi- 
zation of this vital department ; to cause delay 
and confusion in furnishing and forwarding 
supplies ; and to retard and embarrass the opera- 
tions of the different armies throughout the 
year. "Washington had many dangers and 
difficulties to harass and perplex him through- 
out this complicated campaign, and not among 
the least may be classed the " stumblings of 
Congress." 

NOTE. 

An author, eminent for his historical researches, 
expresses himself at a loss to explain the prejudice 
existing against General Schuyler among the people 
of the New England States. " There was not an indi- 
vidual connected with the Revolution," observes he, 
" concerning whom there is more abundant evidence 
of his patriotism and unwearied services in the cause 
of his country." 

Wilkinson, at that time a devoted follower of Gates, 
and likely to know the influences that operated against 
his rival, traces this prejudice up to times prior to the 
Revolution, when Schuyler acted as commissioner on 
the part of New York in settling the partition line 
between that colony and Massachusetts Bay. This 
gave rise to the feuds and controversies concerning 
the Hampshire Grants, in which, according to Wilkin- 
son, the parties were distinguished by the designations 
of Yankee and Yorker. The zealous exertions of 
Schuyler on behalf of New York, gained him the ill 
will of the Hampshire grantees, and of eastern men 
of the first rank with whom he came in collision. This 
feeling survived the controversy, and existed among 
the militia from those parts. On the other hand, 
Wilkinson observes, " It was General Gates's policy 
to favor the views of the inhabitants of the Hampshire 
Grants, which made him popular with these people." 

Somewhat of the prejudice against Schuyler Wilkin- 
son ascribes to social habits and manners, " those of 
New England at the time being democratic and puri- 
tanical, whilst in New Y'oik they were courtly and 
aristocratical." Schuyler was a man of the world, 
and of society, cultivated, and well-bred ; he was an 
elcve too of Major-Gcneral Bradstreet in the seven 
years' war ; and had imbibed notions of military car- 
riage and decorum in an aristocratic school ; all this 
rendered him impatient at times of the deficiencies in 
these respects among the raw militia ofBcers, and 
made the latter consider him haughty and reserved. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

For several days Washington remained at 
Germantown in painful uncertainty about the 
British fleet ; whether gone to the south or to 
the east. The intense heat of the weather 



^T. 45.] 



PUTNAM ON THE ALERT— WASHINGTON REINFORCES GATES. 



37i 



made him unwilling again to move Ms army, 
already excessively harassed by marchings and 
counter-marchings. Concluding, at length, 
that the fleet had actually gone to the east, 
he was once more on the way to recross the 
Delaware, when an express overtook him on 
the 10th of August, with tidings that three 
days before it had been seen off Sinepuxent 
Inlet, about sixteen leagues south of the Capes 
of Delaware. 

Again he came to a halt, and waited for fur- 
ther intelligence. Danger suggested itself from 
a different quarter. Might it not be Howe's 
plan, by thus appeai'ing with his ships at dif- 
ferent places, to lure the army after him, and 
thereby leave the country open for Sir Henry 
Clinton with the troops at New York to form 
a junction with Burgoyne ? With this idea 
Washington wrote forthwith to the veteran 
Putnam to be on the alert ; collect all the force 
he could to strengthen his post at Peekskill, 
and send down spies to ascertain whether Sir 
Henry Clinton was actually at New York, and 
what troops he had there. " If he has the 
number of men with him that is reported," ob- 
serves Washington, " it is probably with the 
intention to attack you from below, Avhile Bur- 
goyne comes down upon you from above." 

The old general, whose boast it was that he 
never slept but with one eye, was already on 
the alert. A circumstance had given him proof 
positive that Sir Henry was in New York, and 
had roused his military ire. A spy, sent by 
that commander, had been detected furtively 
collecting information of the force and con- 
dition of the post at Peekskill, and had under- 
gone a military trial. A vessel of war came 
up the Hudson in all haste, and landed a flag 
of truce at Verplanck's Point, by which a mes- 
sage was transmitted to Putnam from Sir Henry 
Clinton, claiming Edmund Palmer as a lieuten- 
ant in the British service. 

The reply of the old general was brief but 
emphatic. 

"HEAD-QrARTEKS, 7th Aug., 1777. 
" Edmund Palmer, an ofiicer in the enemy's 
service, was taken as a spy lurking within our 
lines ; he has been tried as a spy, condemned 
as a spy, and shall be executed as a spy ; and 
the flag is ordered to depart immediately. 

" Israel Putnam. 
"P. S. — He has, accordingly, been executed." 

Governor Clinton, the other guardian of the 



Highlands, and actually at his post at Fort 
Montgomery, was equally on the alert. He 
had faithfully followed Washington's direc- 
tions, in ordering out militia from different 
counties to reinforce his own garrison and the 
army under Schuyler. " I never knew the 
militia come out with greater alacrity," writes 
he ; " but, as many of them have yet a great 
part of their harvests in the field, I fear it will be 
difiicult to detain them long, unless the enemy 
will make some movements that indicate a de- 
sign of coming this way suddenly, and so ob- 
vious as to be believed by the militia." 

At the same time, the worthy governor ex- 
pressed his surprise that the Northern army 
had not been reinforced from the eastward. 
" The want of confidence in the general oflicers 
to the northward," adds he, " is the specious 
reason. To me it appears to be a very weak 
one. Common gratitude to a sister State, as 
well as duty to the continent at large, conspire 
in calling on our eastern neighbors to step forth 
on this occasion." 

One measure more was taken by Wash- 
ington, during this interval, in aid of the 
Northern department. The Indians who ac- 
companied Burgoyne were objects of great 
dread to the American troops, especially the 
militia. As a counterpoise to them, he now 
sent up Colonel Morgan with five hundred 
riflemen, to fight them in their own way. 
" They are all chosen men," said he, " selected 
from the army at large, and well acquainted 
with the use of rifles and with that mode of 
fighting. I expect the most eminent services 
from them, and I shall be mistaken if their 
presence does not go far towards producing a 
general desertion among the savages." It Avas, 
indeed, an arm of strength, which he could but 
ill spare from his own army. 

Putnam was directed to have sloops ready 
to transport them up the Hudson, and Gates 
was informed of their being on their way, and 
about what time he might expect them, as well 
as two regiments from Peekskill, under Colonels 
Van Courtlandt and Livingston. 

" With these reinforcements, besides the 
militia under General Lincoln," writes Washing- 
ton to Gates, " I am in hopes you will find 
yourself at least equal to stop the progress of 
Mr. Burgoyne, and, by cutting off his supplies 
of provisions, to render his situation very in- 
eligible." Washington was thus, in a manner, 
carrying on two games at once, with Howe on 
the seaboard and with Burgoyne on the upper 



374 



THE MARQUIS DE LAFAYETTE— BRITISH FLEET IN THE CHESAPEAKE. [1111. 



waters of tlie Hudson, and endeavoring by skil- 
ful movements to give check to both. It was 
an arduous and complicated task, especially 
with his scanty and fluctuating means, and the 
wide extent of country and great distances over 
which he had to move his men. 

His measures to throw a force in the rear of 
Burgoyne were now in a fair way of being 
carried into effect. Lincoln was at Benning- 
ton. Stark had joined him with a body of 
New Hampshire militia, and a corps of Massa- 
chusetts militia was arriving. " Such a force 
in his rear," observed Washington, "will 
oblige Burgoyne to leave such strong posts be- 
hind as must make his main body very weak, 
and extremely capable of being repulsed by the 
force we have in front." 

During his encampment in the neighborhood 
of Philadelphia, Washington was repeatedly at 
that city, making himself acquainted with the 
military capabilities of the place and its sur- 
rounding country, and directing the construc- 
tion of fortifications on the river. In one of 
these visits he became acquainted with the 
young Marquis de Lafayette, who had recently 
arrived from France, in company witk a num- 
ber of French, Polish, and German officers, 
among whom was the Baron de Kalb. The 
marquis was not quite twenty years of age, yet 
had already been married nearly three years to 
a lady of rank and fortune. Full of the ro- 
mance of liberty, he had torn himself from his 
youthful bride, turned his back upon the gay- 
eties and splendors of a court, and in defiance 
of impediments and difiaculties multiplied in 
his path, had made his way to America to join 
its hazardous fortunes. 

He sent in his letters of recommendation to 
Mr. LoveU, Chairman of tlie Committee of 
Foreign Affairs ; and applied the next day at 
the door of Congress to know his success. Mr. 
Lovell came forth, and gave him but little en- 
couragement ; Congress, in fact, was embar- 
rassed by the number of foreign applications, 
many without merit. Lafayette immediately 
sent in the following note : " After many sac- 
rifices, I have the right to ask two favors ; one 
is to serve at my own expense ; the other, to 
commence by serving as a volunteer." * 

This simple appeal had its effect : it called 
attention to his peculiar case, and Congress re- 
solved on the 31st of July, that in considera- 
tion of his zeal, his illustrious family and con- 



* Memoires du Gea. Lafayette, torn, i., p. 19. 



nections, he should have the rank of major- 
general in the army of the United States. 

It was at a public dinner, where a number 
of members of Congress were present, that 
Lafayette first saw Washington. He imme- 
diately knew him, he said, from the officers 
who surrounded him, by his commanding air 
and person. When the party was breaking up, 
Washington took him aside, complimented him 
in a gracious manner on his disinterested zeal 
and the generosity of his conduct, and invited 
him to make head-quarters his home. " I can- 
not promise you the luxuries of a court," said 
he, " but as you have become an American 
soldier, you will, doubtless, accommodate your- 
self to the fare of an American army." 

Many days had now elapsed without further 
tidings of the fleet. What had become of it ? 
Had Howe gone against Charleston? If so, 
the distance was too great to think of following 
him. Before the army, debilitated and wasted 
by a long march, under a summer sun, in an 
unhealthy climate, could reach there, he might 
accomplish every purpose "he had in view, and 
re-embark his troops to turn his arms against 
Philadelphia, or any other point, without the 
army being at hand to oppose him. 

What, under these uncertainties was to be 
done? remain inactive, in the remote proba- 
bility of Howe's returning this way ; or pro- 
ceed to the Hudson with a view either to op- 
pose Burgoyne, or make an attempt upon New 
York? A successful stroke with respect to 
either, might make up for any losses sustained 
in the South. The latter was unanimously de- 
termined in a council of war, in which the Mar- 
quis de Lafayette took part. As it was, how- 
ever, a movement that might involve the most 
important consequences, Washington sent his 
aide-de-camp, Colonel Alexander Hamilton, 
with a letter to the President of Congress, re- 
questing the opinion of that body. Congress 
approved the decision of the council, and the 
army was about to be put in march, when all 
these tormenting uncertainties were brought to 
an end by intelligence, that the fleet had act- 
ually entered the Chesapeake, and anchored at 
Swan Point, at least two hundred miles within 
the capes. " By General Howe's coming so 
far up the Chesapeake," writes Washington, 
" he must mean to reach Philadelphia by that 
route, though to be sure it is a strange one." 

The mystery of these various appearances 
and vanishings, which has caused so much 
wonder and perplexity, is easily explained. 



^T. 45.] LAFAYETTE'S COMMISSION HONORARY— THE ARMY ENTER PHILADELPHIA. 375 



Shortly before putting to sea with the ships of 
war, Howe had sent a number of transports, 
and a sbip cut down as a floating battery, up 
the Hudson, which had induced Wasliington to 
despatch troops to the Highlands. After put- 
ting to sea, the fleet was a week in reaching 
the Capes of Delaware, When there, the com- 
manders were deterred from entering the river 
by reports of measures taken to obstruct its 
navigation. It was then determined to make 
for Chesapeake Bay, and approach, in that 
way, as near as possible to Philadelphia, Con- 
trary winds, however, kept them for a long 
time from getting into the bay, 

Lafayette, in his memoirs, describes a review 
of Washington's army which he witnessed 
about this time. " Eleven thousand men, but 
tolerably armed, and still worse clad, present- 
ed," he said, " a singular spectacle ; in this 
parti-colored and often naked state, the best 
dresses were himting shirts of brown linen. 
Their tactics were equaUy irregular. They 
were arranged without regard to size, except- 
ing that the smallest men were the front rank ; 
with all this, there were good-looking soldiers 
conducted by zealous officers." 

" We ought to feel embarrassed," said Wash- 
ington to him, " in presenting ourselves before 
an ofiicer just from the French army," 

" It is to learn, and not to instruct, that I 
come here," was Lafayette's apt and modest 
reply ; and it gained him immediate popu- 
larity. 

The marquis, however, had misconceived the 
nature of his appointment ; his commission 
was merely honorary, but he had supposed it 
given witli a view to the command of a divi- 
sion of the army. This misconception on his 
part caused Washington some embarrassment. 
The marquis, with his characteristic vivacity 
and ardor, was eager for immediate employ. 
He admitted that he was young and inexpe- 
rienced, but always accompanied the admission 
with the assurance that, so soon as Washington 
should think him fit for the command of a divi- 
sion, he would be ready to enter upon the 
duties of it, and, in the mean time, offered his 
services for a smaller command. " What the 
designs of Congress respecting this gentleman 
are, and what line of conduct I am to pursue 
to comply with their design and his expecta- 
tions," writes Washington, " I know not, and 
beg to be instructed," 

" The numberless applications for employ- 
ment by foreigners under their respective ap- 



pointments," continues he, " add no small em- 
barrassment to a command, which, without it, 
is abundantly perplexed by the difierent tem- 
pers I have to do with, and the different modes 
which the respective States have pursued in 
nominating and arranging their oflicers ; the 
combination of all which -is "but too just a rep- 
resentation of a great chaos, from whence we 
are endeavoring, how successfully time only can 
show, to draw some regularity and order.'''' * 
How truly is here depicted one of the great 
difficulties of his command, continually tasking 
his equity and equanimity. In the present in- 
stance it was intimated to Washington, that he 
was not bound by the tenor of Lafayette's com- 
mission to give him a command ; but was at 
liberty to follow his own judgment in the mat- 
ter. This still left him in a delicate situation 
with respect to the marquis, whose prepossess- 
ing manners and self-sacrificing zeal inspired 
regard ; but whose extreme youth and inex- 
perience necessitated caution, Lafayette, how- 
ever, from the first attached himself to Wash- 
ington with an affectionate reverence, the sin- 
cerity of which could not be mistaken, and 
soon won his way into a heart, which, with 
all its apparent coldness, was naturally confid- 
ing, and required sympathy and friendship ; 
and it is a picture well worthy to be hung up 
in history, — this cordial and enduring alliance 
of the calm, dignified, sedate Washington, ma- 
ture in years and wisdom, and the young, 
buoyant, enthusiastic Lafayette, 

The several divisions of the army had been 
summoned to the immediate neighborhood of 
Philadelphia, and the militia of Pennsylvania, 
Delaware, and the northern parts of Virginin, 
were called out. Many of the militia, with 
Colonel Proctor's corps of artillery, had been 
ordered to rendezvous at Chester on the Dela- 
ware, about twelve miles below Philadelphia ; 
and by Washington's orders. General Wayne 
left his brigade under the next in command, 
and repaired to Chester, to arrange the troops 
assembling there. 

As there had been much disaffection to the 
cause evinced in Philadelphia, Washington, in 
order to encourage its friends and dishearten 
its enemies, marched with the whole army 
through the city, down Front and up Chestnut 
Street, Great pains were taken to make the 
display as imposing as possible. All wei'e 
charged to keep to their ranks, carry their 



Washington to Benjamin Harrison. Sparks, t. 35. 



176 



ENCAMPMENT AT WILMINGTON— INDIAN WARRIORS! 



[1171. 



arms well, and step in time to the music of the 
drums and fifes, collected in the centre of each 
brigade. " Though indifferently dressed," says 
a spectator, " they held well-burnished arms, 
and carried them like soldiers, and looked, in 
short, as if they might have faced an equal 
number with a reasonable prospect of success." 
To give them something of a uniform appear- 
ance, they had sprigs of green in their hats. 

Washington rode at the head of the troops 
attended by his numerous staff, with the Mar- 
quis Lafayette by his side. The long column 
of the army, broken into divisions and bri- 
gades, the pioneers with their axes, the squad- 
rons of horse, the extended trains of artillery, 
the tramp of steed, the bray of trumpet, and 
the spirit-stirring sound of drum and fife, all 
had an imposing effect on a peaceful city un- 
used to the sight of marshalled armies. The 
disaffected, who had been taught to believe the 
American forces much less than they were in 
reality, were astonished as they gazed on the 
lengthening procession of a host, which, to 
their unpractised eyes, appeared innumerable ; 
while the whigs, gaining fresh hope and ani- 
mation from the sight, cheered the patriot 
squadrons as they passed. 

Having marched through Philadelphia, the 
army continued on to Wilmington, at the con- 
fluence of Christiana Creek and the Brandy- 
wine, where Washington set up his head-quar- 
ters, his troops being encamped on the neigh- 
boring heights. 

We will now revert to the other object of 
Washington's care and solicitude, the invading 
army of Burgoyne in the North ; and wiU see 
how far his precautionary measures were effec- 
tive. 



CHAPTEK XIV. 

In a preceding chapter we loft Burgoyne, 
early in July, at Skenesborough, of which he 
had just gained possession. He remained there 
nearly three weeks, awaiting the arrival of the 
residue of his troops, with tents, baggage, and 
provisions, and preparing for his grand move 
toward the Hudson Eiver. Many royalists 
flocked to his standard. One of the most im- 
portant was Major Skene, from whom the place 
was named, being its founder, and the owner 
of much land in its neighborhood. He had 
served m the French war, but retired on half 



pay ; bought " soldiers' grants " of land lying 
within this township at a trifling price, had 
their titles secured by royal patent, and thus 
made a fortune. Burgoyne considered him a 
valuable adjunct and counsellor, and frequently 
took advice from him in his campaign through 
this part of the country. 

The progress of the army towards the Hud- 
son was slow and difiicult, in consequence of 
the impediments which Schuyler had multi- 
plied in his Avay during his long halt at Skenes- 
borough. Bridges brol^en down had to be re- 
built; great trees to be removed which had 
been felled across the roads and into Wood 
Creek, which stream was completely choked. 
It was not until the latter part of July that 
Bm-gojTie reached Fort Anne. At his ap- 
proach, General Schuyler retired from Fort 
Edward and took post at Fort Miller, a few 
miles lower down the Hudson. 

The Indian allies who had hitherto accom- 
panied the British army, had been more trouble- 
some than useful. Neither Burgoyne nor his 
oflicers understood their language, but were 
obliged to communicate with them through 
Canadian interpreters ; too often designing 
knaves, who played false to both parties. The 
Indians, too, were of the tribes of Lower 
Canada, corrupted and debased by intercourse 
with white men. It had been found diflacult 
to draw them from the plunder of Ticonderoga, 
or to restrain their murderous propensities. 

A party had recently arrived of a different 
stamp. Braves of the Ottawa and other tribes 
from the upper country ; painted and decorated 
witli savage magnificence, and bearing trophies 
of former triumphs. They were, in fact, ac- 
cording to Burgoyne, the very Indians who 
had aided the French in the defeat of Brad- 
dock, and were under the conduct of two 
French leaders ; one, named Langlade, had 
c'ommand of them on that very occasion ; the 
other, named St. Luc, is described by Bur- 
goyne as a Canadian gentleman of honor and 
abilities, and one of the best partisans of the 
French in the war of 1756. ^ 

Burgoyne trusted to his newly arrived In- 
dians to give a check to the operations of 
Schuyler, knowing the terror they inspired 
throughout the country. He thought also to 
employ them in a wild foray to. the Connecti- 
cut Eiver, to force a supply of provisions, in- 
tercept reinforcements to the American army, 
and confirm the jealousy which he had, in 
■ ; ly ways, endeavored to excite in the New 



^T. 45.] 



MURDER OF MISS McCREA— ITS RESULTS. 



377 



England provinces. He was naturally a hu- 
mane man, and disliked Indian allies, but these 
had hitherto served in company with civilized 
troops, and he trusted to the influence possessed 
over them by St. Luc and Langlade, to keep 
them within the usages of war. A circum- 
stance occurred, however, which showed how 
little the " wild honor " of these warriors of 
the tomahawk is to be depended upon. 

In General Eraser's division was a young 
officer. Lieutenant David Jones, an American 
loyalist. His family had their home in the vi- 
cinity of Fort Edward before th§ Revolution. 
A mutual attachment had taken place between 
the youth and a beautiful girl, Jane McOrea. 
She was the daughter of a Scotch Presbyterian 
clergyman of the Jerseys, some time deceased, 
and resided with her brother on the banks of 
the Hudson a few miles below Fort Edward. 
The lovers were engaged to be married, when 
the breaking out of the war severed families 
afnd disturbed all the relations of life. The 
Joneses were royalists ; the brother of Miss 
McOrea was a stanch whig. The former re- 
moved to Canada, where David Jones was 
among the most respectable of those who joined 
the royal standard, and received a lieutenant's 
commission. 

The attachment between the lovers con- 
tinued, and it is probable that a correspondence 
was kept up between them. Lieutenant Jones 
was now in Eraser's camp ; in his old neigh- 
borhood. Miss McCrea was on a visit to a 
ft 

widow lady, Mrs. O'Mel, residing at Fort Ed- 
ward. The approach of Burgoyne's army had 
spread an alarm through the country ; the in- 
habitants were flying from their homes. The 
brother of Miss McCrea determined to remove 
to Albany, and sent for his sister to return 
home and make ready to accompany him. She 
hesitated to obey. He sent a more urgent 
message, representing the danger of lingering 
near the fort, which must inevitably fall into 
the hands of the enemy. Still she lingered. 
The lady with whom she was a guest was a 
royalist, a friend of General Eraser ; her roof 
would be respected. Even should Fort Edward 
be captured, what had Jane to fear? Her lover 
was in the British camp ; the capture of the 
fort would reunite them. 

Her brother's messages now became peremp- 
tory. She prepared, reluctantly, to obey, and 
was to embark in a large bateau which was to 
convey several families down the river. The 
very morning when the embarkation was to 



take place, the neighborhood was a scene of 
terror. A marauding party of Indians, sent 
out by Burgoyne to annoy General Schuyler, 
were harassing the country. Several of them 
burst into the house of Mrs. O'Niel, sacked and 
plundered it, and carried oS her and Miss Mc- 
Crea prisoners. In her fright the latter prom- 
ised the savages a large reward, if they would 
spare her life and take her in safety to the 
British camp. It was a fatal promise. Halt- 
ing at a spring, a quarrel arose among the sav- 
ages, inflamed most probably with drink, as to 
whose prize she was, and who was entitled to 
the reward. The dispute became furious, and 
one, in a paroxysm of rage, killed her on the 
spot. He completed the savage act by bearing 
oflP' her scalp as a trophy. 

General Burgoyne was struck with horror 
when he heard of this bloody deed. What at 
first heightened the atrocity was a report that 
the Indians had been sent by Lieutenant Jones 
to bring Miss McCrea to the camp. This he 
positively denied, and his denial was believed. 
Burgoyne summoned a council of the Indian 
chiefs, in which he insisted that the murderer 
of Miss McCrea should be given up to receive 
the reward of his crime. The demand pro- 
duced a violent agitation. The culprit was a 
great warrior, a chief, and the " wild honor " 
of his brother sachems was roused in his be- 
half. St. Luc took Burgoyne aside, and en- 
treated him not to push the matter to extrem- 
ities ; assuring him that, from what was pass- 
ing among the chiefs, he was sure they and 
their warriors would all abandon the army, 
should the delinquent be executed. The British 
officers also interfered, representing the danger 
that might accrue should the Indians return 
through Canada, with their savage resentments 
awakened, or, what was worse, should they go 
over to the Americans. 

Burgoyne was thus reluctantly brought to 
spare the offender, but thenceforth made it a 
rule that no party of Indians should be per- 
mitted to go forth on a foray unless under the 
conduct of a British officer, or some other com- 
petent person, who should be responsible for 
their behavior. 

The mischief to the British cause, however, 
had been effected. The murder of Miss McCrea 
resounded throughout the land, counteracting 
all the benefit anticipated from the terror of 
Indian hostilities. Those people of the fron- 
tiers, who had hitherto remained quiet, now 
fiew to arms to defend their families and fire- 



378 



I5UIIG0YNE AT FOKT EDWAKD— DESERTION OF THE SAVAGES. 



[\111. 



Bides. In their exasperation they looked be- 
yond tlio savages to tlieir oniployers. Tliey 
uldiorrcd an ariny, wJiicli, ])rofossing to bo 
civilized, could league itself with such barba- 
rians ; and they execrated a government, which, 
pretending to reclaim them as subjects, could 
let loose such fiends to desolate the"ir homes. 

The blood of this unfortunate girl, therefore, 
was not shed in vain. Armies sj)rang \\\) from 
it. llcr name passed as a note of alarm, along 
the banks of the Hudson ; it was a rallying 
word among the Green Mountains of Vermont, 
and brought down all their hai'dy yeomanry.* 

As Biirgoyne advanced to Fort Edward, 
H(;liuy]cr fell still further back, and took post 
at Saratoga, or rather Ktillwater, about thirty 
miles from Albany. IIo had been joined by 
Mnjor-Gcncral Lincoln, who, according to 
Wasiiington's directions, had hastened to his 
assistance. In jjursuance of Washington's jdans, 
Lincoln ])rocceded to Manchester in Vermont, 
to take command of the militia forces collecting 
at that point. His i)resenco insi>ired new con- 
fidence in tho country people, who wore aban- 
doning their homes, leaving their crops un- 
gutlicred, and taking refuge with their families 
in the lower towns, lie found about live hun- 
dred militia assemlded at Manchester, under 
Colonel Seth Warner ; others wore coming on 
from New Ilampshiro and Massachusetts, to 
protect their uncovered frontier. His letters, 
dated the 4th of August, expressed tho expecta- 
tion of being, in a few days, at the head of at 
least two tliousaiid men. With these, accord- 
ing to AViisliington's plan, he was to hang on 
tho Hunk luid roar of Burgoyno's army, cramp 
its movements, and watch for an opportunity 
to strike a blow. 

Burgoyno was now at Fort Edward. "Tho 
entliusiasin of tho army, as well as of the gen- 
oral, upon their arrival on tho Hudson Eiver, 



* 'I'lio pud Htory of MIhh McOroii, llko >n;iny other iiK;!- 
donlB of tho Ilcvoltitloii,lia8 boon related In BUoh a variety 
of wayB, and no AvrouRht up by tradition, that It Ib dllUcult 
now to Kot at tho Blniplo truth. Home of tho aliovo clr- 
ouniHtanooB wero derived from ii iiioee of MIhh McCroa, 
■\vliom the author mot upwards of llfty ycarw a(fo, at her 
reRlilenee on the bankw of the Ht. Lawreiioe. A Btoiie, 
wllh lier name cut on It, hIUI marks the Krave of MIhh Mc- 
Crea niur the rnhiB of Furt Ifidward ; and a tree Iri pointed 
out near which she was murdered. Menteiiant donos is 
Buld to have been completely broken In Hplrit by the shock 
of hor death. Troourlu)? Jior scalp, with Us long silken 
troHses, he brooded over It In uuKulsh, and preserved h as 
a sad, but precious relic. DlHjjusted with the service, lio 
threw up his conunlsslon, and retired to Canada ; never 
marrying, but llvlnjf to bo an old man; taolluru and 
molonoholy, and huuntud by painful rwooUootlon*. 



which had been so long tho object of their 
hojjos and wishes, may bo better conceived 
than described," says a British writer of tho 
day. Tho enthusiasm of the general was soon 
checked, however, by symjitoms of ill-humor 
among his Indian allies. They resented his 
conduct in regard to tho affair of Miss McCrea, 
and wero imi)atient under tho restraint to 
which they were subjected. He suspected tho 
Canadian interpreters of fomenting this discon- 
tent ; they being accustomed to profit by tho 
rajjino of tho Indians. At tho earnest request 
of St. Luc, in whom he still had confidence, he 
called a council of the chiefs ; when, to his 
astonisliment, the tribe for whom that gentle- 
man acted as interpreter, declared their inten- 
tion of returning home, and demanded his 
concurrence and assistance. 

Burgoyno was greatly embarrassed. Should 
he acquiesce, it would be to relinquish the aid 
of a force obtained at an immense expense, 
esteemed in England of great importance, and 
which really was serviceable in furnishing 
scouts and outposts ; yet ho saw that a cordial 
reconciliation with them could only bo effected 
by revoking his j)rohibitions, and indulging 
their pro])ensitie3 to blood and rapine. 

To his credit be it recorded, he adhered to 
what was right, and rejected what might be 
deemed expedient. He refused their proposi- 
tion, and persisted in tho restraints he had ira- 
jjosed upon them, but appealed to the wild 
honor, of which he yet considered them capa- 
ble, by urging the ties of faith, of generosity, 
of every thing that has an influence with civil- 
ized man His speech appeared to have a good 
effect. Some of the remote tribes made zealous 
professions of loyalty and adhesion. Others, 
of, Lower Canada, only asked furloughs for 
parties to return home and gather in their 
harvests. These wero readily granted, and 
perfect harmony seemed restored. Tho next 
day, however, the chivalry of the wilderness 
deserted by scores, laden with such spoil as 
they had collected in their maraudings. These 
desertions continued from day to day, until 
tliere remained in the camp scarce a vestige of 
the savage warriors that had joined tho army 
at Skencsborough. 



JEt. 45.] 



DIFFICULTIES OF BURGOYNE— EXPEDITION TO BENNINGTON. 



379 



CHAPTER XV. 

New difficulties beset Burgoyne at Fort Ed- 
ward. The horses which had been contracted 
for in Canada, for draft, burthen, and saddle, 
arrived slowly and scantily ; having to come a 
long distance through the wilderness. Ai-til- 
lery and munitions, too, of all kinds, had to be 
brought from Ticonderoga by the way of Lake 
George. These, with a vast number of boats 
for freight, or to form bridges, it was necessary 
to transport over the carrying-places between 
the lakes ; and by land from Fort George to 
Fort Edward. Unfortunately, the army had 
not the requisite supply of horses and oxen. 
So far from being able to bring forward provi- 
sions for a march, it w^as with difficulty enough 
could be furnished to feed the army from day 
to day. 

While thus situated, Burgoyne received in- 
telligence that the part of his army which he 
had detached from Canada under Colonel St. 
Leger, to proceed by Lake Ontario and Oswego 
and make a diversion on the Mohawk, had 
penetrated to that river, and were actually in- 
vesting Fort Stanwix, the stronghold of that 
part of the country. 

To carry out the original plan of his cam- 
paign, it now behooved him to make a rapid 
move down the Hudson, so as to be at hand to 
co-operate with St. Leger on his approach to 
Albany. But how was he to do this, deficient 
as ho was in horses and vehicles for transporta- 
tion? In this dilemma Colonel (late Major) 
Skene, the royalist of Skeuesborough, to whom, 
from his knowledge of all this region, he had 
of late resorted for counsel, informed him that 
at Bennington, about twenty-four miles east of 
the Hudson, the Americans had a great depot 
of horses, carriages, and supplies of all kind, 
intended for their Northern array. This place, 
ho added* might easily be surprised, being 
guarded by only a snuiU militia force. 

An expedition was immediately set on foot ; 
not only to surprise this place, but to scour the 
country from Rockingham to Otter Creek ; go 
down the Connecticut as far as Brattleborough, 
and return by the great road to Albany, there 
to meet Burgoyne. They were to make pris- 
oners of all officers, civil and military, whom 
they might meet acting under Congress ; to 
tax the towns where they halted with every 
thing they stood in need of, and bring off all 
horses fit for the dragoons, or for battalion 



service, with as many saddles and bridles as 
could be found. 

They were everywhere to give out that this 
was the vanguard of the British army, which 
would soon follow on its way to Boston, and 
would be joined by the army from Rhode 
Island. Before relating the events of this ex- 
pedition, we will turn to notice those of the 
detachment under St. Leger, with which it 
was intended to co-operate, and which was 
investing Fort Schuyler. 

This fort, built in 1756, on the site of an old 
French fortification, and formerly called Fort 
Stanwix, from a British general of that name, 
was situated on the right bank of the Mohawk 
River, at the head of its navigation, and com- 
manding the carrying-place between it and 
AVood Creek, whence the boats passed to the 
Oneida Lake, the Oswego River, and Lake 
Ontario. It was thus a key to the intercourse 
between Upper Canada and the valley of the 
Mohawk. The fort was square, with four bas- 
tions, and was originally a place of strength ; 
having bomb-proof magazines, a deep moat and 
drawbridge, a sally port, and covered way. In 
the long interval of peace subsequent to the 
French Avar, it had fallen to decay. Recently 
it had been repaired by order of General 
Schuyler, and had received his name. It was 
garrisoned by seven hundred and fifty Conti- 
nental troops from New York and Massachu- 
setts, and was under the command of Colonel 
Gansevoort of the New York line, a stout- 
hearted officer of Dutch descent, who had 
served under General Montgomery in Canada. 

It was a motley force which appeared be- 
fore it ; British, Hessian, Royalist, Canadian, 
and Indian, about seventeen hundred in all. 
Among them were St. Leger's rangers and 
Sir John Johnson's royalist corps, called his 
greens. Many of the latter had followed Sir 
John into Canada from the valley of the 
Mohawk, and were now returned to bring the 
horrors of war among their former neighbors. 
The Indians, their worthy allies, w^ere led by 
the famous Brant. 

On the 3d of August, St. Leger sent in a flag 
with a summons to surrender; accompanied 
by a proclamation in style and spirit similar to 
that recently issued by Burgoyne, and intended 
to operate on the garrison. Both his summons 
and his proclamation were disregarded. He now 
set his troops to work to fortify his camp and 
clear obstructions from Wood Creek and the 
roads, for the transportation of ai'tiUery and 



380 



SIEGE OF FORT SCHUYLER— BATTLE OF ORISKAXY. 



[1777. 



provisions, and sent out scouting parties of 
Indians in all directions, to cut off all commu- 
nication of the garrison with the surrounding 
country. A few shells were thrown into the 
fort. The chief annoyance of the garrison was 
from the Indians firing with their rifles from 
hehind trees on those busied in repairing the 
parapets. At night they seemed completely 
to surround the fort, filling the woods with 
their yells and howlings. 

On the 6th of August, three men made their 
way into the fort through a swamp, which the 
enemy had deemed impassable. They brought 
the cheering intelligence that General Herkimer, 
the veteran commander of the militia of Try on 
County, was at Oriskany, about eight miles 
distant, with upwards of eight hundred men. 
The people of that country were many of them 
of German origin; some of them Germans by 
birth. Herkimer was among the former, a 
large and powerful man, about sixty-five years 
of age. He requested Colonel Gansevoort, 
through his two messengers, to fire three signal- 
guns on receiving word of his vicinage ; upon 
hearing which, he would endeavor to force his 
way to the fort, depending upon the co-opera- 
tion of the gaiTison. 

The messengers had been desptached by 
Herkimer on the evening of the 5th, and he 
had calculated that they would reach the fort 
at a very early hour in the morning. Through 
some delay, they did not reach it until between 
ten and eleven o'clock. Gansevoort instantly 
complied with the message. Three signal-guns 
were fired, and Colonel "Willett, of the New 
York Continentals, with two hundred and fifty 
men and an iron three-pounder, was detached 
to make a diversion, by attacking that part of 
the enemy's camp occupied by Johnson and his 
royalists. 

The delay of the messengers in the night, 
however, disconcerted the plan of Herkimer. 
He marshalled his troops by daybreak and 
W'aited for the signal-guns. Hour after hour 
elapsed, but no gun was heard. His officers 
became impatient of delay, and urged an im- 
mediate march. Herkimer represented that 
they were too weak to force their way to the 
fort without reinforcements, or without being 
sure of co-operation from the garrison, and was 
still for awaiting the preconcerted signals. 
High words ensued between him and two of 
his officers. He had a brother and other rela- 
tives among the enemy, and hence there were 
some doubts of his fidelity, though they sub- 



sequently proved to be unmerited. Colonels 
Cox and Paris were particularly urgent for an 
advance, and suspicious of the motives for hold- 
ing back. Paris was a prominent man in Try- 
on Coimty, and member of the committee of 
safety, and in compliance with the wishes of 
that committee, accompanied Herkimer as his 
volunteer aide. Losing his temper in the dis- 
pute, he accused the latter of Being either a 
tory or a coward. "No," replied the brave 
old man, " I feel towards you all as a father, 
and wiU not lead you into a scrape from which 
I cannot extricate you." His discretion, how- 
ever, was overpowered by repeated taunts, and 
he at length, about nine o'clock, gave the word 
to march ; intimating, however, that those 
who were the most eager to advance, would be 
the first to run away. 

The march was rather dogged and irregular. 
There was iU-humor between the general and 
his oflicers. Colonels Paris and Cox advised 
him to throw out a reconnoitring party in the 
advance, but he disregarded their advice, and 
perhaps in very opposition to it, neglected so 
necessary a precaution. About ten o'clock they 
came to a place where the road was carried on 
a causeway of logs across a deep marshy ravine 
between high level banks. The main division 
descended into the ravine, followed by the 
baggage-waggons. They had scarcely crossed 
it, when enemies suddenly sprang up in front 
and on each side, with deadly volleys of mus- 
ketry, and deafening yells and war-whoops. 
In fact, St. Leger, apprised by his scouts of 
their intended approach, had sent a force to 
waylay them. This was composed of a division 
of Johnson's greens, led by his brother-in-law, 
Major Watts ; a company of rangers under 
Colonel Butler, a refugee from this neighbor- 
hood, and a strong body of Indians under 
Brant. The troops were stationed in front just 
beyond the ravine ; the Indians along each side 
of the road. The plan of the ambuscade was 
to let the van of the Americans pass the ravine 
and advance between the concealed parties, 
when the attack was to be commenced by the 
troops in front, after which, the Indians were 
to fall on the Americans in rear and cut off all 
retreat. 

The savages, however, could not restrain 
their natural ferocity and hold back as ordered, 
but discharged their rifles simultaneously with 
the troops, and instantly rushed forward with 
spears and tomahawks, yelling like demons, 
and commencing a dreadful butchery. The 



^T. 45.] 



BATTLE OF ORISKANY— DEATH OF GENERAL HERKIMER. 



881 



rear-guard, whicli bad not entered the ravine, 
retreated. The main body, though thrown 
into confusion, defended themselves bravely. 
One of those severe conflicts ensued, common 
in Indian vrarfare, where the combatants take 
post with their rifles, behind rock and tree, or 
come to deadly struggle with knife and toma- 
hawk. 

The veteran Uerkimer w-as wounded early 
in the action. A musket ball shattered his leg 
just below the knee, killing his horse at the 
same time. He made his men place him on 
his saddle at the foot of a large beech tree, 
against the trunk of which he leaned, continu- 
ing to give his orders. 

The regulars attempted to charge with the> 
bayonet ; but the Americans formed themselves 
in circles back to back, and repelled them. A 
heavy storm of thunder and rain caused a tem- 
porary lull to the fight, during which the pa- 
triots changed their ground. Some of them 
stationed themselves in pairs behind trees ; so 
that w'hen one had fired the other could cover 
him until he had reloaded ; for the savages 
were apt to rush up -with knife and tomahawk 
the moment a man had discharged his piece. 
Johnson's greens came up to sustain the In- 
dians, who were giving way, and now was the 
fiercest part of the fight. Old neighbors met 
in deadly feud ; former intimacy gave bitter- 
ness to present hate, and war was literally 
carried to the knife ; for the bodies of com- 
batants were afterwards found on the field of 
battle, grappled in death, with the hand still 
grasping the knife plunged in a neighbor's 
heart. The very savages seemed inspired with 
unusual ferocity by the confusion and dead 
struggle around them, and the sight of their 
prime warriors and favorite chiefs shot down. 
In their blind fury they attacked the white 
men indiscriminately, friend or foe, so that in 
this chance-medley fight many of Sir John's 
greens were slain by his own Indian allies. 

A confusion reigns over the accounts of this 
fight ; in which every one saw little but what 
occurred in his immediate vicinity. The In- 
dians, at length, having lost many of their 
bravest warriors, gave the retreating cry, 
Oonah ! Oonah ! and fled to the woods. The 
greens and rangers hearing a firing in the di- 
rection of the fort, feared an attack upon their 
camp, and hastened to its defence, carrying off 
with them many prisoners. The Americans 
did not pursue them, but placing their wounded 
on litters made of branches of trees, returned 



to Oriskany, Both parties have claimed the 
victory ; but it does not appear that either was 
entitled to it. The dead of both parties lay for 
days unburied on the field of action, and a 
wounded ofiicer of the enemy (Major "Watts) 
remained there t^o days unrelieved, until 
found by an Indian scout. It would seem as 
if each party gladly abandoned this scene of 
one of the most savage conflicts of the Revolu- 
tion. The Americans had two himdred killed, 
and a number wounded. Several of these were 
officers. The loss of the enemy is thought to 
have been equally great as to numbers ; but 
then the difference in value between regulars 
and militia ! the former often the refuse of 
mankind, mere hirelings, whereas among the 
privates of the militia, called out from their 
homes to defend their neighborhood, were 
many of tlie worthiest and most valuable of 
the yeomanry. The premature haste of the 
Indians in attacking, had saved the Americans 
from being completely surrounded. The rear- 
guard, not having entered the defile, turned and 
made a rapid retreat, but were piu'sued by the 
Indians, and suffered greatly in a running fight. 
We may add that those who had been most 
urgent with General Herkimer for this move- 
ment, were among the first to suffer from it. 
Colonel Cox was shot down at the first fire, so 
was a son of Colonel Paris ; the colonel himself 
was taken prisoner, and fell beneath the toma- 
hawk of the famous Red Jacket. 

As to General Herkimer, he was conveyed 
to his residence on the Mohawk Eiver, and 
died nine days after the battle, not so much 
from his wound as from bad surgery, sinking 
gradually through loss of blood from an unskil- 
ful amputation. He died like a philosopher 
and a Christian, smoking his pipe and reading 
his Bible to the last. His name has been given 
to a county in that part of the State.* 

The sortie of Colonel "WiUett had been 
spirited and successful. Ho attacked the en- 
campments of Sir John Johnson and the In- 
dians, which Avere contiguous, and strong 
detachments of which were absent on the am- 
buscade. Sir John and Jiis men were driven 
to the river ; the Indians fled to the woods. 
Willett sacked their camps ; loaded waggons 
with camp equipage, clothing, blankets, and 
stores of all kinds, seized the baggage and pa- 
pers of Sir John and of several of his officers, 
and retreated safely to the fort, just as St. 



* Some of the particulars of this action were given to 
the author hy a son of Colonel Paris. 



.•JR2 



GANSKVOOIIT MAINTAJNH HIS J'OST— SCJIUYLKR KKCALLET). 



[1777. 



Logor wan cominf^ up wiUi u powerful reiii- 
forcoirioiit. Fivo roloiH, wliicli lie hud hroiiglit 
nwuy wilJi liiiii iiM IropliicM, wore (IiH|)Iayc(l 
under llio lIuK ol' tlio lurt, wliilc his men gave 
throe cliocrs from the rmnpartH. 

St. Lcgor now endeavored to operate on tlie 
fearH of Mio garriHon. Ilin jiriwuiorH, it iH wiid, 
were coiiiix'llc'd U) write a li'tlxsr, giving diHiiml 
ticoountH of tlid ud'iiir of Ori.skuiiy, and of tlie 
irtipoHwibility of getting any Hii(u;or to tlio gar- 
rison ; of tlio jirobaliilily that ]>in*goyno and 
his army woro then hcforo Alhany, and adviH- 
ing Hurrondcr to prevent inevitable <k'.Htnietion. 
It in jirolialihi tli(7 were persuaded, rather tlian 
eonipclied, to write the h:tter, wiiieli took its 
tone fro)n their own (h-prc^ssed Au'lings and tlie 
niisrepreHontatioiiH of those aioiuid thcni. St. 
Legor aoeompaiiicd the letter with warnings 
that, Hhonld the garrison perHiHt in resislance, 
ho vvonid not he ahle to restrain the fury of the 
Havages ; who, though he id in elieek for the 
])roHent, threatened, if Anther ])rovokod, to 
revenge the deaths of their warriors and chiefs 
by fllaughtering the garrison, and l.-iying waste 
the whole valley of the Mohawk. 

All this failinj^r to shako the resolnlion of 
(Jansevoort, St. Ix-ger next isHued an ajipenl to 
th(* inbai)it»nts of 'J'ryon Comity, nigned by 
tlicir old neighhorH, Sir.lohii .lohnaon. Colonel 
Ol.'ius, anil (jolonel IJtillrr, in'oniising ])ardon 
and iirol.cclion to ail who should mibniit to 
royal authority, and iwgiiig them to Hend a 
(le[)utaiioii of their ])rineipnl men to overcome 
the mulish obstinacy of th<i garrison, and Have 
the whole sin'rouiidinf!; eouiitry from Tnuinii 
ravage and inassacrc. The projijc oniKM'ouuIy, 
however, were as little t.o b(^ inovcid us tlie 
garrison. 

St. Leger now began to lose iieart. The fort 
jiroved more capable of defence than lie liad 
anticipated. His artillery was too light, and 
(he ramparts being of stxl, were not easily bat- 
tered. Ho was obliged n'inclnnlly to resort to 
the slow process of Happing and mining, and 
began to Tiiako regular approaches. 

(iansevoort, seeing the siege was likely to he 
protracted, resolved to send to (ieneral Schuy- 
ItT for succor. Colonel Willeti volunteered to 
inidtTlnkii tlui perilous errand. He was accom- 
panied by Liculciiiiiil Slockwcli, an excellent 
woodsman, who served as a guide. They left 
the fort on the 10th, after dark, by a nally 
l)ort, passed by the Ih'itish sentinels and close 
by the Indian camj) without being discovered, 
and m;l(^^ I1k>1i- way tbniuf;h bo;^', and morass, 



and j)atJiless forests, and all kinds of risks and 
hardships, untjl they reacjhed tlio German Flats 
on tho Mohawk. ]liirti Willett ])rocured a 
couple of liorHCH, and by dint of hoof arrived at 
tho camp of General Schuyler at Stillwater. A 
change had come over tho position of that com- 
mander four (layH previous to the arrival of 
(jolom^l "Willett, as we hIuiH relate in the ensu- 
ing chapter. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

RoiiTiYi.Ku was in Albany in the early part of 
August, making stirring api)eah! in every direc- 
tion for reinforcements. IJurgoyno was ad- 
vancing u])on liitn ; ho had received news of 
the disastrous aflair of Oriskany, and the death 
of (ieneral Herkimer, and Tryon County was 
crying to jiim for assistance. One of his ap- 
])ealH was to tho veteran John Stark, the com- 
rade of Putnam in tho French war and tho 
battle of Hunker's Ilill. He had his farm in 
t.he Hampshiro Grants, and his name was a 
tower of strength among tho Green Mountain 
I'oys. Hut Stark Avas soured with govern- 
ment, and had retired from service, his name 
having boon omitted in tho list of promotions. 
Hearing that ho Avas on a visit to Lincoln's 
camp at Manchester, Schuyler wrote to that 
general, " Assm-o (Jenoral Stark that I have 
acipniinted Congress of his situation, and that 
T trust and entreat he will, in tho jtrescnt 
alarming crisis, waive his right ; the greater 
the sacrifice ho makes to his feelings the great- 
er will bo tho honor duo to him for not having 
sntVerod any consideration whatever, to corao 
in com])etition with the weal of his country: 
entreat him to march immediately to our army." 

Schuyler had instant call to jiractiso the very 
virt.uo he was inculcating. He was about to 
mount his horse on tho 10th, to return to tho 
cam]) at Stillwater, when a des])atch from Con- 
gress was ])ut into his hand containing tlic re- 
solves which rccalh'd him to attend a court of 
iiKpiiry about the allnir of Ticonderofj;a, and 
recpiestod Washington to a]>i)oiut an ollicer to 
succeed him. 

Schuyler felt d(>eply tlu^ indignity of being 
thus recalled at a, time when an cng.'igenicnt 
was apparently at, liand, hut endeavored to 
console himself with tho certainty that a 
thorough iuvestigaiion of his conduct would 
])rove how much he was entitled to tlio thanks 



JEr. 4 5. J 



EXPEDITION AGAINST BENNINGTON— GERMANS AND INDIANS. 



.•}8;{ 



of liis country. lie intimatod tho same in his 
reply to Congress ; in tlio mean time, ho con- 
sidered it liis duty to renuvin at liin post until 
liirt Huccossor whould arrive, or some olllcer in 
the department ho ntuninated to tho coimuand. 
lieturniug, therefore, to tlio eamp at Stillwater, 
he continued to conduct tho allairs of tho army 
with unremitting zeal. " Until tho country is 
in safety," said ho, " I will Ktille my roHont- 
ment." 

His first caro was to send relief to (Janso- 
voort and his holoaguered garrison. Eight 
hundred men wcro all that he could spare from 
his army in its present threatened state. A 
spirited and cll'cictive oilieor was wanted to 
lend tliem. Arnold was in camp, recently 
sent on as an olliciont coadjutor, hy Washing- 
ton ; ho was in a state of exasperation against 
the government, having just learned that tho 
(|ucsl,i()u of raidi had heon decided against Iiim 
in Congress. Indeed, ho would liavo retired 
instantly from tho service, had not Schuylor 
l)ri',vailed on him to remain until tho impend- 
ing danger was over. Jt was hardly to he ex- 
pected, tliat in his irritated mood ho would 
accept tho conmiand of tho detachment, if 
oll'ered to him. Arnold, howovor, was a com- 
hustible character. The opportunity of an ox- 
])]()it Hashed on his adventurous spirit. lie 
step|)od i)rom])tly forward and vohmteered to 
load the cuterj)riso. " No pulilic or private in- 
jury or insult," said ho, " shall prevail on mo 
to forsake tho cause of my injured and oj)- 
])reKsed country, until I SCO poaco and liberty 
restored to her, or nobly dio in tho attempt." * 

After tho do])arture of this detaclimeiit, it 
was unanimously determined in a council of 
war of Hehuyler and his general ollicers, that 
tho post at Stillwater was altogether untonahlo 
with their actual force ; part of tho army, 
therefore, retired to tho islands at tho fords on 
tlie juouth of tho Mohawk River, whore it 
empties into the Hudson, and a brigade was 
])ostt^d al)ovo the Falls of the Mohawk, caljed 
(ho Cohoes, to prevent the enemy from cross- 
ing tlicre. It was considered a strong position, 
Avhere they could not bo attacked without 
groat disadvantage to tho assailant. 

The feelings of Schuylor wcro more and more 
excited as tho game of war appeared drawing 
to a crisis. "I am resolved," writes ho to his 
friend Duano, "to make another sacrifice to 
my country, and risk tho censure of Congress by 

* Letter to OatOB. Oatos's rupers. 



romniniug in this (piartor aftei- 1 am reliovod, 
and bringing up tho militia to the sujjport of 
this weak army." 

As yet he did not know who was to bo his 
successor in tlie conmiand. A letter from 
Diiane iurorined him tliat (!encral (Jates was 
the man. 

Still tho noblo part of Schuyler's iintui-o was 
in tho ascendant. " Your fears may lie u])," 
writes ho in reply, "lest the ill-treatment I 
have experienced at his bauds, should so far get 
tlio better of my judgment as to embarrass liim. 
Do not, n)y dear friend, bo uneasy on that ac- 
count. I am incapable of sacrilicing my coun- 
try to a rosontmont, howovor just; and I trust 
I shall give an example of what a good citizen 
ought to do when he is in my situation." 

We will now take a view of o(!currencos on 
tho right and left of Ihirgoyne, and show tho 
eJlbct of Schuyler's measures, poorly seconded 
as they wore, in crij)pliiig and straitening tho 
invading army. And lirst, wo will treat of tho 
expedition against Bennington. This was a 
central ])lace, whither tho live stock was driven 
from various ])arts of tho Hampshire (Jrants, 
and whence the American army derived its 
supplies. It was a great deposit, also, of grain 
of various kinds, and of wheel carriages; tho 
usual guard was militia, varying from day to 
day. l?eiiiiington was to bo surprised. Tho 
country was to be scoured from liockingham 
to Otter Creek in (|uest of provisions for tho 
army, liorses and oxen for draft, and horses 
for tho cavalry. All public maga/ines were to 
bo sacked. All cattle belonging to royalists, 
and which could bo spared by their owners, 
were to l)o ])aid for. All rebel tlocks jmd bonis 
wore to 1)0 driven away. 

(Jenerals Phillips and liiedosel demurred 
strongly to the cxi)odition, but their counsels 
wero outweighed by thoso of Oolouel Skene, 
the royalist. IIo knew, ho said, all the country 
thereabout. The inhabitants were as live to 
Olio in favor of tlio royal cause, and would bo 
prompt to turn out on tho lirst appearance of a 
protecting army. IIo was to accompany the 
expedition, and nmch was expected from his 
personal inlluenco and authority 

Lieutemuit-Colonel Baum was to command 
the detachment. lie had under bim, according 
to Burgoyne, two hundred dismounted di-a- 
goons of the regiment of liiefk^sel, Captain 
Eraser's marksmen, which wero tho only Brit- 
ish, all the Canadian volunteers, a party of tho 
provincials who jierfectly knew tho country, 



384 



BAUM, THE HESSIAN LEADER— STARK IN THE FIELD. 



[\111. 



one hundred Indians, and two light pieces of 
cannon. The whole detachment amounted to 
about five hundred men. The dragoons, it was 
expected, would supply themselves with horses 
in the course of the foray ; and a skeleton corps 
of royalists would be filled up by recruits. 

The Germans had no great liking for the In- 
dians as fellow campaigners ; especially those 
who had come from Upper Canada under St. 
Luc. " These savages are heathens, huge, war- 
like, and enterprising, but wicked as Satan," 
writes a Hessian officer. " Some say they are 
cannibals, but I do not believe it ; though in 
their fury they will tear the flesh off their ene- 
mies with their teeth. They have a martial 
air, and their wild ornaments become them."* 
St. Luc, who commanded them, had been a 
terror to the English colonists in the French 
war, and it was intimated that he possessed 
great treasures of " old English scalps." He 
and his warriors, however, had disappeared from 
camp since the affair of Miss McCrea. The 
present Avere Indians from Lower Canada 

The choice of German troops for this foray, 
was much sneered at by the British officers. 
" A corps could not have been found in the 
whole army," said they, " so unfit for a service 
requiring rapidity of motion, as Eiedesel's dra- 
goons. The very hat and sword of one of them 
weighed nearly as much as the whole equip- 
ment of a British soldier. The worst British 
regiment in the service would march two miles 
to their one." 

To be nearer at hand in case assistance should 
be required, Burgoyno encamped on the east 
side of the Hudson, nearly opposite Saratoga, 
throw'ing over a bridge of boats by which Gen- 
eral Eraser, with the advanced guard, crossed 
to that place. Colonel Baum set out from 
camp at break of day, on the 13th of August. 
All that had been predicted of his movements 
was verified. The badness of the road, the ex- 
cessive heat of the weather, and the want of 
carriages and horses, were alleged in excuse ; 
but slow and imapt men ever meet with im- 
pediments. Some cattle, carts, and waggons, 
were captured at Cambridge ; a few horses 
also were brought in ; but the Indians killed or 
drove off all that fell into their hands, unless 
they were paid in cash for their prizes. " The 
country people of these parts," writes the Hes- 
sian narrator, " came in crowds to Governor 
Skene, as he was called, and took the oath of 



* SchlOzer's Briefwechsol, Th. iii., Heft xvii. 



allegiance; but even these faithless people," 
adds he, " were subsequently our bitterest as- 
sailants." 

Baum was too slow a man to take a place by 
surprise. The people of Bennington heard of 
his approach and were on the alert. The vet- 
eran Stark was there with eight or nine hun- 
dred troops. During the late alarms the mi- 
litia of the State had been formed into two 
brigades, one to be commanded by General 
William Whipple; Stark had with difficulty 
been prevailed upon to accept the command of 
the other, upon the express condition that he 
should not be obliged to join the main army, 
but should be left to his own discretion, to 
make war in his own partisan style, hovering 
about the enemy in their march through the 
country, and accountable to none but the au- 
thorities of New Hampshire. 

General Lincoln had informed Stark of the 
orders of General Schuyler, that all the militia 
should repair to Stillwater, but the veteran re- 
fused to comply. He had taken np arms, he 
said, in a moment of exigency, to defend the 
neighborhood which would be exposed to the 
ravages of the enemy, should he leave it, and 
he held himself accountable solely to the au- 
thorities of New Hampshire. This act of in- 
subordination might have involved the doughty 
but somewhat testy old general in subsequent 
difficulty, had not his sword carved out an 
ample excuse for him. 

Having heard that Indians had appeared at 
Cambridge, twelve miles to the north of Ben- 
nington, on the 13th, he sent out two hundred 
men under Colonel Gregg in quest of them. In 
the course of the night he learnt that they were 
mere scouts in advance of a force marching 
u.pon Bennington. Ho immediately rallied his 
brigade, called out the militia of the neighbor- 
hood, and sent off for Colonel Seth Warner 
(the quondam associate of Ethan Allen) and his 
regiment of militia, who were with General 
Lincoln at Manchester. 

Lincoln instantly detached them, and Warner 
and his men marched all night through drench- 
ing rain, arriving at Stark's camp in the morn- 
ing, dripping wet. 

Stark left them at Bennington to dry and rest 
themselves, and then to follow on ; in the 
mean time, ho pushed forward with his men to 
support the party sent out the preceding day, 
under Gregg, in quest of the Indians. lie met 
them about five miles off, in full retreat, Baum 
anti his force a mile in their rear. 



Mt. 45.] 



THE BATTLE OF BENNINGTON. 



385 



Stark halted and prepared for action, Baum 
also halted, posted himself ou a high ground at 
a bend of the little river Walloomscoick, and 
began to intrench himself. Stark feU back a 
mile, to wait for reinforcements and draw 
down Baum from his strong position. A skir- 
mish took place between the advance guards ; 
thirty of Baum's men were killed and two In- 
dian chiefs. 

An incessant rain on the 15th prevented an 
attack on Baum's camp, but there was con- 
tinual sku*mishing. The colonel strengthened 
his iutrenchments, and finding he had a larger 
force to contend with than he had anticipated, 
sent off in all haste to Burgoyne for reinforce- 
ments. Colonel Breyman marched off imme- 
diately, with five hundred Hessian grenadiers 
and infantry and two six-pounders, leaving be- 
hind him his tents, baggage, and standards. 
He, also, found the roads so deep, and the 
horses so bad, that he was nearly two days 
getting four and twenty miles. The tactics of 
the Hessians were against them. " So foolishly 
attached were they to forms of discipline," 
writes a British historian, " that in marching 
through thickets they stopped ten times an 
hour to dress their ranks." It was here, in 
fact, that they most dreaded the American 
rifle. "In the open field," said they, "the 
rebels are not much ; but they are redoubtable 
in the woods."* 

In the mean time the more alert and active 
Americans had been mustering from all quarters 
to Stark's assistance, with such weapons as 
they had at hand. During the night of the 
15th, Colonel Symonds arrived with a body of 
Berkshire militia. Among them was a bellig- 
erent parson, full of fight, Allen by name, pos- 
sibly of the bellicose family of the hero of Ti- 
conderoga. " General," cried he, " the people 
of Berkshire have been often called out to no 
purpose ; if you don't give them a chance to 
fight now they will never turn out again." 
" You would not turn out now, while it is dark 
and raining, would you?" demanded Stark. 
" Not just now," was the reply. " Well, if the 
Lord should once more give us sunshine, and I 
don't give you fighting enough," rejoined the 
veteran, " I'll never ask you to turn out again." 

On the following morning the sun shone 
bright, and Stark prepared to attack Baum in 
his iutrenchments ; though he had no artillery, 
and his men, for the most part, had only their 



25 



* SoHozer'a Briefwechsel. 



ordinary brown firelocks without bayonets. 
Two hundred of his men, under Colonel Nich- 
ols, were detached to the rear of the enemy's 
left ; three hundred under Colonel Ilerrick, to 
the rear of his right ; they were to join their 
forces and attack him in the rear, while Colo- 
nels Hubbard and Stickney, with two hundred 
men, diverted his attention in fi-ont. 

Colonel Skene and the royalists, when they 
saw the Americans issuing out of the woods on 
different sides, persuaded themselves, and en- 
deavored to persuade Baum, that these were 
the royal people of the country flocking to his 
standard. The Indians were the first to dis- 
cover the truth. " The woods are full of Yan- 
kees," cried they, and retreated in single file 
between the troops of Nichols and Ilerrick, 
yelling like demons and jingling cow beUs. 
Several of them, however, wer% killed or 
wounded as they thus ran the gauntlet. 

At the first sound of fire-arms. Stark, who 
had remained with the main body in camp, 
mounted his horse and gave the word, forward ! 
He had promised his men the plunder of the 
British camp. The homely sj^eech made by 
him when in sight of the enemy has often been 
cited. "Now, my men! There are the red 
coats ! Before night they must be ours, or 
Molly Stark wiU be a widow ! " 

Baum soon found himself assailed on every 
side, but he defended his works bravely. His 
two pieces of artillery, advantag'eously planted, 
were very effective, and his troops, if slow in 
march, were steady in action. For two hours 
the discharge of fire-arms was said to have 
been like the constant rattling of the drum. 
Stark in his despatches compared it to a " con- 
tinued clap of thunder." It was the hottest 
fight he had ever seen. He inspired his men 
with his own impetuosity. They drove the 
royalist troops upon the Hessians, and pressing 
after them stormed the works with irresistible 
fury. A Hessian eye-witness declares that this 
time the rebels fought with desperation, press- 
ing within eight paces of the loaded cannon to 
take surer aim at the artillerists. The latter 
were slain ; the cannon captured. The royal- 
ists and Canadians took to flight, and escaped 
to the woods. The Germans stiU kept their 
ground, and fought bravely, until there was 
not a cartridge left. Baum and his dragoons 
then took to their broadswords and the in- 
fantry to their bayonets, and endeavored to 
cut their way to a road in the woods biit in 
vain ; many were kiUed, more wounded, Baum 



386 



GENERAL STARK'S VICTORY— RECEIPT OF THE NEWS. 



[1111. 



among the number, and all who survived were 
taken prisoners.* 

The victors now dispersed, some to collect 
booty, some to attend to the wounded, some 
to guard the prisoners, and some to seek re- 
freshment, being exhausted by hunger and 
fatigue. At this critical juncture, Breymau's 
tardy reinforcement came, making its way 
heavily and slowly to the scene of action, 
joined by many of the enemy who had fled. 
Attempts were made to rally the militia ; but 
they were ia complete confusion. Nothing 
would have saved them from defeat, had not 
Colonel Seth "Warner's corps fortunately ar- 
rived from Bennington, fresh from repose, and 
advanced to meet the enemy, while the others 
regained their ranks. It was four o'clock in 
the afternoon when this second action com- 
menced. It was fought from wood to wood 
and hill to hill, for several miles, until sunset. 
The last stand of the enemy was at Van 
Schaick's mill, where, having expended all 
their ammunition, of which each man had 
forty rounds, they gave way, and retreated, 
under favor of the night, leaving two field- 
pieces and all their baggage in the hands of the 
Americans. Stark ceased to pursue them, lest 
in the darkness his men should fire upon each 
other. " Another hour of daylight," said he 
in his report, " and I should have captured the 
whole body." The veteran had had a horse 
shot under him, but escaped without wound 
or bruise. 

Four brass field-pieces, nine hundred dragoon 
swords, a thousand stand of arms, and four am- 
munition waggons, were the spoils of this vic- 
tory. Thirty-two officers, five hundred and 
sixty-four privates, including Canadians and 
loyalists, were taken prisoners. The number 
of slain was very considerable, but could not 
be ascertained ; many having fallen in the 
woods. The brave but unfortunate Baum did 
not long survive. The Americans had one 
hundred killed and wounded. 

Burgoyne was awakened in his camp towards 
dayhght of the I7th, by tidings that Colonel 
Baum had surrendered. Next came word that 
Colonel Breyman was engaged in severe and 
iloubtful conflict. The whole army was roused, 
and were preparing to hasten to his assistance, 
when one report after another gave assurance 
that he was on his way back in safety. The 
main body, therefore, remained in camp at the 



Batten kiln ; but Burgoyne forded that stream 
with the 47th regiment and pushed forward 
until 4 o'clock, when he met Breyman and his 
troops, weary and haggard with hard fighting 
and hard marching, in hot weather. In the 
evening all returned to their old encamp- 
ments.* 

General Schuyler was encamped on Van 
Schaick's Island at the mouth of the Mohawk 
River, when a letter from General Lincoln, 
dated Bennington, Aug. 18, informed him of 
" the capital blow given the enemy by General 
Stark." "I trust," replies he, Aug. 19th, 
" that the severity with which they have been 
handled will retard General Burgoyne's pro- 
gress. Part of his force was yesterday after- 
noon about three miles and a half above Still- 
water. If the enemy have entirely left that 
part of the country you are in, I think it would 
be advisable for you to move towards Hudson 
River tending towards Stillwater." 

" Governor Clinton," writes he to Stark on 
the same day, " is coming up with a body of 
militia, and I trust that after what the enemy 
have experienced from you, their progress will 
be retarded, and then we shall see them driven 
out of this part of the country," 

He now hoped to hear that Arnold had 
raised the siege of Fort Stanwix. " If that 
take place," said he, " it will be possible to en- 
gage two or three hundred Indians to join this 
army, and Congress may rest assured that my 
best endeavors shall not be wanting to accom- 
plish it." 

Tidings of the affair of Bennington reached 
Washington, just before he moved his camp 
from the neighborhood of Philadelphia to Wil- 
mington, and it relieved his mind from a world 
of anxious perplexity. In a letter to Putnam 
he writes, " As there is not now the least dan- 
ger of General Howe's going to New England, 
I hope the whole force of that country will 
turn out, and, by following the great stroke 
struck by General Stark near Bennington, en- 
tirely crush General Burgoyne, Avho, by his 
letter to Colonel Baum, seems to be in want of 
almost every thing." 

We will now give the fate of Burgoyne's de- 
tachment, under St. Leger, sent to capture Fort 
Stanwix, and ravage the valley of the Mo- 
hawk. 



* Briefe aus America. SchlOzer's Briefwechsel, Th. iii., 
Seft xiii. 



• SchlOzer's Briefweclisel, Th. iii., Heft xiiL 



vEt. 45.] STRATAGEM OF ARNOLD TO RELIEVE FORT STANWIX— ITS SUCCESS. 



3S7 



CHAPTER XVII. 

Aenold's march to the relief of Fort Stan- 
■wix, was slower than suited his ardent and im- 
patient spirit. He was detained in the valley 
of the Mohawk hy bad roads, by the necessity 
of waiting for baggage and ammunition wag- 
gons, and for militia recruits who turned out 
reluctantly. He sent missives to Colonel Gan- 
sevoort assuring him that he would relieve him 
in the course of a few days. " Be under no 
kind of apprehension," writes he. " I know 
the strength of the enemy, and Tioio to deal 
with them.'''' 

In fact, conscious of the smallness of his 
force, he had resorted to stratagem, sending em- 
issaries ahead to spread exaggerated reports 
of the number of his troops, so as to work on 
the fears of the enemy's Indian allies and in- 
duce them to desert. The most important of 
these emissaries was one Yan Yost Cuyler, an 
eccentric half-witted fellow, known throughout 
the country as a rank tory. lie had been con- 
victed as a spy, and only spared from the halter 
on the condition that he would go into St. 
Leger's camp, and spread alarming reports 
among the Indians, by whom he was well 
known. To insure a faithful discharge of his 
mission, Arnold detained his brother as a hos- 
tage. 

On his way up the Mohawk valley, Arnold 
was joined by a New York regiment, under 
Colonel James Livingston, sent by Gates to 
reinforce him. On arriving at the German 
Flats he received an express from Colonel Gan- 
sevoort, informing him that he was still be- 
sieged, but in high spirits and under no appre- 
hensions. In a letter to Gates, written from 
the German Flats (August 21st), Arnold says, 
"I leave this place this morning with twelve 
hundred Continental troops and a handful of 
militia for Fort Schuyler, still besieged by a 
number equal to ours. You will hear of my 
being victorious — or no more. As soon as the 
safety of this part of the country will permit, I 
will fly to your assistance." * 

All this while St. Leger was advancing his 
parallels and pressing the siege ; while provi- 
sions and ammunition were rapidly decreasing 
within the fort. St. Leger's Indian allies, how- 
ever, were growing sullen and intractable. 
This slow kind of Avarfare, this war with the 

* Gates's Papers, 



spade, they were unaccustomed to, and they 
by no means relished it. Besides, they had 
been led to expect easy times, little fighting, 
many scalps, and much plunder ; whereas they 
had fought hard, lost many of their best chiefs, 
been checked in their cruelty, and gained no 
booty. 

At this juncture, scouts brought word that a 
force one thousand strong was marching to the 
relief of the fort. Eager to put his savages in 
action, St. Leger in a council of war offered to 
their chiefs to place himself at their head, with 
three hundred of his best troops, and meet the 
enemy as they advanced. It was agreed, and 
they sallied forth together to choose a fighting 
ground. By this time rumors stole into the 
camp doubling the number of the approaching 
enemy, Burgoyne's whole army were said to 
have been defeated. Lastly came Yan Yost 
Cuyler, with his coat full of bullet holes, giving 
out that he had escaped from the hands of the 
Americans, and had been fired upon by tliem. 
His story was believed, for his wounded coat 
corroborated it, and ho was known to be a roy- 
alist. Mingling among his old acquaintances, 
the Indians, he assured them that the Ameri- 
cans were close at hand, " and numerous as the 
leaves on the trees." 

Arnold's stratagem succeeded. The Indians, 
fickle as the winds, began to desert. Sir John 
Johnson and Colonels Claus and Butler endeav- 
ored in vain to reassure and retain them. In 
a little while two hundred had decamped, and 
the rest threatened to do so likewise, unless 
St. Leger retreated. 

The unfortunate colonel found too late what 
little reliance was to be placed upon Indian 
allies. He determined on the 22d, to send off 
his sick, his wounded, and his artillery by 
Wood Creek that very night, and to protect 
them by the line of march. The Indians, how- 
ever, goaded on by Arnold's emissaries, insisted 
on instant retreat. St. Leger still refused to 
depart before nightfall. The savages now be- 
came ungovernable. They seized upon liquor 
of the officers about to be embai'ked, and get- 
ting intoxicated, behaved like very fiends. 

In a word, St. Leger was obliged to decamp 
about noon, in such hurry and confusion that 
he left his tents standing, and his artillery, with 
most of his baggage, ammunition, and stores, 
fell into the hands of the Americans. 

A detachment from the garrison pursued and 
harassed him for a time ; but his greatest an- 
noyance was from his Indian allies, who pluu- 



388 



ARRIVAL OF GATES IX THE GAMP— ASSUMES COMMAND. 



[17Y7. 



dered the boats which conveyed such baggage 
as had been brought off; murdered aU strag- 
glers -n-ho lagged iu the rear, and amused them- 
selves by giving false alarms to keep up the 
panic of the soldiery ; who would throw away 
muskets, knapsacks, and every thing that im- 
peded their flight. 

It was not until he reached Onondaga Falls, 
that St. Leger discovered by a letter from Bur- 
goyne, and floating reports brought by the 
bearer, that he had been the dupe of a ru&e de 
guerre, and that at the time the advancmg foe 
were reported to be close upon his haunches, 
they were not within forty miles of him. 

Such was the second blow to Burgoyne's 
invading army; but before the news of it 
reached that doomed commander, he had al- 
ready been half paralyzed by the disaster at 
Bennington. 

The moral effect of these two blows was 
such as Washington had predicted. Fortune, so 
long adverse, seemed at length to have taken 
a favorable turn. People were roused from 
their despondency. There was a sudden exul- 
tation throughout the country. The savages 
had disappeared in their native forests. The 
German veterans, so much vaunted and dread- 
ed, had been vanquished by militia, and British 
artillery captured by men, some of whom had 
never seen a cannon. 

Means were now augmenting in Schuyler's 
hands. Colonels Livingston and Pierre van 
Cortlandt, forwarded by Putnam, were arrived. 
Governor Clinton was daily expected with 
New York militia from the Highlands. The 
arrival of Arnold was anticipated with troops 
and artillery, and Lincoln with the New Eng- 
land militia. At this propitious moment, when 
every thing was ready for the sickle to be put 
into the harvest. General Gates arrived in the 
camp. 

Schuyler received him with the noble cour- 
tesy to which he jdedged himself. After 
acquainting him with all the affairs of the de- 
partment, the measures he had taken, and those 
he had projected ; he informed him of his hav- 
ing signified to Congress his intention to re- 
main in that quarter for the present, and render 
every service in his power ; and he entreatecj 
Gates to call upon him for counsel and assist- 
ance whenever he thought proper. 

Gates was in high spirits. His letters to 
Washington show how completely he was 
aware that an easy path of victory had been 
opened for him. " Upon my leaving Philadel- 



phia," writes he, " the prospect this way ap- 
peared most gloomy, but the severe checks the 
enemy have met with at Bennington and Tryon 
County, have given a more pleasing view of 
public aftairs. Particular accounts of the signal 
victory gained by General Stark, and of the 
severe blow General Herkimer gave Sir John 
Johnson and the scalpers under his command, 
have been transmitted to your Excellency by 
General Schuyler. I anxiously expect the ar- 
rival of an express from General Arnold, with 
an account of the total defeat of the enemy in 
that quarter. 

" I cannot sufiiciently thank your Excellency 
for sending Colonel Morgan's corps to this 
army. They will be of the greatest service to 
it ; for, until tlie late success this way, I am 
told the army were quite panic-struck by the 
Indians, and their tory and Canadian assassins 
in Indian dress." 

Governor Clinton was irameditely expected 
in camp, and he intended to consult with him 
and General Lincoln upon the best plan to dis- 
tress, and he hoped, finally to defeat the ene- 
my. " We shall no doubt," writes he, " unani- 
mously agree in sentiment with your Excel- 
lency, to keep Generals Lincoln and Stark upon 
the flank and rear of the enemy, while the 
main body opposes them in front." 

Not a Avord does he say of consulting Schuy- 
ler, who, more than any one else, was acquainted 
v/ith the department and its concerns, who 
was in constant correspondence with Wash- 
ington, and had co-operated with him in effect- 
ing the measures which had produced the 
present promising situation of affairs. So far 
was he from responding to Schuyler's magna- 
nimity, and profiting by his nobly offered 
counsel and assistance, that he did not even 
ask him to be present at his first council of war, 
although he invited up General Ten Broeck of 
the militia from Albany to attend it. 

His conduct in this respect provoked a caustic 
remark from the celebrated Gouverneur Morris, 
"The commander-in-chief of the Northern 
department," said he, " may, if he please, neg- 
lect to ask or disdain to receive advice, but 
those who know him will, I am sure, be con- 
vinced that he wants it." 

Gates opened hostilities against Burgoyne 
with the pen. He had received a letter from 
that commander, complaining of the harsh 
treatment experienced by the royalists captured 
at Bennington. " Duty and principle," writes 
Burgoyne, " made me a public enemy to the 



^T. 45.] CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN GATES AND BURGOYNE— HOWE ON ELK RIVER. 389 



Americans who have taken up arms; hut I 
seek to be a generous one; nor have I the 
shadow of resentment against any individual 
who does not induce it by acts derogatory to 
those maxims upon which all men of honor 
think alike." 

There was nothing in this that was not borne 
out by the conduct and character of Burgoyne ; 
but Gates seized upon the occasion to assail 
that commander in no measured terras in re- 
gard to his Indian allies. ' 

" That the savages," said he, " should in their 
warfare mangle the unhappy prisoners who fall 
into their hands, is neither new nor extraordi- 
nary ; but that the famous General Burgoyne, 
in whom the fine gentleman is united with the 
scholar, should hire the savages of America to 
scalp Europeans : nay more, that he should pay 
a price for each scalp so barbarously taken, is 
more than will be believed in Europe, until au- 
thenticated facts shall in every gazette confirm 
the horrid tale." 

After this prelude, he went on to state the 
murder of Miss McOrea, alleging that her mur- 
derer was employed by Burgoyne. " Two 
parents," added he, " with their six children, 
were treated with the same inhumanity while 
quietly resting in their once happy and peace- 
ful dwelling. Upwards of one hundred men, 
women, and children, have perished by the 
hands of the ruflSans to whom it is asserted you 
have paid the price of blood." 

Gates showed his letter to General Lincoln and 
Colonel Wilkinson, who demurred to its person- 
ality ; but he evidently conceived it an achieve- 
ment of the pen, and spurned their criticism.* 

Burgoyne, in a manly reply, declared that 
he would have disdained to justify himself 
from such rhapsodies of fiction and calumny, 
but that his silence might be construed into an 
admission of tlieir truth, and lead to acts of 
retaliation. He pronounced all the intelligence 
cited respecting the cruelties of the Indians 
to be false, with the exception of the case of 
Miss McOrea. This he put in its true light, 
adding, that it had been as sincerely lamented 
and abhori'ed by him, as it could be by the 

* After General Gates had -written his letter to Bur- 
goyne, ho called General Lincoln and myself into his 
apartment, read it to ns, and requested our opinion of it, 
which we declined giving ; but being pressed by him, with 
diffidence we concurred in judgment, that he had been too 
personal; to which the old gentleman replied wath«ihis 
characteristic bluntness, " By G— I I don't believe either 
of you can mend it:"— and thus the consultation ter- 
minated.— TFiVA-msora's Memoirs, vol. i. 231. 



tenderest of her friends. " I would not," de- 
clared he, " be conscious of the acts you pre- 
sume to impute to me, for the whole continent 
of America ; though the wealth of worlds was 
in its bowels, and a paradise upon its surface." 

We have already shown what was the real 
conduct of Burgoyne in this deplorable affair, 
and General Gates could and should have ascer- 
tained it, before " he presumed to impute " to 
a gallant antagonist and a humane and culti- 
vated gentleman, such base and barbarous poli- 
cy. It was the government under which 
Burgoyne served that was chargeable with the 
murderous acts of the savages. He is rather 
to be pitied for being obliged to employ such 
hell-hounds, whom he endeavored in vain to 
hold in check. Great Britain reaped the re- 
ward of her policy in the odium which it cast 
upon her cause, and the determined and suc- 
cessful opposition which it provoked in the 
American bosom. 

We will now shift the scene to Washington's 
camp »t Wilmington, where we left him watch- 
ing the operations of the British fleet, and pre- 
paring to oppose the army under Sir William 
Howe in its designs upon Philadelphia. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

On the. 25th of August, the British army 
under General Howe began to land from the 
fleet in Elk River, at the bottom of Chesapeake 
Bay. The place where they landed was about 
sis miles below the Head of Elk (now Elkton) 
a small town, the capital of Cecil County. 
This was seventy miles from Philadelphia ; ten 
miles further from that city than they had 
been when encamped at Brunswick. The in- 
tervening country, too, was less open than the 
Jerseys, and cut up by deep streams. Sir 
WiUiara had chosen this circuitous route in the 
expectation of finding friends among the people 
of Cecil County, and of the lower counties of 
Pennsylvania ; many of whom were Quakers 
and non-combatants, and many persons disaf- 
fected to the patriot cause. 

Early in the evening, Washington received ' 
intelligence that the enemy were landing. 
There was a quantity of public and private 
stores at the Head of Elk, which he feared 
would fall into their hands if they moved 
quickly. Every attempt was to be made to 
check them. The divisions of Generals Greene 



390 



DISTRIBUTION OF THE AMERICAN FORCES— ARRIVAL OF SULLIVAN. 



[1777. 



and Stephen were within a few miles of Wil- 
mington ; orders were sent for them to march 
thither immediately. The two other divisions, 
which had halted at Chester to refresh, were 
to hurry forward. Major-General Armstrong, 
the same who had surprised the Indian village 
of Kittaning in the French war, and who now 
. commanded the Pennsylvania militia, was urged 
to send down, in the cool of the night, all the 
men he could muster, properly armed. " The 
first attempt of the enemy," writes "Washing- 
ton, " will be with light parties to seize horses, 
carriages, and cattle, and we must endeavor to 
check them at the outset." 

General Rodney, therefore, who commanded 
the Delaware militia, was ordered to throw out 
scouts and patrols toward the enemy to watch 
their motions ; and to move near them with 
his troops, as soon as he should be reinforced 
by the Maryland militia. 

Light troops were sent out early in the 
morning to hover about and harass the invad- 
ers. Washington himself, accompanied by 
General Greene and the Marquis de Lafayette 
and their aides, rode forth to reconnoitre the 
country in the neighborhood of the enemy, and 
determine how to dispose of his forces when 
they should be collected. The only eminences 
near Elk were Iron Hill and Gray's Hill ; the 
latter within two miles of the enemy. It was 
difficult, however, to get a good view of their 
encampment, and judge of the number that 
had landed. Hours were passed in riding from 
place to place reconnoitrmg, and taking a mili- 
tary survey of the surrounding country. At 
length a severe storm drove the party to take 
shelter in a farm house. Night came on dark 
and stormy. Washington showed no disposition 
to depart. His companions became alarmed 
for his safety ; there was risk of his being 
surprised, being so near the enemy's camp. 
He was not to be moved either by advice or 
entreaties, but remained all night under the 
farmer's roof. When he left the house at day- 
break, however, says Lafayette, he acknowl- 
edged his imprudence, and that the most insig- 
nificant traitor might have caused his ruin. 

Indeed, he ran a similar risk to that which 
in the previous year had produced General Lee's 
catastrophe. 

The country was in a great state of alarm. 
Tlie inhabitants were hurrying off their most 
v.iluable effects, so that it was difficult to pro- 
cure cattle and vehicles to remove the public 
stores. The want of horses and the annoyances 



given by the American light troops, however, 
kept Howe from advancing promptly, and gave 
time for the greater part of the stores to be 
saved. 

To allay the public alarm, Howe issued a 
proclamation on the 2'rth, promising the strict- 
est regularity and order on the part of his 
army ; with security of person and property 
to all who remained quietly at home, and par- 
don to those under arms, who should promptly 
retui-n to their obedience. The proclamation 
had a quieting eftect, especially among the loy- 
alists, who abounded in these parts. 

The divisions of Generals Greene and Stephen 
were now stationed several miles in advance 
of Wilmington, behind White Clay Creek, about 
ten miles from the Head of Elk. General 
SmaUwood and Colonel Gist had been directed 
by Congress to take command of the militia of 
Maryland, who were gathering on the western 
shore, and Washington sent them orders to co- 
operate with General Eodney and get in the 
rear of the enemy. 

Washington now felt the want of Morgan 
and his riflemen, whom he had sent to assist 
the Northern army ; to supply their place, he 
formed a corps of light troops, by drafting a 
hundred men from each brigade. The com- 
mand was given to Mnjor-General Maxwell, 
who was to hover about the enemy and give 
them continual annoyance. 

The army about this time was increased by 
the arrival of General Sullivan and his division 
of three thousand men. He had recently, while 
encamped at Hanover in Jersey, made a gallant 
attempt to surprise and capture a corps of one 
thousand provincials stationed on Staten Island, 
at a distance from the fortified camp, and op- 
posite the Jersey shore. The attempt was 
partially successful ; a number of the provin- 
cials were captured ; but the regulars came to 
the rescue. Sullivan had not brought sufficient 
boats to secure a retreat. His rear-gnard was 
captured while waiting for the return of the 
boats, yet not without a sharp resistance. 
There was loss on both sides, but the Ameri- 
cans suftered most. Congress had directed 
Washington to appoint a court of inquiry to 
investigate the matter ; in the mean time, Sul- 
livan, whose gallantry remained undoubted, 
continued in command. 

There were now in camp several of those 
officers and gentlemen from various parts of 
Europe who had recently pressed into the ser- 
vice, and the suitable employment of whom 



.Et. 45.] DEBORRE— CONWAY— HENRY— FLEURY— PULASKI— "LIGHT-HORSE HARRY." 391 



Lad been a source of much perplexity to Wash- 
ington. General Deborre, the Trench veteran 
of thirty years' service, commanded a brigade 
in Sullivan's division. Brigadier-General Con- 
way, the Gallicized Hibernian, was in the divi- 
sion of Lord Stirling. Beside these, there was 
Louis Fleury, a French gentleman of noble 
I descent, who had been educated as an engineer, 
and had come out at the opening of the Revo- 
lution to offer his services. "Washington had 
obtained for him a captain's commission. An- 
other officer of distinguished merit, was the 
Count Pulaski, a Pole, recommended by Dr. 
Franklin as an officer famous throughout Europe 
for his bravery and conduct in the defence of 
the liberties of his country against Russia, 
Austria, and Prussia. In fact, he had been 
commander-in-chief of the forces of the in- 
surgents. He served at present as a volunteer 
in the light-horse, and as that department Avas 
still without a head, and the cavalry was a 
main object of attention among the military of 
Poland, Washington suggested to Congress the 
expediency of giving him the command of it. 
" This gentleman, we are told," writes Wash- 
ington, " has been, like us, engaged in defend- 
ing the liberty and independence of his country, 
and has sacrificed his fortune to his zeal for 
those objects He derives from hence a title to 
our respect, that ought to operate in his favor 
as far as the good of the service will per- 
mit." 

At this time Henry Lee of Virginia, of mili- 
tary renown, makes his first appearance. He 
was in the twenty-second year of his age, and 
in the preceding year had commanded a com- 
pany of Virginia volunteers. He had recently 
signalized himself in scouting parties, harassing 
the enemy's pickets. Washington, in a letter 
to the President of Congress (August SOtli), 
writes : " This minute twenty-four British 
prisoners arrived, taken yesterday by Captain 
Lee of the light-horse." His adventurous ex- 
ploits soon won him notoriety, and the popular 
appellation of " Light-horse Harry." He was 
favorably noticed by Washington throughout 
the war. Perhaps there was something beside 
his bold, dashing spirit, which won him this 
favor. There may have been early recollections 
connected with it. Lee was the son of the 
lady who first touched Washington's heart in 
his school-boy days, the one about whom he 
wrote rhymes at Mount Vernon and Greenway 
Court — his " lowland beauty." 

Several days were now passed by the com- 



mander-in-chief almost continually in the 
saddle, reconnoitring the roads and passes, 
and making himself acquainted with the sur- 
rounding country ; which was very much 
intersected by rivers and smaU streams, run- 
ning chiefly from northwest to southeast. 
He had now made up his mind to risk a battle 
in the open field. It is true his troops were 
inferior to those of the enemy in number, 
equipments, and discipline. Hitherto, accord- 
ing to Lafayette, " they had fought combats, 
but not battles." Still those combats had 
given them experience ; and though many of 
them were militia, or raw recruits, yet the 
divisions of the army had acquired a facility at 
moving in large masses, and were considerably 
improved in military tactics. At any rate, it 
would never do to let Philadelphia, at that 
time the capital of the States, fall without a 
blow. There was a carping spirit abroad ; a 
disposition to cavil and find fault, which was 
prevalent in Philadelphia, and creeping into 
Congress ; something of the nature of what had 
been indulged respecting General Schuyler 
and the army of the North. Public impatience 
called for a battle ; it was expected even by 
Europe ; his own valiant spirit required it ; 
though hitherto he had been held in check by 
superior considerations of expediency, and by 
the controlling interference of Congress. Con- 
gress itself now spurred him on, and he gave 
way to the native ardor of his character. 

The British army having effected a landing, 
in which, by the way, it had experienced but 
little molestation, was formed into two divi- 
sions. One, under Sir William Howe, was 
stationed at Elkton, with its advanced guard 
at Gray's Hill, about two miles off. The other 
division, under General Knyphausen, was on 
the opposite side of the ferry, at Cecil Court 
House. On the third of September the enemy 
advanced in considerable force, with three field- 
pieces, moving with great caution, as the coim- 
try was difficult, woody, and not well known 
to them. About tln-ee miles in front of White 
Clay Creek, their vanguard was encountered 
by General Maxwell and his light troops, and 
a severe skirmish took place. The fire of the 
American sharpshooters and riflemen, as usual, 
was very effective ; but being inferior in num- 
ber, and having no artillery, Maxwell was 
compelled to retreat across White Clay Creek, 
with the loss of about forty killed and wound- 
ed. The loss of the enemy was supposed to be 
much greater. 



392 



WASHINGTON'S APPEAL TO THE ARMY— POSITION OF THE ARMY 



[1111. 



The main body of the American army was 
now encamped on the east side of Red Clay 
Creek on the road leading from Elkton to Phil- 
adelphia. The light infantry were in the ad- 
vance, at White Clay Creek. The armies were 
from eight to ten miles apart. In this position, 
Wasliington determined to await the threatened 
attack 

On the 5th of September he made a stirring 
appeal to the army, in his general orders, stat- 
ing the object of the enemy, the capture of 
Philadelphia. They had tried it before from 
the Jerseys, and had failed. lie trusted they 
would be again disappointed. In their present 
attempt their all was at stake. The whole 
would be hazarded in a single battle. If de- 
feated in that, they were totally undone, and 
the war would be at an end. Now then was 
the time for the most strenuous exertions. 
One bold stroke v/ould free the land from 
rapine, devastation, and brutal outrage. " Two 
years," said he, "have we maintained the war, 
and struggled with diiSculties innumerable, but 
the prospect has brightened. Now is the time 
to reap the fruit of all our toils and dangers ; 
if we behave like men this third campaign will 
be our last." Washington's numerical force at 
this time was about fifteen thousand men, but 
from sickness and other causes the efi'ective 
force, militia included, did not exceed eleven 
thousand, and most of these indifferently armed 
and equipped. The strength of the British was 
computed at eighteen thousand men, but, it is 
thought, not more than fifteen thousand were 
brought into action. 

On the 8th, the enemy advanceu in two 
columns ; one appeared preparing to attack the 
Americans in front, while the other extended 
its left up the west side of the creek, halting at 
Milltown, somewhat to the right of fhe Ameri- 
can position. Washington now suspected an 
intention on the part of Sir William Howe to 
march by his right, suddenly pass the Brandy- 
wine, gain the heights north of that stream, 
and cut him off from Philadelj: hia. He sum- 
moned a council of war, therefore, that even- 
ing, in which it was determined immediately 
to change their position, and move to the river 
in question. By two o'clock in t!ie morning, 
the army was under march, and by the next 
evening was encamped on the high grounds in 
the rear of the Brandywine. The enemy on 
the same evening moved to Kennet Square, 
about seven miles from the American position. 
The Brandywine Creek, as it is called, com- 



mences with two branches, called the East and 
West branches, which unite in one stream, flow- 
ing from west to east about twenty-two miles, 
and emptying itself into the Delaware about 
twenty-five miles below Philadelphia. It has 
several fords ; one called Chadd's Ford, was at 
that time the most practicable, and in the direct 
route from the enemy's camp to Philadelphia. 
As the principal attack was expected here, 
Washington made it the centre of his position, 
where he stationed the main body of his army, 
composed of Wayne's, Weedon's, and Muhlen- 
berg's brigades, with the light infantry under 
Maxwell. An eminence immediately above 
the ford, had been intrenched in the night, and 
was occupied by Wayne and Proctor's artillery. 
Weedon's and Muhlenberg's brigades, which 
were Virginian troops, and formed General 
Greene's division, were posted in the rear on 
the heights, as a reserve to aid either wing of 
the army. With these Washington took his 
stand. Maxwell's light infanty were thrown 
in the advance, south of the Brandywine, and 
posted on high ground each side of the road 
leading to the ford. 

The right wing of the army commanded hy 
Sullivan, and composed of his division and 
those of Stephen and Stirling, extended up the 
Brandywine two miles beyond Washington's 
position. Its light troops and videttes were 
distributed .quite up to the forks. A few de- 
tachments of ill-organized and undisciplined 
cavalry, extended across the creek on the ex- 
treme right. The left wing, composed of the 
Pennsylvaniamilitia, under Major-General x\rm- 
strong, was stationed about a mile and a half 
below the main body, to protect the lower 
fords, where the least danger was apprehended. 
The Brandywine, which ran in front of the 
whole line, was now the only obstacle, if such 
it might be called, between the two armies. 

Early on the morning of the 11th, a great 
column of troops was descried advancing on 
the road leading to Chadd's Ford. A skirt of 
woods concealed its force, but it was supposed 
to be the main body of the enemy ; if so, a 
general conflict was at hand. 

The Americans were immediately drawn out 
in order of battle. Wasliington rode along the 
front of the ranks, and was everywhere re- 
ceived with acclamations. A sharp firing of 
small arms soon told that Maxwell's light in- 
fantry were engaged with the vanguard of the 
enemy. The skirmishing was kept up for some 
time with spirit, when Maxwell was driven 



JEt. 45.] 



BATTLE OF BRANDYWINE. 



393 



across the Brandy wine below the ford. The 
enemy, who had advanced bnt slowly, did not 
attempt to follow, but halted on commanding 
ground, and appeared to reconnoitre the Amer- 
ican position with a view to an attack. A 
heavy cannonading commenced on both sides, 
about ten o'clock. The enemy made repeated 
dispositions to force the ford, which brought 
on as frequent skirmishes on both sides of the 
river, for detachments of the light troops occa- 
sionally crossed over. One of these skirmishes 
was more than usually severe : the British 
flank-guard was closely pressed, a captain and 
ten or fifteen men were killed, and the guard 
was put to flight ; but a large force came to their 
assistance, and the Americans were again driven 
across the stream. All this -while, there was 
the noise and uproar of a battle ; but little of 
the reality. The enemy made a great thunder- 
ing of cannon, but no vigorous onset, and Col- 
onel Harrison, Washington's " old secretary," 
seeing this cautious and dilatory conduct on 
their part, wrote a hurried note to Congress, 
expressing his confident belief that the enemy 
would be repulsed. 

Towards noon came an express from Sulli- 
van, with a note received from a scouting party, 
reporting that General Howe, with a large 
body of troops and a park of artillery, was 
pushing up the Lancaster road, doubtless to 
cross at the upper fords and turn the right 
flank of the American position. 

Startled by the information, Washington in- 
stantly sent oflf Colonel Theodoric Bland, with 
a party of horse, to reconnoitre above the forks 
and ascertain the truth of the report. In the 
mean time, he resolved to cross the ford, attack 
the division in front of him with his whole 
force, and rout it before the other could arrive. 
He gave orders for both wings to co-operate, 
when, as Sullivan Avas preparing to cross, Major 
Spicer of the militia rode up, just from the 
forks, and assured him there was no enemy in 
that quarter. Sullivan instantly transmitted 
the intelligence to Washington, whereupon the 
movement was suspended until positive in- 
formation could be obtained. After a time 
came a man of the ueighboi-hood, Thomas 
Cheyney by name, spurring in all haste, the 
mare he rode in foam, and himself out of breath. 
Dashing up to the commander-in-chief, he in- 
formed him that he must instantly move, or he 
would be surrounded. He had come upon 
the enemy unawares ; had been pursued and 
fired upon, but the fleetness of his mare had 



saved him. The main body of the British was 
coming down on the east side of the stream, 
and was near at hand. Washington replied, 
that, from information just received, it could 
not be so. "You are mistaken, general," re- 
plied the other vehemently ; " my life for it, 
you are mistaken." Then reiterating the fact 
with an oath, and making a draft of the road 
in the sand, " put me under guard," added he, 
" imtil you find my story true." 

Another despatch from Sullivan corroborated 
it. Colonel Bland, whom Washington had sent 
to reconnoitre above the forks, had seen the 
enemy two miles in the rear of Sullivan's right, 
marching down at a rapid rate, while a cloud 
of dust showed that there were more troops 
behind them. 

In fact, the old Long- Island stratagem liad 
been played over again. Knyphausen with a 
small division had engrossed the attention of 
the Americans by a feigned attack at Chadd's 
Ford, kept up with great noise and prolonged 
by skirmishes ; while the main body of the 
array under Cornwallis, led by experienced 
guides, had made a circuit of seventeen miles, 
crossed the two forks of the Braudywine and 
arrived in the neighborhood of Birmingham 
meeting-house, two miles to the right of Sulli- 
van. It was a capital stratagem, secretly and 
successfully conducted. 

Finding that Cornwallis had thus gained the 
rear of the army, Washington sent orders to 
Sullivan to oppose him with the whole right 
wing, each brigade attacking as soon as it ar- 
rived upon the ground. Wayne, in the mean 
time, was to keep Knyphausen at bay at the 
ford, and Greene, with the reserve, to hold 
himself ready to give aid wherever required. 

Lafayette, as a volunteer, had hitherto ac- 
companied the commander-in-cliief, but now, 
seeing there was likely to be warm work with 
the right wing, he obtained permission tp join 
Sullivan ; and spurred off with his aide-de-camp 
to the scene of action. From his narrative, 
we gather some of the subsequent details. 

Sullivan, on receiving Washington's orders, 
advanced with his own, Stephen's, and Stir- 
ling's divisions, and began to form a line in 
front of an open piece of wood. The time 
which had been expended in transmitting in- 
telligence, receiving orders, and marching, had 
enabled Cornwallis to choose his ground and 
prepare for action. Still more time was given 
him from the apprehension of the three generals, 
upon consultation, of being out-flanked upon 



394 



BATTLE OF BRANDYWINE. 



[1111. 



c=^British 



/ 



'Birmmpltam, 
Mceilngirouseb^ 



the right ; and that the 

gap between Sullivan's 

and Stephen's divisions 

■was too vride, and should 

he closed up. Orders 

were accordingly given for 

the whole line to move to 

the right ; and while in 

execution, Cornwallis ad- 
vanced rapidly with his 

troops in the finest order, 

and opened a brisk fire of 

musketry and artillery. 

The Americans made an 

obstinate resistance, but 

being taken at a disad- 
vantage, the right and left 

wings were broken and 

driven into the woods. 

The centre stood firm for 

a while, but being exposed 
to the whole fire of the en- 
emy, gave way at length 
also. The British, in fol- 
lowing up their advan- 
tage, got entangled in the 
wood. It was here that 
Lafayette received his 
wound. He had thrown 
himself from his horse and / 
was endeavoring to rally 
the troops, when he was 
shot through the leg with 
a musket ball, and had to 
be assisted into the saddle 
by his aide-de-camp. 

The Americans rallied 
on a height to the north 
of Dilworth, and made a 
still more spirited resist- 
ance than at first, but were 
again dislodged and obliged to retreat with a 
heavy loss. 

"While this was occurring with the right 
wing, Knyphausen, as soon as he learnt from 
the heavy firing that Cornwallis was engaged, 
made a push to force his way across Chadd's 
Ford in earnest. He was vigorously opposed by 
Wayne with Proctor's artillery, aided by Max- 
well and his infantry. Greene was preparing 
to second him with the reserve, when he was 
summoned by Washington to the support of 
the right wing ; which the commander-in-chief 
had found in imminent peril. 

Greene advanced to the relief with such 







GcnT'lfmce's 
E'J- Qvy 




celerity, that it is said on good authority his 
division accomplished the march, or rather run, 
of five miles, in less than fifty minutes. He 
arrived too late to save the battle, but in time 
to protect the broken masses of the left wing, 
which he met in full flight. Opening his ranks 
from time to time for the fugitives, and closing 
them the moment they had passed, he covered 
their retreat by a sharp and well-directed fire 
from his field-pieces. His grand stand was 
made at a place about a mile beyond Dilworth, 
which, in reconnoitring the neighborhood, 
Washington had pointed out to him, as well 
calculated for a second position, should the 



^T. 45.] RETREAT OF THE AMERIC. 



ANS— : 



REWARDS TO FOREIGN OFFICERS. 



395 



army be driven out of the first ; and here he 
was overtaken by Colonel Pinckney, an aide- 
de-camp of the commander-in-chief, ordering 
him to occupy this position and protect the re- 
treat of the army. The orders were implicitly 
obeyed. "Weedon's brigade was drawn up in 
a narrow defile, flanked on both sides by woods, 
and perfectly commanding the road ; while 
Greene, with Muhlenberg's brigade, passing to 
the right took his station on the road. The 
British came on impetuously, expecting but 
faint opposition. They met with a desperate 
resistance and were repeatedly driven back. 
It was the bloody inflict of the bayonet ; 
deadly on either side, and lasting for a consider- 
able time. Weedon's brigade on the left main- 
tained its stand also with great obstinacy, and 
the ch€ck given to the enemy by these two 
brigades, allowed time for the broken troops to 
retreat. Weedon's was at length compelled by 
superior numbers to seek the protection of the 
other brigade, Avhich he did in good order, and 
Greene gradually drew oft' the whole division 
in face of the enemy, who, checked by this 
vigorous resistance, and seeing the day far 
spent, gave up all further pursuit. 

The brave stand made by these brigades had, 
likewise, been a great protection to Wayne. He 
had for a long time withstood the attacks of the 
enemy at Chadd's Ford, until the approach on 
the right, of some of the enemy's troops who 
had been entangled in the woods, showed him 
that the right wing had been routed. He now 
gave up the defence of his post, and retreated 
by the Chester road. Knyphausen's troops 
were too fatigued to "pursue him ; and the 
others had been kept back, as we have shown, 
by Greene's division. So ended the varied 
conflict of the day. 

Lafayette gives an animated picture of the 
general retreat, in which he became entangled. 
He had endeavored to rejoin Washington, but 
loss of blood compelled him to stop and have 
his wound bandaged. While thus engaged, he 
came near being captured. All around him was 
headlong terror and confusion. Chester road, 
the common retreat of the broken fragments 
of the army, from every quarter, was crowded 
with fugitives, with cannon, with baggage cars, 
all hurrying forward pell-mell, and obstructing 
each other ; while the thundering of cannon, 
and volleying of musketry by the contending 
parties in the rear, added to the confusion and 
panic of the flight. 

The dust, the uproar, and the growing dark- 



ness, threw every thing into chaos ; there was 
nothing but a headlong struggle forward. At 
Chester, however, twelve miles from the field 
of battle, there was a deep stream with a brida|e, 
over which the fugitives would have to pass. 
Here Lafayette set a guard to prevent their 
further flight. The commander-in-chief, arriv- 
ing soon after with Greene and his gallant divi- 
sion, some degree of order was restored, and 
the whole army took its post behind Chester 
for the night. 

The scene of this battle, which decided the 
fate of Philadelphia, was within six and twenty 
miles of that city, and each discharge of cannon 
could be heard there. The two parties of the 
inhabitants, whig and tory, were to be seen in 
separate groups in the squares and public 
places, waiting the event in anxious silence. 
At length a courier arrived. His tidings spread 
consternation among the friends of liberty. 
Many left their homes, entire families aban- 
doned every thing in terror and despair, and took 
refuge in the mountains. Congress, that same 
evening, determined to qiiit the city and repair 
to Lancaster, whence they subsequently re- 
moved to Yorktown. Before leaving Philadel- 
phia, however, they summoned the militia of 
Pennsylvania, and the adjoining States, to join 
the main army without delay ; and ordered 
down fifteen hundred Continental troops from 
Putnam's command on the Hudson. They also 
clothed Washington with power to suspend 
oflBcers for misbehavior ; to fill up all vacancies 
under the rank of brigadiers ; to take all pro- 
visions, and other articles necessary for the use 
of the army, paying, or giving certificates for 
the same ; and to remove, or secure for the 
benefit of the owners, all goods and efifects 
which might otherwise fall into the hands of 
the enemy and be serviceable to them. These 
extraordinary powers were limited to the cir- 
cumference of seventy miles round head-quar- 
ters, and were to continue in force sixty days, 
unless sooner revoked by Congress. 

It may be as well here to notice in advance, 
the conduct of Congress toward some of the 
foreigners who had mingled in this battle. 
Count Pulaski, the Polish nobleman, heretofore 
mentioned, who acted with great spirit as a 
volunteer in the light-horse, riding up within 
pistol shot of the enemy to reconnoitre, was 
given a command of cavalry with the rank of 
brigadier-general. Captain Louis Fleury, also, 
who had acquitted himself with gallantry, and 
rendered essential aid in rallying the troops, 



396 



HOWE NEGLECTS TO PURSUE HIS ADVANTAGE. 



[1777. 



having had a horse killed under him, was pre- 
sented by Congress with another, as a testi- 
monial of their sense of his merit. 

Jjafayette speaks, in his memoirs, of the 
brilliant manner in -which General Conway, 
the chevalier of St. Louis, acquitted himself at 
the head of eight hundred men, in the encoun- 
ter with the troops of Cornwallis near Birming- 
ham meeting-house. The veteran Deborre was 
not equally fortunate in gaining distinction on 
this occasion. In the awkward change of po- 
sition in the line when in front of the enemy, 
he had been the first to move, and without 
waiting for orders. The consequence was, his 
brigade fell into confusion, and was put to 
flight. He endeavored to rally it, and was 
wounded in the attempt ; but his efforts were 
in vain. Congress ordered a court of inquiry 
on his conduct, whereupon he resigned his 
commission, and returned to France, complain- 
ing bitterly of his hard treatment. " It was 
not his fault," he said, " if American troops 
would run away." 



CHAPTER XIX. 

Notwithstanding the rout and precipitate 
retreat of the American array. Sir "William 
Howe did not press the pursuit, but passed the 
night on the field of battle, and remained the 
two following days at Dilworth, sending out 
detachments to take post at Concord and 
Chester, and seize on Wilmington, whither the 
sick and wounded were conveyed. " Had the 
enemy marched directly to Derby," observes 
Lafayette, "the American army would have 
been cut up and destroyed ; they lost a pre- 
cious night, and it is perhaps the greatest 
fault in a war in which they have committed 
many." * 

Washington, as usual, profited by the inac- 
tivity of Howe ; quietly retreating through 
Derby (on the 12th) across the Schuylkill to 
Germantown, within a short distance of Phila- 
delphia, where he gave his troops a day's re- 
pose. Finding them in good spirits, and in 
nowise disheartened by the recent affair, which 
they seemed to consider a check rather than a 
defeat, he resolved to seek the enemy again 
and give him battle. As preliminary measures, 
he left some of the Pennsylvania militia in 
Philadelphia to guard the city ; others, under 
General Armstrong, were posted at the various 

* Memoirs, Tom. i., i\ 26. 



passes of the Schuylkill, with orders to throw 
up works ; the floating bridge on the lower 
road was to be unmoored, and the boats col- 
lected and taken across the river. 

Having taken these precautions against any 
hostile movement by the lower road, Wash- 
ington recrossed the Schuylkill, on the 14th, 
and advanced along the Lancaster road, with 
the intention of turning the left flank of the 
enemy. Howe, apprised of his intention, made 
a similar disposition to outflank him. The two 
armies came in sight of each other near the 
Warren Tavern, twenty three miles from Phil- 
adelphia, and were on the point of engaging, 
but were prevented by a violent storm of rain 
which lasted for four and twenty hours. 

This inclement weather was particularly dis- 
tressing to the Americans ; who were scantily 
clothed, most of them destitute of blankets,.(tind 
separated from their tents and baggage. The 
rain penetrated their cartridge-boxes and the 
ill-fitted locks of their muskets, rendering the 
latter useless, being deficient in bayonets. In 
this plight, Washington gave up for the present 
all thought of attacking the enemy, as their 
discipline in the use of the bayonet, with which 
they were universally furnished, would give 
them a great superiority in action. " The hot- 
headed politicians," writes one of his oflicers, 
" will no doubt censure this part of his con- 
duct, while the more judicious will approve it, 
as not only expedient, but, in such a case, 
highly commendable. It was, without doubt, 
chagrining to a person of his fine feelings, to 
retreat before an enemy not more in number 
than himself; yet, with a true greatness of 
spirit, he sacrificed them to the good of his 
country."* There was evidently a growing 
disposition again to criticize Washington's move- 
ments, yet how Avell did this ofiicer judge of him. 

The only aim, at present, was to get to some 
dry and secure place, where the army might 
repose and refit. All day, and for a great part 
of the night, they marched under a cold and 
pelting rain, and through deep and miry roads, 
to the Yellow Springs, thence to Warwick, 
on French Creek ; a weary march in stormy 
weather for troops destitute of every comfort, 
and nearly a thousand of them actually bare- 
footed. At Warwick furnace, ammunition and 
a few muskets were obtained, to aid in disput- 
ing the passage of the Schuylkill, and the ad- 
vance of the enemy on Philadelphia. 



* Memoir of Major Samuel Shaw, by ITon. Josiah 
Qiiincy. 



^Et. 45.] 



MOVES AND COUNTER MOVES OF THE ARMIES. 



397 



From French Creek, "Wayne was detached 
with his division, to get in the rear of the ene- 
my, form a junction with General Smallwood 
and the Maryland militia, and, ke'eping them- 
selves concealed, watch for an opportunity to 
cut off Howe's haggage and hospital train ; in 
the mean time, Washington crossed the Schuyl- 
kill at Parker's Ford, and took a position to 
defend that pass of the river. 

Wayne set off in the night, and, by a circui- 
tous march, got within three miles of the left 
wing of the British encamped at TrydrafBn, and 
concealing himself in a wood, waited the ar- 
rival of Smallwood and his militia. At day- 
break he reconnoitred the camp, where Howe, 
checked by the severity of the weather, had 
contented himself with uniting his columns, and 
remained under shelter. All day Wayne hov- 
ered about the camp ; there were no signs of 
marching ; all kept quiet, but lay too compact 
to be attacked with prudence. He sent repeat- 
ed messages to Washington, describing the sit- 
uation of the enemy, and urging him to come 
on and attack them in their camp. "Their su- 
pineness," said he in one of his notes, " answers 
every purpose of giving you time to get up : if 
they attempt to move, I shall attack them at 
all events. * * * * There never was, nor 
never will be, a finer opportunity of giving 
the enemy a fatal blow than at present. For 
God's sake push on as fast as possible." 

Again, at a later hour^ he writes : " The en- 
emy are very quiet, washing and cooking. I 
expect General Maxwell on the left flank every 
moment, and, as I lay on the right, we only 
want you in the rear to complete Mr. Howe's 
business. I believe he knows nothing of my 
situation, as I have taken every precaution to 
prevent any intelligence getting to him, at the 
same time keeping a watchful eye on his front, 
flanks, and rear." 

His motions, however, had not been so secret 
as he imagined. He was m a part of the coun- 
try full of the disaffected, and Sir William had 
received accurate information of his force and 
where he was encamped. General Gray, with 
a strong detachment, was sent to surprise him 
at night in his lair. Late in the evening, when 
Wayne had set his pickets and sentinels, and 
thrown out his patrols, a countryman brought 
him word of the meditated attack. He doubt- 
ed the intelligence, but strengthened his pickets 
and patrols, and ordered his troops to sleep 
upon their arms. 

At eleven o'clock the pickets were driven in 



at the point of the bayonet — the enemy were 
advancing in column. Wayne instantly took 
post on the right of his position, to cover the 
retreat of the left, led by Colonel Hampton, 
the second in command. The latter was tardy, 
and incautiously paraded his troops in fi'ont of 
their fires, so as to be in fuU relief. The ene- 
my rushed on without firing a gun ; aU was the 
silent, but deadly work of the bayonet and the 
cutlass, Nearly three hundred of Hampton's 
men were killed or wounded, and the rest put 
to flight. Wayne gave the enemy some well- 
directed volleys, and then retreating to a small 
distance, rallied his troops, and prepared for 
further defence. The British, however, con- 
tented themselves with the blow they had 
given, and retired with very little loss, taking 
with them between seventy and eighty prison- 
ers, several of them officers, and eight baggage 
waggons, heavily laden. 

General Smallwood, who was to have co- 
operated with Wayne, was within a mile of 
him at the time of his attack ; and would have 
hastened to his assistance with his weU-known 
intrepidity ; but he had not the corps under 
his command with which he had formerly dis- 
tinguished himself, and his raw mflitia fled in 
a panic at the first sight of a return party of 
the enemy. 

Wayne was deeply mortified by the result of 
this affair, and, finding it severely criticized in 
the ai'my, demanded a court-martial, which 
pronounced his conduct every thing that was 
to be expected from an active, brave, and vigi- 
lant officer ; whatever blame there was in the 
matter fell upon his second in command, who, 
by delay, or misapprehension of orders, and an 
iinskilful position of his troops, had exposed 
them to be massacred. 

On the 21st, Sir William Howe made a rapid 
march high up the Schuylkill, on the road 
leading to Eeading, as if he intended either to 
capture the military stores deposited there, or 
to turn the right of the American anny. 
Washington kept pace with him on the oppo- 
site side of the river, up to Pott's Grove, about 
thirty miles from Philadelphia. 

The movement on the part of Howe was a 
mere feint. No sooner had he drawn Wash- 
ington so far up the river, than, by a rapid 
countermarch on the night of the 22d, he got 
to the ford below, threw his troops across on 
the next morning, and pushed forward for 
Philadelphia. By the time Washington was 
apprised of this counter-movement, Howe was 



398 



THE BRITISH ARMY ENTERS PHILADELPHIA. 



[1111. 



too far on his way to be overtaken by har- 
assed, barefooted troops, worn out by constant 
marching. Feehng the necessity of immediate 
reinforcements, he wrote on the same day to 
Putnam at Peekskill : " The situation of our 
affairs in this quarter calls for every aid and for 
every effort. I therefore desire that, without 
a moment's loss of time, you will detach as 
many effective rank and file, under proper gen- 
erals and officers, as will make the whole num- 
ber, including those with General McDougall, 
amount to twenty-five hundred privates and 
non-commissioned fit for duty. 

" I must urge you, by every motive, to send 
this detachment without the least possible de- 
lay. No considerations are to prevent it. It 
is our first object to defeat, if possible, the 
army now opposed to us here." 

On the next day (24th) he wrote also to 
General Gates. " This army has not been able 
to oppose General Howe's with the success 
that was wished, and needs a reinforcement. 
I therefore request, if you have been so fortu- 
nate as to oblige General Burgoyne to retreat 
to Ticonderoga, or if you have not, and cir- 
cumstances will admit, that you will order 
Colonel Morgan to join me again with his 
corps. I sent him up when I thought you 
materially wanted him ; and, if his services can 
be dispensed with now, you will direct his im- 
mediate return." 

Having called a council of oQicers and taken 
their opinions, which concurred with his own, 
"Washington determined to remain some days 
at Pott's Grove, to give repose to his troops, 
and await the arrival of reinforcements. 

Sir William Howe halted at Germantown, 
within a short distance of Philadelphia, and 
encamped the main body of his army in and 
about that vUlage ; detaching Lord Cornwalhs 
with a large force and a number of officers of 
distinction, to take formal possession of the 
city. That general marched into Philadelphia 
on the 26th, with a brilliant staff and escort, 
and followed by splendid legions of British and 
Hessian grenadiers, long trahis of artUlery, and 
squadrons of light dragoons, the finest troops 
in the army all in their best array ; stepping to 
the swelling music of the band playing God 
save the King, and presenting Avith their scar- 
let uniforms, their glittering arms and fiaunting 
feathers, a striking contrast to the poor patriot 
troops, who had recently passed through the 
same streets, weary and way-worn, and happy 
if they could cover their raggedness with a I 



brown linen hunting-frock, and decorate their 
caps with a sprig of evergreen. 

In this way the British took possession of 
the city, so long the object of their awkward 
attempts, and regarded by them as a trium- 
phant acquisition ; having been the seat of the 
general government; the capital of the confed- 
eracy. "Washington maintained his character- 
istic equanimity. " This is an event," writes 
he to Governor Trumbull, " which we have 
reason to wish had not happened, and which 
will be attended with several ill consequences ; 
but I hope it will not be so detrimental as 
many apprehend, and that a little time and 
perseverance will give us some favorable op- 
portunity of recovering our loss, and of putting 
our affairs in a more flourishing condition." 

He had heard of the prosperous situation of 
affairs in the Northern Department, and the 
repeated checks given to the enemy. " I flat- 
ter myself," writes he, " we shall soon hear 
that they have been succeeded by other fortu- 
nate and interesting events, as the two armies, 
by General Gates's letter, were encamped near 
each other." 

"We will now revert to the course of the 
campaign in that quarter, the success of which 
he trusted would have a beneficial influence on 
the operations in which he was personally en- 
gaged. Indeed, the operations in the Northern 
Department formed, as we have shown, but a 
part of his general scheme, and were constant- 
ly present to his thoughts. His generals had 
each his own individual enterprise, or his own 
department to think about ; "Washington had 
to think for the whole. 



CHAPTER XX. 

The checks which Burgoyne had received 
on right and left, and, in a great measure, 
through the spontaneous rising of the country, 
had opened his eyes to the difficulties of his 
situation, and the errors as to public feeling 
into which he had been led by his tory counsel- 
lors. " The great bulk of the country is un- 
doubtedly with the Congress in principle and 
zeal," writes he, " and their measures are exe- 
cuted with a secrecy and despatch that are not 
to be equalled. "Wherever the king's forces 
point, militia, to the amount of three or four 
thousand, assemble in twenty -four hours : they 
iring with them tJicir subsistence^ <&c., and, the 



^T. 45.] DUBIOUS POSITION OF BUEGOYNE— LADIES OF RANK WITH THE ENEMY. 399 



alarm over, they return to their farms. The 
Hampshire Grants, in particular, a country un- 
peopled and almost unknown last war, now 
abounds in the most active and most rebellious 
race of the continent, and hangs like a gather- 
ing storm upon my left." What a picture this 
gives of a patriotic and warlike yeomanry. He 
complains, too, that no operation had yet been 
undertaken in his favor ; the Highlands of the 
Hudson had not even been threatened ; the 
consequence was that two brigades had been 
detached from them to strengthen the army of 
Gates, strongly posted near the mouth of the 
Mohawk River, with a superior force of Con- 
tinental troops, and as many militia as he 
pleased. 

Burgoyne declared, that had he any latitude 
in his orders, he would remain where he was, 
or perhaps fall back to Fort Edward, where his 
communication with Lake George would be 
secure, and wait for some event that might as- 
sist his movement forward ; his orders, how- 
ever, were positive to force a junction with 
Sir William Howe. He did not feel at liberty, 
therefore, to remain inactive longer than would 
be necessary to receive the reinforcements of 
the additional companies, the German drafts 
and recruits actually on Lake Champlain, and 
to collect provisions enough for twenty-five 
days. These reinforcements were indispensa- 
ble, because, from the hour he should pass the 
Hudson River and proceed towards Albany, all 
safety of communication would cease. 

" I yet do not despair," adds he, manfully. 
" Should I succeed in forcing my way to Al- 
bany, and find that country in a state to subsist 
my army, I shall think no more of a retreat, 
but, at the worst, fortify there, and await Sir 
William's operations." * 

A feature of peculiar interest is given to 
this wild and rugged expedition, by the pres- 
ence of two ladies of rank and refinement, in- 
voled in its perils and hardships One was 
Lady Harriet Ackland, daughter of the Earl of 
Ilchester, and wife of Major Ackland of the 
grenadiers ; the other was the Baroness De 
Riedesel, wife of the Hessian major-general. 
Both of these ladies had been left behind in 
Canada. Lady Harriet, however, on hearing 
tliat her husband Was wounded in the affair at 
Hubbardton, instantly set out to rejoin him, 
regardless of danger, and of her being in a con- 
dition before long to become a mother. 

* Letter to Lord George Germain. 



Crossing the whole length of Lake Cham- 
plain, she found him in a sick bed at Skenes- 
borough. After his recovery, she refused to 
leave him, but had continued with the army 
ever since. Her example had been imitated 
by the Baroness De Riedesel, who had joined 
the army at Fort Edward, bringing with her her 
three small children. The friendship and sym- 
pathy of these two ladies in all scenes of trial 
and suffering, and their devoted attachment t(f 
their husbands, afford touching episodes in the 
story of the campaign. When the army was 
on the march, they followed a little distance in 
the rear, Lady Harriet in a two-wheeled tum- 
bril, the Baroness in a calash, capable of hold- 
ing herself, her children, and two servants. 
The latter has left a journal of her campaign- 
ing, which we may occasionally cite. " They 
moved," she says, " in the midst of soldiery, 
who were full of animation, singing camp songs, 
and panting for action. They had to travel 
through almost impassable woods ; in a pic- 
turesque and beautiful region ; but which was 
almost abandoned by its inhabitants, who had 
hastened to join the American army." " They 
added much to its strength," observes she, " as 
they were all good marksmen, and the love of 
their country inspired them with more than 
ordinary courage." * 

The American army had received various 
reinforcements : the most efiicient was Mor- 
gan's corps of riflemen, sent by Washington. 
He had also furnished it with artillery. It was 
now about ten thousand strong. Schuyler find- 
ing himself and his proffered services slighted 
by Gates, had returned to Albany. His pa- 
triotism was superior to personal resentments. 
He still continued to promote the success of 
the campaign, exerting his influence over the 
Indian tribes, to win them from the enemy. 
At Albany, he held talks and war-feasts with 
deputations of Oneida, Tuscarora, and Onon- 
daga warriors ; and procured scouting parties 
of them, which he sent to the camp, and which 
proved of great service. His former aide- 
de-camp. Colonel Brockholst Livingston, and 
his secretary. Colonel Yarick, remained in 
camp, and kept him informed by letter of pass- 
ing occurrences. They were much about the 
person of General Arnold, who, since his re- 
turn from relieving Fort Stanwix, commanded 
the left wing of the army. Livingston, in fact, 
was with him as aide-de-camp. The jealousy 



Riedeeel's Memoirs. 



400 



SILENT MOVEMENTS OF BURGOYNE— WATCHED FROM THE HILLS. 



[mi. 



of Gates was awakened by these circumstan- 
ces. He knew their attachment to Schnyler, 
and suspected they were prejudicing the mind 
of Arnold against him ; and this suspicion 
may have been the origin of a coolness and 
neglect which he soon evinced toward Arnold 
himself. These yoimg officers, however, though 
devotedly attached to Schuyler from a knowl- 
edge of his generous character, were above any 
camp intrigue. Livingston was again looking 
forward with youthful ardor to a brush with 
the enemy ; but regretted that his former chief 
would not be there to lead it. " Burgoyne,"- 
writes he to Schuyler exultingly, "is in such a 
situation, that he can neither advance nor re- 
tire without fighting. A capital battle must 
soon be fought. I am chagrined to the soul 
when I think that another person Avill reap the 
fruits of your labors." * 

Colonel Varick, equally eager, was afraid 
Burgoyne might be decamping. " His evening 
guns," writes he, " are seldom heard, and when 
heard, are very low in sound." t 

The dense forests, in fact, which covered the 
country between the hostile armies, concealed 
their movements, and as Gates threw out no 
harassing parties, his information concerning 
the enemy was vague. Burgoyne, however, 
was diligently collecting all his forces from 
Skenesborough, Fort Anne, and Fort George, 
and collecting provisions ; he had completed a 
bridge by which he intended to pass the Hud- 
son, and force his way to Albany, where he ex- 
pected co-operation from below. Every thing 
was conducted with as much silence and cau- 
tion as possible. His troops paraded without 
beat of drum, and evening guns were discon- 
tinued. So stood matters on the 11th of Sep- 
tember, when a report was circulated in the 
American camp, that Burgoyne was in motion, 
and that he had made a speech to his soldiers, 
telling them that the fleet had returned to Can- 
nada, and their only safety was to fight their 
way to New York. 

As General Gates was to receive an attack, 
it was thought he ought to choose the ground 
where to receive it ; Arnold, therefore, in com- 
pany with Kosciuszko, the Polish engineer, re- 
connoitred the neighborhood in quest of a good 
camping-ground, and at length fixed upon a 
ridge of hills called Bcmis's Heights, which 
Kosciuszko proceeded to fortify. 
In the mean time, Colonel Colburn was sent 



MS. Letter to Schuyler. 



t Ibid. 



off with a small party to ascend the high hills 
on the east side of the Hudson, and watch the 
movements of the enemy with glasses from 
their summits, or from the tops of the trees. 
For three days he kept thus on the look-out, 
sending word from time to time to camp of all 
that he espied. 

On the 11th there were the first signs of 
movement among Burgoyne's troops. On the 
13th and 14th, they slowly passed over a bridge 
of boats, which they had thrown across the 
Hudson, and encamped near Fish Creek. Col- 
burn counted eight hundred tents, including mar- 
quees. A mile in advance were fourteen more 
tents. The Hessians remained encamped on 
the eastern side of the river, but intervening 
woods concealed the number of their tents. 
There was not the usual stir of military anima- 
tion in the camps. There were no evening nor 
morning guns. 

On the 15th, both English and Hessian 
camps struck their tents, and loaded their bag- 
gage waggons. By twelve o'clock both began 
to march. Colburn neglected to notice the 
route taken by the Hessians ; his attention was 
absorbed by the British, who made their way 
slowly and laboriously down the western side 
of the river, along a wretched road intersected 
by brooks and rivulets, the bridges over which 
Schuyler had broken down. The division had 
with it eighty-five baggage waggons and a 
great train of artillery ; with two unwieldy 
twenty -four pounders, acting like drag-anchors. 
It was a silent, dogged march, without beat of 
drum, or spirit-stirring bray of trumpet. A 
body of light troops, new levies, and Indians, 
painted and decorated for war, struck off from 
the rest and disappeared in the forest, up Fish 
Creek. From the great silence observed by 
Burgoyne in his movements, and the care he 
took in keeping his men together, and allowing 
no straggling parties. Colonel Colburn appre- 
hended that he meditated an attack. Having 
seen the army advance two miles on its march, 
therefore, he descended from the heights, and 
hastened to the American camp to make his 
report. A British prisoner, brought in soon 
afterwards, stated that Burgoyne had come to 
a halt about four miles distant. 

On the following morning, the army was 
under arms at daylight ; the enemy, however, 
remained encamped, repairing bridges in front, 
and sending down guard boats to reconnoitre ; 
the Americans, therefore, went on to fortify 
their position. The ridge of hills called Bemis's 



Mt. 45.1 



BEMIS'S HEIGHTS— ARNOLD ATTACKS THE ENEMY. 



401 



Heights, rises abruptly from the narrow flat 
bordering the west side of the river. Kosci- 
uszko had fortified the camp with intrench- 
ments three-quarters of a mile In extent, having 
redoubts and batteries, which commanded the 
valley, and even the hills on the opposite side 
of the river; for the Hudson, in this upper 
part, is comparatively a narrow stream. From 
the foot of the height, an intrenchment ex- 
tended to the river, ending with a battery at 
the water edge, commanding a floating bridge. 

The right wing of the army, under the im- 
mediate command of Gates, and composed of 
Glover's, Nixon's, and Patterson's brigades, oc- 
cupied the brow of the hill nearest to the river, 
with the flats below. 

The left wing, commanded by Arnold, was 
on the side of the camp furthest from the river, 
and distant from the latter about three-quarters 
of a mile. It was composed of the New Hamp- 
shire brigade of General Poor, Pierre Van 
Oourtlandt's and James Livingston's regiments 
of New York militia, the Connecticut militia, 
Morgan's riflemen, and Dearborn's infantry. 
The centre was composed of Massachusetts and 
New York troops. 

Burgoyne gradually di-ew nearer to the camp, 
throwing out large parties of pioneers and work- 
men. The Americans disputed every step. A 
Hessian officer observes : " The enemy bristled 
up his hair, as we attempted to repair more 
bridges. At last, we had to do him the honor 
of sending out whole regiments to protect our 
workmen." * 

It was Arnold who provoked this honor. At 
the head of fifteen hundred men he skirmished 
bravely with the superior force sent out against 
him, and retired with several prisoners. 

Burgoyne now encamped about two miles 
from General Gates, disposing his army in two 
lines ; the left on the river, the right extending 
at right angles to it, about six hundred yards, 
across the low grounds to a range of steep and 
rocky hills, occupied by the elite; a ravine 
formed by a rivulet from the hills passed in 
front of the camp. Tlie low ground between 
the armies was cultivated ; the hills were cov- 
ered with woods, excepting three or four small 
openings and deserted farms. * Beside the ra- 
vines which fronted each camp there was a 
third one, midway between them, also at right 
angles to the river.t 

On the morning of the 19th, General Gates 



26 



* Schlozer's Briefwechsel. 
t "Wilkinson's Memoirs, i. 236. 



received intelligence that the enemy were ad- 
vancing in great force on his left. It was, in 
fact, their right wing, composed of the British 
line and led by Burgoyne in person. It was 
covered by the grenadiers and light-infantry 
under General Eraser and Colonel Breyman, 
who kept along the high grounds on the right ; 
while they, in turn, were covered in front and 
on the flanks by Indians, provincial royalists, 
and Canadians, The left wing and artillery 
were advancing at the same time, under Major- 
Generals Phillips and Eiedesel, along the great 
road and meadows by the river side, but they 
were retarded by the necessity of repairing 
broken bridges. It was the plan of Burgoyne, 
that the Canadians and Indians should attack 
the central outposts of the Americans, and 
draw their attention in that direction, while 
he and Praser, making a circuit through the 
woods, should join forces and fall upon the rear 
of the American camp. As the dense forests 
hid them from each other, signal guns were 
to regulate their movements. Three, fired in 
succession, were to denote that aU was ready, 
and be the signal for an attack in front, flank 
and rear. 

The American pickets, stationed along the 
ravine of Mill Creek, sent repeated accounts to 
General Gates of the movements of the ener .y ; 
biTt he remained quiet in his camp as if deter- 
mined to await an attack. The American offi- 
cers grew impatient. Arnold especially, im- 
petuous by nature, urged repeatedly that a de- 
tachment should be sent forth to check the 
enemy in their advance, and drive the Indians 
out of the woods. At length he succeeded in 
getting permission, about noon, to detach Mor- 
gan with his riflemen and Dearborn with his 
infantry from his division. They soon fell in 
with the Canadians and Indians, which formed 
the advance guard of the enemy's right, and 
attacking them with spirit, drove them in, or 
rather dispersed them. Morgan's riflemen, fol- 
lowing up their advantage with too much eager- 
ness, became likewise scattered, and a strong 
reinforcement of royalists arriving on the scene 
of action, the Americans, in their turn, were 
obliged to give way. 

Other detachments now arrived from the 
American camp, led by Arnold, who attacked 
Fraser on his right, to check his attempt to get 
in the rear of the camp. Finding the position 
of Fraser too strong to be forced, he sent to 
head-quarters for reinforcements, but they were 
refused by Gates, who declared that no more 



402 



THE ARMIES STRENGTHEN THEIR POSITIONS. 



[1111. 



should go ; " he would not suffer his camp to 
be exposed." * The reason he gave was that it 
might he attacked by the enemy's left wing. 

Arnold now made a rapid counter-march, 
and, his movement being masked by the woods, 
suddenly attempted to turn Fraser's left. Here 
he came in full conflict with the British line, 
and threw himself upon it with a boldness and 
impetuosity that for a time threatened to break 
it, and cut the wings of the army asunder. The 
grenadiers and Breyman's riflemen hastened to 
its support. General Phillips broke his way 
through the woods with four pieces of artillery, 
and Eiedesel came on with his heavy dragoons. 
Reinforcements came likewise to Arnold's as- 
sistance; his force, however, never exceeded 
three thousand men, and with these, for nearly 
four hours, he kept up a conflict almost hand 
to hand, with the whole right wing of the 
British army. Part of the time the Americans 
had the advantage of fighting under the cover 
of a wood, so favorable to their militia and 
sharpshooters. Burgoyne ordered the woods 
to be cleared by the bayonet. His troops 
rushed forward in columns with a hurra ! The 
Americans kept within their intrenchments, 
and repeatedly repulsed them ; but, if they 
pursued their advantage, and advanced into 
open field, they were m their turn driven back. 
Night alone put an end to a conflict, which 
the British acknowledged to have been the 
most obstinate and hardly fought they had 
ever experienced in America. Both parties 
claimed the victory. But, though the British 
remained on the field of battle, where they lay 
all night upon their arms, they had failed in 
their object ; they had been assailed instead of 
being the assailants ; while the American 
troops had accomplished the purpose for which 
they had sallied forth ; had checked the ad- 
vance of the enemy, frustrated their plan of 
attack, and returned exulting to their camp. 
Their loss, in killed and wounded, was between 
three and four hundred, including several ofli- 
cers ; that of the enemy upwards of five hun- 
dred. 

Burgoyne gives an aftecting picture of the 
situation of the ladies of rank already men- 
tioned, during the action. Lady Harriet had 
been directed by her husband, Major Ackland, 
to follow the route of the artillery and baggage, 
which was not exposed. "At the time the 
action began," writes Burgoyne, " she found 



Colonel Varick to Schuyler. Schuyler rapers. 



herself near a small uninhabited hut, where she 
alighted. When it was found the action was 
becoming general and bloody, the surgeons of 
the hospital took possession of the same place, 
as the most convenient for the first care of the 
wounded. Thus was the lady in hearing of 
one continued fire of cannon and musketry for 
four hours together, with the presumption, 
from the post of her husband, at the head of 
the grenadiers, that he was in the most ex- 
posed part of the action. She had three female 
companions, the Baroness of Riedesel, and the 
vrives of two British ofiicers. Major Harnage 
and Lieutenant Eeynell ; but in the event their 
presence served but httle for comfort. Major 
Harnage was soon brought to the surgeons very 
badly wounded ; and in a little time after came 
intelligence that Lieutenant Eeynell was shot 
dead. Imagination wants no helps to figure 
the state of the whole group." 

Arnold was excessively indignant at Gates's 
withholding the reinforcements he had required 
in the heat of the action ; had they been fur- 
nished, he said, he might have severed the line 
of the enemy and gained a complete victory. 
He was urgent to resume the action on the suc- 
ceeding morning, and follow up the advantage 
he had gained, but Gates declined, to his addi- 
tional annoyance. He attributed the refusal to 
pique or jealousy, but Gates subsequently gave 
as a reason the great deficiency of powder and 
ball in the camp, which was known only to 
himself, and which he kept secret until a sup- 
ply was sent from Albany. 

Burgoyne now strengthened his position with 
intrenchments and batteries, part of them across 
the meadows which bordered the river, part 
on the brow of the heights which commanded 
them. The Americans likewise extended and 
strengthened their line of breastworks on the 
left of the camp ; the right was already unas- 
sailable. The camps were within gunshot, but 
with ravines and woods between them. 

Washington's predictions of the effect to be 
produced by Morgan's riflemen approached ful- 
filment. The Indians, dismayed at the severe 
treatment experienced from these veteran bush- 
fighters, were disappearing from the British 
camp. The Canadians and royal provincials, 
"mere trimmers," as Burgoyne called them, 
were deserting in great numbers, and he had 
no confidence in those who remained. 

His situation was growing more and more 
critical. On the 21st, he heard shouts in the 
American camp, and in a little while their can- 



JEt. 45.] 



QUARREL BETWEEN GATES AND ARNOLD. 



40^ 



non thundered a feu de joie. News had been 
received from General Lincoln, that a detach- 
ment of New England troops under Colonel 
Brown had surprised the carrying-place, mills, 
and French lines at Ticonderoga, captured an 
armed sloop, gunboats, and bateaux, made three 
hundred prisoners, besides releasing one hun- 
dred American captives, and were laying siege 
to Fort Independence.* 

Fortunately for Burgoyne, while affairs were 
darkening in the North, a ray of hope dawned 
from the South. While the shouts from the 
American camp were yet ringing in his ears, 
came a letter in cypher from Sir Henry Clinton, 
dated the 12th of September, announcing his 
intention in about ten days to attacli? the forts 
in the Highlands of the Hudson. 

Burgoyne sent back the messenger the same 
night, and despatched, moreover, two officers 
in disguise, by different routes, all bearing 
messages informing Sir Henry of his perilous 
situation, and urging a diversion that might 
oblige General Gates to detach a part of his 
army; adding,' that he would endeavor to 
maintain his present position, and await favor- 
able events until the 12th of October.! 

The jealousy of Gates had been intensely ex- 
cited at finding the whole credit of the late 
affair given by the army to Arnold : in his de- 
spatches to government he made no mention of 
him. This increased the schism between them. 
Wilkinson, the adjutant-general, who was a 
sycophantic adherent of Gates, pandered to his 
pique by withdrawing from Arnold's division 
Morgan's rifle corps and Dearborn's light in- 
fantry, its arm of strength, which had done 
such brilliant service in the late affair: they 
were henceforth to be subject to no order but 
those from head-quarters. 

Arnold called on Gates on the evening of the 
22d, to remonstrate. High words passed be- 
tween them, and matters came to an open rup- 
ture. Gates, in his heat, told Arnold that he 
did not consider him a major-general, he hav- 
ing sent his resignation to Congress— that he 
had never given him the command of any di- 
vision of the army — that General Lincoln would 
arrive in a day or two, and then he would have 
no fm-ther occasion for him, and would give 
him a pass to go to Philadelphia, whenever he 
chose.J 
Arnold returned to his quarters in a rage, and 



* Colonel Variok to Schuyler. Schuyler Papers. 

t Burgoyne to Lord George Germain. 

t Col. Livingston to Schuyler. Schuyler Papers 



wrote a note to Gates, requesting the proffered 
permit to depart for Philadelphia ; by the time 
he received it his ire had cooled and he had 
changed his mind. He determined to remain 
in camp and abide the anticipated battle. 

Lincoln, in the mean time, arrived in advance 
of his troops; which soon followed to the 
amount of two thousand. Part of the troops, 
detached by him under Colonel Brown, were 
besieging Ticonderoga and Fort Independence. 
Colonel Brown himself, with part of his de- 
tachment, had embarked on Lake George in an 
armed schooner and a squadron of captured 
gunboats and bateaux, and was threatening the 
enemy's deposit of baggage and heavy artillery 
at Diamond Island. Tlie toils so skilfully spread 
were encompassing Burgoyne more and more ; 
the gates of Canada were closing behind him. 

A morning or two after Lincoln's arrival, 
Arnold observed him giving some directions in 
the left division, and quickly inquired whether 
he was doing so by order of General Gates; 
being answered in the negative, he observed 
that the left division belonged to him ; and that 
he believed his (Lincoln's) proper station was 
on the right, and that of General Gates ought 
to be in the centre. He requested him to men- 
tion this to General Gates, and have the matter 
adjusted. 

" He is determined," writes Varick, " not to 
suffer any one to interfere in his division, and 
says it will be death to any officer who does so 
in action." Arnold, in fact, was in a bellicose 
vein, and rather blustered about the camp. 
Gates, he said, could not refuse him his com- 
mand, and he would not yield it now that a 
battle was expected. 

Some of the general officers and colonels of 
his division proposed to make him an address, 
thanking him for his past services, particularly 
in the late action, and entreating him to stay. 
Others suggested tliat the general officers should 
endeavor to procure a reconciliation between 
the jarring parties. Lincoln was inclined to 
do so ; but, in the end, neither measure was 
taken through fear of offending General Gates. 
In the mean time Arnold remained in camp, 
treated, he said, as a cypher, and never con- 
sulted ; though when Congress had sent him to 
that department, at the request of General 
Washington, they expected the commander 
would at least have taken his opinion on public 
matters. 

On the 30th, he gave vent to his feelings in an 
indignant letter to Gates. " Notwithstanding 



404 



STATE OF THE HIGHLAND DEFENCES— PUTNAM ALARMED, 



[1171. 



I have reason to think your treatment proceeds 
from a spirit of jealousy," writes he, " and that 
I have every thing to fear from the maUce of 
my enemies, conscious of my own innocency 
and integrity, I am determined to sacrifice my 
feelings, present peace, and quiet, to the public 
good, and continue in the army at this critical 
juncture, when my country needs every sup- 
port. 

" I hope," concludes he, " you will not im- 
pute this hint to a wish to command the army, 
or to outshine you, when I assure you it pro- 
ceeds from my zeal for the cause of my country, 
in which I expect to rise or fall." * 

All this time the Americans were harassing 
the British camp with frequent night alarms 
and attacks on its pickets and outposts. 

" From the 20th of September to the 7th of 
October," writes Burgoyne, " the armies were 
so near, that not a night passed without firing, 
and sometimes concerted attacks upon our ad- 
vanced pickets. I do not believe either oflScer 
or soldier ever slept in that interval without 
his clothes ; or that any general officer or com- 
mander of a regiment passed a single night, 
without being upon his legs occasionally at dif- 
ferent hours, and constantly an hour before 
daylight." t 

Still Burgoyne kept up a resolute mien, tell- 
ing his soldiers, in a harangue, that he was de- 
termined to leave his bones on the field, or 
force his way to Albany. He yet clung to the 
hope, that Sir Henry Clinton might operate in 
time to relieve him from his perilous position. 

"We will now cast a look toward New York, 
and ascertain the cause of Sir Henry's delay in 
his anxiously expected operations on the Hud- 
son. 



OHAPTEE XXI, 

The expedition of Sir Henry Clinton had 
awaited the arrival of reinforcements from Eu- 
rope, which were slowly crossing the ocean 
in Dutch bottoms. At length they arrived, 
after a three months' voyage, and now there 
was a stir of warlike preparation at New York ; 
the streets were full of soldiery, the bay full of 
ships ; and water craft of all kinds were plying 
about the harbor. Between three and four 
thousand men were to be embarked on board 



* Gates' 8 Papers, N. Y. Hist. Lib. 
t Burgoyne's Expedition, p. 166. 



of ships of war, armed galleys, and flat-bottomed 
boats. A southern destination was given out, 
but shrewd observers surmised the real one. 

The defences of the Highlands, on which the 
security of the Hudson depended, were at this 
time weakly garrisoned ; some of the troops 
having been sent off to reinforce the armies on 
the Delaware and in the North. Putnam, who 
had the general command of the Highlands, 
had but eleven hundred Continental and four 
hundred militia troops with him at Peekskill, 
his head-quarters. There was a feeble garrison 
at Fort Independence in the vicinity of Peeks- 
kill, to guard the public stores and workshops 
at Continental Village. 

The Highland forts, Clinton, Montgomery, 
and Constitution, situated among the moun- 
tains and forming their main defence, were no 
better garrisoned, and George Clinton, who had 
the command of them, and who was in a man- 
ner the champion of the Highlands, v/as absent 
from his post, attending the State Legislature 
at Kingston (Esopus), in Ulster County, in his 
capacity of governor. 

There were patriot eyes in New York to 
watch the course of events, and patriot boats 
on the river to act as swift messengers. On 
the 29th of September Putnam writes to his 
coadjutor the governor : "I have received in- 
telHgence on which I can fully depend, that 
the enemy had received a reinforcement at New 
York last Thursday, of about three thousand 
British and foreign troops ; that General Chn- 
ton has called in guides who belong about 
Croton River ; has ordered hard bread to be 
baked ; that the troops are called from Paulus 
Hook to King's Bridge, and the whole troops 
are now under marching orders. I think it 
highly probable the designs of the enemy are 
against the posts of the Highlands, or of some 
part of the counties of Westchester or Dutch- 
ess." Under these circumstances he begged a 
reinforcement of the militia to enable him to 
maintain his post, and intimated a wish for 
the personal assistance and counsel of the gov- 
ernor. In a postscript, he adds : " The ships 
are drawn up in the river, and I believe noth- 
ing prevents them from paying us an immediate 
visit, but a contrary wind." 

On receiving this letter the governor forth- 
with hastened to his post in the Highlands, 
with such militia force as he could collect. We 
have heretofore spoken of his Highland citadel, 
Fort Montgomery, and of the obstructions of 
chain, boom, and chevaux-de-frise between it 



^T. 45.] 



SECRET MARCH OF THE ENEMY THROUGH THE MOUNTAINS. 



405 



and the opposite promontory of Anthony's 
Nose, with which it had been hoped to barri- 
cade the Hudson. The chain had repeatedly 
given way under the pressure of the tide, but 
the obstructions were still considered efficient, 
and were protected by the guns of the fort, 
and of two frigates and two armed galleys 
anchored above. 

Fort Clinton had subsequently been erecf ed 
within rifle-shot of Fort Montgomery, to occupy 
ground which commanded it. A deep ravine 
and stream called Peploep's Kill, intervened 
between the two forts, across which there was 
a bridge. The governor had his head-quarters 
in Fort Montgomery, which was the northern 
and largest fort, but its works were unfinish- 
ed. His brother James had charge of Fort 
Clinton, which was complete. The whole force 
to garrison the associate forts did not exceed 
six hundred men, chiefly militia, but they had 
tlie veteran Colonel Lamb of the artillery with 
them, who had served in Canada, and a com- 
pany of his artillerists was distributed in the 
two forts. 

The armament of Sir Henry Clinton, which 
had been waiting for a wind, set sail in the 
course of a day or two and stood up the Hud- 
son, dogged by American swift-rowing whale- 
boats. Late at night of the 4th of October, 
came a barge across the river, from Peekskill 
to Fort Montgomery, bearing a letter from 
Putnam to the governor. " This morning," 
writes he, " we had information from our 
guard boats, that there were two ships of war, 
three tenders, and a large number of flat-bot- 
tomed boats, coming up the river. They pro- 
ceeded up as far as Tarrytown, where they 
landed their men. This evening they were 
followed by one large man-of-war, five topsail 
vessels, and a large number of small craft. I 
have sent off parties to examine their route 
and harass their march, if prudent. By in- 
formation from several diiferent quarters, we 
have reason to believe they intend for this post. 
They are now making up, as we hear, for the 
Croton Bridge." * 

The landing of troops at Tarrytown was a 
mere feint on the part of Sir Henry to distract 
the attention of the Americans ; after march- 
ing a few miles into the country, they returned 
and re-embarked ; the armament continued 
across the Tappan Sea and Haverstraw Bay to 
Verplanck's Point, where, on the 5th, Sir 

* Correspondence of the Revolution. Sparke, ii. 637. 



Henry landed with three thousand men about 
eight miles below Peekskill. 

Putnam drew back to the hills in the rear 
of the village to prepare for the expected at- 
tack, and sent off to Governor Clinton for all 
the troops he could spare. So far the manoeu- 
vres of Sir Henry Clinton had been successful. 
It was his plan to threaten an attack on Peeks- 
kill and Fort Independence, and, when he had 
drawn the attention of the American com- 
manders to that quarter, to land troops on the 
western shore of the Hudson, below the Dunder- 
berg (Thunder Hill), make a rapid march 
through the defiles behind that mountain to 
the rear of Forts Montgomery and Clinton, 
come down on them by surprise, and carry 
them by a coup de main. 

Accordingly at an early hour of the follow- 
ing morning, taking advantage of a thick fog, 
he crossed with two thousand men to Stony 
Point, on the west shore of the river, leaving 
about a thousand men, chiefly royalists, at 
Verplanck's Point, to keep up a threatening 
aspect towards Peekskill. Three frigates, also, 
were to stand up what is called the Devil's 
Horse Pace into Peekskill Bay, and station 
themselves within cannon-shot of Fort Inde- 
pendence. 

The crossing of the troops had been dimly ^ 
descried from Peekskill, but they were sup- 
posed to be a mere detachment from the main 
body on a maraud. 

Having accomplished his landing. Sir Henry, 
conducted by a tory guide, set out on a forced 
and circuitous march of several miles by rugged 
defiles, round the western base of the Dunder- 
berg. At the entrance of the pass he left a 
small force to guard it, and keep up his com- 
munication with the ships. By eight o'clock 
in the morning he had effected his march round 
the Dunderberg, and halted on the northern 
side in a ravine, between it and a conical mount 
called Bear Hill, The possibility of an enemy's 
approach by this pass had been noticed by 
"Washington in reconnoitring the Highlands, 
and he had mentioned it in his instructions to 
Generals Greene and Knox, when they were 
sent to make their military survey, but they 
considered it impracticable, from the extreme " 
diffictflty of the mountain passes. It is in de- 
fiance of difficulties, however, that surprises are 
apt to be attempted, and the most signal have 
been achieved in the face of seeming impossi- 
bilities. 

In the ravine between the Dunderberg and 



406 



STORMING AND CAPTURE OF FORTS MONTGOMERY AND CLINTON. 



[1111 



Bear Hill, Sir Henry divided his forces. One 
division, nine hundred strong, led by Lieuten- 
ant-Colonel Campbell, was to make a circuit 
through the forest round the western side of 
Bear HiU, so as to gain the rear of Fort Mont- 
gomery. After Sir Henry had allowed suffi- 
cient time for them to make the circuit, he 
was to proceed with the other division down 
the ravine, towards the river, turn to the left 
along a narrow strip of land between the Hud- 
son and a small lake called Siuipink Pond, 
which lay at the foot of Bear Hill, and advance 
upon Fort Clinton. Both forts were to be 
attacked at the same time. 

The detachment under Campbell set oflf in 
high spirits ; it was composed partly of royal- 
ists, led by Colonel Beverly Robinson of New 
York, partly of Emerick's chasseurs, and partly 
of grenadiers, under Lord Eawdon, then about 
twenty-four years of age, who had already seen 
service at Bunker's Hill. With him went 
Count Gabrouski, a Polish nobleman, aide-de- 
camp to Sir Henry Clinton, but who had 
sought to accompany his friend. Lord Eawdon, 
in this wild mountain scramble. Every thing 
thus far had been conducted with celerity and 
apparent secrecy, and complete surprise of both 
forts was anticipated. Sir Henry had, indeed, 
outwitted one of the guardians of the High- 
lands, but the other was aware of his designs. 
Governor Clinton, on receiving intelligence of 
ships of war coming up the Hudson, had sent 
scouts beyond the Dunderberg to watch their 
movements. Early on the present morning, 
word had been brought him that forty boats 
were landing a large force at Stony Point. 
He now, in his turn, apprehended an attack, 
and sent to Putnam for reinforcements, prepar- 
ing, in the mean time, to make such defence as 
his scanty means afforded. 

A lieutenant was sent out with thirty men 
from Fort Clinton, to proceed along the river- 
road and reconnoitre. He fell in with the ad- 
vance guard of Sir Henry Clinton's division, 
and retreated skirmishing to the fort. A 
larger detachment was sent out to clieck the 
approach of the enemy on tliis side ; while 
sixty men, afterwards increased to a liundred, 
took post with a brass field-piece in the Bear 
Hill defile. 

It was a narrow and ruggea pass, bordered 
by shagged forests. As Campbell and his di- 
vision came pressing forward, they were 
checked by the discharge of fire-arms and of 
the brass field-pi&oe, which swept the steep 



defile. The British troops then filed off" on 
each side into the woods, to surround the 
Americans. The latter, finding it impossible to 
extricate their field-piece in the rugged pass, 
spiked it, and retreated into the fort, under 
cover of the fire of a twelve-pounder, with 
which Lamb had posted himself on the crest 
of a hill. 

Ifeir Henry Clinton had met with equally ob- 
stinate opposition in his approach to Fort 
Clinton ; the narrow strip of land between 
Lake Sinipink and the Hudson, along which 
he advanced, being fortified hy an abatis. By 
four o'clock, the Americans were driven within 
their works, and both forts were assailed. The 
defence was desperate ; for Governor Clinton 
was a hard fighter, and he was still in hopes 
of reinforcements from Putnam ; not knowing 
that the messenger he sent to him had turned 
traitor, and deserted to the enemy. 

About five o'clock, he was summoned to 
surrender in five minutes, to prevent the effu- 
sion of blood : the reply was a refusal. About 
ten minutes afterwards there v/as a general 
attack upon both forts. It was resisted with 
obstinate spirit. The action continued until 
dusk. The ships under Commodore Hotham 
approached near enough to open an irregular 
fire upon the forts, and upon the vessels an- 
chored above the chevaux-de-frise. The latter 
returned the fire ; and the fiash and roar of 
their cannonry in the gathering darkness and 
among the echoes of the mountains increased 
the terrors of the strife. The works, however, 
were too extensive to be manned by the 
scanty garrisons ; they were entered by difler- 
ent places and carried at the point of the bay- 
onet ; the Americans fought desperately from 
one redoubt to another ; some were slain, some 
taken prisoners, and some escaped under cover 
of the nig];t to the river or the mountains. 
" The garrison," writes Clinton, significantly, 
" had to fight their way out as many as could, 
as we determined not to surrender." 

His brother James was saved from a deadly 
thrust of a bayonet, Isy a garrison orderly-book 
in his pocket ; bat he received a flesh-wound 
in the thigh. He slid down a precipice, one 
hundred feet high, into the ravine between the 
forts, and escaped to the woods. Tlie governor 
leaped down the rocks to the river side, where 
a boat was putting off with a number of the 
fugitives. They turned back to receive him, 
bat he generously refused to endanger their 
safety, as the boat was already loaded to the 



^T. 45.] 



DEATH OF COUJS^T GABROUSKI— PUTNAM OUTWITTED. 



407 



gun whale. It was only on receiving assurance 
of its being capable of bearing his additional 
weight, that he consented to enter. The boat 
crossed the Hudson in safety, and before mid- 
night the governor was with Putnam, at Con- 
tinental Village, concerting further measures. 

Putnam had been completely outmanoeuvred 
by Sir Henry Clinton. He had continued untU 
late in the morning, in the belief that Peekskill 
and Fort Independence were to be the objects 
of attack. His pickets and scouts could not 
ascertain the number of the enemy remaining 
on the east side of the river ; a large iire near 
Stony Point made him think the troops which 
had crossed were merely burning storehouses ; 
while ships, galleys, and flat-vbottomed boats 
seemed preparing to land forces at Fort Inde- 
pendence and Peekskill. In the course of the 
morning he sallied forth with Brigadier-General 
Parsons, to reconnoitre the ground near the 
enemy. After their return they were alarmed, 
he says, by " a very heavy and hot liring both 
of small arms and cannon, at Fort Montgomery," 
which must have made a tremendous uproar 
among the echoes of the Dunderberg. Aware 
of the real point of danger, he immediately de- 
tached five hundred men to reinforce the gar- 
rison. They had six miles to march along the 
eastern shore, and then to cross the river ; be- 
fore they could do so the fate of the forts was 
decided. 

British historians acknowledge, that the valor 
and resolution displayed by the Americans ui 
the defence of these forts were in no instance 
exceeded during the war ; their loss in killed, 
wounded, and missing, was stated at two hun- 
dred and fifty, a large proportion of the number 
engaged. Their gallant defence awakened no 
generous sentiment in the victors. " Askthe 
soldiers," observes the British writer, " were 
much irritated, as weU by the fatigue they had 
undergone and the opposition they met, as by 
the loss of some brave and favorite officers, the 
slaughter of the enemy was considerable." * 

Among the officers thus deplored, and bloodily 
revenged, was Colonel Campbell, who com- 
manded the detachment. At his fall the com- 
mand devolved on Colonel Beverly Eobinson 
of the American loyalists. Another officer 
slain was Major Grant, of the New York vol- 
unteers. Count Gabrouski, the Polish aide- 
de-camp of Sir Henry Clinton, had gallautly 
signalized himself by the side of his friend, 



* CivO War in America, vol. i., p. 311. 



Lord Rawdon, who led the grenadiers in storm- 
ing Fort Montgomery. The count received his 
death wound at the foot of the ramparts. 
Giving his sword to a grenadier : " Take this 
sword to Lord Eawdon," said he, " and tell 
him the owner died like a soldier." * 

On the capture of the forts, the American 
frigates and galleys stationed for the protection 
of the chevaux-de-frise slipped their cables, 
made all sail, and endeavored to escape up the 
river. The wind, however, proved adverse ; 
there was danger of their falling into the hands, 
of the enemy ; the crews, therefore, set them 
on fire and abandoned them. As every sail 
was set, the vessels, we are told, were soon 
" magnificent pyramids of fire; " the surrounding 
mountains were lit up by the glare, and a train 
of ruddy light gleamed along the river. They 
were in a part of the Highlands famous for its 
echoes : as the flames gradually reached the 
loaded cannon, their thundering reports were 
multiplied and prolonged along the rocky 
shores. The vessels at length blew up with 
tremendous explosions, and all again was dark- 
ness.t 

On the following morning, the chevaux-de- 
frise and other obstructions between Fort 
Montgomery and Anthony's Nose were cleared 
away : the Americans evacuated Forts Inde- 
pendence and Constitution, and a free passage 
up the Hudson was open for the British ships. 
Sir Henry Clinton proceeded no further in per- 
son, but left the rest of the enterprise to be 
accomplished by Sir James "Wallace and Gen- 
eral Vaughan, with a flying squadron of light 
frigates, and a considerable detachment of 
troops. 

Putnam had retreated to a pass in the moun- 
tains, on the east side of the river near Fishkill, 
having removed as much of the stores and bag- 
gage as possible from the post he had aban- 
doned. The old general was somewhat morti- 
fied at having been outwitted by the enemy, 
but endeavored to shift the responsibility. In 
a letter to Washington (Oct. 8th), he writes : 
" I have repeatedly informed your Excellency of 
the enemy's design against this post ; but, from 
some motive or other, you always difiered from 
me in opinion. As this conjecture of mine has 
for once proved right, I cannot omit informing 
you, that my real and sincere opinion is, that 
they now mean to join General Burgoyne with 
the utmost despatch. Governor Clinton is ex- 



* Stedman, vol. 1., p. 364. 



t Idem. 



408 



THE SPY AND THE SILVER BULLET— BURNING OF KINGSTON. 



[1111. 



erting himself in collecting the militia of this 
State. Brigadier-General Parsons I have sent 
off to forward in the Connecticut militia, which 
are now arriving in great numbers. I therefore 
hope and trust, that, in the course of a few 
days, I shall be able to oppose the progress of 
the enemy." 

He had concerted with Governor Clinton 
that they should move to the northward with 
their forces, along the opposite shores of the 
Hudson, endeavoring to keep pace with the 
enemy's ships and cover the country from their 
attacks. 

The governor was in the neighborhood of 
New Windsor, just above the Highlands, where 
he had posted himself to rally what he termed 
his " broken but brave troops," and to call out 
the militia of Ulster and Orange. " I am 
persuaded," writes he, "if the militia will join 
me, we can save the country from destruction, 
and defeat the enemy's design of assisting their 
Northern army." The militia, however, were 
not as prompt as usual in answering to the caU 
of their popular and brave-hearted governor. 
" They are well disposed," writes he, " but 
anxious about the immediate safety of their 
respective families (who, for many miles, are 
yet moving further from the river) ; they come 
in the morning and return in the evening, and 
I never know when I have them, or what my 
strength is." * 

On the 9th, two persons coming from Fort 
Montgomery were arrested by his guards, and 
brought before him for examination. One was 
much agitated, and was observed to put some- 
thing hastily into his mouth and swallow it. 
An emetic was administered, and brought up 
a small silver bullet. Before he could be pre- 
vented he swallowed it again. On his refusing 
a second emetic, the governor threatened to 
have him hanged and his body opened. The 
threat produced the bullet in the preceding 
manner. It was oval in form and hollow, with 
a screw in the centre, and contained a note 
from Sir Henry Clinton to Burgoyne, written 
on a slip of thin paper, and dated (Oct. 8th) 
from Fort Montgomery. " JVbws y void (here 
we are), and nothing betw^een us and Gates. 
I sincerely hope this little success of ours will 
facilitate your operations." t 

The bearer of the letter was tried and 



* Letter to the Council of Safety. Jour, of Provincial 
Congrees, vol. j. 1064. 

t Governor Clinton to tbe N. T. Council of Safetj'. 
Journal of Prov. Congress. 



convicted as a spy, and sentenced to be 
hanged. 

The enemy's light-armed vessels were now 
making their way up the river ; landing ma- 
rauding parties occasionally to make depreda- 
tions. 

As soon as the governor could collect a little 
force, he pressed forward to protect Kingston 
(Esopus), the seat of the State legislature. The 
enemy in the mean time landed from their ships, 
routed about one hundred and fifty militia col- 
lected to oppose them, marched to the village, 
set fire to it in every part, consuming great 
quantities of stores collected there, and then 
retreated to their ships. 

Governor Clinton was two hours too late. 
He beheld the flames from a distance ; and 
having brought with him the spy, the bearer 
of the silver bullet, he hanged him on an apple- 
tree in sight of the burning village. 

Having laid Kingston, the seat of the State 
government in ashes, the enemy proceeded in 
their ravages, destroying the residences of con- 
spicuous patriots at Ehinebeck, Livingston 
Manor, and elsewhere, and among others the 
mansion of the widow of the brave General 
Montgomery : trusting to close their desolating 
career by a triumphant junction with Bur- 
goyne at Albany. 



CHAPTER XXII. 

"While Sir Henry Clinton had been thunder- 
ing in the Highlands, Burgoyne and his army 
had been wearing out hope within their in- 
trenchments, vigilantly watclied, but unassailed 
by the Americans. They became impatient 
even of this impunity. " The enemy, though 
he can bring four times more soldiers against 
us, shows no desire to make an attack," writes 
a Hessian oflBcer.* 

Arnold, too, w^as chafing in the camp, and 
longing for a chance, as usual, " to right him- 
self " by his sword. In a letter to Gates he 
tries to goad him on. " I think it my duty 
(which nothing shall deter me from doing) to 
acquaint you, the army are clamorous for ac- 
tion. The militia (who compose great part of 
the army) are already threatening to go home. 
One fortnight's inaction will, I make no doubt, 
lessen your army by sickness and desertion, at 
least four thousand men. In which time the 



* Schliizer's Briefwechsel. 



^T. 45.] 



BATTLE OF THE SEVENTH OCTOBER. 



409 



enemy may be reinforced, and make good their 
retreat. 

" I have reason to think, from intelligence 
since received, that, had we improved the 20th 
of September, it might have ruined the enemy. 
That is past ; let me entreat you to improve the 
present time." 

Gates was not to be goaded into action ; he 
saw the desperate situation of Burgoyne, and 
bided his time. " Perhaps," writes he, " de- 
spair may dictate to him to risk all upon one 
throw ; he is an old gamester, and in his time 
has seen all chances. I will endeavor to be 
ready to prevent his good fortune, and, if pos- 
sible, secure my own." * 

On the 7th of October, but four or five days 
remained of the time Burgoyne had pledged 
himself to await the co-operation of Sir Henry 
Clinton. He now determined to make a grand 
movement on the left of the American camp, 
to discover whether he could make a passage, 
should it be necessary to advance, or dislodge 
it from its position, should he have no retreat. 
Another object was to cover a forage of the 
army, which was suffering from the great scar- 
city. 

For this purpose fifteen hundred of his best 
troops, with two twelve-pounders, two howit- 
zers, and six six-pounders, were to be led by 
himself, seconded by Major-Generals Phillips 
and Riedesel, and Brigadier-General Eraser. 
" No equal number of men," says the British 
accounts, " were ever better commanded ; and 
it would have been diOicult, indeed, to have 
.matched the men with an equal number," f 

On leaving his camp, Burgoyne committed 
the guard of it on the high gi-ounds to Brig- 
adier-Generals Hamilton and Specht, and of 
the redoubts on the low grounds near the river, 
to Brigadier-General Gall. 

Forming his troops within three-quarters of 
a mile of the left of the Americans, though 
covered from their sight by the forest, he sent 
out a corps of rangers, provincials and Indians, 
to skulk through the woods, get in their rear, 
and give them an alarm at the time the attack 
took place in front. 

The movement, though carried on behind 
the screen of forests, was discovered. In the 
afternoon the advanced guard of the American 
centre beat to arms : the alarm was repeated 
throughout the line. Gates ordered his ofiicers 
to their alarm posts, and sent forth Wilkinson, 



* Letter to Governor Clinton. Gates'a Papers. 
+ Civil War in America, 1. 302. 



the adjutant-general, to inquire the cause. 
From a rising ground in an open place he de- 
scried the enemy in force, their foragers busy 
in a field of wheat, the ofiicers reconnoitring 
the left wing of the camp with telescopes from 
the top of a cabin. 

Returning to the camp, "Wilkinson reported 
the position and movements of the enemy ; 
that their front was open, their flanks rested 
on woods, under cover of which they might be 
attacked, and their right was skirted by a 
height : that they were reconnoitring the left, 
and he thought offered battle. 

" "Well, then," replied Gates, " order out 
Morgan to begin the game." 

A plan of attack was soon arranged. Mor- 
gan with his riflemen and a body of infantry 
was sent to make a circuit through the woods, 
and get possession of the heights on the right 
of the enemy, while General Poor with his bri- 
gade of New York and New Hampshire troops, 
and a part of Learned's brigade, were to ad- 
vance against the enemy's left. Morgan was 
to make an attack on the heights as soon as he 
should hear the fire opened below. 

Burgoyne now drew out his troops in battle 
array. The grenadiers, under Major Ackland, 
with the artillery, under Major "Williams, formed 
his left, and were stationed on a rising ground, 
with a rivulet called MiU Creek in front. Next 
to them were the Hessians, under Riedesel, and 
British, under Phillips, forming the centre. 
The light infantry, under Lord Balcarras, formed 
the extreme right ; having in the advance a 
detachment of five hundred picked men, under 
General Fraser, ready to flank the Americans 
as soon as they should be attacked in front. 

He had scarce made these arrangements, 
when he was astonished and confounded by a 
thundering of artillery on his left, and a rat- 
tling fire of rifles on the woody heights on his 
right. The troops under Poor advanced stead- 
ily up the ascent where Ackland's grenadiers 
and "Williams' artillery were stationed; re- 
ceived their fire, and then rushed forward. 
Ackland's grenadiers received the first brunt, 
but it extended along the line, as detachment 
after detachment arrived, and was carried on 
with inconceivable fury. The Hessian artiller- 
ists spoke afterwards of the heedlessness with 
which the Americans rushed upon the cannon, 
while they were discharging grape-shot. The 
artillery was repeatedly taken and retaken, and 
at length remained in possession of the Ameri- 
cans, who turned it upon its former owners. 



410 



ROUT OF THE BRITISH AND HESSIANS— VALOR OF ARNOLD. 



[1777. 



Major Ackland was wounded in both legs, and 
taken prisoner. Major ■Williams of the artillery 
was also captured. The headlong impetuosity 
of the attack confounded the regular tacticians. 
Much of this has been ascribed to the presence 
and example of Arnold. That daring oflBcer, 
who had lingered iu the camp in expectation 
of a fight, was exasperated at having no com- 
mand assigned him. On hearing the din of 
battle, he could restrain no longer his warlike 
impulse, but threw himself on his horse and 
sallied forth. Gates saw him issuing from the 
camp. " He'll do some rash thing ! " cried he, 
and sent his aide-de-camp, Major Armstrong, 
to call him back. Arnold surmised his errand 
and evaded it. Putting spurs to his horse, he 
dashed into the scene of action, and was re- 
ceived with acclamation. Being the superior 
officer in the field his orders were obeyed of 
course. Putting himself at the head of the 
troops of Learned's brigade, he attacked the 
Plessians in the enemy's centre, and broke them 
with repeated charges. Indeed, for a time his 
actions seemed to partake of frenzy ; riding 
hither and thither, brandishing his sword, and 
cheering on the men to acts of desperation. In 
one of his paroxysms of excitement, he struck 
and wounded an American officer in the head 
with his sword, without, as he afterwards de- 
clared, being conscious of the act. Wilkinson 
asserts that he was partly intoxicated ; but 
Arnold needed only his own irritated pride and 
the smell of gunpowder to rouse him to acts of 
madness. 

Morgan, in the mean time, was harassing the 
enemy's right wing with an incessant fire of 
small-arms, and preventing it from sending any 
assistance to the centre. General Fraser with 
his chosen corps, for some time rendered great 
protection to this wing. Mounted on an iron- 
gray charger, his uniform of a field-officer 
made him a conspicuous object for Morgan's 
sharpshooters. One bullet cut the crupper of 
his horse, another grazed his mane. " You 
are singled out, general," said his aide-de-camp, 
" and had better shift your ground." " My 
.duty forbids me to fly from danger," was the 
reply. A moment afterwards he was shot 
down by a marksman posted in a tree. Two 
grenadiers bore him to the camp. His fall was 
as a death-blow to his corps. The arrival on the 
field of a large reinforcement of New York 
troops under General Ten Broeck, completed 
the confusion. Burgoyne saw that the field 
was lost, and now only thought of saving his 



camp. The troops nearest to the lines were 
ordered to throw themselves within them, 
while Generals Phillips and Riedesel covered 
the retreat of the main body, which was in 
danger of being cut off. The artillery was 
abandoned, all the horses, and most of the men 
who had so bravely defended it, having been 
killed. The troops, though hard pressed, re- 
tired in good order. Scarcely had they entered 
the camp when it was stormed with great fury ; 
the Americans, with Arnold at their head, 
rushing to the lines under a severe discharge 
of grape-shot and small-arms. Lord Balcarras 
defended the intrenchments bravely ; the ac- 
tion was fierce, and well sustained on both 
sides. After an ineffectual attempt to make 
his way into the camp in this quarter at the 
point of the bayonet, Arnold spurred his horse 
toward the right flank of the camp occupied 
by the German reserve, where Lieutenant-Col- 
onel Brooks was making a general attack with 
a Massachusetts regiment. Here, with a part 
of a platoon, he forced his way into a sallyport, 
but a shot from the retreating Hessians killed 
his horse, and wounded him in the same leg 
which had received a wound before Quebec. 
He was borne off from the field, but not until 
the victory was complete ; for the Germans 
retreated from the works, leaving on the field 
their brave defender, Lieutenant-Colonel Brey- 
man, mortally wounded. 

The night was now closing in. The victory 
of the Americans was decisive. They had 
routed the enemy, killed and wounded a great 
number, made many prisoners, taken their field- 
artillery, and gained possession of a part of 
their works which laid open the right and the 
rear of their camp. They lay all night on their 
arms, within half a mile of the scene of action, 
prepared to renew the assault upon the camp 
in the morning. Affecting scenes had occurred 
in the enemy's camp during this deadly con- 
flict. 

In the morning previous to the battle, the 
Baroness De Riedesel had breakfasted with her 
husband in the camp. Generals Burgoyne, 
Phillips, and Fraser were to dine with her hus- 
band and herself, in a house in the neighbor- 
hood, where she and her children were quar- 
tered. She observed much movement in the 
camp, but was quieted by the assurance that it 
was to be a mere reconnoissance. On her way 
home she met a number of Indians, painted and 
decorated and armed with guns, and shouting 
war ! war ! Her fears were awakened, and 



^T. 45.] 



DEATH OF GENERAL FRASER— HIS FUNERAL. 



411 



scarce had she reached home when she heard 
the rattling of fire-arms and the thundering of 
artillery. The din increased, and soon became 
so terrible that she " was more dead than 
alive." About one o'clock came one of the 
generals who were to have dined with her — 
poor General Fraser — brought upon a handbar- 
row, mortally wounded. " The table," writes 
she, '* which was already prepared for dinner, 
was immediately removed, and a bed placed in 
its stead for the general. I sat terrified and 
trembling in a corner. The noise grew more 
alarming, and I was in a continual agony and 
tremor, while thinking that my husband might 
soon, also, be brought in, wounded like Gen- 
eral Fraser. That poor general said to the 
surgeon, ' Tell me the truth, is there no hope ? ' 
— There was none. Prayers were read, after 
which he desired that General Burgoyne should 
be requested to have him buried on the next 
day at 6 o'clock in the evening, on a hiU where 
a breastwork had been constructed." 

Lady Harriet Ackland was in a tent near by. 
News came to her that her husband was mor- 
tally wounded and taken prisoner. She was 
in an agony of distress. The baroness en- 
deavored to persuade her that his wound might 
not be dangerous, and advised her to ask per- 
mission to join him. She divided the night 
between soothing attentions to Lady Harriet, 
and watchful care of her children who were 
asleep, but who she feared might disturb the 
poor dying general. Towards morning, think- 
ing his agony approaching, she wrapped them 
in blankets and retired with them into the en- 
trance hall. Courteous even in death, the 
general sent her several messages to beg her 
pardon for the trouble ^he thought he was giv- 
ing her. At 8 o'clock in the morning he ex- 
pired.* 

Bnrgoyne had shifted his position during the 
night, to heights about a mile to the north, 
close to the river, and covered in front by a 
ravine. Early in the morning, the Americans 
took possession of the camp which he had 
abandoned. A random fire of artillery and 
small-arms was kept up on both sides during 
the day. The British sharpshooters stationed 
in the ravine did some execution, and General 
Lincoln was wounded in the leg while recon- 
noitring. Gates, however, did not think it ad- 
visable to force a desperate enemy when in a 
strong position, at the expense of a prodigal 

* Riedesel's Memoirs. 



waste of blood. He took all measures to cut 
oft' his retreat and insure a surrender. General 
Fellows, with 1,400 men, had already been sent 
to occupy the high ground east of the Hudson 
opposite Saratoga Ford. Other detachments 
were sent higher up the river in the direction 
of Lake George. 

Burgoyne saw that nothing was left for him 
but a prompt and rapid retreat to Saratoga, 
yet in this he was delayed by a melancholy 
duty of friendship ; it was to attend the obse- 
quies of the gallant Fraser, who, according to 
his dying request, was to be interred at six 
o'clock in the evening, within a redoubt which 
had been constructed on a hill. 

Between sunset and dark, his body was borne 
to the appointed place by grenadiers of his 
division, followed by the generals and their 
staff. The Americans seeing indistinctly what, 
in the twilight, appeared to be a movement of 
troops up the hill and in the redoubt, pointed 
their artillery in that direction. " Cannon 
balls flew around and above the assembled 
mourners," writes the Baroness Pdedesel, who 
was a spectatoi" from a distance. " Many can- 
non balls flew close by me, but my whole at- 
tention was engaged by the funeral scene, 
where I saw my husband exposed to imminent 
danger. This, indeed, was not a moment to 
be apprehensive for my own safety. General 
Gates protested afterwards, that had he known 
what was going on, he would have stopped the 
fire immediately." * 

We have the scene still more feelingly de- 
scribed by Burgoyne. 

" The incessant cannonade during the cere- 
mony ; the steady attitude and unaltered voice 
with which the chaplain officiated, though fre- 
quently covered with dust which the shot 
threw up on all sides of him ; the mute, but 
expressive mixture of sensibility and indigna- 
tion upon every countenance ; these objects will 
remain to the last of life upon the mind of 
every man who was present. The growing 
darkness added to the scenery, and the whole 
marked a character of that juncture which 
would make one of the finest subjects for the 
pencil of a master that the field ever exhibited. 
To the canvas and to the faithful page of a 
more important historian, gallant friend ! I 
consign thy memory. There may thy talents, 
thy manly virtues, their progress and their 
period, find due distinction : and long may they 



* Riedesel's Memoirs, p. 171. 



412 



RETREAT OF THE ENEMY— LADY HARRIET ACKLAXD. 



[1111. 



survive, long after the frail record of my pen 
shall be forgotten ! " 

General Fraser was well worthy of this eulo- 
gium. He was the most popular officer of the 
army, and one of the most efficient. He was 
one in whom Burgoyne reposed the most im- 
plicit confidence, and deeply must it have added 
to his gloom of mind at this dark hour of his 
fortunes, to have this his friend and counsellor, 
and brother in arms, shot down at his side. 

" The reflections arising from these scenes," 
writes he, " gave place to the perplexities of 
the night. A defeated army was to retreat 
from an enemy flushed with success, much 
superior in fi-ont, and occupying strong posts 
in the country behind. "We were equally liable 
upon that march to be attacked in front, flank, 
or rear." 

Preparations had been made to decamp im- 
mediately after the funeral, and at nine o'clock 
at night the retreat commenced. Large fires 
had been lighted, and many tents Avere left 
standing to conceal the movement. The hos- 
pital, in which were about three hundred sick 
and wounded, was abandoned," as were like- 
wise several bateaux, laden with baggage and 
provisions. 

It was a dismal retreat. The rain fell in 
torrents ; the roads were deep and broken, and 
the horses weak and half-starved from want of 
forage. At daybreak there was a halt to re- 
fresh the troops, and give time for the bateaux 
laden with provisions to come abreast. In 
three hours the march was resumed, but before 
long there was another halt, to guard against 
an American reconnoitring party which ap- 
peared in sight. When the troops were again 
about to march General Burgoyne received a 
message from Lady Harriet Ackland, expressing 
a wish to pass to the American camp and ask 
permission from General Gates to join her 
husband. " Though I was ready to believe," 
writes Burgoyne " (for I had experience), that 
patience and fortitude, in a supreme degree, 
were to be found, as well as every other virtue, 
imder the most tender forms, I was astonished 
at this proposal. After so long an agitation of 
spirits, exhausted not only for want of rest, but 
absolutely want of food, drenched in rains for 
twelve hours together, that a woman should 
be capable of such an undertakmg as deliver- 
ing, herself to the enemy, probably in the night, 
and uncertain of what hands she might first 
faU into, appeared an effort above human na- 
ture. The assistance I was enabled to give 



her was small indeed ; I had not even a cup of 
wine to offer her ; but I was told she had found 
from some kind and fortunate hand, a little 
rum and dirty water. All I could furnish her 
was an open boat, and a few lines written upon 
dirty wet paper, to General Gates, recommend- 
ing her to his protection. 

" Mr. Brudenell, the chaplain of the artillery 
(the same gentleman who had officiated so 
signally at General Eraser's funeral), readily 
undertook to accompany her, and with one 
female servant, and the major's valet-de-cham- 
bre (who had a ball which he had received in 
the late action then in his shoulder), she rowed 
down the river to meet the enemy." 

The night was far advanced before tlie boat 
readied the American outposts. It was chal- 
lenged by a sentinel, who threatened to fire 
into it should it attempt to pass. Mr. Bru- 
denell made known that it was a flag of truce, 
and stated who was the personage it brought ; 
report was made to the adjutant-general. 
Treachery was apprehended, and word was 
returned to detain the flag until daylight. 
Lady Harriet and her companions were al- 
lowed to land. Major Dearborn, the officer on 
guard, surrendered his cliamber in the guard- 
house to her ladyship ; bedding was brought, a 
fire was made, tea was served, and her mind 
being relieved by assurances of her husband's 
safety, she was enabled to pass a night of com- 
parative comfort and tranquillity.* She pro- 
ceeded to the American camp in the morning, 
when, Burgoyne acknowledges, " she was re- 
ceived and accommodated by General Gates, 
with all the humanity and respect that her 
rank, her merits, and her fortune deserved." 

To resume the fortunes of the retreating 
army. It rained terribly through the residue 
of the 9th, and in consequence of repeated 
halts, they did not reach Saratoga until even- 
ing. A detachment of Americans had arrived 
there before them, and were throwing up in- 
trenchments on a commanding height at Fish 
KiU. They abandoned their work, forded the 
Hudson, and joined a force under General Fel- 
lows, posted on the hills east of the river. The 
bridge over the Fish Kill had been destroyed ; 
the artillery could not cross until the ford was 
examined. Exhausted by fatigue, the men for 
the most part had not strength nor inclination 
to cut wood nor make fire, but threw them- . 



* The statement here given is founded on the report 
made to General Willcinson by Major (afterward General) 
Dearborn. It varies from that of Burgoyne. 



^T. 45.] DESPERATE SITUATION OF BURGOYNE— BARONESS DE RIEDESEL. 



413 



selves upon the wet ground in their wet clothes, 
and slept under the continuing ram. " I was 
quite wet," writes the Baroness Riedesel, " and 
was ohliged to remain in that condition for 
want of a place to change my apparel. I seated 
myself near a fire and undressed the children, 
and we then laid ourselves upon some straw." 

At daylight on the 10th, the artillery and 
the last of the troops passed the Fords of the 
Fish Kill, and took a position upon the heights, 
and in the redoubts formerly constructed there. 
To protect the troops from being attacked in 
passing the ford by the Americans, who were 
approaching, Burgoyne ordered fire to be set 
to the farm-houses and other buildings on the 
south side of the Fish Kill. Amongst the rest, 
the noble mansion of General Schuyler, with 
storehouses, granaries, mills, and the other 
appurtenances of a great rural establishment, 
was entirely consumed. Burgoyne himself 
estimated the value of property destroyed at 
ten thousand pounds sterling. The measure 
was condemned by friend as well as foe, but 
he justified it on the principles of self-preserva- 
tion. 

The force under General Fellows, posted on 
the opposite hills of the Hudson, now opened 
a fire from a battery commanding a ford of 
that river. Thus prevented from crossing, 
Burgoyne thought to retreat along the west 
side as far as Fort George, on the way to 
Canada, and sent out workmen under a strong 
escort to repair the bridges, and open the road 
toward Fort Edward. The escort was soon 
recalled and the work abandoned ; for the 
Americans under Gates appeared in great force, 
on the heights south of the Fish Kill, and 
seemed preparing to cross and bring on an en- 
gagement. 

The opposite shores of the Hudson were now 
lined with detachments of Americans. Ba- 
teaux laden with provisions, which had at- 
tended the movements of the army, were fired 
upon, many taken, some retaken with loss of 
life. It was necessary to land the provisions 
from such as remained, and bring them up the 
hill into the camp, which was done under a 
heavy fire from the American artillery. 

Burgoyne now called a general council of 
war, in which it was resolved, since the bridges 
could not be repaired, to abandon the artillery 
and baggage, let the troops carry a supply of 
provisions upon their "backs, push forward in 
the night, and force their way across the fords 
at or near Fort Edward. 



Before the plan could be put in execution, 
scouts brought word that the Americans were 
intrenched opposite those fords, and encamped 
in force with cannon, on the high ground be- 
tween Fort Edward and Fort George. In fact, 
by this time the American army, augmented 
by militia and volunteers from all quarters, 
had posted itself in strong positions on both 
sides of the Hudson, so as to extend three 
fourths of a circle round the enemy. 

Giving up all further attempt at retreat, 
Burgoyne now fortified his camp on the heights 
to the north of Fish Kill, still hoping that suc- 
cor might arrive from Sir Henry Clinton, or 
that an attack upon his trenches might give 
him some chance of cutting his way through. 

In this situation his troops lay continually 
on their arms. His camp was subjected to 
cannonading from FeUows's batteries on the 
opposite side of the Hudson, Gates's batteries 
on the south of Fish Kill, and a galling fire 
from Morgan's riflemen, stationed on heights 
in the rear. 

The Baroness De Eiedesel and her helpless 
little ones were exposed to the dangers and 
horrors of this long turmoil. On the morning 
when the attack was opened. General De Eie- 
desel sent them to take refuge in a house in 
the vicinity. On their way thither the baron- 
ess saw several men on the opposite bank of 
the Hudson levelling their muskets and about 
to fire. Throwing her children in the back 
part of the carriage the anxious mother en- 
deavored to cover them with her body. The 
men fired ; a poor wounded soldier, who had 
sought shelter behind the carriage, received a 
shot which broke his arm. The baroness suc- 
ceeded in getting to the house. Some women 
and crippled soldiers had already taken refuge 
there. It was mistaken for head-quarters and 
cannonaded. The baroness retreated into the 
cellar, laid herself in a corner near the door 
with her children's heads upon her knees, and 
passed a sleepless night of mental anguish. 

In the morning the cannonade began anew. 
Cannon balls passed through the house re- 
peatedly with a tremendous noise. A poor 
soldier who was about to have a leg ampu- 
tated, lost the other by one of these balls. The 
day was passed among such horrors. The 
wives of a major, a lieutenant, and a commis- 
sary, were her companions in misery. " They 
sat together," she says, " deploring their situa- 
tion, when some one entered to announce bad 
news." There was whispering among her 



414 



CAPITULATION AND SURRENDER OF THE BRITISH ARMY. 



[1111. 



companions, with deep looks of sorrow. "I 
immediately suspected," says she, "that my 
husband had been killed. I shrieked aloud." 
She was soothed by assurances that nothing 
had happenectto him ; and was given to under- 
stand by a sidelong glance, that the wife of the 
lieutenant was the unfortunate one ; her hus- 
band had been killed. 

For six days, she and her children remained 
in this dismal place of refuge. The cellar was 
spacious, with three compartments, but the 
number of occupants increased. The wounded 
were brought in to be relieved — or to die. 
She remained with her children near the door, 
to escape more easily in case of fire. She put 
straw under mattresses ; on these -ehe lay with 
her little ones, and her female servants slept 
near her. 

Her frequent dread was, that the army might 
be driven off or march away, and she be left 
behind. " I crept up the staircase," says she, 
" more than once, and when I saw our soldiers 
near their watchfires, I became more calm, and 
could even have slept." 

There was great distress for water. The 
river was near, but the Americans shot every 
one who approached it. A soldier's wife at 
length summoned resolution, and brought a 
supply. " The Americans," adds the baroness, 
" told us afterwards, that they spared her on 
account of her sea*." 

" I endeavored," continues she, " to dispel 
my melancholy, by constantly attending to the 
wounded. I made them tea and coffee, for 
which I received their warmest acknowledg- 
ments. I often shared my dinner with them." 

Iler husband visited her once or twice daily, 
at the risk of his life. On one occasion, Gene- 
ral Phillips accompanied him, but was over- 
come when he saw the sufferings and danger 
by which this noble woman and her children 
were surroimded, and of which we have given 
a very subdued picture. " I would not for ten 
thousand guineas see this place again," ex- 
claimed the general. " I am heart-broken with 
what I have seen." 

Burgoyne was now reduced to despair. His 
forces were diminished by losses, by the deser- 
tion of Canadians and royalists, and the total 
defection of the Indians ; and on inspection it 
was found that the provisions on hand, even 
upon short allowance, would not suffice for 
more than three days. A council of war, 
therefore, was called of all the generals, field- 
officers, and captains commanding troops. The 



deliberations were brief. All concurred in the 
necessity of opening a treaty with General 
Gates, for surrender on honorable terms. 
While they were yet deliberating, au eighteen 
pound ball passed through the tent, sweeping 
across the table round which they were seated. 
Negotiations were accordingly opened on 
the 13th, under sanction of a flag. Lieutenant 
Kingston, Burgoyne's adjutant-general, was the 
bearer of a note, proposing a cessation of hos- 
tilities until terms could be adjusted. 

The first terms ofltered by Gates were that 
the enemy should lay down their arms within 
their intrenchments, and surrender themselves 
prisoners of war. These were indignantly re- 
jected, with an intimation that, if persisted in, 
hostilities must recommence. 

Counter proposals were then made by Gene- 
ral Burgoyne, and finally accepted by General 
Gates. According to these, the British troops 
were to march out of the camp with artillery 
and all the honors of war, to a fixed place, 
where they were to pile their arms at a word 
of command from their own officers. They 
were to be allowed a free passage to Europe 
upon condition of not serving again in Amer- 
ica, during the present war. The army was 
not to be separated, especially the men from 
the officers ; roll-caUing and other regular du- 
ties were to be permitted ; the officers were to 
be on parole, and to wear their side-arms. All 
private property to be sacred ; no baggage to 
be. searched or molested. All persons apper- 
taining to or following the camp, whatever 
might be their countiy, were to be compre- 
hended in these terms of capitulation. 

Schuyler's late secretary. Colonel Varick, who 
was still in camp, writes to him on the 13th : 
" Burgoyne says he will send all his general 
officers at ten in the morning, to finish and 
settle the business. This, I trust, will be ac- 
comphshed before twelve, and then I shall 
have the honor and happiness of congratulat- 
ing you on the glorious success of our arms. I 
wish to God I could say under your command. 

" If you wish to see Burgoyne, you will be 
necessitated to see him here." * 

In the night of the 16th, before the articles 
of capitulation had been signed, a British offi- 
cer from the army below made his way into 
the camp, with despatches from Sir Henry Clin- 
ton, announcing that he had captured the forts 
in the Highlands, and had pushed detachments 



Schuyler Papers. 




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^T. 45.] 



HESSIAN DESCRIPTION OF THE AMERICAN ARMY. 



415 



further np the Hudson. Burgoyne now sub- 
mitted to the consideration of officers, " whether 
it was consistent with public faith, and if so, 
expedient, to suspend the execution of the 
treaty and trust to events." His own opinion 
inclined in the affirmative, but the majority of 
the council determined that the public faith 
was fully plighted. The capitulation was ac- 
cordingly signed by Burgoyne on the 17th of 
October. 

The British army, at the time of flie surrender, 
was reduced by capture, death, and desertion, 
from nine thousand to five thousand seven hun- 
dred and fifty-two men. That of Gates, regu- 
lars and militia, amounted to ten thousand five 
hundred and fifty-four men on duty ; between 
two and three thousand L^mg on the sick list, 
or absent on furlough. 

By this capitulation, the Americans gained a 
fine train of artillery, seven thousand stand of 
arms, and a great quantity of clothing, tents, 
and military stores of all kinds. 

When the British troops marched forth to 
deposit their arms at the appointed place. Col- 
onel Wilkinson, the adjutant-general, was the 
only American soldier to be seen. Gates had 
ordered his troops to keep rigidly within their 
lines, that they might not add by their presence 
to the humiliation of a brave enemy. In fact, 
throughout all his conduct, during the campaign, 
British writers, and Burgoyne himself, give 
him credit for acting with great humanity and 
forbeai'ance.* 

Wilkinson, in his Memoirs, desci'ibes the first 
meeting of Gates and Burgoyne, which took 
place at the head of the American camp. They 
were attended by their stafls and by other gen- 
eral officers. Burgoyne was in a rich royal 
uniform. Gates in a plain blue frock. When 
they had approached nearly within sword's 
length they reined up and halted. Burgoyne, 
raising his hat most gracefully, said : " The 
fortune of war. General Gates, has made me 
your prisoner ; " to which the other, returning 
his salute, replied, " I shall always be ready to 
testify that it has not been through any fault 
of your excellency." 

" We passed through the American camp," 
writes the aJready cited Hessian officer, "in 
which all the regiments were drawn out beside 



* " At the very time," say the British historians, " that 
General Burgoyne was receiving the most favorable condi- 
tions for himself and his ruined army, the fine village or 
town of Esopus, at no very great distance, was reduced to 
ashes, and not a house left standing." 



the artillery, and stood under arms. Not one 
of them was uniformly clad ; each had on the 
clothes which he wore in the fields, the church, 
or the tavern. They stood, however, like sol- 
diers, well arranged, and with a military air, in 
which there was but little to find fault with. 
All the muskets had bayonets, and the sharp- 
shooters had rifles. The men all stood so still 
that we were filled with wonder. Not one of 
them made a single motion as if he would speak 
with his neighbor. Nay more, all the lads that 
stood there in rank and file, kind nature had 
formed so trim, so slender, so nervous, that it 
was a pleasure to look at them, and we were 
aU surprised at the sight of such a handsome, 
well-formed race." * " In all earnestness," adds 
he, " English America surpasses the most of 
Europe in the growth and looks ©f its male 
population. The whole nation has a natural 
turn and talent for war and a soldier's life." 

He made himself somewhat merry, however, 
with the equipments of the officers. A few 
wore regimentals ; and those fashioned to their 
own notions as to cut and color, being provided 
by themselves. Brown coats with sea-green 
facings, white linings, and silver trimmings, and 
gray coats in abundance, with bufi" facings and 
cuffs, and gilt buttons ; in short, every variety 
of pattern. ^ 

The brigadiers and generals wore uniforms 
and belts which designated their rank ; but 
most of the colonels and other officers were in 
their ordinary clothes ; a musket and bayonet 
in hand, and a cartridge-box or powder-horn 
over the shoulder. But what especially amused 
him was the variety of uncouth wigs worn by 
the officers ; the fingerings of an uncouth 
fashion. 

Most of the troops thys noticed were the 
hastily levied militia, the yeomanry of the 
country. " There were regular regiments al- 
so," he said, " which, for want of time and 
cloth, Avere not yet equipped in uniform. These 
had standards with various emblems and mot- 
toes, some of which had for us a very satirical 
signification. 

" But I must say to the credit of the enemy's 
regiments," continues he, "that not a man was 
to be found therein who, as we marched by, 
made even a sign of taunting, insulting exulta- 
tion, hatred, or any other evil feeling ; on the 
contrary, they seemed as though they would 
rather do us honor. As we marched by the 



* Briefe aus Neu England. Schlozer's Briefwechsel. 



41G 



BENEVOLENT CONDUCT OF GENERAL SCHUYLER. 



11111. 



great tent of General Gates, he invited in the 
brigadiers and commanders of regiments, and 
various refreshments were set before them. 
Gates is between fifty and sixty years of age ; 
wears his own thin gray hair ; is active and 
friendly, and on account of the weakness of his 
eyes, constantly wears spectacles. At head- 
quarters we met many officers, who treated us 
with aU possible politeness." 

We now give another page of the Bai-oness 
De Eiedesel's fortunes, at this time of the sur- 
render. " My husband's groom brought me a 
message to join him with the children. I once 
more seated myself in my dear calash, and, 
while riding through the American camp, was 
gratified to observe that nobody looked at us 
with disrespect, but, on the contrary, greeted 
us, and seemed touched at the sight of a cap- 
tive mother with her children. I must can- 
didly confess that I did not present myself, 
though so situated, with much courage to the 
enemy, for the thing was entirely new to me. 
"When I drew near the tents, a good-looking 
man advanced towards me, and helping the 
children from the calash, kissed and caressed 
them : he then ofiered me his arm, and tears 
trembled in his eyes, ' You tremble,' said 
he ; 'do not be alarmed, I pray you.' ' Sir,' 
cried I, ' a countenance so expressive of benev- 
olence, and the kindness you have evinced 
towards my children, are suflScient to dispel all 
apprehensions.' He then ushered me into the 
tent of General Gates, whom I found engaged 
in friendly conversation with Generals Bur- 
goyne and Phillips. General Burgoyne said to 
me, ' You can now be quiet, and free from all 
apprehension of danger.' I replied that I should 
indeed bo reprehensible, if I felt any anxiety 
when our general felt none, and was on such 
friendly terms with General Gates, 

" All the generals remained to dine with 
General Gates. The gentleman who had re- 
ceived me with so much kindness, came and 
said to me, ' You may find it embarrassing to be 
the only lady in such a large company of gen- 
tlemen ; will you come with your children to 
my tent, and partake of a frugal dinner, ofi:ered 
with the best will ? ' 'By the kindness you 
show to me,' returned I, 'you induce me to be- 
lieve that you have a wife and children.' He 
informed me that he was General Schuyler, 
He regaled me with smoked tongues, which 
were excellent, with beefsteaks, potatoes, fresh 
butter and bread. Never did a dinner give me 
more pleasure than this, and I read the same 



happy change on the countenances of aU those 
around me. That my husband was out of dan- 
ger, was a still greater joy. After dinner. Gen- 
eral Schuyler begged me to pay him a visit at 
his house at Albany, where he expected that 
General Burgoyne would also be his guest. I 
sent to ask my husband's directions, who advis- 
ed me to accept the invitation." The reception 
which she met with at Albany, from General 
Schuyler's wife and daughters, was not, she 
said, like the reception of enemies, but of the 
most intimate friends. " They loaded us with 
kindness," writes she, " and they behaved in 
the same manner towards General Burgoyne, 
though he had ordered their splendid establish- 
ment to be burnt, and without any necessity, 
it was said. But all their actions proved, that 
in the sight of the misfortunes of others they 
quickly forgot their own," It was, in fact, the 
lot of Bm-goyne to have coals of fire heaped on 
his head by those with whom he had been at 
enmity. One of the first persons whom he had 
encountered in the American camp was Gener- 
al Schuyler. He attempted to make some ex- 
planation or excuse about the recent destruc- 
tion of his property. Schuyler begged him 
not to think of it, as the occasion justified it, 
according to the principles and rules of war. 

" He did more," said Burgoyne, in a speech 
before the House of Commons : ." he sent an 
aide-de-camp to conduct me to Albany; in 
order, as he expressed it, to procure better 
quarters than a stranger might be able to find. 
That gentleman conducted me to a very ele- 
gant house, and, tct my great surprise, present- 
ed me to Mrs. Schuyler and her family. In 
that house I remained during my whole stay 
in Albany, with a table of more than twenty 
covers for me and my friends, and every other 
demonstration of hospitality." 

This was indeed realizing the vaunted cour- 
tesy and magnanimity of the age of chivalry. 

The surrender of Burgoyne was soon fol- 
lowed by the evacuation of Ticonderoga and 
Fort Independence, the garrisons retiring to 
the Isle aux Noix and St, Johns, As to the 
armament on the Hudson, the commanders 
whom Sir Henry Clinton had left in charge of 
it, received, in the midst of their desolating 
career, the astounding intelligence of the cap- 
ture of the army with which they had come to 
co-operate. Nothing remained for them, there- 
fore, but to drop down the river and return to 
New York. 

The whole expedition, though it had effected 



^T. 45.] WASHINGTON AT SKIPPACK CKEEK-DESCRIPTION OF GERMANTOWN 



417 



much damage to the Americans, failed to be 
of essential service to the royal cause. The 
fortresses in the Highlands could not be main- 
tained, and had been evacuated and destroyed, 
and tiie plundering and burning of defenceless 
towns and visages, and especially the confla- 
gration of Esopus, had given to the whole en- 
terprise the character of a maraud, disgrace- 
ful in civilized warfare, and calculated only to 
inflame more deadly enmity and determined 
opposition. 



NOTE. 

The reader may desire to know the sequel of Lady 
Harriet Ackland's romantic stoiy. Her husband re- 
covered from his wounds, and they returned together 
to England. Major Ackland retained a gratefufsense 
of the kind treatment they had experienced from the 
Americans. At a dinner party he had warm words 
with another British officer, who questioned the 
American character for courage. A duel ensued, in 
which the major was killed. The shock to Lady Har- 
riet produced mental derangement. She recovered in 
the course of a couple of years, and ultimately was 
married to Mr. Brudenell, the worthy chaplain who 
had been her companion andprotector in the time of 
her distress. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

Having given the catastrophe of the British 
invasion from the North, we will revert to that 
part of the year's campaign which was passing 
under the immediate eye of Washington. We' 
left him encamped at Pott's Grove towards the 
end of September, giving his troops a few days' 
repose after their severe fatigues. Being re- 
joined by Wayne and Smallwood with their 
brigades, and other troops being arrived from 
the Jerseys, his force amounted to about eight 
thousand Continentals and three thousand mili- 
tia ; with these he advanced, on the 30th of 
September, to Skippack Creek, about fourteen 
miles from Germantown, where the main body 
of the British army lay encamped ; a detach- 
ment under Cornwallis occuji^'ing Philadel- 
phia. 

Immediately after the battle of Brandy- 
wine, Admiral Lord Howe with great exertions 
had succeeded in getting his ships of war and 
transports round from the Chesapeake into the 
Delaware, and had anchored them along the 
western shore from Reedy Island to Newcastle. 
They were prevented from approaching nearer 
by obstructions which the Americans had placed 
in the river. The lowest of these were at Bil- 
27 



lingsport (or Bylling's Point), where chevaux- 
de-frise in the channel of the river were pro- 
tected by a strong redoubt on the Jersey shore. 
Higher up were Fort MiflBin on Mud (or Fort) 
Island, and Fort Mercer on the Jersey shore ; 
with chevaux-de-frise between them. Wash- 
ington had exerted himself to throw a garrison 
into Fort Mifflin, and keep up the obstructions 
of the river. " If these can be maintained," 
said he, " General Howe's situation will not be 
the most agreeable ; for if his supplies can be 
stopped by water, it may easily be done by 
land. To do both shall be my utmost endeav- 
or ; and I am not without hope that the ac- 
quisition of Philadelphia may, instead of his 
good fortune, prove his ruin." * 

Sir William Howe was perfectly aware of 
this, and had concerted operations with his 
brother by land and water, to reduce the forts 
and clear away the obstructions of the river. 
With this view he detached a part of his force 
into the Jerseys, to proceed, in the first in- 
stance, against the fortifications at Billingsport. 
Washington had been for some days anxious- 
ly on the lookout for some opportunity to strike 
a blow of consequence, wiien two intercepted 
letters gave him intelligence of this movement. 
He immediately determined to make an attack 
upon the British camp at Germantown, wliile 
weakened by the absence of this detachment. 
To understand the plan of the attack, some 
description of the British place of encampment 
is necessary. 

Germantown, at that time, was little more 
than one continued street, extending two miles 
north and south. The houses were mostly of 
stone, low and substantial, with steep roofs and 
protecting eaves. They stood apart from each 
other, with fruit trees in front and small gar- 
dens. Beyond the village, and about a hun- 
dred yards east of the road, stood a spacious 
stone edifice, with ornamented grounds, stat- 
ues, groves, and shrubbery, the country-seat of 
Benjamin Chew, chief justice of Pennsylvania 
previous to the Revolution : we shall have more 
to say concerning this mansion presently. 

Four roads approached the village from 
above ; that is, from the north. The Skippack, 
whicli was the main road, led over Chestnut Hill 
and Mount Airy down to and through the vil- 
lage toward Philadelphia, forming the street of 
which we have just spoken. On its right, and 
nearly parallel, was the Monatawny or Ridge 



» Letter to the President of Congress. Sparks, v. 71. 



418 



BATTLE OF GERMANTOWN. 



[1777. 



road, passing near tlie Scliuylkill, and enter- 
ing the main road below the village. 

On the left of the Skijipack or main road, 
was the Limekiln road, running nearly parallel 
to it for a time, and then turning towards it, 
almost at right angles, so as to enter the village 
at the market-place. Still further to the left 
or east, and outside of all, was the Old York 
road, falling into the main road some distance 
helow the village. 

The main body of the British forces lay en- 
camped across the lower part of the village, 
divided into almost equal parts by the main 
street or Skippack road. The right wing, 
commanded by General Grant, was to the 
east of the road, the left wing to the west. 

Each wing was covered by strong detach- 
ments, and guarded by cavalry. General Howe 
had his head-quarters in the rear. 

The advance of tlie army, composed of the 
2d battalion of British light-infantry, with a 
train of artillery, was more than two miles 
from the main body, on the west of the road, 
vv'ith an outlaying picket stationed with two 
six-pounders at Allen's house on Mount Airy. 
About three-quarters of a mile in the rear of 
the light-infantry, lay encamped in a field op- 
posite " Chew's House," the 40th regiment of 
infantry, under Colonel Musgrave 

According to "Washington's plan for the at- 
tack, Sullivan was to command the right wing, 
composed of his own division, principally Mary- 
land troops, and the division of General Wayne. 
He was to be sustained by a corps de reserve^ 
under Lord Stirling, composed of Nash's North 
Carolina and Maxwell's Virginia brigades, and 
to be flanked by the brigade of General Con- 
way. He was to march down the Skippack 
road and attack the left Aviug ; at the same time 
General Armstrong, with the Pennsylvania 
militia, was to pass down the Monatawny or 
Ridge road, and get upon the enemy's left and 
rear. 

Greene with the left wing, composed of his 
own division and the division of General Ste- 
phen, and flanked by McDougall's brigade, was 
to march down the Limekiln road, so as to en- 
ter the village at the market-house. The two 
divisions were to attack the enemy's right wing 
in front, McDougall with his brigade to attack 
it in flank, while Smallwood's division of Mary- 
land militia and Fonnan's Jersey brigade, mak- 
ing a circuit by the Old York road, w*ere to at- 
tack it in the rear. Two-tlnrds of the forces 
were thus directed against the enemy's right 



wing, under the idea that, if it could be forceds 
the whole army must be pushed into the Schuyl- 
kill, or compelled to surrender. The attack 
was to begin on all quarters at daybreak.* 

About dusk, on the 8d of October, the 
army left its encampment at Matuchen Hills, 
by its different routes. Washington accom- 
panied the right wing. It had fifteen miles of 
weary march to make over rough roads, so 
that it was after daybreak when the troops 
emerged from the woods on Chestnut Hill. The 
morning was dark with a heavy fog. A de- 
tachment advanced to attack the enemy's out 
picket, stationed at Allen's House. The patrol 
was led by Captain Allen McLane, a brave Mary- 
land ofllcer, well acquainted with the ground, 
and with the position of the enemy. He fell 
in with double sentries, whom he killed with 
the loss of one man. The alarm, however, was 
given ; the distant roll of a drum and the call 
to arms, resounded through the murky air. 
The picket guard, after discharging their two 
six-pounders, were routed, and retreated down 
the south side of Mount Airy to the battalion 
of light-infantry who were forming in order 
of battle. As their pursuers descended into 
the valley, the sun rose, but was soon obscured. 
Wayne led the attack upon the light-infantry. 
" They broke at first," -writes he, " without 
waiting to receive us, but soon formed again, 
wlien a heavy and well-directed fire took place 
on both sides," 

They again gave way, but being supported 
by the grenadiers, returned to the charge, 
Sullivan's division and Conway's brigade form- 
ed on the west of the road, and joined in the 
attack ; the rest of the troops were too far 
to the north to render any assistance. Tlie in- 
fantry, after fighting bravely for a time, broke 
and ran, leaving their artillery behind. They 
were hotly pursued by Wayne. His troops 
remembered the bloody 20th of September, 
and the ruthless slaughter of their comrades. 
" They pushed on with the bayonet," says 
Wayne. " and took ample vengeance for that 
night's work." The officers endeavored to 
restrain their fury towards those who cried for 
mercy, but to little purpose. It was a terrible 
melee. The fog, together with the smoke of 
the cannonry and musketry, made it almost as 
dark as night : our people mistaking one an- 
other for tlie enemy, frequently exchanged 
shots before they discovered their error. The 



* Letter of "Washington to the President of CongrcsB. 
Letter of Sullivan to the President of New Hampshire. 



% 






s?;CT(s 




.Et. 45.] 



BATTLE OF GERMANTOWN. 



419 



whole of the enemy's advance were driven from 
their camping ground, leaving their tents stand- 
ing, with all their baggage. Colonel Musgrave, 
with sis companies of the 40th regiment, threw 
himself into Chew's House, barricaded the doors 
and lower windows,*and took post above stairs ; 
the main torrent of the retreat passed by pur- 
sued by "Wayne into the village. 

As the residue of this division of the army 
came up to join in the pursuit, Musgrave and 
his men opened a fire of musketry upon them 
from the npper windows of his citadel. This 
brought them to a halt. Some of the officers 
were for pushing on ; but General Knox stout- 
ly objected, insisting on the old military maxim, 
never to leave a garrisoned castle in the rear. 

His objection unluckily prevailed. A Sag 
was sent with a summons to surrender. A 
young Virginian, Lieutenant Smith, volunteered 
to be the bearer. As he was advancing, he 
was fired upon and received a mortal wound. 
The house was now cannonaded, but the artil- 
lery was too light to have the desired efi'ect. 
An attempt was made to set fire to the base- 
ment. He who attempted it was shot dead 
from a grated cellar window. Half an hour 
was thus spent in vain ; scarce any of the de- 
fenders of the house were injured, though 
many of the assailants were slain. At length 
a regiment was left to keep guard upon the 
mansion and hold its garrison in check, and the 
rear division again pressed forward. 

This half hour's delay, however, of nearly 
one-half of the army, disconcerted the action. 
The divisions and brigades thus separated from 
each other by the skirmishing attack upon 
Chew's House, could not be reunited. Tlie 
fog and smoke rendered all objects indistinct 
at thirty yards distance ; the different parts of 
the army knew nothing of the position or 
•movements of each other, and the commander- 
in-chief could take no view nor gain any infor- 
mation of the situation of the whole. The orig- 
inal plan of attack was only eflTectively carried 
into operation in the centre. The flanks and 
rear of the enemy were nearly unmolested ; 
still the action, though disconnected, irregular, 
and partial, was animated in various quarters. 
Sullivan, being reinforced by Nash's North 
Carolina troops and Conway's brigade, pushed 
on a mile beyond Chew's House, where the 
left wing of the enemy gave way before him. 

Greene and Stephen, with their divisions, 
having had to make a circuit, were late in 
coming into action, and became separated from 



each other, part of Stephen's division being 
arrested by a heavy fire from Chew's House 
and pausing to return it : Greene, however, 
with his division, comprising the brigades of 
Muhlenberg and Scott, pressed rapidly forward, 
drove an advance regiment of light-infantry 
before him, took a number of prisoners, and 
made his way quite to the market-house in the 
centre of the village, where he encountered the 
right wing of the British drawn up to receive 
him. The impetuosity of his attack had an 
evident efl^ect itpon the enemy, who began to- 
waver. Forman and Smallwood, with the Jer- 
sey and Maryland militia, were just showing 
themselves on the right flank of the enemy, 
and our troops seemed on the point of carrying 
the whole encampment. At this moment a 
singular panic seized our army. Various causes 
are assigned for it. Sullivan alleges that his 
troops had expended all their cartridges, and 
were alarmed by seeing the enemy gathering 
on their left, and by the cry of a light-horse- 
man, that the enemy were getting round them. 
Wayne's division, which had pushed the enemy 
nearly three miles, was alarmed by the ap- 
proach of a large body of American troops on 
its left flank, which it mistook for foes, and fell 
back in defiance of every efibrt of its officers 
to rally it. In its retreat it came upon Ste- 
phen's division and threw it into a panic, being, 
in its turn, mistaken for the enemy ; thus all 
fell into confusion, and our army fled from 
their own victory. 

In the mean time, the enemy, having recov- 
ered from the first efi'ects of the surprise, ad- 
vanced in their turn. General Grey brought 
up the left wing, and pressed upon the Ameri- 
can troops as they receded. Lord Cornwallis, 
with a squadron of light-horse from Philadel- 
phia, arrived just in time to join in the pursuit. 

The retreat of the Americans was attended 
with less loss than might have been expected, 
and they carried off" all their cannon and 
wounded. This was partly owing to the good 
generalship of Greene, in keeping up a retreat- 
ing fight Avith the enemy for nearly five miles ; 
and partly to a check given by Wayne, who 
turned his cannon upon the enemy from 
an eminence, near White Marsh Church, and 
brought them to a stand. The retreat contin- 
ued through the day to Perkiomen Creek, a dis- 
tance of twenty miles. 

The loss of the enemy in this action is stated 
by them to be seventy-one killed, four hundred 
and fifteen woimded, and fourteen missing : 



420 



SUDDEN PANIC AND RETREAT OF THE AMERICANS. 



[17^77. 



among the killed was Brigadier-General Ag- 
new. The American loss was one hundred and 
fifty killed, five hundred and twenty-one wound- 
ed, and about four hundred taken prisoners. 
Among the killed was General Nash of North 
Carolina. Among the prisoners was Colonel 
Mathews of Virginia, who commanded a Vir- 
ginia regiment in the left wing. Most of his 
officers and men were killed or w^ounded in 
fighting bravely near the market-house, and he 
himself received several bayonet wounds. 

Speaking of Washington's conduct amidst 
the perplexities of this confused battle, Gen- 
eral Sullivan writes, " I saw, with great con- 
cern, our brave commander-in-chief exposing 
himself to the hottest fire of the enemy, in 
such a manner, that regard for my country 
obliged me to ride to him, and beg him to re- 
tire. He, to gratify me and some others, with- 
drew to a small distance, but his anxiety for 
the fate of the day soon brought him up again, 
where he remained till our troops had re- 
treated." 

The sudden retreat of the array gave him 
surprise, chagrin, and mortification. "Every 
account," said he subsequently, in a letter to the 
President of Congress, " confirms the opinion 
I at first entertained, that our troops retreated 
at the instant when victory was declaring her- 
self in our favor. The tumult, disorder, and 
even despair, which, it seems, had taken place 
in the British army, were scarcely to be paral- 
leled ; and it is said, so strongly did the ideas 
of a retreat prevail, that Chester was fixed on 
for their rendezvous. I can discover no other 
cause for not improving this happy opportu- 
nity, than the extreme haziness of the weather." 
So also Captain Heth of Virginia, who was 
in the action. "What makes this inglorious 
flight more grating to us is, that we know the 
enemy had orders to retreat, and rendezvous 
at Chester ; and that upwards of two thousand 
Hessians had actually crossed the Schuylkill for 
that purpose ; that the tories were in the ut- 
most distress, and moving out of the city ; that 
our friends confined in the new jail made it 
ring with shouts of joy ; that we passed, in 
pursuing them, upwards of twenty pieces of 
cannon, their tents standing filled with their 
choicest baggage ; in fine, every thing was as 
we could wish, when the above flight took 
place." * 

No one was more annoyed than Wayne. 



* Letter to Cul. Lamb in the Lamb Papers, N. Y. Hist. 
Society, and quoted in the Life of Lamb, p. 183. 



"Fortune smiled on us for full three hours," 
writes he ; " the enemy were broke, dispersed, 
and flying in all quarters — we were in posses- 
sion of their whole encampment, together with 
their artillery, park, &c., &c. A wind-mill at- 
tack was made upon a house into which sis 
light companies had thrown themselves, to 
avoid 'our bayonets. Our troops were deceived 
by this attack, thinking it something formidable. 
They fell back to assist, — the enemy believing 
it to be a retreat, followed, — confusion ensued, 
and we ran away from the arms of victory open 
to receive us." 

In fact, as has justly been observed, by an 
experienced ofiicer, the plan of attack was too 
widely extended for strict concert, and too com- 
plicated for precise co-operation, as it had to be 
conducted in the night, and Avith a large pro- 
portion of undisciplined militia; and yet, a 
bewildering fog alone appears to have prevented 
its complete success. 

But although the Americans were balked of 
tne victory, wiiich seemed within their grasp, 
the impression made by the audacity of this 
attempt upon Germantown, was greater, we 
are told, than that caused by any single inci- 
dent of the war after Lexington and Bunker's 
Hill.* 

A British military historian, a contemporary, 
observes : " In this action the Americans acted 
upon the oflfensive ; and though repulsed with 
loss, showed themselves a formidable adver- 
sary, capable of charging with resolution, and 
retreating with good order. The hope, there- 
fore, entertained from the efi"ect of any action 
with them as decisive, and likely to put a 
speedy termination to the war, was exceedingly 
abated." t 

The battle had its effect also in France. The 
Count De Vergennes observed to the American 
commissioners in Paris on their first interview^ 
that nothing struck him so much as General 
Washington's attacking and giving battle to 
General Howe's army ; that to bring an army 
raised within a year to this pass promised 
every thing. 

The efltect on the army itself may be judged 
from letters written at the time by ofiicers to 
their friends. " Though we gave away a com- 
plete victory," writes one, " Ave have learnt 
this valuable truth, that we are able to beat 
them by vigorous exertion, and that we are far 
superior in point of swiftness. We are in high 

* Reed'B Memoirs, vol. i., p. 319. 
Civil War in America, i. 269. 



J2r. 45.] WASHINGTON AT WHITE MARSH-THE FORTS ON THE DELAWARE. 42I 



spirits; every action gives our troops fresh 
vigor, and a grccater opinion of their own 
strength. Another bout or two must make 
the situation of the enemy very disagreeable." * 
Another writes to his father • " For my own 
part, I am so fully convinced of the justice of 
the cause in which we are contending, and 
that Providence, in its own good time, will 
succeed and bless it, that, were I to see twelve 
of the United States overrun by our cruel in- 
vaders, I should still believe the thirteenth 
would not only save itself, but also work out 
the deliverance of the others." t 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

Washin-gton remained a few days at Perki- 
omen Creek, to give his army time to rest, and 
recover from the disorder incident to a retreat. 
Having been reinforced by the arrival of twelve 
hundred Rhode Island troops from Peekskill, 
under General Varnum, and nearly a thousand 
Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania troops, 
he gradually drew nearer to Philadelphia, and 
took a strong position at White Marsh, within 
fourteen miles of that city. By a resolution of 
Congress, all persons taken within thirty miles 
of any place occupied by British troops, in the 
act of conveying supplies to them, were sub- 
jected to martial law. Acting under the reso- 
lution, Washington detached large bodies of 
militia to scour the roads above the city, and 
between the Schuylkill and Chester, to inter- 
cept all supplies going to the enemy. 

On the forts and obstructions in the river, 
Washington mainly counted to complete the 
harassment of Philadelphia. These defences 
had been materially impaired. The works at 
Billingsport had been attacked and destroyed, 
and some of the enemy's shij)s had forced their 
way through the chevaux-de-frise placed there. 
The American frigate Delaware, stationed in 
the river betwen the upper forts and Philadel- 
phia, had run aground before a British battery, 
and been captured. 

It was now the great object of the Howes to 
reduce and destroy, and of Washington to de- 
fend and maintain, the remaining forts and 
obstructions. Fort Mifflin, which we have al- 
ready mentioned, was erected on a low, green, 



* Captain Hoth to Colonel Lamb. 

t Major Shaw. Memoirs, by Josiah Quincy, p. 41. 



reedy island in the Delaware, a few miles be- 
low Philadelphia, and below the mouth of the 
Schuylkill. It consisted of a strong redoubt, 
with extensive outworks and batteries. There 
was but a narrow channel between the island 
and the Pennsylvania shore. The main chan- 
nel, practicable for ships, was on the other side. 
In this were sunk strong chevaux-de-frise, diffi- 
cult either to be weighed or cut through, and 
dangerous to any ships that might run against 
them ; subjected as they would be to the bat- 
teries of Fort Mifflin on one side, and on the 
other to those of Fort Mercer, a strong work 
at Red Bank on the Jersey shore. 

Fort Mifflin was garrisoned by troops of the 
Maryland line, under Lieutenant-Colonel Sam- 
uel Smith of Baltimore ; and had kept up a 
brave defence against batteries erected by the 
enemy on the Pennsylvania shore, A rein- 
forcement of Virginia troops made the garrison 
between three and four hundred strong. 

Floating batteries, galleys, and fire-ships, com- 
manded by Commodore Hazelwood, were sta- 
tioned under the forts and about the river. 

Fort Mercer had hitherto been garrisoned by 
militia, but Washington now replaced them by 
four hundred of General Varnum's Rhode Isl- 
and Continentals. Colonel Christopher Greene 
was put in command ; a brave officer who had 
accompanied Arnold in his rough expedition to 
Canada, and fought valiantly under the walls of 
Quebec. "The post with which you are in- 
trusted," writes Washingon in his letter of in- 
structions, "is of the utmost importance to 
America. The whole defence of the Dela- 
ware depends upon it; and consequently all 
the enemy's hopes of keeping Philadelphia, and 
finally succeeding in the present campaign." 

Colonel Greene was accompanied by Captain 
Mauduit Duplessis, who was to have the direc- 
tion of the artillery. He was a young French 
engineer of great merit, Avho had volunteered 
in the American cause, and received a commis- 
sion from Congress. The chevaux-de-frise in 
the river had been constructed under his super- 
intendence. 

Greene, aided by Duplessis, made all haste 
to put Fort Mercer in a state of defence ; but 
before the outworks were completed, he was 
surprised (October 22) by the appearamje of a 
large force emerging from a wood within can- 
non shot of the fort. Their uniforms showed 
them to be Hessians. They were, in fact, four 
battalions twelve hundred strong of grenadiers, 
picked men, beside light-infantry and chasseurs, 



423 



DEFENCE OF FORT MERCER— DEATH OF COUNT DONOP. 



[1777. 



all commanded by Count Donop, who had fig- 
ured in the last year's campaign. 

Colonel Greene, in nowise dismayed by the 
superiority of the enemy, forming in glistening 
array before the wood, prepared for a stout 
resistance. In a little while an officer was de- 
scried, riding slowly up with a flag, accom- 
panied by a drummer. Greene ordered his 
men to keep out of sight, that the fort might 
appear but slightly garrisoned. 

When within proper distance, the drummer 
sounded a parley, and the officer summoned 
the garrison to surrender ; with a threat of no 
quarter in case of resistance. 

Greene's reply was, that the post would be 
defended to the last extremity. 

The flag rode back and made report. Forth- 
with the Hessians were seen at work throwing 
up a battery Avithin half a mile of the outworks. 
It was finished by four o'clock, and opened a 
heavy cannonade, under cover of which the 
enemy were preparing to approach. 

As the American outworks were but half fin- 
ished, and were too extensive to be manned by 
the garrison, it was determined by Greene and 
Duplessis that the troops should make but a 
short stand there ; to gall the enem.y in their 
ai)proach, and then retire within the redoubt, 
which was defended by a deep intrenchment, 
boarded and fraised. 

Donop led on his troops in gallant style, un- 
der cover of a heavy fire from his battery. 
They advanced in two columns, to attack the 
outworks in two places. As they advanced, 
they were excessively galled by a flanking fire 
from the American galleys and batteries, and 
by sharp volleys from the outworks. The lat- 
ter, however, as had been concerted, were 
quickly abandoned by the garrison. The en- 
emy entered at two places, and, imagining the 
day their own, the two columns pushed on with 
shouts to storm different parts of the redoubt. 
As yet, no troops were to be seen ; but as one 
of the columns approached the redoubt on the 
north side, a tremendous discharge of grape- 
shot and musketry burst forth from the em- 
brasures in front, and a half-masked battery on 
the left. The slaughter was prodigious ; the 
column was driven back in confusion. Count 
Donopy with the other column, in attempting 
the south side of the redoubt, had passed the 
abatis ; some of his men had traversed the 
fosse ; others had clambered over the pickets, 
when a similar tempest of artillery and musketry 
burst upon them. Some were killed on the 



spot, many were wounded, and the rest were 
driven out. Donop himself was wounded, and 
remained on the spot ; Lieutenant-Colonel Min- 
gerode, the second in command, was also dan- 
gerously wounded. Several other of the best 
officers were slain or disabled. Lieutenant- 
Colonel Linsing, the oldest remaining officer, 
endeavored to draw ofl" the troops in good or- 
der, but in vain ; they retreated in confusion, 
hotly pursued, and were again cut up in their 
retreat by the flanking fire from the galleys and 
floating batteries. 

The loss of the enemy in killed and wounded 
in this brief but severe action, was about four 
hundred men. That of the Americans, eight 
killed and twenty-nine wounded. 

As Captain Mauduit Duplessis was traversing 
the scene of slaughter after the repulse, he was 
accosted by a voice from among the slain: 
" Whoever you are, draw me hence." It was 
the unfortunate Count Donop. Duplessis had 
him conveyed to a house near the fort, where 
every attention was paid to his comfort. He 
languished for three days, during which Du- 
plessis was continually at his bedside, " This 
is finishing a noble career early," said the count 
sadly, as he found his deat:i api roaching— then, 
as if conscious of the degrading service in 
which he had fallen, hired out by his prince to 
aid a foreign power in quelling the brave strug- 
gle of a people for their liberty, and contrasting 
it with that in which the chivalrous youth by 
his bedside was engaged— "I die," added he 
bitterly, " the victim of my ambition, and of the 
avarice of my sovereign." * E ^ was but thirty- 
seven years of age at the time of his death. 

According to the plan of the enemy, Fort 
Miflain, opposite to Fort Mercer, was to have 
been attacked at the same time by water. The 
force employed was the Augusta of sixty-four 
guns ; the Roebuck of forty-four, two frigates, 
the Merlin sloop of eighteen guns, and a galley. 
They forced their way through the lower line 
of chevaux-de-frise ; but the Augusta and Mer- 
lin ran aground below the second line, and 
every eflTort to get them off proved fruitless. 
To divert attention from their situation, the 
other vessels di-ew as hear to Fort Mifllin as 
they could, and opened a cannonade ; but the 
obstructions in the river had so altered the 
channel that they could not get within very 
eff-ective distance. They kept up a fire upon 
the fort throughout the evening, and recom- 



* De Chastellus, vol. i., p. 266. 



^T. 45.] DE KALB COMMISSIONED M A JOE-GENERAL— PEESUMPTION OF CONWAY. 433 



menced it early in the morning, as did likewise 
the British batteries on the Pennsylvania shore ; 
hoping that under cover of it the ships might 
he got oft. A strohg adverse wind, however, 
kept the tide from rising sufficiently to float 
them. 

The Americans discovered their situation, 
and sent down four fire-sliips to destroy them, 
but without effect. A heavy fire was now 
opened upon them from the galleys and floating 
batteries. It was warmly returned. In the 
course of the action, a red-hot shot set the 
Augusta on fire. It was impossible to check 
the flames. All haste was made with boats to 
save the crew, while the other ships drew off 
as fast as possible to get out of the reach of the 
explosion. She blew up, however, while the 
second lieutenant, the chaplain, the gunner, and 
several of the crew were yet on board, most 
of whom perished. The Merlin was now set 
on fire and abandoned ; the Eoebuck and the 
other vessels dropped down the river, and the 
attack on Fort Mifllin was given up. 

These signal repulses of the enemy had an 
animating efiect on the public mind, and were 
promptly noticed by Congress. Colonel Greene, 
who commanded at Fort Mercer, Lieutenant- 
Colonel Smith of Maryland, who commanded 
at Fort Mifflyi, and Commodore Hazelwood, 
who commanded the galleys, received the 
thanks of that body ; and subsequently, a sword 
was voted to each, as a testimonial of distin- 
guished m.frit. 



CHAPTER XXV. 

"We have heretofore had occasion to advert 
to the annoyances and perplexities occasioned 
to Washington by the claims and pretensions of 
foreign officers who had entered into the ser- 
vice. Among the officers who came out with 
Lafayette, was the Baron Be Kalb, a German 
by birth, but who had long been employed in 
the French service, and though a silver-haired 
veteran, sixty years of age, was yet fresh and 
active and vigorous ; which some attributed to 
his being a rigid water drinker. In the month 
of September, Congress had given him the com- 
mission of major-general, to date with that of 
Lafayette. 

This instantly produced a remonstrance from 
Brigadier-General Conway, the Gallic Iliber- 
niau, of whom we have occasionally made men- 



tion, who considered himself slighted and forgot, 
in their giving a superior rank to his own to a 
person who had not rendered the cause the 
least service, and who had been his inferior in 
France. He claimed, therefore, for himself, the 
rank of major-general, and was supported in 
his pretensions by persons both in and out of 
Congress; especially by Mifflin, the quarter- 
master-general. 

Washington had already been disgusted by 
the overweening presumption of Conway, and 
was surprised to hear that his application was 
likely to be successful. He wrote on the 17th 
of October, to Eichard Henry Lee, then in Con- 
gress, warning him that such an appointment 
would be as unfortunate a measure as ever was 
adopted— one that would give a fatal blow to 
the existence of the army. " Upon so interest- 
ing a subject," observes he, "I must speak 
plainly. The duty I owe my country, the 
ardent desire I have to promote its true inter- 
ests, and justice to individuals, require this of 
me. General Conway's merit as an officer, and 
his importance in this army, exist more in his 
own imagination than in reality. For it is a 
maxim with him to leave no service of his own 
untold, nor to want any thing which is to be 
obtained by importunity. * * * * I would 
ask why the youngest brigadier in the service 
should be put over the heads of tlie oldest, and 
thereby take rank and command of gentlemen 
who but yesterday were his seniors ; gentlemen 
who, as I will be bound to say in behalf of some 
of them at least, are of sound judgment and un- 
questionable bravery. ****** 'jj^is 
truth I am well assured of, tliat they will not 
serve under him. I leave you to guess, there- 
fore, at the situation tliis army would be in at 
so important a crisis, if this event should take 
place." 

This opposition to his presumptuous aspi- 
rations, at once threw Conway into a faction 
forming under the auspices of General Miffiin. 
This gentleman had recently tendered his 
resignation of the commission of major-general 
and quartermaster-general on the plea of ill 
health, but was busily engaged in intrigues 
against the commander-in-chief, towards whom 
he had long cherished a secret hostility. Con- 
way now joined with him heart and hand, and 
soon became so active and prominent a member 
of the faction that it acquired the name of 
Gomcay^s Cabal. The object was to depreciate 
the military character of Washington, in com- 
parison with that of Gates, to whom was at- 



424 



THE CONWAY CABAL— WILKINSON BEAKER OF DESPATCHES. 



IHI'J. 



tributed the whole success of the Northern 
campaign. Gates was perfectly ready for such 
an elevation. He was intoxicated by his good 
fortune, and seemed to forget that he had 
reaped where he had not sown, and that the 
defeat of Burgoyne had been insured by plans 
concerted and put in operation before his arri- 
val in the Northern Department. 

In fact, in the excitement of his vanity, 
' Gates appears to have forgotten that there was 
a commander-in-chief, to whom he was account- 
able. He neglected to send him any despatch 
on the subject of the surrender of Burgoyne, 
contenting himself with sending one to Con- 
gress, then sitting at Yorktown. Washington 
was left to hear of the important event by 
casual rumor, and was for several days in anx- 
ious uncertainty, until he received a copy of 
the capitulation in a letter from General 
Putnam. 

Gates was equally neglectful to inform him 
of the disposition he intended to make of the 
army under his command. He delayed even 
to forward Morgan's rifle corps, though their 
services were no longer needed in his camp, and 
were so much required in the South It was 
determined, therefore, in a council of war, that 
one of Washington's staff should be sent to 
Gates to represent the critical state of affairs, 
and that a large reinforcement from the North- 
ern army would, in all probability, reduce Gen- 
eral Howe to the same situation with Bur- 
goyne, should he remain in Philadelphia, with- 
out being able to remove the obstructions in the 
Delaware, and open a free communication with 
his shipping. 

Colonel Alexander Hamilton, his youthful 
but intelligent aide-de-camp, was charged with 
this mission. He bore a letter from Washing- 
ton to Gates, dated October 30th, of which the 
following is an extract: 

" By this opportunity, I do myself tlie pleas- 
ure to congratulate you on the signal success 
of the army under your command, in compel- 
ling General Burgoyne and his whole force to 
surrender themselves prisoners of war ; an 
event that does tlie highest honor to the 
American arms, and which, I hope, will be at- 
tended with the most extensive and happy 
consequences. At the same time, I cannot but 
regret that a matter of such magnitude, and so 
interesting to our general oj)erations, should 
have reached me by report only ; or through 
the channel of letters not bearing tliat authen- 
ticity which the importance of it required, and 



which it would have received by a line under 
your signature stating the simple fact." 

Such was the calm and dignified notice of an 
instance of official disrespect, almost amounting 
to insubordination. It is doubtful whether 
Gates, in his state of mental effervescence, felt 
the noble severity of tlie rebuke 

The officer whom Gates had employed as 
bearer of his despatch to Congress was Wilkin- 
son, his adjutant-general and devoted syco- 
phant : a man at once pompous and servile. 
He was so long on the road that the articles of 
the treaty, according to his own account, 
reached the grand army before he did the Con- 
gress. Even after his arrival at Yorktown he 
required three days to arrange his papers, pre- 
paring to deliver them in style. At length, 
eighteen days after the surrender of Burgoyne 
had taken place, he formally laid the docu- 
ments concerning it before Congress, preluding 
them with a message in the name of Gates, but 
prepared the day before by himself, and follow- 
ing them up by comments, explanatory and 
eulogistic, of his own 

He evidently expectea to produce a great 
effect by this rhetorical display, and to be sig- 
nally rewarded for his good tidings, but Con- 
gress were as slow in expressing their sense of 
his services, as he had been in rendering -them. 
He swelled and chafed under this neglect, but 
affected to despise it. In a letter to his patron, 
Gates, he observes : " I have not been honored 
with any mark of distinction from Congress. 
Indeed, should I receive no testimony of their 
approbation of my conduct, I shall not be mor- 
tified. My hearty contempt of the world will 
shield me from such pitiful sensations." * 

A proposal was at length made in Congress 
that a sword should be voted to him as the 
bearer of such auspicious tidings : upon which 
Dr. Witherspoon, a shrewd Scot, exclaimed, "I 
think ye'll better gie the lad ajyair of spurs." 

A few days put an end to Wilkinson's sus- 
pense, and probably reconciled him to the 
world ; he was breveted a brigadier-general. 

A fortuitous circumstance, which we shall 
explain hereafter, apprised Washington about 
this time that a correspondence, derogatory to 
his military character and conduct, was going 
on between General Conway and General 
Gates. It was a parallel case with Lee's cor- 
respondence of the preceding year ; and Wash- 
in2rton conducted himself in it with the same 



* Gates's Papers, N. Y. Hist. Librarj- 

t Life of Lord StirUng, by W. A. Duer, p. 182. 



Mt. 45.] THE CONWAY LETTER— WASHINGTON'S APOLOGY FOR HIS ARMY. 



425 



dignified forbearance, contenting himself with 
letting Conway know, by the following brief 
note, dated November 9th, that his correspond- 
ence was detected. 

" SiE — A letter which I received last night 
contained the following paragraph — ' In a letter 
from General Conway to General Gates, he 
says, '■'■Heaven has determined to save your 
country^ or a wealc general and had counsellors 
would have ruined it.'''' ' 

" I am, sir, your humble servant, 

" Geokge Washington." 

The brevity of this note rendered it the more 
astounding. It was a hand-grenade thrown 
into the midst of the cabal. The effect upon 
other members we shall show hereafter : it 
seems, at first, to have prostrated Conway. 
An epistle of his friend Mifflin to Gates inti- 
mates, that Conway endeavored to palliate to 
Washington the censoi-ious expressions in his 
letter, by pleading the careless freedom of lan- 
guage indulged in familiar letter writing; no 
other record of such explanation remains, and 
that probably was not received as satisfactory. 
Certain it is, he immediately sent in his resig- 
nation. To some he alleged, as an excuse for 
resigning, the disparaging way in which he had 
been spoken of by some members of Congress ; 
to others he observed, that the campaign was 
at an end, and there was a prospect of a 
French war. The real reason he kept to him- 
self, and Washington suffered it to remain a 
secret. His resignation, however, was not ac- 
cepted by Congress ; on the contrary, he was 
supported by the cabal, and was advanced to 
further honors, which we shall specify here- 
after. 

In the mean time, the cabal went on to make 
invidious comparisons between the achieve- 
ments of the two armies, deeply derogatory to 
that under Washington. Publicly, he took no 
notice of them ; but they drew from him the fol- 
lowing apology for his army, in a noble and 
characteristic letter to his friend, the celebrated 
Patrick Henry, then governor of Virginia. 
" The design of this," writes he, " is only to in- 
form you, and with great truth I can do it, 
strange as it may seem, that the army which I 
have had under my immediate command, has 
not, at any one time, since General Howe's 
landing at the head of Elk, been equal in point 
of numbers to his. In ascertaining this, I do 
not confine myself to Continental troops, but 



comprehend militia. The disaffected and luke- 
warm in this State, in whom unhappily it too 
much abounds, taking advantage of the dis- 
traction in the government, prevented those 
vigorous exertions which an invaded State 
ought to have yielded. ***** j ^r^^, 
left to fight two battles, in order, if possible, to 
save Philadelphia, with less numbers than com- 
posed the army of my antagonist, whilst the 
world has given us at least double. This im- 
pression, though mortifying in some points of 
view, I have been obliged to encourage; be- 
cause, next to being strong, it is best to be 
thought so by the enemy ; and to this cause, 
principally, I think is to be attributed the slow 
movements of General Howe. 

"How diflerent the case in the Northern 
Department ! There the States of New York 
and New England, resolving to crush Burgoyne, 
continued pouring in their troops, till the sur- 
render of that army ; at wliich time not less 
than fourteen thousand militia, as I have been 
informed, were actually in General Gates's 
camp, and those composed, for the most part, 
of the best yeomanry of the country, well 
armed, and in many instances supplied with 
provisions of their own carrying. Had the 
same spirit pervaded the people of this and the 
neighboring States, we might before this time 
have had General Howe nearly in the situation 
of General Burgoyne. ***** 

" My own difficulties, in the course of the 
campaign, have been not a little increased by 
the extra aid of Continental troops, which the 
gloomy prospect of our affairs in the North im- 
mediately after the reduction of Ticonderoga, 
induced me to spare from this army. But it is 
to be hoped that all will yet end well. If 

THE CAUSE IS ADVANCED, INDIFFERENT IS IT TO 
ME WHERE OR IN WHAT QUARTER IT HAPPENS." 

We have put the last sentence in capitals, for 
it speaks the whole soul of Washington. Glory 
with him is a secondary consideration. Let 
those who win, wear the laurel — sufficient for 
him is the advancement of the cause. 

NOTE. 
We subjoin an earnest appeal of Washington to 
Thomas Wharton, President of Pennsylvania, on the 
17th of October, urging him to keep up the quota of 
troops demanded of the State by Congress, and to fur- 
nish additional aid. " I assure you, sir," writes he, 
"it is a matter of astonishment to every part of the 
continent to hear that Pennsylvania, the most opulent 
and populous of all the States, has but twelve hundred 
militia in the field, at a time when the enemy are en- 
deavoring to make themselves completely masters of, 



426 



FOKT MIFFLIN ATTACKED AND BRAVELY DEFENDED. 



[1111. 



and to fix their quarters in, her capital." And Major- 
General Armstrong, commanding the Pennsylvania 
militia, writes at the same time to the Council of his 
State : — " Be not deceived with wrong notions of Gen- 
eral Washington's numbers ; be assured he wants 
your aid. Let the brave step forth, their example will 
animate the many. You all speak well of our com- 
mander-in-chief at a distance ; don't you want to see 
him, and pay him one generous, one martial visit, 
when kindly invited to his camp near the end of a 
long campaign ? There you will see for yourselves 
the unremitting zeal and toils of all the day and half 
the night, multiplied into years, without seeing house 
or home of his own, without murmur or complaint ; 
but believes and calls this arduous task the service of 
his country and of his God." 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

The non-arrival of reinforcements from the 
Northern army continued to embarrass Wash- 
ington's operations. The enemy were making 
preparations for further attempts upon Forts 
Mercer and Mifflin. General Howe was con- 
structing redoubts and batteries on Province 
Island, on the west side of the Delaware, within 
five hundred yards of Fort Mifflin, and mounting 
them with heavy cannon. Washington consult- 
ed with his general officers what was to be done. 
Had the army received the expected reinforce- 
ments from the North, it miglit have detached 
sufficient force to the west side of the Schuylkill 
to dislodge the enemy from Province Island ; but 
at present it would require almost the whole of 
the army for the purpose. This would leave the 
public stores at Easton, Bethlehem, and Allen- 
town, uncovered, as well as several of the hos- 
pitals. It would also leave the post at R»d 
Bank unsupported, through which Fort Mifflin 
was reinforced and supplied. It was deter- 
mined, therefore, to await the arrival of the 
expected reinforcements from the North, before 
making any alteration in the disposition of the 
army. In the mean time, the garrisons of Forts 
Mercer and Mifflin were increased, and General 
Varnum was stationed at Red Bank with his 
brigade, to be at hand to render reinforcements 
to either of them as occasion might require. 

On the 10th of November, General Howe 
commenced a heavy fire upon Fort Mifflin from 
his batteries, which mounted eighteen, twenty- 
four, and thirty-two pounders. Colonel Smith 
doubted the competency of his feeble garrison 
to defend the works against a force so terribly 
effective, and wrote to Washington accordingly. 



The latter in reply represented ihe great im- 
portance of the works, and trusted*they would 
be maintained to the last extremity. General 
Varnum was instructed to send over fresh troops 
occasionally to relieve those in the garrison, and 
to prevail upon as many as possible of the militia 
to go over. The latter could be employed at 
night upon the works to repair the damage 
sustained in the day, and might, if they desired 
it, return to Pied Bank in the morning. 

Washington's orders and instructions were 
faithfully obeyed [Major Fleury, a brave 
French officer, already mentioned, acquitted 
himself with intelligence and spirit as engineer ; 
but an incessant cannonade and bombardment 
for several days, defied all repairs. The block- 
houses were demolished, the palisades beaten 
down, the guns dismounted, the barracks re- 
duced to ruins. Captain Treat, a young officer of 
great merit, who commanded the artillery, was 
killed, as were several non-commissioned offi- 
cers and privates ; and a number were wounded. 

The survivors, who were not wounded, were 
exhausted by want of sleep, hard duty, and 
constant exposure to the rain. Colonel Smith 
himself was disabled by severe contusions, and 
obliged to retire to Red Bank. 

The fort was in ruins ; there was danger of 
its being carried by storm, but the gallant Fleury 
thought it might yet be defended with the aid 
of fresh troops. Such were furnished from 
Varnum's brigade : Lieutenant-Colonel Russell, 
of the Connecticut line, replaced Colonel Smith. 
He, in his turn, was obliged to relinquish the 
command through fatigue and ill health, and 
was succeeded by Major Thayer of Rhode 
Island, aided by Captain (afterwards Commo- 
dore) Talbot, who had distinguished himself in 
the preceding year by an attack on a ship-of- 
war in the Hudson. The present was an occa- 
sion that required men of desperate valor. 

On the fourth day the enemy brought a large 
Indiaman, cut down to a floating battery, to 
bear upon the works ; but though it opened a 
terrible fire, it was silenced before night. The 
next day several ships-of-war got within gun- 
shot. Two prepared to attack it in front, 
others brought their guns to bear on Fort 
Mercer ; while two made their way into the 
narrow channel between Mud Island and the 
Pennsylvania shore, to operate with the British 
batteries erected there. 

At a concerted signal a cannonade was opened 
from all quarters. The heroic little garrison 
stood the fire without flinching ; the danger, 



^T. 45.] 



FORT MIFFLIN REDUCED— MISSION OF HAMILTON TO GATES. 



427 



however, was growing imminent. The bat- 
teries on Province Island enfiladed the works. 
The ships in the inner channel approached so 
near as to throw hand-grenades into the fort, 
while marines stationed in the round-tops stood 
ready to pick off any of the garrison that came 
in sight. 

The scene now became awful ; incessant fir- 
ing from ships, forts, gondolas, and floating 
batteries, with clouds of sulphui'ous smoke, 
and the deafening thunder of cannon. Before 
night there was hardly a fortification to defend ; 
palisades were shivered, guns dismounted, the 
whole parapet levelled. There was terrible 
slaughter ; most of the company of artillery 
were destroyed. Fleury himself was wounded. 
Captain Talbot received a wound in the wrist, 
but continued bravely fighting imtil disabled 
by another wound in the hip.* 

To hold out longer was impossible. Colonel 
Thayer made preparations to evacuate the fort 
in the night. Every thing was removed in the 
evening, that could be conveyed away without 
too much exposure to the murderous fire from 
the round-tops. The wounded were taken over 
to Eed Bank accompanied by part of the garri- 
son. Thayer remained with forty men until 
eleven o'clock, when they set fire to what was 
combustible of the fort they had so nobly de- 
fended, and crossed to Red Bank by the light 
of its fl-ames. 

The loss of this fort was deeply regretted 
by Washington, though he gave high praise to 
the officers and men of the garrison. Colonel 
Smith Avas voted a sword by Congress, and 
Fleury received the commission of lieutenant- 
colonel. 

Washington still hoped to keep possession of 
Red Bank, and thereby prevent the enemy 
from weighing the chevaux-de-frise before the 
frost obliged their ships to quit the river. " I 
am anxiously waiting the arrival of the troops 
from the northward," writes he, " who ought, 
from the time they had my orders, to have been 
here before this. Colonel Hamilton, one of my 
aides, is up the North River, doing all he can 
to p\ash them forward, but he writes me word, 
that he finds many unaccountable delays 
thrown in his way. The want of these troops 
has embarrassed all my measures exceedingly." 

The delays in question will best be explained 
by a few particulars concerning the mission of 
Colonel Hamilton. On his way to the head- 



Life of Talbot, by Ilenry T. Tuckerman, p. 31. 



quarters of Gates, at Albany, he found Gov- 
ernor Clinton and General Putnam encamped 
on the opposite sides of the Hudson, just above 
the Highlands ; the governor at New Windsor, 
Putnam at Fishkill. About a mile from Nifew 
Windsor, Hamilton met Morgan and his rifle- 
men, early in the morning of the 2d of Novem- 
ber on the march for Washington's camp, having 
been thus tardily detached by Gates. Hamil- 
ton urged him to hasten on with all possible 
despatch, which he promised to do. The col- 
onel had expected to find matters in such a 
train, that he would have little to do but hurry 
on ample reinforcements already on the march ; 
whereas, he found that a large part of the 
Northern army was to remain in and about 
Albany, about four thousand men to be spared to 
the commander-in-chief; the rest were to be 
stationed on the east side of the Hudson with 
Putnam, who had held a council of war how 
to dispose of them. The old general, in fact, 
had for some time past been haunted by a pro- 
ject of an attack upon New York, in which he 
had twice been thwarted, and for which the 
time seemed propitious, now that most of the 
British troops were reported to have gone from 
New York to reinforce General Howe. Hamil- 
ton rather disconcerted his project, by directing 
him, in Washington's name, to hurry forward 
two Continental brigades to the latter, together 
with Warner's militia brigade ; also, to order 
to Red Bank a body of Jersey militia about to 
cross to Peckskill. 

Having given these directions, Hamilton 
hastened on to Albany. He found still less 
disposition on the part of Gates to furnish the 
troops required. There was no certainty, he 
said, that Sir Henry Clinton had gone to join 
General Howe. There was a possibility of his 
returning up the river, which would expose 
the arsenal at Albany to destruction, should 
that city be left bare of troops. The New 
England States, too, would be left open to the 
ravages and depredations of the enemy ; be- 
side, it would put it out of his power to attempt 
any thing against Ticondcroga, an undertaking 
of great importance in which he miglit engage 
in the winter. In a word, Gates had schemes 
of his own, to which those of the commander- 
in-chief must give way. 

Hamilton felt, he says, how embarrassing a 
task it was for one so young as himself to op- 
pose the opinions and plans of a veteran, whose 
successes had elevated him to the highest im- 
portance ; though he considered his reasonings 



428 



HAMILTON VISITS THE CAMPS OF GOVERNOR CLINTON AND PUTNAM. [1111. 



tinsubstantial, and merely calculated to " catch 
the Eastern people." It was with the greatest 
diflBculty he prevailed on Gates to detach the 
brigades of Poor and Patterson to the aid of 
the commander-in-chief; and, finding reinforce- 
ments fall thus short from this quarter, he 
wrote to Putnam to forward an additional 
thousand of Continental troops from his camp. 
" I doubt," writes he subsequently to "Washing- 
ton, " whether you would have had a man 
from the Northern army if the whole could 
have been kept at Albany with any decency." 

Having concluded his mission to Genei'al 
Gates, Hamilton returned to the camp of Gov- 
ernor Clinton. The worthy governor seemed 
the general officer best disposed in this 
quarter to promote the public weal, independ- 
ent of personal considerations. He had re- 
cently expressed his opinion to General Gates, 
that the army under "Washington ought at 
present to be the chief object of attention, " for 
on its success every thing worth regarding de- 
pended." 

The only need of troops in this quarter at 
present was to protect the country from little 
plundering parties, and to carry on the works 
necessary for the defence of the river. The 
latter was the governor's main thought. He 
was eager to reconstruct the fortresses out of 
which he had been so forcibly ejected ; or 
rather to construct new ones in a better place 
about "West Point, where obstructions were 
again to be extended across the river.* 

Putnam, on the contrary, wished to keep as 
much force as possible under his control. The 
old general was once more astride of what 
Hamilton termed his " hobby-horse," an expe- 
dition against New York. He had neglected 
to forward the troops which had been ordered 
to the South : not the least attention had been 
paid by him to Hamilton's order from Albany, 
in Washington's name, for the detachment of 
an additional thousand of troops. Some, which 
had come dowij from Albany, had been marched 
by him to Tarrytown : he himself had recon- 
noitred the country almost down to King's 
Bridge, and was now advanced to the neigh- 
borhood of "White Plains. "Every thing," 



* Governor Clinton and myself have been down to\-iew 
the fortB, and are both of opinion that a boom, thrown 
across at Fort Constitution, and a battery on each 8ide of 
the river, would answer a much better purpose than at 
Fort Montgomery-, as the garrison would be reinforced by 
militia with more expedition, and the ground much more 
definable (defcndablc ?).— Putnam to Washington, 7th No- 
vember, ITil. Sparks^ Cor. of the Rev., ii. 30. 



writes Hamilton, •" is sacrificed to the whim 
of taking New York." The young colonel was 
perplexed how to proceed with the brave- 
hearted, but somewhat wrong-headed old gen- 
eral ; who was in as bellicose a mood now that 
he was mounted on his hobby, as when at the 
siege of Boston he mounted the prize mortar 
" Congress," and prayed for gunpowder. 

Hamilton, in his perplexity, consulted Gov- 
ernor Clinton. The latter agreed with him 
that an attempt against New York would be a 
mere " suicidal parade," wasting time and men. 
The city at present was no object, even if it 
could be taken, and to take it would require 
men that could ill be spared from more sub- 
stantial purposes. The governor, however, 
understood the character and humors of his 
old coadjutor, and in his downright way, ad- 
vised Hamilton to send an order in the most 
empluitical terms to General Putnam, to de- 
spatch all the Continental troops under him to 
"^"ashington's assi.-tance, and to detain the mili- 
tia instead of them. 

A little of the governor's own hobby, by the 
way, showed itself in his councils. " He 
thinks," writes Hamilton, " that there is no 
need of more Continental troops here than a 
few, to give a spur to the militia in working 
upon the fortifications." 

The " emphatical " letter of Hamilton had 
the effect the governor intended. It unhorsed 
the belligerent veteran when in full career. 
The project against New York was again given 
up, and the reinforcements reluctantly ordered 
to the South. " I am sorry to say," writes 
Hamilton, " the disposition for marching in 
the officers, and men in general, of these troops, 
does not keep pace with my wishes, or the 
exigency of the occasion. They have unfortu- 
nately imbibed an idea that they have done 
their part of the business of the campaign, and 
are now entitled to repose. This, and the want 
of pay, make them adverse to a long march at 
this advanced season." 

Governor Clinton borrowed six thousand 
dollars for Hamilton, to enable him to put some 
of the troops in motion ; indeed, writes the 
colond, he has been the only man who has 
done any thing to remove these difficulties. 
Hamilton advised that the command of the post 
should be given to the governor, if he would 
accept of it, and Putnam should be recalled ; 
" whose blimders and caprices," said he, " are 
endless." 

"Washington, however, knew too well the 



Mt. 45.] INTRIGUES OF THE CABAL— THE WORKS AT RED BANK DESTROYED. 429 



innate worth and sterling patriotism of the old 
general, to adopt a measure that might deeply 
mortify him. The enterprise, too, on which the 
veteran had been bent, was one which he him- 
self had appx'oved of when suggested under 
other circumstances. He contented himself, 
therefore, with giving him a reprimand in the 
course of a letter, for his present dilatoriness 
in obeying the orders of his commander-in- 
chief. " I cannot but say," writes he, " there 
has been more delay in the march of the troops 
than I think necessary ; and I could wish, that 
in future my orders may be immediately com- 
plied with, without arguing upon the propriety 
of them. If any accident ensues from obeying 
them, the fault wiU be upon me, not upon 
you." 

Washington found it more necessary than 
usual, at this moment, to assert his superior 
command, from the attempts which were being 
made to weaken his stand in the public estima- 
tion. Still he was not aware of the extent of 
the intrigues that were in progress around 
him, in which we believe honest Putnam had 
no share. There was evidently a similar game 
going on with that which had displaced the 
worthy Schuyler. The surrender of Burgoyne, 
though mainly the result of Washington's far- 
seeing plans, had suddenly trumped up Gates 
into a quasi rival. A letter written to Gates 
at the time, and still existing among his papers, 
lays open the spirit of the cabal. It is without 
signature, but in the handwriting of James 
Lovell, member of Congress from Massachu- 
setts ; the same who had supported Gates in 
opposition to Schuyler. The following are ex- 
tracts : " You have saved our Northern Hem- 
isphere ; and in spite of consummate and 
repeated blundering you have changed the con- 
dition of the Southern campaign, on the part 
of the enemy, from offensive to defensive. * * 
The campaign here must soon close ; if our 
troops are obliged to retire to Lancaster, Read- 
ing, Bethlehem, &c., for winter-quarters, and 
the country below is laid open to the enemy's 
flying parties, great and very general will be 
the murmur — so great, so general, that nothing 
inferior to a commander-in-cliief will be able 
to resist the mighty torrent of public clamor 
and public vengeance. 

" We have had a noble army melted down 
by ill-judged marches — marches tliat disgrace 
the authors and directors, and which have oc- 
casioned the severest and most just sarcasm 
and contempt of our enemies. 



" How much are you to be envied, my dear 
general ! How different your conduct and your 
fortune ! 

" A letter from Colonel Mifflin, received at 
the writing of the last paragraph, gives me the 
disagreeable inteUigence of the loss of our fort 
on the Delaware. You must know the conse- 
quences — loss of the river boats, galleys, ships- 
of-war, &c. ; good winter-quarters to the ene- 
my, and a general retreat, or ill-judged, blind 
attempt on our part to save a gone character. 

" Conway, Spotswood, Conner, Eoss, and 
Mifflin resigned, and many other brave and 
good officers are preparing their letters to Con- 
gress on the same subject. In short, this army 
will be totally lost, unless you come down and 
collect the virtuous band who wish to fight 
under your banner, and with their aid save 
the Southern Hemisphere. Prepare yourself 
for a jaunt to this place — Congress must send 
for you." * 

Under such baleful supervision, of which, as 
we have observed, he was partly conscious, but 
not to its full extent, Washington was obliged 
to carry on a losing game, in which the very 
elements seemed to conspire against him. 

In the mean time. Sir William Howe was 
following up the reduction of Fort Mifflin by 
an expedition against Fort Mercer, which still 
impeded the navigation of the Delaware. On 
the 17th of November, Lord Cornwallis was 
detached with two thousand men to cross from 
Chester into the Jerseys, where he would be 
joined by a force advancing from New York. 

Apprised of this movement, Washington de- 
tached General Huntington, with a brigade, to 
join Varnum at Red Bank. General Greene was 
also ordered to repair thither with his division, 
and an express was sent off to General Glover, 
who was on his way through the Jerseys with his 
brigade, directing him to file off to the left 
towards the same point. These troops, with 
such militia as could be collected, Washington 
hoped would be sufficient to save the fort. 
Before they could form a junction, however, 
and reach their destination, CornwaUis appeared 
before it. A defence against such superior 
force was hopeless. The works were aban- 
doned ; they were taken possession of by the 
enemy, who proceeded to destroy them. After 
the destruction had been accomplished, the 
reinforcements from the North, so long and so 
anxiously expected, and so shamefully delayed, 

* Gates's Papers, N. Y. Hist. Soo. Lib. 



430 



PROPOSED ATTACK ON PHILADELPHIA— REED AT HEAD-QUARTERS. [1777. 



made their appearance. " Had they arrived 
but ten days sooner," writes "Washington to his 
brother, " it would, I think, have put it in my 
power to save Fort Mifflin, which defended the 
chevaux-de-frise, and consequently have ren- 
dered Philadelphia a very ineligible situation 
for the enemy this winter." 

The troops arrived in ragged plight, owing 
to the derangement of the commissariat. A 
part of Morgan's rifle corps was absolutely un- 
able to take the field for want of shoes, and 
such was the prevalent want in this particu- 
lar, that ten doUai's reward was offered in gen- 
eral orders for a model of the best substitute 
for shoes that could be made out of raw hides. 

The evil which Washington had so anxiously 
striven to prevent had now been effected. The 
American vessels stationed in the river had 
lost all protection. Some of the galleys escaped 
past the batteries of Philadelphia in a fog and 
took refuge in the upper part of the Delaware ; 
the rest were set on fire by their crews and 
abandoned 

The enemy were now m possession of tlie 
river, but it was too late in the season to clear 
away the obstructions, and open a passage for 
the large ships. All that could be efiected at 
present, was to open a suflicient channel for 
transports and vessels of easy burden to bring 
provisions and supplies for the army. 

"Washington advised the navy board, now 
that the enemy had the command of the river, 
to have all the American frigates scuttled and 
sunk immediately. The board objected to 
sinking them, but said they should be ballasted 
and plugged, ready to be sunk in case of attack. 
"Washington warned them that an attack would 
be sudden so as to get possession of them be- 
fore they could be sunk or destroyed ; — his 
advise and warning were unheeded ; the con- 
sequence will hereafter be shown. 



CnAPTEPv XXYII. 

On the evening of the 24th of November 
"Washington reconnoitred, carefully and thought- 
fully, the lines and defences about Philadelphia, 
from the opposite side of the Schuylkill. His 
army was now considerably reinforced ; the 
garrison was weakened by the absence of a 
large body of troops under Lord Oornwallis in 
the Jerseys. Some of the general officers 
thought this an advantageous moment for an 



attack npon the city. Such was the opinion 
of Lord Stirling ; and especially of General 
"Wayne, Mad Anthony, as he was familiarly 
called, always eager for some daring enterprise. 
The recent victory at Saratoga had dazzled the 
public mind, and produced a general impatience 
for something equally striking and effective in 
this quarter, Keed, "Washington's former secre- 
tary, now a brigadier-general, shared largely in 
this feeling. He had written a letter to Gates, 
congratulating him on having "reduced his 
proud and insolent enemy to the necessity of 
laying his arms at his feet; " assuring him that 
it would " enroll his name witli the happy few 
who shine in history, not as conquerors, but 
as distinguished generals. I have for some 
time," adds he, " volunteered with this army, 
which, notwithstanding the labors and efforts 
of its amiable chief, has yet gathered no 
laurels." * 

Keed was actually at head-quarters as a 
volunteer, again enjoying much of "Washing- 
ton's confidence, and anxious that he should do 
something to meet the public wishes. "Wash- 
ington was aware of this prevalent feeling, and 
that it was much wrought on by the intrigues 
of designing men, and by the sarcasms of the 
press. He was now reconnoitring the enemy's 
works to judge of the policy of the proposed 
attack. " A vigorous exertion is under con- 
sideration," writes Reed ; " God grant it may 
be successful ! " t 

Every thing in the neighborhood of the 
enemy's lines bore traces of the desolating 
hand of war. Several houses, owned probably 
by noted patriots, had been demolished ; others 
burnt. Villas stood roofless ; their doors and 
windows, and all the woodwork, had been 
carried off to make huts for the soldiery. 
Notliing but bare walls remained. Gardens 
had been trampled down and destroyed ; not 
a fence nor fruit-tree was to be seen. The 
gathering gloom of a November evening height- 
ened the sadness of this desolation. 

"With an anxious eye "Washington scrutinized 
the enemy's works. They appeared to be ex- 
ceeding strong. A chain of redoubts extended 
along the most commanding ground from the 
Schuylkill to the Delaware. They were framed, 
planked, and of great thickness, and were sur- 
rounded by a deep ditch, enclosed and fraised. 
The intervals were filled with an abatis, in 
constructing which all the apple trees of the 



♦ Reed to Gates. Gates's Tapers, 
t Reed to President Wharton. 



^T. 45.] THE ENEMY'S WORKS RECONNOITRED— EXPLOIT OF LAFAYETTE. 



431 



neighborhood, beside forest trees, had been 
sacrificed.* 

The idea of Lord Stirling and those in favor 
of an attack, was, that it should be at difterent 
points at daylight ; the main body to attack 
the lines to the north of the city, while Greene, 
embarking his men in boats at Dunk's -Ferry, 
and passing down the Delaware, and Potter, 
with a body of Continentals and militia, mov- 
ing down the west side of the Schuylkill, 
should attack the eastern and western fronts, 

Washington saw that there was an oppor- 
tunity for a brilliant blow, that might satisfy 
the impatience of the public, and silence the 
sarcasms of the press ; but he saw that it must 
be struck at the expense of a fearful loss of 
life. 

Returning to camp, he held a council of war 
of his principal officers, in which the matter 
was debated at great length and with some 
warmth ; but without coming to a decision. 
At bi-eaking up, Washington requested that 
each member of the council would give his 
opinion the next morning in writing, and he 
sent off a messenger in the night for the written 
opinion of General Greene. 

Only four members of the council, Stirling, 
"Wayne, Scott, and Woodford, were in favor of 
an attack ; of which Lord Stirling drew up the 
plan. Eleven (including Greene) were against 
it, objecting, among other things, that the 
enemy's lines were too sti'ong and too well 
supported, and their force too numerous, well 
disciplined and experienced, to be assailed 
without great loss and the hazard of a failure. 

Had Washington been actuated by mere per- 
sonal ambition and a passion for military fame, 
or had he yielded to the goadings of faction 
and the press, he might have disregarded the 
loss and hazarded the failure ; but his patriot- 
ism was superior to his ambition ; he shrank 
from a glory that must be achieved at such a 
cost, and the idea of an attack was abandoned. 

General Keed, in a letter to Thomas Whar- 
ton, president of Pennsylvania, endeavors to 
prevent the cavilling of that functionary and his 
co-legislators ; who, though they had rendered 
very slender assistance in the campaign, were 
extremely urgent for some striking achieve- 
ment. " From my own feelings," writes he, 
"I can easily judge of yours and the gentlemen 
round, at the seeming inactivity of this army 
for so long a time. I know it is peculiarly 

* Life and Cor. of Reed, vol. i., p. 34L 



irksome to the general, whose own judgment 
led to more vigorous measures ; but there has 
been so great a majority of his officers opposed 
to every enterprising plan, as fully justifies his 
conduct." At the same time Reed confesses 
that he himself concurs with the great major- 
ity, who deemed an attack upon Philadelphia 
too hazardous. 

A letter from General Greene received about 
this time, gave Washington some gratifying in- 
telligence about his youthful friend, the Mar- 
quis de Lafayette. Though not quite recovered 
from the wound received at the battle of 
Brandywine, he had accompanied General 
Greene as a volunteer in his expedition into 
the Jerseys, and had been indulged by him 
with an opportunity of gratifying his belliger- 
ent humor, in a brush with Cornwallis's out- 
posts, " The marquis," writes Greene, " with 
about four hundred militia and the rifle corps, 
attacked the enemy's picket last evening, killed 
about twenty, wounded many more, and took 
about twenty prisoners. The marquis is 
charmed with the spirited behavior of the 
militia and rifle corps ; they drove the enemy 
above half a mile, and kept the ground until 
(3ark. The enemy's picket consisted of about 
three hundred, and were reinforced during the 
skirmish. The marquis is determined to be in 
the way of danger." "^ 

Lafayette himself, at the request of Greene, 
wrote an animated yet modest account of the 
affair to Washington. "I wish," observes he, 
" that this little success of ours may please 
you ; though a very trifling one, I find it very 
interesting on account of the behavior of our 
soldiers." f 

Washington had repeatedly written to Con- 
gress in favor of giving the marquis a com- 
mand equal to his nominal rank, in considera- 
tion of his illustrious and important connec- 
tions, the attachment he manifested to the 
cause, and the discretion and good sense he had 
displayed on various occasions. " I am con- 
vinced," said he, " he possesses a large share 
of that military ardor which generally charac- 
terizes the nobility of his country. 

Washington availed himself of the present 
occasion to support his former recommenda- 
tions, by ti'ansmitting to Congress an account 
of Lafayette's youthful exploit. He received, 
in return, an intimation from that body, that it 
was their pleasure he should appoint the mar- 



* Washington's Writings. Sparks, vol. v., p. 171. 
t Memoirs of Lafayette, vol. i., p. 122, 



432 MODIFICATION OF THE BOARD OF WAR— EVOLUTIONS AND SKIRMISHES. [1111. 



qnis to the command of a division in the Con- 
tinental army. The division of General Stephen 
at this time was vacant ; that veteran officer, 
who had formerly won honor for himself in 
the French war, having been dismissed for 
misconduct at the battle of Germantown, the 
result of intemperate habits, into which he un- 
fortunately had fallen. Lafayette was forthwith 
appointed to the command of that division. 

At this juncture (November 27th), a modi- 
fication took place in the Board of War, indica- 
tive of the influence which was operating in 
Congress. It was increased from three to five 
members : General Mifflin, Joseph Trumbull, 
Eichard Peters, Colonel Pickering, and last, 
though certainly not least. General Gates. 
Mifflin's resignation of the commission of quar- 
termaster-general had recently been accepted ; 
but that of major-general was continued to 
him, though without pay. General Gates was 
appointed president of the board, and the Presi- 
dent of Congress was instructed to express to 
him, in communicating the intelligence, the 
high sense which that body entertained of his 
abilities, and peculiar fitness to discharge the 
duties of that important office, upon the right 
execution of which the success of the Amcrr- 
can cause so eminently depended ; and to in- 
form him it was their intention to continue his 
rank as major-general, and that he might offi- 
ciate at the board or in the field, as occasion 
might require ; furthermore, that he should re- 
pair to Congress with all convenient despatch, 
to enter upon the duties of his appointment. 
It was evidently the idea of the cabal that 
Gates was henceforth to be the master spirit 
of the war. Ilis friend Lovcll, chairman of 
the committee of foreign relations, writes to 
him on the same day to urge him on. " We 
want you at difi'erent places ; but vre want you 
most near Germantown, Good God ! What 
a situation we are in ; how diff'erent from 
what might have been justly expected ! You 
will be astonished when you know accurately 
what numbers have at one time and another 
been collected near Philadelphia, to wear out 
stockings, shoes, and breeches. Depend upon 
it, for every ten soldiers plOiCed under the com- 
mand of our Fabius, five recruits will be wanted 
annually during the war. The brave fellows 
at Fort Mifflin and Red Bank have despaired 
of succor, and been obliged to quit. The naval 
departments have fallen into circumstances of 
seeming disgrace. Come to the Board of War, 
if only for a short season. * * * * jf 



it was not for the defeat of Burgoyne, and the 
strong appearances of a European war, our 
afii'airs are Fabiused. into a very disagreeable 
posture." * 

While busy faction Avas thus at work, both 
in and out of Congress, to undermine the fame 
and authority of Washington, General Howe, 
according to his own thi-eat, was preparing to 
" drive him beyond the mountains." 

On the 4th of December, Captain Allen Mc- 
Lane, a vigilant officer already mentioned, of 
the Maryland line, brought word to head-quar- 
ters, that an attack was to be made that very 
night on the camp at White Marsh. Washing- 
ton made his dispositions to receive the medi- 
tated assault, and, in the mean time, detached 
McLane with one hundred men to reconnoitre. 
The latter met the van of the enemy about 
eleven o'clock at night, on the Germantown 
Road ; attacked it at the Three Mile Run, 
forced it to change its line of march, and hov- 
ered about and impeded it throughout the 
night. About three o'clock in the morning 
the alarm-gun announced the approach of the 
enemy. They appeared at daybreak, and en- 
camped on Chestnut Hill, within three miles 
of Washington's right wing. Brigadier-Gen- 
eral James Irvine, with six hundred of the 
Pennsylvania militia, was sent out to skirmish 
with their light advanced parties. He encoun- 
tered them at the foot of the hill, but after a 
short conflict, in which several were killed and 
wounded, his troops gave way and fled in all 
directions, leaving him and four or five of his 
men wounded on the field, who were taken 
prisoners. 

General Howe passed the day in reconnoi- 
tring, and at night changed his ground, and 
moved to a hill on the left, and within a mile 
of the American line. It was his wish to liave 
a general action ; but to have it on advanta- 
geous terms. He had scrutinized Washington's 
position and pronounced it inaccessible. For 
three days he manoeuvred to draw him from 
it, shifting his own position occasionally, but 
still keeping on advantageous ground. Wash- 
ington was not to be decoyed. He knew the 
vast advantages which superior science, disci- 
pline, and experience, gave the enemy in open 
field fight, and remained within his lines. All 
his best officers approved of his policy. Sev- 
eral sharp skirmishes cfccurred at Edge Hill and 
elsewhere, in which Morgan's riflemen and the 



* Gates's Tapers, N. Y. Hist. Soc. L 



JEr. 45.] PROMOTION OF CONWAY— CONSULTATION ABOUT WINTER-QUARTERS. 433 



Maryland militia were concerned. There was 
loss on both sides, but the Americans gave way 
before a great superiority of numbers. 

In one of these skirmishes General Eeed had 
a narrow escape. He was reconnoitring the 
enemy at Washington's request, when he fell 
in with some of the Pennsylvania militia who 
had been scattered, and endeavored to rally 
and lead them forward. His horse was shot 
through the head, and came with him to the 
ground ; the enemy's flankers were running to 
bayonet him, as he was recovering from his 
fall, when Captain Allen McLane came up in 
time with his men to drive them oif and rescue 
him. He was conveyed from the field by a 
light-horseman.* 

On the 7th there was every appearance that 
Howe meditated an attack on the left wing, 
Washington's heart now beat high, and he pre- 
pared for a warm and decisive action. In the 
course of the day he rode through every bri- 
gade, giving directions how the attack was to 
be met, and exhorting his troops to depend 
mainly on the bayonet. His men were inspir- 
ited by his words, but still more by his looks, 
so calm and determined ; for the soldier re- 
gards the demeanor more than the words of 
his general in the hour of peril. 

The day wore away with nothing but skir- 
mishes, in which Morgan's riflemen, and the 
Maryland militia under Colonel Gist, rendered 
good service. An attack was expected in the 
night, or early in the morning ; but no attack 
took place. The spirit manifested by the 
Americans in their recent contests, had ren- 
dered the British commanders cautious. 

The nest day, in the afternoon, the enemy 
were again in motion ; but instead of advanc- 
ing, filed off to the left, halted, and lit up a 
long string of fires on the heights ; behind 
which they retreated, silently and precipitately, 
in the night. By the time Washington re- 
ceived intelligence of their movement, they 
were in full march by two or three routes for 
Philadelphia. He immediately detached light 
parties to fall upon their rear, but they were 
too far on the way for any but light-horse to 
overtake them. 

An intelligent observer writes to President 
Wharton from the camp : "As all their move- 
ments, added to their repeated declarations 
of driving General Washington over the Blue 
Mountains, were calculated to assure us of 



* Life and Cor. of Reed, vol. i., p. 351. 

28 



their having come out with the determination to 
fight, it was thought prudent to keep our post 
upon the hills, near the church. I understand 
it was resolved, if they did not begin the attack 
soon, to have fought them at all events, it not 
being supposed that they could, consistent with 
their own feelings, have secretly stolen into 
the city so suddenly after so long gasconading 
on what they intended to do." * 

Here then was another occasion of which 
the enemies of Washington availed themselves 
to deride his cautious policy. Yet it was 
clearly dictated by true wisdom. His heart 
yearned for a general encounter with the 
enemy. In his despatch to the President of 
Congress, he writes, " I sincerely wish that 
they had made an attack ; as the issue, in all 
probability, from the disposition of our troops 
and the strong situation of our camp, would 
have been fortunate and happy. At the same 
time I must add, that I'eason, prudence, and 
every principle of policy, forbade us from quit- 
ting our post to attack them. Nothing but 
success would have justified the measure ; and 
this could not be expected from their position." 

At this time, one of the earliest measures re- 
commended by the Board of War, and adopted 
by Congress, showed the increasing influence 
of the cabal ; two inspectors-general were to 
be appointed for the promotion of discipline 
and reformation of abuses in the army; and 
one of the persons chosen for this important 
office, was Conway, with the rank, too, of 
major-general! This was tacitly in defiance 
of the opinion so fully expressed by Washing- 
ton of the demerits of the man, and the ruinous 
effects to be apprehended from his promotion 
over the heads of brigadiers of superior claims. 
Conway, however, was the secret colleague of 
Gates, and Gates was now the rising sun. 

Winter had now set in with all its severity. 
The troops, worn down by long and hard ser- 
vice, had need of repose. Poorly clad, also, 
and almost destitute of blankets, they required 
a warmer shelter than mere tents against the 
inclemencies of the season. The nearest towns 
which would afford winter-quarters, were Lan- 
caster, York, and Carlisle ; but should the army 
retire to either of these, a large and fertile dis- 
trict would be exposed to be foraged by the 
foe, and its inhabitants, perhaps, to be dra- 
gooned into submission. 

* Letter of Elias Boudinot, Commiesary of Prisoners, 
to President Wharton.— Z,?/e and Cor. of J. Reed, vol. i., 
p. 351. 



434 



DREARY MARCH TO VALLEY FORGE— HUTTING. 



[1777. 



Much anxiety was felt by the Pennsylvania 
Legislature on the suhjcct, who were desirous 
that the army should remain in the field. Gen- 
eral Keed, in a letter to the president of that 
body, writes : " A line of winter-quarters has 
been proposed and supported by some of his 
[Washington's] principal officers ; but I believe 
I may assure you he will not come into it, but 
take post as near the enemy, and cover as 
much of the country as the nakedness and 
wretched condition of some part of the army 
will admit. To keep the field entirely is im- 
practicable, and so you would think if you saw 
the plight we were in. You will soon know 
the plan, and as it has been adopted principally 
upon the opinions of the gentlemen of this 
State, I hope it will give satisfaction to you 
and the gentlemen around you. If it is not 
doing what we would, it is doing what we 
can ; and I must say the general has shown a 
truly feeling and patriotic respect for us on 
this occasion, in which you would agree with 
me, if you knew all the circumstances." 

The plan adopted by Washington, after hold- 
ing a council of war, and weighing the dis- 
cordant opinions of his officers, was to hut the 
army for the winter at Valley Forge, in Chester 
County, on the west side of the Schuylkill, 
about twenty miles from Philadelphia. Here 
he would be able to keep a vigilant eye on 
that city, and at the same time protect a great 
extent of country. 

Sad and dreary was the march to Valley 
Forge ; uncheered by the recollection of any 
recent triumph, as was the march to winter- 
quarters in the preceding year. Hungry and 
cold were the poor fellows who had so long 
been keeping the field ; for provisions were 
scant, clothing worn out, and so badly otf were 
they for shoes, that the footsteps of many might 
be tracked in blood. Yet at this very time 
we are told, " hogsheads of shoes, stockings, 
and clothing, were lying at different places on 
the roads and in the woods, perishing for want 
of teams, or of money to pay the teamsters." * 

Such were the consequences of the derange- 
ment of the commissariat. 

Arrived at Valley Forge on the 17th, the 
troops had still to brave the wintry weather in 
their tents, until they could cut down trees 
and construct huts for their accommodation. 
Those who were on the sick list had to seek 
temporary shelter wherever it could be found. 



Gordon's Hist. Am. "W.ir, vol. ii., p. 279. 



among the farmers of the neighborhood. Ac- 
cording to the regulations in the orderly book, 
each hut was to be fourteen feet by sixteen ; 
with walls of logs filled in with clay, six feet 
and a half high; the fireplaces were of logs 
plastered ; and logs sjilit into rude jjlanks or 
slabs furnished the roofing. A hut v/as allotted 
to twelve non-commissioned officers and sol- 
diers. A general officer had a hut to himself. 
The same was allowed to the staff of each bri- 
gade and regiment, and the field officer of each 
regiment ; and a hut to the commissioned offi- 
cers of each company. The huts of the sol- 
diery fronted on streets. Those of the officers 
formed a lino in the rear, and the encam])ment 
gradually assumed the look of a rude military 
village. 

Scarce had the troops been two days em- 
ployed in these labors when, before daybreak 
on the 22d, word was brought that a body of 
the enemy had made a sortie toward Chester, 
apparently on a foraging expedition. Wash- 
ington issued orders to Generals Huntington 
and Varnum, to hold their troops in readiness 
to march against them. " Fighting will be far 
preferable to starving," writes Huntington. 
" My brigade are out of provisions, nor can 
the commissary obtain any meat. I have used 
every argument my imagination can invent to 
make the soldiers easy, but I despair of being 
able to do it much longer." 

" It's a very pleasing cir.curastance to the 
division under my command," writes Varnum, 
" that there is a probability of their marching ; 
three days successively we have been destitute 
of bread. Two days we have been entirely 
without meat. The men must be supplied, or 
they cannot be commanded." 

In fact, a dangerous mutiny had broken out 
among the famishing troops in the preceding 
night, which their officers had had great difii- 
culty in quelling. 

Washington instantly wrote to the President 
of Congress on the subject. " I do not know 
from what cause this alarming deficiency, or 
rather total failure of supplies arises ; but un- 
less more vigorous exertions and better regula- 
tions take place in that line (the commissaries' 
department) immediately, the army must dis- 
solve. I have done all in my power by re- 
monstrating, by writing, by ordering the com- 
missaries on tliis head, from time to time ; but 
without any good effect, or obtaining more 
than a present scanty relief. Owing to this, the 
march of the army has been delayed on more 



^T. 45.J 



WASIlINGTOxN'S VINDlCATOllY LETTER. 



435 



than one interesting occasion, in the course of 
the present campaign ; and had a body of the 
enemy crossed the Schuylkill this morning, as 
i liad reason to expect, the divisions which I 
ordered to be in readiness to march and meet 
them could not have moved." 

Scarce had Washington desj)atched his letter, 
when he learnt that the Legislature of Penn- 
sylvania had addressed a remonstrance to Con- 
gress against his going into winter-quarters, in- 
stead of keeping in the open field. This letter, 
received in his forlorn situation, surrounded by 
an unhoused, scantily clad, half-starved army, 
shivering in the midst of December's snow and 
cold, put an end to his forbearance, and drew 
from him another letter to the President of 
Congress, dated on the 23d, which we shall 
largely quote ; not only for its manly and truth- 
ful eloquence, but for tho exposition it gives of 
the difficulties of his situation, mainly caused 
by unwise and intermeddling legislation. 

And first as to the commissariat : — 

" Though I have been tender, heretofore," 
writes he, " of giving any opinion, or lodging 
complaints, as the change in that department 
took place contrary to my judgment, and the 
consequences thereof were predicted ; yet, find- 
ing that tho inactivity of tho army, whether for 
want of provisions, clothes, or other essentials, 
is charged to my account, not only by tho com- 
mon vulgar, but by those in power, it is time 
to speak plain in exculpation of myself. With 
truth, then, I can declare, that no man, in my 
opinion, ever had his measures more impeded 
than I have by every department of the army. 

" Since the month of July, we have had no 
assistance from tlie quartermaster-general ; and 
to want of assistance from this department, the 
commissary-general charges great part of his 
deficiency. To this I am to add, that not- 
withstanding it is a standing order, and often 
repeated, that the troops shall always liave 
two days' provisions by them, that they might 
be ready at any sudden call ; yet an oppor- 
tunity has scarcely ever offered of taking an 
advantage of the enemy, that it has not been 
either totally obstructed, or greatly impeded on 
tbis account. * * * --i^ jYs a proof of the 
little benefit received from a clothier-general, 
and as a further proof of the inability of an 
army, under the circumstances of this, to per- 
form the common duties of soldiers (besides a 
number of men confined to hospitals for want 
of shoes, and others in farmers' houses on the 
same account), we have, by a field return this 



day made, no less than two thousand eight hun- 
dred and ninety-eiglit men now in camp unfit 
for duty, because they are barefoot, and 
otherwise naked. By the same return, it ap- 
pears that our whole strength in Continental 
troops, including the eastern brigades, which 
have joined us since the surrender of General 
Burgoyne, exclusive of tho [Maryland troops 
sent to Wilmington, amounts to no more tluin 
eight thousand two hundred in camp fit for 
duty ; notwithstanding which, and that since 
the 4th instant, our numbers fit for duty, from 
the hardships and exposures they have under- 
gone, particularly on account of blankets (num- 
bers having been obliged, and still are, to sit 
up all night by fires, instead of taking comfort- 
able rest in a natural and common Avay), have 
decreased near two thousand men. 

"We find gentlemen, without knowing 
whether tho army was really going into w-in- 
ter-quarters or not (for I am sure no resolution 
of mine could warrant the remonstrance), repro- 
bating the measure as much as if they thouglit 
the soldiers were made of stocks or stones, and 
equally insensible of frost and snow ; and more- 
over, as if they conceived it easily practicable 
for an inferior army, under the disadvantages 
I have described ours to be — which are by no 
means exaggerated — to confine a superior one, 
in all respects well appointed and provided for 
a winter's campaign, within the city of Phila- 
delphia, and to cover from depredation and 
waste the States of Pennsylvania and Jersey. 
But Vv'hat makes this matter still more extra- 
ordinai'y in my eye is, that these very gentle- 
men, who were well apprised of the nakedness 
of the troops from ocular demonstration, who 
thought their own soldiers worse clad than 
others, and who advised me near a month ago 
to postpone the execution of a plan I was about 
to adopt, in conse(]nence of a resolve of Con- 
gress for seizing clotlios, under strong asstir- 
ances that an ample supply would be collected 
in ten days, agreeably to a decree of the State 
(not one article of which, by the by, is yet 
come to hand), should think a winter's cam- 
paign, and the covering of those States from 
tho invasion of an enemy, so easy and practi- 
cable a business. I can assure those gentlemen, 
that it is a much easier, and less distressing 
thing, to draw remonstrances in a comfortable 
room by a good fireside, than to occupy a cold, 
bleak hill, and sleep under frost and snow, with- 
out clothes or blankets. However, although 
they seem to have little feeling for the naked 



430 



RETROSPECT OF THE YEAR. 



[177^. 



and distressed soldiers, I feel abundantly for 
them, and, from my soul, I pity those miseries, 
which it is neither in my power to relieve nor 
prevent. 

" It is for these reasons, therefore, that I have 
dwelt upon the subject ; and it adds not a little 
to my other difBculties and distress, to find that 
much more is expected from me than is possi- 
Ijle to be performed, and that, upon the ground 
of safety and policy, I am obliged to conceal 
the true state of the army from public view, 
and thereby expose myself to detraction and 
calumny." 

In the present exigency, to save his camp 
from desolation, and to relieve his starving sol- 
diery, he was compelled to exercise the author- 
ity recently given him by Congress, to forage 
the country round, seize supplies wherever he 
could find them, and pay for them in money or 
in certificates redeemable by Congress. He ex- 
ercised these powers with great reluctance ; 
rurally inclined himself, he had a strong sym- 
pathy with the cultivators of the soil, and ever 
regarded the yeomanry with a paternal eye. 
He was apprehensive, moreover, of irritating 
the jealousy of military sway, prevalent through- 
out the country, and of corrupting the morals 
of the army. " Such procedures," writes he to 
the President of Congress, "may give a mo- 
mentary relief; but if repeated, will prove of the 
most pernicious consequences. Beside spread- 
ing disaflfection, jealousy, and fear among the 
people, they never fail, even in the most vet- 
eran troops, under the most rigid and exact 
discipline, to raise in the soldiery a disposition 
to licentiousness, to plunder and robbery, diffi- 
cult to suppress afterward, and which has 
proved not only ruinous to the inhabitants, but 
in many instances to armies themselves. I re- 
gret the occasion that compelled us to the 
measure the other day, and shall consider it 
the greatest of our misfortunes if we should be 
under the necessity of practising it again." 

How truly in all these trying scenes of his 
military career, does the patriot rise above the 
soldier ! 

"With these noble and high-spirited appeals 
to Congress, we close Washington's operations 
for 1777 ; one of the most arduous and event- 
ful years of his military life, and one the most 
trying to his character and fortunes. He began 
it with an empty army chest, and a force dwin- 
dled down to four thousand half-disciplined 
men. Throughout the year he had had to con- 
tend, not merely with the enemy, but with the 



parsimony and meddlesome interference of 
Congress. In his most critical times that body 
had left him without funds and without rein- 
forcements. It had made promotions contrary 
to his advice, and contrary to military usage ; 
thereby wronging and disgusting some of his 
bravest officers. It had changed the commis- 
sariat in the very midst of a campaign, and 
thereby thrown the whole service into confu- 
sion. 

Among so many cross-purposes and discour- 
agements, it was a difficult task for Washington 
to "keep the life and soul of the army to- 
gether." Yet he had done so. Marvellous in- 
deed was the manner in which he had soothed 
the discontents of his aggrieved officers, and 
reconciled them to an ill-requiting service ; and 
still more marvellous the manner in which he 
had breathed his own spirit of patience and 
perseverance in his yeoman soldiery, during 
their sultry marchings and countermarchings 
through the Jerseys, under all kinds of priva- 
tions, with no visible object of pursuit to stim- 
idate their ardor, hunting, as it were, the ru- 
mored apparitions of an unseen fleet. 

All this time, too, while endeavoring to as- 
certain and counteract the operations of Lord 
Howe upon the ocean, and his brother upon 
the laud, he was directing and aiding military 
measures against Burgoyne in the North. Three 
games were in a manner going on under his 
supervision. The operations of the commander- 
in-chief are not always the most obvious to the 
public eje ; victories may be planned in his tent, 
of which subordinate generals get the credit; 
and most of the moves which ended in giving 
a triumphant check to Burgoyne, may be 
traced to "Washington's shifting camp in the 
Jerseys. 

It has been an irksome task in some of the 
preceding chapters, to notice the under-current 
of intrigue and management by which some 
part of this year's campaign was disgraced ; yet 
even-handed justice requires that such machina- 
tions should be exposed. We have shown how 
successful they were in displacing the noble- 
hearted Schuyler from the head of the North- 
ern department; the same machinations were 
now at work to undermine the commander-in- 
chief, and elevate the putative hero of Saratoga 
on his ruins. He was painfully aware of them ; 
yet in no part of the war did he more thor- 
oughly evince that magnanimity which was his 
grand characteristic, than in the last scenes of 
this campaign, where he rose above the taunt- 



^T. 45.] 



THE CONWAY LETTER— LETTER OF GATES TO WASHINGTON. 



437 



ings of the press, the sneerings of the cabal, the 
murmurs of the public, the suggestions of some 
of his frieuds, and the throbbing impulses of 
his own courageous heart, and adhered to that 
Fabian policy which he considered essential to 
the safety of the cause. To dare is often the 
impulse of selfish ambition or harebrained 
valor : to forbear is at times the proof of real 
greatness. 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 

While censure and detraction had dogged 
Washington throughout his harassing cam- 
paign, and followed him to his forlorn encamp- 
ment at VaUey Forge, Gates was the constant 
theme of popular eulogium, and was held up by 
the cabal, as the only one capable of retrieving 
the desperate fortunes of the South. Letters 
from his friends in Congress urged him to 
hasten on, take his seat at the head of the 
Board of War, assume the management of 
military affairs, and sme the country ! 

Gates was not a strong-minded man. Is it a 
wonder, then, that his brain should be bewil- 
dered by the fumes of incense offered up on 
every side? In the midst of his triumph, 
however, while feasting on the sweets of adula- 
tion, came the withering handwriting on the 
wall ! It is an epistle from his friend Mifilin. 
" My dear General," writes he, " an extract 
from Conway's letter to you has been procured 
and sent to head-quarters. The extract was a 
collection of just sentiments, yet such as should 
not have been intrusted to any of your family. 
General Washington enclosed it to Conway 
without remarks. * * * * -^j jg^j. Gen- 
eral, take care of your sincerity and frank 
disposition ; they cannot injure yourself, but 
may injure some of your best friends. Affec- 
tionately yours." 

Nothing could surpass the trouble and con- 
fusion of mind of Gates on the perusal of this 
letter. Part of his correspondence with Con- 
way had been sent to head- quarters. But 
what part? What was the purport and extent 
of the alleged exti-acts ? How had they been 
obtained? Who had sent them? Mifflin's 
letter specified nothing ; and this silence as to 
particulars, left an unbounded field for torment- 
ing conjecture. In fact, MiflSin knew nothing 
in particular when he wrote ; nor did any of 
the cabal. The laconic nature of Washington's 



note to Conway had thrown them all in confu- 
sion. None knew the extent of the correspond- 
ence discovered, nor how far they might l>e 
individually compromised. 

Gates, in his perplexity, suspected that his 
portfolio had been stealthily, opened and his 
letters copied. But which of them ? — and by 
whom? He wrote to Conway and Mifliin, 
anxiously inquiring what part of their corre- 
spondence had been thus surreptitiously ob- 
tained, and " who was the villain that had 
played him this treacherous trick. There is 
scarcely a man living," says he, " who takes a 
greater care of his letters than I do. I never 
fail to lock them up, and keep the key in my 
pocket. * * * * j^Q punishment is too 
severe f§r the wretch who betrayed ine ; and 
I doubt not your friendship for me, as well as 
your zeal for our safety, will bring the name 
of this miscreant to light." * 

Gates made rigid inquiries among the gentle- 
men of his staft'; all disavowed any knowledge 
of the matter. In the confusion and perturba- 
tion of his mind, his suspicions glanced, or were 
turned, upon Colonel Hamilton, as the channel 
of communication, he having had free access to 
head-quarters during his late mission from the 
commander-in-chief. In this state of mental 
trepidation. Gates wrote, on the 8th of Decem- 
ber, the following letter to Washington : 

" SiE : — I shall not attempt to describe what, 
as a private gentleman, I cannot help feeling, 
on representing to my mind the disagreeable sit- 
uation in which confidential letters, when ex- 
posed to public inspection, may place an unsus- 
pecting correspondent ; but, as a public ofiicer, 
I conjure your Excellency to give me all the 
assistance you can in tracing the author of the 
infidelity which put extracts from General Con- 
way's letters to me into your hands. Those 
letters have been stealingly copied, but which 
of them, when, and by whom, is to me as yet 
an unfathomable secret. * * * * It is, I 
believe, in your Excellency's power to do me 
and the United States a very important service, 
by detecting a wretch who may betray me, and 
capitally injure the very operations under your 
immediate directions. * * * * xhe crime 
being eventually so important, that the least 
loss of time may be attended with the worst 
consequences, and it being unknown to me 
whether the letter came to you from a mem- 
ber of Congress, or from an officer, I shall have 



* Gates's Papers, N. Y. Hist. Lib. 



438 WASHINGTON'S ANSWER TO GATES— WARNING LETTER EROil DR. CRAIK. [ITv?. 



the honor of transmitting a copy of this to the 
President, that the Congress may, in concert 
with your Excellency, obtain as soon as possi- 
ble a discovery which so deeply affects the 
safety of the States. Crimes of that magnitude 
ought not to remain unpunished." A copy of 
this letter was transmitted by Gates to the 
President of Congress. 

Washington replied with characteristic dig- 
nity and candor. "Your letter of the 8th 
ultimo," writes he (Januai-y 4th), " came to my 
hand a few days ago, and, to my great surprise, 
informed me that a copy of it had been sent to 
Congress, for what reason I find myself unable 
to account ; but, as some end was doubtless in- 
tended to be answered by it, I am laid under 
the disagreeable necessity of returning my an- 
swer through the same channel, lest any mem- 
ber of that honorable body should harbor an 
unfavorable suspicion of my having practised 
some indirect means to come at the contents of 
the confidential letters between you and Gen- 
eral Conway. 

"I am to inform you, then, that Colonel 
Wilkinson, on his way to Congress, in the 
month of October last, fell in with Lord Stir- 
ling at Eeading, and, not in confidence, that I 
ever understood, informed his aide-de-camp, 
Major McWilliams, that General Conway had 
written this to you : ' Heaven has been deter- 
mined to save your country, or a weak general 
and bad counsellors would have ruined it.' Lord 
Stirling, from motives of friendship, transmitted 
the account with this remark : ' The enclosed 
was communicated by Colonel Wilkinson to 
Major McWilliams. Such wicked duplicity of 
conduct I shall always think it my duty to de- 
tect.' " 

Washington adds, that the letter written by 
him to Conway was merely to show that gen- 
tleman that he was not imapprised of his in- 
triguing disposition. " Neither this letter," 
continues he, " nor the information which oc- 
casioned it, was ever directly or indirectly com- 
municated by me to a single oflacer in this 
army, out of my own family, excepting tlie 
Marquis de Lafayette, who, having been spoken 
to on the subject by General Conway, applied 
for and saw, under injunctions of secrecy, the 
letter which contained Wilkinson's information; 
so desirous was I of concealing every matter 
that could, in its consequences, give the small- 
est interruption to the tranquillity of this army, 
or afford a gleam of hope to the enemy by dis- 
sensions therein. * * * xill Lord Stirling's 



letter came to my hands, I never knew that 
General Conway, whom I viewed in the light 
of a stranger to you, was a correspondent of 
yours ; much less did I suspect that I was the 
subject of your confidential letters. Pardon 
me, then, for adding, that so far from conceiv- 
ing the safety of the States can be affected, or 
in the smallest degree injured, by a discovery 
of this kind, or that I should be called upon in 
such solemn terms to point out the author, I 
considered the information as coming from 
yourself, and given with a view to forewarn, 
and consequently to forearm me, against a se- 
cret enemy, or in other words, a dangerous in- 
cendiary ; in which character sooner or later 
this country will know General Conway. But 
in this, as in other matters of late, I have found 
myself mistaken." 

This clear and ample answer explained the 
enigma of the laconic note to Conway, and 
showed that the betrayal of the defamatoiy 
correspondence was due to the babbling of Wil- 
kinson. Following the mode adopted by Gates, 
Washington transmitted his reply through the 
hands of the President of Congress, and thus 
this matter, which he had genei'ously kept se- 
cret, became blazoned before Congress and the 
world. 

A few days after writing the above letter, 
Washington received the following warning 
from his old and faithful friend. Dr. Craik, 
dated from Maryland, Jan. C. " Notwithstand- 
ing your unwearied diligence and the unparal- 
leled sacrifice of domestic happiness and ease of 
mind which you have made for the good of 
your country, yet you are not wanting in secret 
enemies, who would rob you of the great anfl 
truly deserved esteem your country has for 
you. Base and villanous men, through chagrin, 
envy, or ambition, are endeavoring to lessen 
you in the minds of the people, and taking un- 
derhand methods to traduce your character. 
The morning I left camp, I was informed that 
a strong faction was forming against you in the 
new Board of War, and in the Congress. * '■' 
The method they are taking is by holding Gen- 
eral Gates up to the people, and making them 
believe that you have had a nmnber three or 
tfour times greater than the enemy, and have 
done nothing ; that Philadelphia was given up 
by your management, and that you have had 
many opportunities of defeating the enemy. It 
is said they dare not appear openly as your 
enemies; but that the new Board of War is 
composed of such leading men, as will tlirow 



^T. 4G.] 



ANONYMOUS LETTER— GATES AT YORKTOWN. 



439 



sucli obstacles and difHculties in your way as 
to force you to resign." * 

An auonymous letter to Patrick Henry, dated 
from Yorktown, Jan. 12th, says among other 
things, " "We have only passed the Eed Sea ; 
a dreary wilderness is still before us, and unless 
a Moses or a Joshua are raised up in our behalf, 
we must perish before we reach the promised 
land. * * * * gut ig our case desperate ? 
By no means. "We have wisdom, virtue, and 
strength enough to save us, if they could be 
called into action. The Northern army has 
shown us what Americans are capable of doing 
with a general at their head. The spirit of the 
Southern army is no way inferior to the spirit 
of the Northern. A Gates, a Lee, or a Con- 
way, would in a few weeks render them an ir- 
resistible body of men. The last of the above 
officers has accepted of the new office of in- 
spector general of our army, in order to reform 
abuses ; but the remedy is only a palliative one. 
In one of his letters to a friend, he says, 'a 
great and good God hath decreed America to 
be free, or the [general] and weak counsellors 
would have ruined her long ago.' " t 

Another anonymous paper, probably by the 
same hand, dated January 17th, and sent to 
Congress under a cover directed to the presi- 
dent, Mr. Laurens, decried all the proceedings 
of the Southern army, declaring that the prop- 
er method of attacking, beating, and conquer- 
ing the enemy, had never as yet been adopted 
by the commander-in-chief ; that the late suc- 
cess to the Northward was owing to a change 
of the commanders ; that the Southern army 
would have been alike successful had a similar 
change taken place. After dwelling on the 
evils and derangements prevalent in every de- 
partment, it draws the conclusion, " That the 
head cannot possibly be sound, when the whole 
body is disordered ; that the people of America 
have been guilty of idolatry, by making a man 
their God, and the God of heaven and earth 
will convince them by woful experience, that 
he is only a man ; that no good may be expect- 
ed from the standing army until Baal and his 
worshippers are banished from the camp." J 

Instead of laying this mischievous paper be- 
fore Congress, Mr. Laurens remitted it to "Wash- 
ington. He received the following reply : " I 
cannot sufficiently express the obligation I feel 
to jon for your friendship and politeness, upon 
an occasion in which I am so deeply interested. I 

* Sparks. Washington's Writings, vol. v., p. 493. 
t Idem, vol. v., p. 493. I Idem, vol. v. p. 497. 



was not unapprised that a malignant faction 
had been for some time forming to my preju- 
dice ; which, conscious as I am of having ever 
done all in my power to answer the important 
purposes of the trust reposed in me, could not 
but give me some pain on a personal account. 
But my chief concern arises from an apprehen- 
sion of the dangerous consequences which in- 
testine dissensions may produce to the common 
cause. 

" My enemies take an ungenerous advantage 
of me. They know the delicacy of my situa- 
tion, and that motives of policy deprive me 
of the defence I might otherwise make against 
their insidious attacks. They know I cannot 
combat their insinuations, however injurious, 
without disclosing secrets which it is of the 
utmost moment to conceal. But why should I 
expect to be exempt from censure, the unfail- 
ing lot of an elevated station ? Merit and tal- 
ents, with which I can have no pretensions of 
rivalship, have ever been subject to it. My 
heart tells me, that it has ever been my unre- 
mitted aim to do the best that circumstances 
would permit ; yet I may have been very often 
mistaken in my judgment of the means, and 
may in many instances deserve the imputation 
of error." 

Gates was disposed to mark his advent to 
power by a striking operation. A notable pro- 
ject had been concerted by him and the Board 
of War for a winter irruption into Canada. 
An expedition was to proceed from Albany, 
cross Lake Champlain on the ice, burn the 
British shipping at St. Johns, and press for- 
ward to Montreal. "Washington was not con- 
sulted in the matter : the project was submitted 
to Congress, and sanctioned by them without 
his privity. 

One object of the scheme was to detach 
the Marquis de Lafayette from "Washington, to 
whom he was devotedly attached, and bring him 
into the interests of the cabal. For this pur- 
pose he was to have the command of the expe- 
dition ; an appointment which it was thought 
would tempt his military ambition. Conway 
was to be second in command, and it was trusted 
that his address and superior intelligence would 
virtually make him the leader. 

Tlie first notice that "Washington received of 
the project was in a letter from Gates, enclos- 
ing one to Lafayette, informing the latter of 
his appointment, and requiring his attendance 
at Yorktown to receive his instructions. 

Gates, in his letter to "Washington, asked hia 



440 



LAFAYETTE TO WASHINGTON— GATES'S LETTER TO WASHINGTON. 



[1778. 



opinion and advice ; evidently as a matter of 
form. The latter expressed himself obliged by 
the " polite request," but observed that, as he 
neither knew the extent of the objects in view, 
nor the means to be employed to effect them, 
it was not in his power to pass any judgment 
upon the subject, lie wished success to the 
enterprise, " both as it might advance the pub- 
lic good and confer personal honor on the Mar- 
quis de Lafayette, for whom he had a very par- 
ticular esteem and regard." 

The cabal, however, had overshot their mark. 
Lafayette, who was aware of their intrigues, 
was so disgusted by the want of deference and 
respect to the commander-in-chief evinced 
in the whole proceeding, that he would at 
once have declined the appointment, had not 
Washington himself advised him strongly to 
accept it. 

He accordingly proceeded to Yorktown, 
where Gates already had his little court of 
schemers and hangers on. Lafayette found liim 
at table, presiding with great hilarity, for he 
was social in his habits, and in the flush of re- 
cent success. The young marquis had a cordial 
welcome to his board, which in his buoyant 
conviviality contrasted with the sober decen- 
cies of that of the thoughtful commander-in- 
chief in his dreary encampment at Yalley 
Forge. Gates, in his excitement, was profuse 
of promises. Every thing was to be made 
smooth and easy for Lafayette. He was to 
have at least two thousand five hundred fight- 
ing men under him. Stark, the veteran Stark, 
was ready to co-operate with a body of Green 
Mountain Boys. " Indeed," cries Gates, chuck- 
ling, " General Stark will have burnt the fleet 
before your arrival ! " 

It was near the end of the repast. The wine 
had circulated freely, and toasts had been given 
according to the custom of the day. The 
marquis thought it time to show his flag. One 
toast, he observed, had been omitted, which 
he would now propose. Glasses were accord- 
ingly filled, and he gave, " The commander-in- 
chief of the American armies." The toast was 
received without cheering. 

Lafayette was faithful to the flag he had un- 
furled. In accepting the command, he consid- 
ered himself detached from the main army and 
under the immediate orders of the commander- 
in-chief. He had a favorable opinion of the 
military talents of Conway, but he was aware 
of the game he was playing ; he made a point, 
therefore, of having the Baron de Ivalb ap- 



pointed to the expedition ; whose commission 
being of older date than that of Conway, 
would give him the precedence of that officer, 
and make him second in command. This was 
reluctantly ceded by the cabal, who found them- 
selves baffled by the loyalty in friendship of 
the youthful soldier. 

Lafayette set out for Albany without any 
very sanguine expectations. Writing to Wash- 
ington from Flemington, amid the difficulties 
of winter travel, he says : " I go on very slow- 
ly ; sometimes drenched by rain, sometimes 
covered vrith snow, and not entertaining many 
handsome thoughts about the projected incur- 
sion into Canada. Lake Champlain is too cold 
for producing the least bit of laurel ; and, if I 
am not starved, I shall be as proud as if I had 
gained three battles." * 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

Washington's letter of the 4th of January, 
on the subject of the Conway correspondence, 
had not reached General Gates until the 22d of 
January, after his arrival at Yorktown. 'So 
sooner did Gates learn from its context, that 
all Washington's knowledge of that correspond- 
ence Avas confined to a single paragraph of a 
letter, and that merely as quoted in conversa- 
tion by Wilkinson, than the whole matter ap- 
peared easily to be explained or shuffled oflf. 
He accordingly took pen in^hand, and addressed 
Washington as follows, on the 23d of January : 
" The letter which I had the honor to receive 
yesterday from your Excellency, has relieved 
me from unspeakable uneasiness. I now an- 
ticipate the pleasure it will give you when you 
discover that what has been conveyed to yoa 
for an extract of General Conway's letter to 
nie, was not an information which friendly 
motives induced a man of honor to give, that 
injured virtue might be forearmed against se- 
cret enemies. The paragraph which your Ex- 
cellency has condescended to transcribe, is spu- 
rious. It was certainly fabricated to answer the 
most selfish and wicked purposes." 

He then goes on to declare that the genuine 
letter of Conway was perfectly harmless, con- 
taining judicious remarks upon the want of 
discipline in the army, but making no mention 
of weak generals or bad counsellors. " Partic- 



Sparks' Cor. Am. Rev. vol. ii., p. 74. 



Mr. 46.] 



GATES'S EXPLANATORY LETTER TO WASHINGTON, 



441 



ular actions rather than persons were blamed, 
but with impartiality, and I am convinced he 
did not aim at lessening, in my opinion, the 
merit of any person. His letter was perfectly 
harmless ; however, now that various reports 
have been circulated concerning its contents, 
they ought to be submitted to the solemn in- 
spection of those who stand most high in the 
* public esteem. 

" Anxiety and jealousy would arise in the 
breast of very respectable officers, w^ho, sensi- 
ble of faults which experience, and that alone, 
may have led them into, would be unnecessarily 
disgusted, if they perceived a probability of 
such errors being recorded. 

" Honor forbids it, and patriotism demands 
that I should return the letter into the hands 
of the writer. I will do it ; but, at the same 
time, I declare that the paragraph conveyed to 
yom' Excellency as a genuine part of it, was, in 
words as well as in substance, a wicked forgery, 
" About the beginning of December, I was 
informed that letter had occasioned an explana- 
tion between your Excellency and that gentle- 
man. Not knowing whether the whole letter 
or a part of it had been stealingly copied, but 
fearing malice had altered its original texture, 
I own, sir, that a dread of the mischiefs which 
might attend the forgery, I suspected would be 
made, put me some time in a most painful situa- 
tion. When I communicated to the officers in 
my family the intelligence which I had receiv- 
ed, they aU entreated me to rescue their char- 
acters from the suspicions they justly conceived 
themselves liable to, until the guUty person 
should be known. To facilitate the discovery, 
I wrote to your Excellency ; but, unable to 
learn whether General Conway's letter had 
been transmitted to you by a member of Con- 
gress, or a gentleman in the army, I was afraid 
much time would be lost in the course of the 
inquiry, and that the States might receive some 
capital injury from the infidelity of the person 
who I thought had stolen a copy of the obnox- 
ious letter. Was it not probable that the se- 
crets of the army might be obtained and be- 
trayed through the same means to the enemy ? 
For this reason, sir, not doubting that Congress 
would most cheerfully concur with you in trac- 
ing out the criminal, I wrote to the president, 
and enclosed to him a copy of my letter to your 
Excellency. 

" About the time I was forwarding those 
letters, Brigadier-General Wilkinson returned to 
Albany. I informed him of the treachery which 



had been committed, but I concealed from him 
the measures I was pursuing to unmask the 
author. Wilkinson answered, he was assured 
it never would come to light ; and endeavored 
to fix my suspicions on Lieutenant-Colonel 
Troup,* who, he said, might have incautiously 
conversed on the substance of General Con- 
way's letter with Colonel Hamilton, whom you 
had sent not long before to Albany. I did not 
listen to this insinuation against your aide-de- 
camp and mine." 

In the original draft of this letter, which we 
have seen among the papers of General Gates, 
he adds, as a reason for not listening to the in- 
sinuation, that he considered it even as ungen- 
erous. "But," pursues he, "the light your 
Excellency has just assisted me with, exhibiting 
the many qualifications which are necessarily 
blended together in the head and heart of Gen- 
eral Wilkinson, I Avould not omit this fact ; it 
wiU enable your Excellency to judge whether 
or not he would scruple to make such a forgery 
as that which he now stands charged with, and 
ought to be exemplarily punished." This, with 
considerable more to the same purport, intended 
to make Wilkinson the scape-goat, stands can- 
celled in the draft, and was omitted in the let- 
ter sent to Washington ; but by some means, 
fair or foul, it came to the knowledge of Wil- 
kinson, who has published it at length in his 
Memoirs, and who, it vfiU be found, resented 
the imputation thus conveyed. 

General Conway, also, in a letter to Wash- 
ington (dated January 27), informs him that 
the letter had been returned to him by Gates, 
and that he found with great satisfaction that 
" the paragraph so much spoken of did not 
exist in the said letter, nor any thing hke it." 
He had intended, he adds, to publish tlie letter, 
but had been dissuaded by President Laurens 
and' two or three members of Congress, to 
whom he had shown it, lest it should inform 
the enemy of a misunderstanding among the 
American generals. He therefore depended 
upon the justice, candor, and generosity of 
General Washington, to put a stop to the for- 
gery. 

On the 9th of February, Washington wrote 
Gates a long and searching reply to his letters 
of the 8th, and 23d of January, analyzing them, 
and showing how, in spirit and import, they 
contradicted each other ; and how sometimes 
the same letter contradicted itself. How in 

* At that time an aide-de-camp of Gates. 



442 



WASHINGTON'S SEARCHING ANALYSIS OF THE EXPLANATION. 



[1778. 



the first letter the reality of the extracts was 
by implication allowed, and the only solicitude 
shown was to find out the person who brought 
them to light ; while, in the second letter, the 
whole was pronounced, " in word as well as in 
substance, a wicked forgery." " It is not my 
intention," observes "Washington, "to contra- 
dict tliis assertion, but only to intimate some 
considerations which tend to induce a supposi- 
tion, that, though none of General Conway's 
letters to you contained the offensive passage 
mentioned, there might have been something 
in them too nearly related to it, that could 
give such an extraordinary alarm. If this were 
not the case, how easy in the first instance to 
have declared there was nothing exceptionable 
in them, and to have produced the letters 
themselves in support of it ? The propriety of 
the objections suggested against submitting 
them to inspection may very well be ques- 
tioned. ' The various reports circulated con- 
cerning their contents,' were perhaps so many 
arguments for making them speak for them- 
selves, to place the matter upon the footing of 
certainty. Concealment in an affair which 
had made so much noise, though not by my 
means, will naturally lead men to conjecture 
the worst, and it will be a subject of speculation 
even to candor itself. The anxiety and jealousy 
you apprehend from revealing the letter, will 
be very apt to be increased by suppressing it." 
We forbear to foUow Washington through 
his stern analysis, but we cannot omit the con- 
cluding paragraph of his strictures on the char- 
acter of Conway, 

" Notwithstanding the hopeful presages you 
are pleased to figure to yourself of General 
Conway's firm and constant friendship to 
America, I cannot persuade myself to retract the 
prediction concerning him, which you so em- 
phatically wish had not been inserted in' my 
last. A better acquaintance with him, than I 
have reason to think you have had, from what 
you say, and a concurrence of circumstances, 
oblige me to give him but little credit for the 
qualifications of his heart, of which, at least, I 
beg leave to assume the privilege of being a 
tolerable judge. Were it necessary, more in- 
stances than one might be adduced, from his 
behavior and conversation, to manifest that 
he is capable of all the malignity of detraction, 
and all the meanness of intrigue, to gratify the 
absurd resentment of disappointed vanity, or to 
answer the purposes of personal aggrandize- 
ment, and promote the interest of faction." 



Gates evidently quailed beneath this letter. 
In his reply February 19th, he earnestly hoped 
that no more of that time, so precious to the 
public, might be lost upon the subject of Gen- 
eral Conway's letter. 

" Whether that gentleman^" says he, " does 
or does not deserve the suspicions you express, 
would be entirely indifferent to me, did he not 
possess an office of high rank in the army 
of the United States. As to the gentleman, I 
have no personal connection with him, nor had 
I any correspondence previous to his writing 
the letter which has given oftence, nor have I 
since written to him save to certify what I 
know to be the contents of that letter. He, 
therefore, must be responsible ; as I heartily 
dislike controversy, even upon my own account, 
and much more in a matter wherein I was only 
accidentally concerned," &c., &c. 

The following was the dignified but freezing 
note with which Washington closed this corre- 
spondence. 

" Valley Forge, 24^!. Feb., 1778. 

" SiE : — I yesterday received your favor of 
the 19th instant. I am as averse to contro- 
versy as any man ; and, had I not been forced 
into it, you never would have had occasion to im- 
pute to me even the shadow of a disposition tow- 
ards it. Your repeatedly and solemnly disclaim- 
ing any offensive views la those matters which 
have been the subject of our past correspond- 
ence, makes me willing to close with the desire 
you express of burying them hereafter in silence, 
and, as far as future events will permit, oblivion. 
My temper leads me to peace and harmony with 
all men ; and it is peculiarly my wish to avoid 
any personal feuds or dissensions with those 
who are embarked in the same great national 
interest with myself, as every difference of this 
kind must, in its consequences, be very injuri- 
ous. I am, sir," &c. 

Among the various insidious artifices resorted 
to about this time to injure the character of 
Washington and destroy public confidence in 
his sincerity, was the publication of a series of 
letters purporting to be from him to some 
members of his family, and to his agent, Mr. 
Lund Washington, which, if genuine, would 
prove him to be hollow-hearted and faithless to 
the cause he was pretending to uphold. They 
had appeared in England in a pamplilct form, 
as if printed from originals and drafts found in 
possession of a black servant of Washington, 



.Et. 46.] SPURIOUS LETTERS— LAFAYETTE AND THE CANADA EXPEDITION. 



443 



who had been left behind ill, at Fort Lee, when 
it was evacuated. They had recently been re- 
printed at New York in Eivington's Koyal 
Gazette ; the first letter making its appearance 
on the 14th of February. It had also been 
printed at New York in a handbill, and extracts 
published in a Philadelphia paper. 

Washington took no public notice of this 
publication at the time, but in private corre- 
spondence with his friends, he observes : 
" These letters are written with a great deal 
of art. The intermixture of so many family 
circumstances (which, by the by, want founda- 
tion in truth) gives an air of plausibility, which 
renders the villany greater ; as the whole is 
a contrivance to answer the most diabolical 
purposes. Who the author of them is, I know 
not. From information or acquaintance he 
must have had some knowledge of the compo- 
nent parts of my family ; but he has most egre- 
giously mistaken the facts in several instances. 
The design of his labors is as clear as the sun 
in its meridian brightness." * And in another 
letter, he observes, " They were written to 
show that I was an enemy to independence, 
and with a view to create distrust and jealousy. 
It is no easy matter to decide whether the 
villany or the artifice of these letters is 
greatest." f 

The author of these letters was never dis- 
covered, lie entirely failed in his object ; the 
letters were known at once to be forgeries. J 



* Letter to General Henry Lee, Virginia. — Sparks^ 
Writings of Washington, vol. v. 378. 

t Letter to Landon Carter. Idem, p. 391. 

t The introduction to the letters states them to have 
been transmitted to England by an officer serving in De- 
lancej-'s corps of loyalists, who gives the following account 
of the w.ay he came by them : — Among the prisoners at 
Port Lee, I espied a mulatto fellow, whom I thought I 
recollected, and who confirmed my conjectures by gazing 
very earnestly at me. I asked him if he knew me. At 
first, ho was unwilling to own it; but when he was about 
to be carried oft', thinking, I suppose, that I might perhaps 
be of some service to him, he came and told me that he 
was Billy, and the old servant of General Wasliington. 
He had been left there on account of an indisposition 
Which prevented his attending his master. I asked him a 
great many questions, as j'ou may suppose ; but found 
very little satisfaction in his answers. At last, however, 
he told me that he had a small portmanteau of his master's, 
of which, when he found that he must be put into confine- 
ment, ho entreated my care. It contained only a few 
stockings and shirts ; and I could see nothing worth my 
care, except an almanack, in which he had kept a sort of a 
journal, or diary of hia proceedings since his first coming 
to New York ; there were also two letters from his lady, 
one from Mr. Custis, and some pretty long ones from a 
Mr. Lund Washington. And in the same bundle with 
them, the first draughts, or foul copies of answers to 
them. I read these with avidity ; and being highly enter- 



Letters received at this juncture from Lafay- 
ette, gave Washington tidings concerning the 
expedition against Canada, set on foot without 
consulting him. General Conway had arrived 
at Albany three days before the marquis, and 
his first word when they met was- that the 
expedition was quite impossible. Generals 
Schuyler, Lincoln, and Arnold, had written to 
Conway to that effect. The marquis at first 
was inclined to hope the contrary, but his hope 
was soon demolished. Instead of the two 
thousand five hundred men that had been 
promised him, not twelve hundred in all were to 
be found fit for duty, and most part of these were 
" naked even for a summer's campaign ; " all 
shrank from a winter incursion into so cold a 
country. As to General Stark and his legion 
of Green Mountain Boys, who, according to the 
gasconade of Gates, might have burnt the fleet 
before Lafayette's arrival, the marquis received 
at Albany a letter from the veteran, " who 
wishes to know," says he, " what nuiiiber of 
men, for what time, and for ichat rendezvous, 
I desire him to raise.'''' 

Another officer, who was to have enlisted 
men, would have done so, had he received 
money. " One asks what encouragement his 
people will have ; the other has no clothes ; 
not one of them has received a dollar of what 
was due to them. I have applied to every 
body, I have begged at every door I could 
these two days, and I see that I could do some- 
thing were the expedition to be begun In five 
weeks. But you know we have not an hour 
to lose ; and, indeed, it is now rather too late 
had we every thing in readiness." 

The poor marquis was in de^air — but what 
most distressed him was the dread of ridicule. 
He had written to his friends that he had the 
command of the expedition ; it would be 
known throughout Europe. "I am afraid," 
says he, "that it will reflect on my reputa- 
tion, and I shall be laughed at. My fears upon 
that subject are so strong that I would choose 
to become again only a volunteer, unless Con- 
gress offers the means of mending this ugly 
business by some glorious operation." 



tained with them, have shown them to several of my 
friends, who all agree with me, that he is a very difterent 
character from what they had supposed him. 

In commenting on the above, Washington observed 
that his mulatto man Billy, had never been one moment in 
the power of the enemy, and tliat no part of his baggage 
nor any of his attendants were captured during the whole 
course of the yfar.— Letter to Timothy Pickering, Sparks, 
ix. 149. 



444 LAFAYETTE'S PERPLEXITIES AND WASHINGTON'S COUNSELS— THE CABAL. [1118. 



A subsequent letter is in the same vein. 
The poor marquis, in his perplexity, lays his 
whole heart open to "Washington with childlike 
simplicity. " I have written lately to you, 
my distressing, ridiculous, foolish, and indeed 
nameless .situation. I am sent, with a great 
noise, at the head of an army for doing great 
things ; the whole continent, France and Eu- 
rope herself, and, what is worse, the British 
army, are in great expectations. How far they 
will be deceived, how far we shall be ridiculed, 
you may judge by the candid account you have 
got of the state of our affairs. I confess, my 
dear general, that I find myself of very quick 
feelings whenever my reputation and glory are 
concerned in any thing. It is very hard that 
such a part of my happiness, without which 
I cannot live, should depend upon schemes 
which I never knew of but when there was no 
time to put them into execution. I assure you, 
my most dear and respected friend, that I am 
more unhappy than I ever was, * * * * 
I should be very happy if you were here, to 
give me some advice ; but I have nobody to 
consult with." 

Washington, with his considerate, paternal 
counsels, hastened to calm the perturbation of 
his youthful friend, and dispel those fears 
respecting his reputation, excited only, as he 
observed, " by an uncommon degree of sensi- 
bility." " It will be no disadvantage to you to 
have it known in Europe," writes he, " that you 
have received so manifest a proof of the good 
opinion and confidence of Congress as an impor- 
tant detached command. * * * * However 
sensibly your ardor for glory may make you 
feel this disappointment, you may be assured 
that your character stands as fair as ever it did, 
and that no new enterprise is necessary to wipe 
off this imaginary stain." 

The project of an irruption into Canada was 
at length formally suspended by a resolve of 
Congress ; and Washington was directed to 
recall the marquis and the Baron de Kalb, the 
presence of the latter being deemed absolutely 
necessary to the army at Yalley Forge. La- 
fayette at the same time received assurance of 
the high sense entertained by Congress of his 
prudence, activity, and zeal, and that nothing 
was wanting on his part to give the expedition 
the utmost possible effect. 

Gladly the young marquis hastened back to 
Valley Forge, to enjoy the companionship and 
find himself once more under the paternal eye 
of Washington ; leaving Conway for the time 



in command at Albany, " where there would 
be nothing, perhaps, to be attended to, but 
some disputes of Indians and tories." 

Washington, in a letter to General Arm- 
strong, writes, " I shall say no more of tha 
Canada expedition than tliat it is at an end. I 
never was made acquainted with a single cir- 
cumstance relating to it." * 



CHAPTER XXX. 

The Conway letter was destined to be a 
further source of trouble to the cabal. Lord 
Stirling, in whose presence, at Reading, Wil- 
kinson had cited the letter, and who had sent 
information of it to Washington, was now told 
that Wilkinson, on being questioned by General 
Conway, had declared that no such words as 
those reported, nor any to the same effect, Avere 
in the letter. 

His lordship immediately wrote to Wilkin- 
son, reminding him of the conversation at 
Readhig, and telling him of what he had re- 
cently heard. 

" I well know," writes his lordship, " that it 
is impossible you could have made any such 
declaration ; but it will give great satisfaction 
to many of your friends to know whether Con- 
way made such inquiry, and what was your 
answer ; they would also be glad to know what 
were the words of the letter, and I should be 
very much obliged to you for a copy of it." 

Wilkinson found that his tongue had again 
brought him into difiiculty ; but he trusted to his 
rhetoric, rather than his logic, to get him out 
of it. He wrote in reply, that lie perfectly 
remembered spending a social day with his 
lordship at Reading, in which the conversation 
became general, unreserved, and copious ; though 
the tenor of his lordship's discourse, and the 
nature of their situation, made it confidential. 
" I cannot, therefore," adds he, logically, " re- 
capitulate particulars, or charge my memory 
with the circumstances you mention ; but, my 
lord, I disdain low craft, subtlety, and evasion, 
and will acknowledge it is possible, in the 
warmth of social intercourse, when the mind 
is relaxed and the heart is unguarded, that 
observations may have elapsed which have not 
since occurred to me. On my late arrival in 
camp, Brigadier-General Conway informed me 

* Sparks' 'Writings of "Washington, vol. v., i>. 



^T. 46.] 



CORRESPONDENCE— WILKINSON'S HONOR WOUNDED. 



445 



that he had heen charged by General Washing- 
ton with writing a letter to Major-General 
Gates, which reflected on the general and the 
army. The particulars of this charge, which 
Brigadier-General Conway then repeated, I 
cannot now recollect. I had read the letter 
alluded to ; I did not consider the information 
conveyed in his Excellency's letter, as expressed 
by Brigadier-General Conway, to be literal, and 
well remember replying to that effect in dubious 
terms. I had no inducement to stain my vera- 
city, were I so prone to that infamous vice, as 
Brigadier Conway informed me he had justified 
the charge. 

" I can scarce credit my senses, when I 
read the paragraph in which you request an 
extract from a private letter, which had fallen 
under my observation, / have heen indiscreet, 
my lord, hut ie assured I will not he dislionor- 
ahU:' 

This communication of Lord Stirling, Wilkin- 
son gives as the first intimation he had re- 
ceived of his being implicated in the disclosure 
of Conway's letter. When he was subse- 
quently on his way to Yorktown to enter upon 
his duties as secretary of the Board of War, he 
learnt at Lancaster that General Gates had de- 
nounced him as the betrayer of that letter, and 
had spoken of him in the grossest language. 

" I was shocked by this information," writes 
he ; " I had sacrificed my lineal rank at Gen- 
eral Gates's request ; I had served him with 
zeal and fidelity, of which he possessed the 
strongest evidence, yet he had condemned me 
unheard for an act of which I was perfectly 
innocent, and against which every feeling of 
my soul revolted with horror. ***** 
I worshipped honor as the jewel of my soul, 
and did not pause for the course to be pursued ; 
but I owed it to disparity of years and rank, 
to former connection and the affections of my 
own breast, to drain the cup of conciliation and 
seek an explanation." 

The result of these and other considerations, 
expressed with that grandiloquence on which 
Wilkinson evidently prided himself, was a letter 
to Gates, reminding him of the zeal and devotion 
with which he had uniformly asserted and 
maintained his cause ; " but, sir," adds he, " in 
spite of every consideration, you have wounded 
my honor, and must make acknowledgment or 
satisfaction for the injury." 

" In consideration of our past connection, I 
descend to that explanation with you which I 
should have denied any other man. The en- 



closed letters unmask the villain and evince 
my innocence. My lord shaU bleed for his 
conduct, but it is proper I first see you." 

The letters enclosed were those between him 
and Lord Stirling, the exposition of which he 
alleges ought to acquit him of sinister inten- 
tion, and stamp the report of his lordship to 
General Washington with palpable falsehood. 

Gates writes briefly in reply. "Sir, — The 
following extract of a letter from General 
Washington to me will show you how your 
honor has been called in question ; which is all 
the explanation necessary upon that matter ; 
any other satisfaction you may command." 

Then followed the extracts giving the in- 
formation communicated by Wilkinson to Major 
Mc Williams, Lord Stirling's aide-de-camp. 

" After reading the whole of the above ex- 
tract," adds Gates, " I am astonished, if you 
really gave Major McWiUiams such informa- 
tion, how you could intimate to me that it was 
possihle Colonel Troup had conversed with Colo- 
nel Hamilton upon the subject of General Con- 
way's letters." 

According to Wilkinson's story he now pro- 
ceeded to Yorktown, purposely arriving in the 
twilight, to escape observation. There he met 
with an old comrade. Captain Stoddart, re- 
counted to him his wrongs, and requested him 
to be the bearer of a message to General Gates. 
Stoddart refused ; and warned him that he 
was running headlong to destruction: "but 
ruin," observes Wilkinson, " had no terrors for 
an ardent young man, who prized his honor a 
thousand fold more than his life, and who was 
willing to hazard his eternal happiness in its 
defence." 

He accidentally met with another military 
friend, Lieutenant-Colonel Ball, of the "Vir- 
ginia line, "whose spirit was as independent as 
his fortune." He willingly became bearer of 
tlie following note from Wilkinson to General 
Gates : 

" Sir, — I have discharged my duty to you, 
and to my conscience ; meet me to-morrow 
morning behind the English church, and I wiU 
there stipulate the satisfaction which you have 
promised to grant," &c. 

Colonel Ball was received with complaisance 
by the general. The meeting was fixed for 
eight o'clock in the morning, with pistols. 

At the appointed time Wilkinson and his 
second, having put their arms in order, were 
about to sally forth, when Captain Stoddart 
made his appearance, and informed Wilkinson 



446 



WILKINSON'S WOUNDED HONOR HEALED. 



[Ills. 



that Gates desired to speak with him. Where ? 
— In the street near the door. — " The surprise 
robbed nie of circumspection," continues Wil- 
kinson, " I requested Colonel Ball to halt, 
and followed Captain Stoddart. I found Gen- 
eral Gates unarmed and alone, and was received 
with tenderness but manifest embarrassment ; 
he asked me to walk, turned into a back street, 
and we proceeded in silence till we passed the 
buildings, when he burst into tears, took me 
by the hand, and asked me ' how I could think 
he wished to injure mc ? ' I was too deeply 
affected to speak, and he relieved my embar- 
rassment by continuing : '/ injure you! it is 
impossible. I should as soon think of injuring 
my own child.' This language," observes Wil- 
kinson, " not only disarmed me, but awakened 
all my confidence and all my tenderness, I was 
silent ; and he added, ' Besides, there was no 
cause for injuring you, as Conway acknowl- 
edged his letter, and has since said much harder 
things to Washington's face,' 

" Such language left me nothing to require," 
continues Wilkinson. " It was satisfactory 
beyond expectation, and rendered me more 
than content. I was flattered and pleased ; 
and if a third person had doubted the sincerity 
of the explanation I would have insulted him," 

A change soon came over the spirit of this 
maudlin scene, Wilkinson attended as secre- 
tary at the War Office, " My reception from 
the president. General Gates," writes he, "did 
not correspond with his recent professions ; 
he was civil, but barely so, and I was at a loss 
to account for his coldness, yet had no suspicion 
of his insincerity," 

Wilkinson soon found his situation at the 
Board of War uncomfortable ; and after the 
lapse of a few days set out for Valley Forge, 
On his way thither he met Washington's old 
friend, Dr. Craik, and learnt from him that his 
promotion to the rank of brigadier-general by 
brevet, had been remonstrated against to Con- 
gress by forty-seven colonels. He therefore 
sent in his resignation, not wishing, he said, to 
hold it, unless he covld wear it to the honor 
and advantage of his country ; " and this con- 
duct," adds he, " however repugnant to fashion- 
able ambition, I find consistent with those prin- 
ciples in which I early drew my sword in the 
present contest." 

At Lancaster, Wilkinson, recollecting his re- 
solve that Lord Stirling " should bleed for his 
conduct," requested his friend, Colonel Moy- 
lan, to deliver a " perem^jtory message " to his 



lordship. The colonel considered the measure 
rather precipitate, and suggested that a suitable 
acknowledgment from his lordship would be a 
more satisfactory reparation of the wrong than 
a sacrifice of the life of either of the parties. 
" There is not in the whole range of my friends, 
acquaintance, and I might add, in the universe," 
exclaims Wilkinson, " a man of more sublimated 
sentiment, or who combined with sound dis- 
cretion a more punctilious sense of honor, than 
Colonel Moylan," Taking the colonel's advice, 
therefore, he moderated his peremptory mes- 
sage to the following note : " My Lord, — The 
propriety or impropriety of your communicat- 
ing to his excellency any circumstance which 
passed at your lordship's board at Eeading, I 
leave to be determined by your own feelings 
and the judgment of the public ; but as the 
affair has eventually induced reflections on my 
integrity, the sacred duty I owe my honor 
obliges me to request from your lordship's hand, 
that the conversation which you have published 
passed in a private company during a convivial 
houry 

His lordship accordingly gave it under his 
hand, that the words passed under such cir- 
cumstances, but under no injunction of secrecy. 
Whereupon Wilkinson's irritable but easily 
pacified honor was appeased, and his sword 
slept in its sheath. 

At Valley Forge Wilkinson had an interview 
with Washington, in which the subject of Gen- 
eral Conway's letter was discussed, and the 
whole correspondence between Gates and the 
commander-in-chief laid before him, 

" This exposition," writes Wilkinson, " un- 
folded to me a scene of perfidy and duplicity 
of which I had no suspicion," It drew from 
him the following letter to Washington, dated 
March 2Sth : "I beg you to receive the grate- 
ful homage of a sensible mind for your con- 
descension in exposing to me General Gates's 
letters, which unmask his artifices and efforts 
to ruin me. The authenticity of the informa- 
tion received through Lord Stirling I cannot 
confirm, as I solemnly assure your Excellency I 
do not remember the conversation which passed 
on that occasion, nor can I recollect particular 
passages of that letter, as I had but a cursory 
view of it at a late hour. However, I so well 
remember its general tenor, that, although 
General Gates has pledged his word it was a 
wicked and malicious forgery, I will stake my 
reputation, if the genuine letter is produced, 
that words to the sartue effect will appear." 



^T. 46.] WILKINSON'S RESIGNATION— CLOSING REMARKS ON THE CONWAY CABAL. 447 



A few daya afterwards, Wilkinson addressed 
the following letter to the President of Con- 
gress : 

" Sir, — While I make my acknowledgments 
to Congress, for the appointment of secretary 
to the Board of War and Ordnance, I am sorry 
I should be constrained to resign that office ; 
but, after the acts of treachery and falsehood 
in which I have detected Major-Gen eral Gates, 
the president of that board, it is impossible 
for me to reconcile it to my honor to serve 
with him."* 

After recording this letter in his Memoirs, 
Wilkinson adds : " I had previously resigned 
my brevet of brigadier-general, on grounds 
of patriotism ; but I still retained my commis- 
sion of colonel, which was never to my knowl- 
edge revoked ; yet the dominant influence of 
General Gates, and the feuds, and factions, and 
intrigues which prevailed in Congress and in 
the army of that day, threw me out of em- 
ploy." There we shall leave him ; it was a 
kind of retirement which we apprehend he had 
richly merited, and we doubt whether his 
country would have been the loser had he 
been left to enjoy it for the remainder of his 
days. 

Throughout all the intrigues and manoeuvres 
of the cabal, a part of which we have laid be- 
fore the reader, Washington had conducted 
himself with calmness and self-command, speak- 
ing on the subject to no one but a very few of 
his friends ; lest a knowledge of those internal 
dissensions should injure the service. 

In a letter to Patrick Henry he gives his 
closing observations concerning them. " I can- 
not precisely mark the extent of their views ; 
but it appeared in general, that General Gates 
was to be exalted on the ruin of my reputation 
and influence. This I am authorized to say, 
from undeniable facts in my own possession, 
ffom publications, the evident scope of which 
could not be mistaken, and from private de- 
tractions industriously circulated. General 
Mifflin, it is commonly supposed, bore the sec- 
ond part in the cabal ; and General Conway, 
I know, was a very active and malignant par- 
tisan ; but I have good reason to believe that 
their machinations have recoiled most sensibly 
upon themselves." 

An able and truthful historian, to whose re- 
searches we are indebted for most of the docu- 



■ Wilkinson's Memoirs, vol. 1., p. 409. 



ments concerning the cabal, gives it as his 
opinion that there is not sufficient evidence to 
prove any concerted plan of action or any fixed 
design among the leaders : a few aspiring men 
like Gates and Mifflin, might have flattered 
themselves with indefinite hopes, and looked 
forward to a change as promising the best 
means of aiding their ambitious views ; but that 
it was not probable they had united in any 
clear or fixed purpose.* 

These observations are made with that au- 
thor's usual candor and judgment ; yet, wanting 
as the intrigues of the cabal might be in plan 
or fixed design, they were fraught with mis- 
chief to the public service, inspiring doubts of 
its commanders and seeking to provoke them 
to desperate enterprises. They harassed Wash- 
ington in the latter part of his campaign ; con- 
tributed to the dark cloud that hung over his 
gloomy encampment at Valley Forge, and 
might have effected his downfall, had he been 
more irascible in his temper, more at the mercy 
of impulse, and less firmly fixed in the aff'ec- 
tions of the people. As it was, they only 
tended to show wherein lay his surest strength. 
Jealous rivals he might have in the army, bitter 
enemies in Congress, but the soldiers loved 
him, and the large heart of the nation always 
beat true to him. 

NOTE. 

The following anecdote of the late Governor Jay, 
one of our purest and most illustrious statesmen, is 
furnished to us by his son Judge Jay : — 

" Shortly before the death of John Adams, I was 
sitting alone with my father, conversing about the 
American Revolution. Suddenly he remarked, 'Ah, 
William ! the history of that Revolution will never be 
known. Nobody now alive knows it but John Adams 
and myself.' Surprised at such a declaration, I asked 
him to what he referred ? He briefly replied, * The 
proceedings of the old Congress.' Again I inquired, 
* What proceedings ? ' He answered, ' Those against 
Washington ; from first to last there was a most bitter 
party against him.' " As the old Congress always sat 
with closed doors, the public knew no more of what 
passed within than what it was deemed expedient to 
disclose. 



CHAPTER XXXI. 

During the winter's encampment in Valley 
Forge, Washington sedulously applied himself 
to the formation of a new system for the army. 



* Sparks' Writings of "Washington. Vol. v., Appendix 
—where there is a series of documents respecting the Con- 
w:iy cabal. 



448 



REFORMS IN THE ARMY— SCARCITY IN THE CAMP. 



[1Y78. 



At his earnest solicitation Congress appointed 
a committee of five, called the Committee of 
Arrangement, to repair to the camp and assist 
him in the task.* Before their arrival he had 
collected the written opinions and suggestions 
of his ofiicers on the subject, and from these, 
and his own observations and experience, had 
prepared a document exhibiting the actual state 
of the army, the defects of previous systems, 
and the alterations and reforms that were 
necessary. The committee remained three 
months with him in camp, and then made a 
report to Congress founded on his statement. 
The reforms therein recommended were gener- 
ally adopted. On one point, however, there 
was much debate. Washington had urged that 
the pay of the officers was insufficient for their 
decent subsistence, especially during the actual 
depreciation of the currency ; and that many 
resignations were the consequence. He recom- 
mended not only that their pay should be in- 
creased, but that there should be a provision 
for their future support, by half pay and a 
pensionary establishment ; so as to secure them 
from being absolutely impoverished in the sei*- 
vice of their country. 

This last recommendation had to encounter 
a great jealousy of the army on the part of 
Congress, and all that Washington could effect 
by strenuous and unremitted exertions, was a 
kind of compromise, according to which officers 
were to receive half pay for seven years after 
the war, and non-commissioned officers and 
privates eighty dollars each. 

The reforms adopted were slow in going into 
operation. In the mean time, the distresses 
of the army continued to increase. The sur- 
rounding country for a great distance was ex- 
hausted, and had the appearance of having 
been pillaged. In some places where the in- 
habitants had provisions and cattle they denied 
it, intending to take them to Philadelphia, 
where they could obtain greater prices. The 
undisturbed communication with the city had 
corrupted the minds of the people in its vicin- 
age. " This State is sick even unto the death," 
eaid Gouverneur Morris. 

The parties sent out to forage too often re- 
turned empty-handed. " For some days past 
there lias been little less than a famine in the 
ctoip," writes Washington, on one occasion. 
" A part of the army has been a week without 



* Names of the committee— General Keed, Nathaniel 
Folsom, Prancis Dana, Charles Carroll, and Gouverneur 

Morris. 



any kind of flesh, and the rest three or four 
days. Naked and starving as they are, we can- 
not enough admire the incomparable patience 
and fidelity of the soldiery, that they have not 
been, ere this, excited by their suffering to a 
general mutiny and desertion." 

The committee, in their report, declared that 
the want of straw had cost the lives of many 
of the troops. " Unprovided with this, or 
materials to raise them from the cold and wet 
earth, sickness and mortality have spread 
through their quarters in an astonishing de- 
gree. Nothing can equal their sufferings, ex- 
cept the patience and fortitude with which the 
faithful part of the army endure them." A 
British historian cites as a proof of the great 
ascendency of Washington over his " raw and 
undisciplined troops," that so many remained 
with him throughout the winter, in this 
wretched situation and still more wretched 
plight ; almost naked, often on short allowance, 
with great sickness and mortality, and a scarci- 
ty of medicines, their horses perishing by hun- 
dreds from hunger and the severity of the 
season. 

He gives a striking picture of the indolence 
and luxury which reigned at the same time in 
the British army in Philadelphia. It is true, 
the investment of the city by the Americans 
rendered provisions dear and fuel scanty ; but 
the consequent privations were felt by the in- 
habitants, not by their invaders. The latter 
revelled as if in a conquered place. Private 
houses were occupied without rendering com- 
pensation ; the officers were quartered on the 
principal inhabitants, many of whom were of 
the Society of " Friends ; " some even trans- 
gressed so far against propriety as to introduce 
their mistresses into the quarters thus oppres- 
sively obtained. The quiet habits of the city 
were outraged by the dissolute habits of a 
camp. Gaming prevailed to a shameless de- 
gree. A foreign officer kept a faro bank, at 
which he made a fortune, and some of the 
young officers ruined themselves. 

" During the whole of this long winter of 
riot and dissipation," continues the same 
writer, " Washington was suffered to remain 
undisturbed at Valley Forge, with an army 
not exceeding five thousand effective men ; and 
his cannon frozen up and immovable. A noc- 
turnal attack might have forced him to a dis- 
advantageous action or compelled him to a dis- 
astrous retreat, leaving behind him his sick, 
cannon, ammunition, and heavy baggage. It 



^T. 46.] 



EXPLOIT OF HENRY LEE— LETTER FROM GENERAL LEE. 



449 



might have opened the way for supplies to 
the city, and shaken off the lethargy of the 
British army. In a word," adds he, "had 
General Howe led on his troops to action, victory 
was in his power and conquest in his train." * 

"Without assenting to the probability of such 
a result, it is certain that the army for a part 
of the winter, while it held Philadelphia in 
siege, was in as perilous a situation as that 
which kept a bold front before Boston, without 
ammunition to serve its cannon. 

On one occasion there was a flurry at the 
most advanced post, where Captain Henry Lee 
(Light-horse Harry) with a few of his troops 
was stationed. He had made himself formida- 
ble to the enemy by harassing their foraging 
parties. An attempt was made to surprise 
him. A party of about two hundred dragoons, 
taking a circuitous route in the night, came 
upon him by daybreak. He had but a few 
men with him at the time, and took post in a 
large store-house. His scanty force did not 
allow a soldier for each window. The dra- 
goons attempted to force their way into the 
house. There was a warm contest. The dra- 
goons were bravely repulsed, and sheered off, 
leaving two killed and four wounded. " So 
well directed was the opposition," writes Lee 
to "Washington, " that we drove them from the 
stables, and saved every horse. We have got 
the arms, some cloaks, &c., of their wounded. 
The enterprise was certainly daring, though the 
issue of it very ignominious. I had not a sol- 
dier for each window." 

Washington, whose heart evidently warmed 
more and more to this young Virginian officer, 
the son of his " lowland beauty," not content 
with noticing his exploit in general orders, 
wrote a note to him on the subject, expressed 
with unusual familiarity and warmth. "My 
dear Lee," writes he, " although I have given 
you my thanks in the general orders of this 
day, for the late instance of your gallant be- 
havior, I cannot resist the inclination I feel to 
repeat them again in this manner. I needed 
no fresh proof of your merit to bear you in re- 
membrance. I waited only for the proper 
time and season to show it ; those I hope are 
not far off. * * * Offer my sincere thanks 
to the whole of your gallant party, and assure 
them, that no one felt pleasure more sensibly, 
or rejoiced more sincerely for your and their 
escape, than your affectionate," &c. 



* Stedman. 



29 



In effect, Washington not long afterwards 
strongly recommended Lee for the command 
of two troops of horse, with the rank of major, 
to act as an independent partisan corps. " His 
genius," observes he, " particularly adapts him 
to a command of this nature ; and it will be 
the most agreeable to him of any station in 
which he could be placed." 

It was a high gratification to Washington 
when Congress made this appointment ; ac- 
companying it with encomiums on Lee as a 
brave and prudent officer, who had rendered 
essential service to the country, and acquired 
distinguished honor to himself and the corps 
he commanded. 

About the time that Washington was glad- 
dened by the gallantry and good fortune of 
" Light-horse Harry," he received a letter from 
another Lee, the captive general, still in the 
hands of the enemy. It had been written 
nearly a month previously. " I have the 
strongest reason to flatter myself," writes Lee, 
" that you will interest yourself in whatever 
interests my comfort and welfare. I think it 
my duty to inform you that my situation is 
much bettered. It is now five days that I am 
on my parole. I have the full liberty of the 
city and its limits ; have horses at my com- 
mand furnished by Sir Henry Clinton and 
General Eobertson ; am lodged with two of 
the oldest and warmest friends I have in the 
world. Colonel Butler and Colonel Disney of 
the forty-second regiment. In short, my situa- 
tion is rendered as easy, comfortable, and pleas- 
ant as possible, for a man who is in any sort a 
prisoner." 

Washington, in reply, expressed his satisfac- 
tion at learning that he was released from con- 
finement, and permitted so many indulgences. 
" You may rest assured," adds he, " that I feel 
myself very much interested in your welfare, 
and that every exertion has been used on my 
part to effect your exchange. This I have not 
been able to accomplish. However, from the 
letters which have lately passed between Sir 
William Howe and myself, upon the subject of 
prisoners, I am authorized to expect that you 
will return in a few days to your friends on 
parole, as Major-General Prescott will be sent 
in on the same terms for that purpose." 

Difficulties, however, stiU occurred ; and 
General Lee and Colonel Ethan Allen were 
doomed for a few months longer to suffer the 
annoyance of hope deferred. 

The embarkation of General Burgoyne and 



450 



MRS. WASHINGTON JOINS THE GENERAL— BRYAN FAIRFAX. 



[1778. 



his troops from Boston, became also a subject 
of difficulty and delay ; it being alleged that 
some stipulations of the treaty of surrender 
had not been complied with. After some cor- 
respondence and discussion, it was resolved in 
Congress that the embarkation should be sus- 
pended, until a distinct and explicit ratification 
of the convention should be properly notified 
to that body by the court of Great Britain. 
Burgoyne subsequently obtained permission for 
his own return to England on parole, on ac- 
count of ill health. 

In the month of February, Mrs. Washington 
rejoined the general at A^ alley Forge, and took 
up her residence at head-quarters. The ar- 
rangements consequent to her arrival bespeak 
the simplicity of style in this rude encampment. 
" The general's apartment is very small," writes 
she to a friend ; " he has had a log cabin built 
to dine in, which has made our quarters much 
more tolerable than they were at first." 

Lady Stirling, Mrs. Knox, the wife of the 
general, and the wives of other of the officers, 
were also in the camp. The reforms in the 
commissariat had begun to operate. Provi- 
sions arrived in considerable quantities ; sup- 
plies, on their way to the Philadelphia market 
to load the British tables, were intercepted and 
diverted into the hungry camp of the patriots ; 
magazines were formed in Valley Forge ; the 
threatened famine was averted ; " grim-visaged 
war " gradually relaxed his features, and affairs 
in the encampment began to assume a more 
cheering aspect. 

In the latter part of the winter, Washington 
was agreeably surprised by a visit from his old 
and highly esteemed friend, Bryan Fairfax. 
That gentleman, although he disapproved of 
the measures of the British government which 
had severed the colonies from the mother 
country, was still firm in allegiance to his king. 
This had rendered his situation uncomfortable 
among his former intimates, who were gener- 
ally embarked in the Eevolution. He had re- 
solved, therefore, to go to England, and remain 
there until the peace. Washington, who knew 
his integrity and respected his conscientious- 
ness, received him with the warm cordiality of 
former and happier days ; for indeed he brought 
with him recollections always dear to his heart, 
of Mount Vernon, and Belvoii", and Virginia 
life, and the pleasant banks of the Potomac. 
As Mr. Fairfax intended to embark at ISTew 
York, Washington furnished him witli a pass- 
port to that city. Being arrived there, the 



conscience of Mr. Faii'fax prevented him from 
taking the oaths prescribed, which he feared 
might sever him from his wife and children, and 
he obtained permission from the British com- 
mander to return to them. On his way home 
he visited Washington, and the kindness he 
again experienced from him, so different from 
the harshness with which others had treated 
him, drew from him a grateful letter of ac- 
knowledgment after he had arrived in Vir- 
ginia. 

" There are times," said he, " when favors 
conferred make a greater impression than at 
others, for, though I have received many, I 
hope I have not been unmindful of them ; yet, 
that at a time your popularity was at the high- 
est and mine at the lowest, and when it is so 
common for men's resentments to run high 
against those who differ from them in opinion, 
you should act with your wonted kindness 
towards me, has affected me more than any 
favor I have received ; and could not be believed 
by some in New York, it being above the run 
of common minds." * 

Washington, in reply, expressed himself 
gratified by the sentiments of his letter, and 
confident of their sincerity. " The friendship," 
added he, " which I ever professed and felt for 
you, met with no diminution from the differ- 
ence in our political sentiments. I know the 
rectitude of my own intentions, and believing in 
the sincerity of yours, lamented, though I did 
not condemn, your renunciation of the creed 
I had adopted. Nor do I think any person or 
power ought to do it, whilst your conduct is 
not opposed to the general interest of the peo- 
ple and the measures they are pursuing ; the 
latter, that is our actions, depending upon our- 
selves, may be controlled ; while the powers 
of thinking, originating in higher causes, can- 
not always be moulded to our wishes." 

The most important arrival in the camp was 
that of the Baron Steuben, towards the latter 
part of February. He was a seasoned soldier 
from the old battle fields of Europe ; having 
served in the seven years' war, been aide-de- 
camp to the great Frederick, and connected with 
the quartermaster-general's department. Hon- 
ors had been heaped upon him in Germany. 



* Bryan Fairfax continued to reside in "Virginia until 
his death, which happened in 1802, at seventy-five years of 
age. He became proprietor of Belvoir and heir to the 
family title, but the laitter he never assumed. During the 
latter years of his life he was a clergyman of the Episco- 
pal Church. 



Mr. 46.] ARRIVAL OF BARON STEUBEN— APPOINTED INSPECTOR-GENERAL. 



451 



After leaving the Prussian army he had been 
grand marshal of the court of the Prince of 
IIohenzoUern-Hechingen, colonel in the circle 
of Suahia, lieutenant-general under the Prince 
Margrave of Baden, and knight of the Order 
of Fidelity ; and he had declined liberal ofters 
from the King of Sardinia and the Emperor of 
Austria. With an income of about three thou- 
sand dollars, chiefly arising from various ap- 
pointments, he "was living pleasantly in distin- 
guished society at the German courts, and mak- 
ing occasional visits to Paris, when he was 
persuaded by the Count de St. Germain, French 
Minister of War, and others of the French cab- 
inet, to come out to America, and engage in 
the cause they were preparing to befriend. 
Their object was to secure for the American 
armies the services of an Officer of experience 
and a thorough disciplinarian. Through their 
persuasions he resigned his several offices, and 
came out at forty-eight years of age, a soldier 
of fortune, to the rude fighting grounds of 
America, to aid a half-disciplined people in 
their struggle for liberty. No certainty of re- 
muneration was held out to him, but there was 
an opportunity for acquiring military glory ; 
the probability of adequate reward should the 
young republic be successful ; and it was hinted 
that, at all events, the French court would not 
suffer him to be a loser. As his means, on re- 
signing his offices, were small, Beaumarchais 
furnished funds for his immediate expenses. 

The baron had brought strong letters from 
Dr. Franklin and Mr: Deane, our envoys at 
Paris, and from the Count St. Germain. Land- 
ing in Portsmouth in New Hampshire, Dec. 
1st, he had forwarded copies of his letters to 
Washington. " The object of my greatest am- 
bition," writes he, " is to render your country 
all the service in my power, and to deserve the 
title of a citizen of America by fighting for the 
cause of your liberty. If the distinguished 
ranks in which I have served in Europe should 
be an obstacle, I had rather serve under your 
Excellency as a volunteer, than to be an object 
of discontent among such deserving ofiicers as 
have already distinguished themselves among 
you." 

" I would say, moreover," adds he, " were it 
not for the fear of offending your modesty, 
that your Excellency is the only person under 
whom, after having served under the King of 
Prussia, I could wish to pursue an art to which 
"I have wholly given myself up." 

By Washington's direction, the baron had 



proceeded direct to Congress. His letters pro- 
cured him a distinguished reception from the 
president. A committee was appointed to 
confer with him. He offered his services as a 
volunteer : making no condition for rank or 
pay, but trusting, should he prove himself 
worthy and the cause be crowned with success, 
he would be indemnified for the sacrifices he 
had made, and receive such further compensa- 
tion as he might be thought to merit. 

The committee having made their report, the 
baron's proffered services were accepted with 
a vote of thanks for his disinterestedness, and 
he was ordered to join the army at Valley 
Forge. That army, in its ragged condition and 
squalid quarters, presented a sorry aspect to a 
strict disciplinarian from Germany, accustomed 
to the order and appointments of European 
camps ; and the baron often declared, that 
under such circumstances no army in Europe 
could be kept together for a single month. 
The liberal mind of Steuben, however, made 
every allowance ; and Washington soon found 
in him a consummate soldier, free from pedan- 
try or pretension. 

The evils arising from a want of uniformity 
in discipline and manoeuvres throughout the 
army, had long caused Washington to desire a 
well-organized inspectorship. He knew that 
the same desire was felt by Congress. Con- 
way had been appointed to that office, but had 
never entered upon its duties. The baron ap- 
peared to be peculiarly well qualified for such 
a department ; Washington determined, there- 
fore, to set on foot a temporary institution of 
the kind. Accordingly he proposed to the 
baron to undertake the office of inspector- 
general. The latter cheerfully agreed. Two 
ranks of inspectors were appointed under him ; 
the lowest to inspect brigades, the highest to 
superintend several of these. Among the in- 
spectors was a French gentleman of the name 
of Ternaut, chosen not only for his intrinsic 
merit and abilities, but on account of his being 
well versed in the English as well as the French 
language, which made him a necessary assist- 
ant to the baron, who, at times, needed an in- 
terpreter. The gallant Fleury, to whom Con- 
gress had given the rank and pay of lieutenant- 
colonel, and who had exercised the office of 
aide-major in France, was soon after employed 
likewise as an inspector.''' 

In a little while the whole army was under 



* Washington to tho President of Congress. Sparks, 
V. 347. 



452 STEUBEN DISCIPLINES THE ARMY— GREENE AS QUARTERMASTER-GENERAL. [1778. 



drill ; for a great part, made up of raw militia, 
scarcely knew the manual exercise. Many of 
the officers, too, knew little of manoeuvring, 
and the best of them had much to learn. The 
baron furnished his sub-inspectors with written 
instructions relative to their several functions. 
He took a company of soldiers under his im- 
mediate training, and after he had suflBciently 
schooled it, made it a model for the others, ex- 
hibiting the manoeuvres they had to practise. 

It was a severe task at first for the aide-de- 
camp of the Great Frederick to operate upon 
such raw materials. His ignorance of the lan- 
guage, too, increased the difficulty, where ma- 
noeuvres were to be explained or rectified. He 
was in despair, until an officer of a New York 
regiment, Captain Walker, who spoke French, 
stepped forward and ofifered to act as inter- 
preter. " Had I seen an angel from Heaven," 
says the baron, " I could not have been more 
rejoiced." He made "Walker his aide-de-camp, 
and from that time had him always at hand. 

For a time, there was nothing but drills 
throughout the camp, then gradually came 
evolutions of every kind. The officers were 
schooled as well as the men. The troops, says 
a person who Vas present in the camp, were 
paraded in a single line with shouldered arms ; 
every officer in his place. The baron passed 
in front, then took the musket of each soldier 
in hand, to see whether it Avas clean and well 
polished, and examined whether the men's 
accoutrements were in good order. 

He was sadly worried for a time with the 
militia; especially when any manoeuvre was 
to be performed. The men blundered in their 
exercise ; the baron blundered in his English ; 
his French and German were of no avail ; he 
lost his temper, which was rather warm ; swore 
in all three languages at once, which made the 
matter worse, and at length called his aide to 
his assistance ; to help him curse the block- 
heads, as it was pretended — but no doubt to 
explain the manoeuvre.* 

Still the grand marshal of the court of Ho- 
lienzollern mingled with the veteran soldier of 
Frederick, and tempered his occasional bursts 
of impatience , and he had a kind, generous 
heart, that soon made him a favorite with the 
men. His discipline extended to their com- 



* On one occasion having exhausted all his German and 
French oaths, he vociferated to his aide-de-camp, Major 
"Walker, " Vien mon ami "Walker — vien mon bon ami. 
Sacra — G — dam de gaucherie of desc badauts— je ne puis 
plus— I can curse dem no more." — Garden, Anecdotes of the 
American War, p. S41. 



forts. He inquired into their treatment by the 
officers. He examined the doctor's reports; 
visited the sick ; and saw that they were well 
lodged and attended. 

He was an example, too, of the regularity 
and system he exacted. One of the most alert 
and indefatigable man in the camp ; up at day- 
break if not before, whenever there were to be 
any important manoeuvres, he took his cup of 
coflfee and smoked his pipe while his servant 
dressed his hair, and by sunrise he was in the 
saddle, equipped at all points, with the star of 
his order of knighthood glittering on his breast, 
and was oft" to the parade, alone, if his suite 
were not ready to attend him. 

The strong good sense of the baron was 
evinced in the manner in which he adapted his 
tactics to the nature of the army and the situ- 
ation of the country, instead of adhering with 
bigotry to the systems of Europe. His instruc- 
tions were appreciated by all. The officers re- 
ceived them gladly and conformed to them. 
The men soon became active and adroit. The 
army gradually acquired a proper organization, 
and began to operate like a great machine ; and 
Washington found in the baron an intelligent, 
disinterested, truthful coadjutor, well worthy 
of the badge he wore as a knight of the Order 
of Fidelity. 

Another great satisfaction to Washington) 
was the appointment by Congress (March 3d) 
of Greene to the office of quartermaster-gen- 
eral ; still retaining his rank of major-general 
in the army. The confusion and derangement 
of this department during the late campaign, 
while filled by General Mifflin, had been a source 
of perpetual embarrassment. That officer, 
however capable of doing his duty, was hardly 
ever at hand. The line and the staff were 
consequently at variance ; and the country was 
plundered in a way sufficient to breed a civil 
war between the staff and the inhabitants. 
Washington was often obliged to do the duties 
of the office himself, until he declared to the 
Committee of Congress that " he would stand 
quartermaster no longer." .* Greene undertook 
the office with reluctance, and agreed to per- 
form the military duties of it without compen- 
sation for the space of a year. He found it in 
great disorder and confusion, but, by extraor- 
dinary exertions and excellent system, so ar- 
ranged it, as to put the army in a condition to 
take the field and move with rapidity the mo- 



* Correspondence of the Revolution, vol. ii., P- 2V4. 



iET. 46.] FORTIFICATIONS OF THE HUDSON— HOWE FORAGES THE JERSEYS. 



453 



ment it should be required.* The favor in 
which Greene stood with the commander-in- 
chief, was a continual cause of mean jealoiisy 
and cavil among the intriguing and the en- 
vious ; hut it arose from the abundant proofs 
"Washington had received in times of trial and 
difficulty, that he had a brave, affectionate 
heart, a sound head, and an efficient arm, on 
all of which he could thoroughly rely. 



CHAPTER XXXII. 

The Highlands of the Hudson had been care- 
fully reconnoitred in the course of the winter 
by General Putnam, Governor Clinton, his 
brother James, and several others, and subse- 
quently by a committee from the New York 
Legislature, to determine upon the most eligible 
place to be fortified. West Point was ulti- 
mately chosen : and Putnam was urged by 
Washington to have the works finished as soon 
as possible. The general being called to Con- 
necticut by his private affairs, and being in- 
volved in an inquiry to be made into the loss 
of Forts Montgomery and Clinton, Major-Gen- 
eral McDougall was ordered to the Highlands, 
to take command of the different posts in that 
department, and to press forward the construc- 
tion of the works, in which he was to be as- 
sisted by Kosciuszko as engineer. 

Before General McDougall's arrival, Briga- 
dier-General Parsons had commanded at West 
Point. A letter of Washington to the latter 
suggests an enterprise of a somewhat romantic 
chai'acter. It was no less than to pounce upon 
Sir Henry Clinton, and carry him off prisoner 
from his head-quarters in the city of New York. 
The general was quartered in the Kennedy house 
near the Battery, and but a short distance from 
the Hudson. His situation was rather lonely ; 
most of the houses in that quarter having been 
consumed in the great fire. A retired way led 
from it through a back yard or garden to the 
river bank ; where Greenwich street extends 
at present. The idea of Washington was, that 
an enterprising party should embark in eight 
or ten whale-boats at King's Ferry, just below 
the Highlands, on the first of the ebb, and early 
in the evening. In six or eight hours, with 
change of hands, the boats might he rowed 
under the shadows of the western shore, and 

* WaBhington to Greene. — Writings of Washington, 
vol. vii., p. 152. 



approach New York with muffled oars. There 
were no ships of war at that time on that side 
of the city ; all were in the East River. The 
officers and men to be employed in the enter- 
prise were to be dressed in red, and much in 
the style of the British soldiery. Having cap- 
tured Sir Henry, they might return in their 
swift whale-boats with the flood tide, or a 
party of horse might meet them at Fort Lee. 
" What guards may be at or neai' his quarters, 
I cannot say Avith precision," writes Washing- 
ton, " and therefore shall not add any thing on 
this score. But I think it one of the most prac- 
ticable, and surely it will be among the most 
desirable and honorable things imaginable to 
take him prisoner." 

The enterprise, we believe, was never at- 
tempted. Colonel Hamilton is said to have 
paralyzed it. He agreed with Washington that 
there could be little doubt of its success ; " but, 
sir," said he, "have you examined the conse- 
quences of it ? " " In what respect ? " asked 
the general. " Why," replied Hamilton, " we 
shall rather lose than gain by removing Sir 
Henry from the command of the British army, 
because we perfectly understand his character ; 
and by taking him off we only make way for 
some other, perhaps an abler officer, whose 
character and dispositions we have to learn." 
The shrewd suggestions of his aide-de-camp 
had their effect on Washington, and the project 
to abduct Sir Henry was abandoned.* 

The spring opened without any material al- 
teration in the dispositions of the armies. 
Washington at one time expected an attack 
upon his camp ; but Sir William was deficient 
in the necessary enterprise ; he contented him- 
self with sending out parties which* foraged 
the surrounding country for many miles, and 
scoured part of the Jerseys, bringing in consid- 
erable supplies. These forays were in some in- 
stances accompanied by wanton excesses and 
needless bloodshed ; the more unjustifiable, as 
they met with feebly resistance, especially in 
the Jerseys, where it was difficult to assemble 
militia in sufficient force to oppose them. 

Another ravaging party ascended the Dela- 
wai-e in flat-bottomed boats and galleys ; set 
fire to public storehouses in Bordentown con- 
taining provisions and munitions of war ; burnt 
two frigates, several privateers, and a number 
of vessels of various classes, some of them laden 
with military stores. Had the armed vessels 



■ WilkiuBon's Memoirs, vol. i., p. 852. 



454 



THE CABAL AT AN END— DOWNFALL OF CONWAY. 



[ms. 



been sunk according to the earnest advice of 
Washington, the greater part of them might 
have been saved. 

A circular letter was sent by Washington on 
the 20th to all the general officers in camp, re- 
questing their opinions in writing, which of 
three plans to adopt for the next campaign : 
to attempt the recovery of Philadelphia; to 
transfer the war to the north and make an at- 
tempt on New York ; or to remain quiet in a 
secure and fortified camp, disciplining and ar- 
ranging the army until the enemy should begin 
their operations ; then to be governed by cir- 
cumstances. 

Just after the issue of this circular, intelli- 
gence received from Congress showed that the 
ascendency of the cabal was at an end. By a 
resolution of that body on the 15th, Gates w.as 
directed to resume the command of the North- 
ern department, and to proceed forthwith to 
Fishkill for that purpose. He was invested with 
powers for completing the works on the Hudson, 
and authorized to carry on operations against 
the enemy should any favorable opportunity 
ofl:er, for which purposes he might call for the 
artificers and militia of New York and the East- 
tern States : but he was not to undertake any ex- 
pedition against New York without previously 
consulting the commander-in-chief. Washing- 
ton was requested to assemble a council of 
major-generals to determine upon a plan of 
operations, and Gates and Mifflin, by a subse- 
quent I'esolution, were ordered to attend that 
council. This arrangement, putting Gates 
under Washington's order, evinced the determi- 
nation of Congress to sustain the latter in his 
proper authority. 

Washington in a reply to the President of 
Congress, who had informed him of this ar- 
rangement, mentioned the circular he had jnst 
issued, " There is not a moment to be de- 
layed," observed he, " in forming some general 
system, and I only wait the arrival of Generals 
Gates and Mifflin to summon a council for the 
purpose. The next day (24th) he. addressed a 
letter to Gates, requesting him, should he not 
find it inconvenient, to favor him with a call 
at the camp, to discuss the plan of operations 
for the campaign. A similar invitation was 
sent by him to Mifflin ; who eventually re- 
sumed his station in the line. 

And here we may note the downfall of the 
intriguing individual who had given his name 
to the now extinguished cabal. Conway, after 
the departure of Lafayette and De Kalb from 



Albany, had remained but a short time in the 
command there, being ordered to join the army 
under General McDougall, stationed at Fish- 
kill. Thence he was soon ordered back to Al- 
bany, whereupon he wrote an impertinent let- 
ter to the President of Congress, complaining 
that he was " boxed about in a most indecent 
manner." 

" What is the meaning," demanded he, " of 
removing me from the scene of action on the 
opening of the campaign ? I did not desert-e 
this burlesque disgrace, and my honor will not 
permit me to bear it." In a word, he inti- 
mated a wish that the president would make his 
resignation acceptable to Congress. 

To his surprise and consternation, his resig- 
nation was immediately accepted. He instantly 
wrote to the president, declaring that his mean- 
ing had been misapprehended ; and accounting 
for it by some orthographical or grammatical 
faults in his letter, being an Irishman, who had 
learnt his English in France. " I had no 
thoughts of resigning," adds he, " while there 
was a prospect of firing a single shot, and espe- 
cially at the beginning of a campaign which in 
my opinion will be a very hot one." 

All his efforts to get reinstated were unavail- 
ing, though he went to Yorktown to make 
them in person. " Conway's appointment to 
the inspectorship of the army, with the rank 
of major-general, after he had insulted the com- 
mander-in-chief," observes Wilkinson, " was 
a splenetic measure of a majority of Congress, 
as factious as it was ill-judged." 

They had become heartily ashamed of it; 
especially as it had proved universally unpop- 
ular. The office of inspector-general with the 
rank of major-general, with the proper pay and 
appointments, were, at Washington's recom- 
mendation, voted by them on the 6th of May 
to Baron Steuben, who had already performed 
the duties in so satisfactory a manner. 

NOTE. 

As General Conway takes no farther part in the 
events of this history, we shall briefly dispose of him. 
Disappointed in his aims, he became ii-ritable in his 
temper, and oftensive in his manners, and frequently 
indulged in acrimonious language respecting the com-, 
mander-in-chief, that was highly resented by the army. 
In consequence of some dispute he became involved 
in a duel with General John Cadwalader, in which he 
was severely wounded. Thinking his end approach- 
ing, he addressed the following penitential letter to 
Washington : 

Philadelphia, 23d July, 177S. 

Sir :— I find myself just able to hold the pen during 



Ml. 46.] 



LORD NORTH'S CONCILIATORY BILLS. 



455 



The capture of Burgoyne and his army was 
now operating with powerful effect on the cab- 
inets of both England and France. With the 
former it was coupled with the apprehension 
that France was about to espouse the American 
cause. The consequence was Lord North's 
" Conciliatory Bills," as they were called, sub- 
mitted by him to Parliament, and passed with 
but slight opposition. One of these bills regu- 
lated taxation in the American colonies, in a 
manner which, it was trusted, would obviate 
every objection. The other authorized the 
appointment of commissioners clothed with 
powers to negotiate with the existing govern- 
ments ; to proclaim a cessation of hostilities ; 
to grant pardons, and to adopt other measures 
of a conciliatory nature. 

"If what was now proposed was a right 
measure," observes a British historian, "it 
ought to have been adopted at first and before 
the sword was drav/n ; on the other hand, if 
the claims of the mother country over her col- 
onies were originally worth contending for, the 
strength and resources of the nation were not 
yet so far exhausted as to justify ministers in 
relinquishing them without a further struggle." * 

Intelligence that a treaty between France 
and the United States had actually been con- 
cluded at Paris, induced the British minister to 
hurry off a draft of the bills to America, to 
forestall the effects of the treaty upon the pub- 
lic mind. General Tryon caused copies of it to 
be printed in New York and circulated through 
the country. He sent several of them to Gen- 
eral Washington, 15th April, with a request 
that they should be communicated to the of- 
ficers and privates of his army, Washington 
felt the singular impertinence of the request. 
He transmitted them to Congress, observing 



a few minutes, and take this opportunity of expressing 
my sincere grief for having done, written, or said any 
thing disagreeable to your Excellency. My career 
will soon be over, therefore justice and truth prompt 
me to declare my last sentiments. You are in my 
eyes the great and good man. May you long enjoy 
the love, veneration, and esteem of these States, whose 
liberties you have asserted by your virtues. 
I am, with the greatest respect, &c., 

Thomas Conwat. 

Contrary to all expectation, he recovered fi-om his 
wound; but, finding himself without rank in the 
army, covered with public opprobrium, and his very 
name become a byword, he abandoned a country in 
which he had dishonored himself, and embarked for 
France in the course of the year. 

* Stedman. 



that the time to entertain such overtures was 
past. " Nothing short of independence, it ap- 
pears to me, can possibly do. A peace on other 
terms would, if I may be allowed the expres- 
sion, be a peace of war. The injuries we have 
received from the British nation were so un- 
provoked, and have been so great and so many, 
that they can never be forgotten." These and 
other objections advanced by him met with 
the concurrence of Congress, and it was unani- 
mously resolved that no conference could be 
held, no treaty made with any commissioners 
on the part of Great Britain, until that power 
should have withdrawn its fleets and armies, or 
acknowledged in positive and express terms 
the independence of the United States. 

On the following day, April 23d, a resolution 
was passed recommending to the different 
States to pardon, under such restrictions as 
might be deemed expedient, such of their citi- 
zens as, having levied war against the United 
States, should return to their allegiance before 
the 16th of June. Copies of this resolution 
were struck off in English and German, and 
enclosed by Washington in a letter to General 
Tryon, in which he indulged in a vein of grave 
irony. 

" Sir, — Your letter of the I7th and a tripli- 
cate of the same were duly received. I had 
the pleasure of seeing the drafts of the two 
bills, before those which were sent by you 
came to hand ; and I can assure you they were 
suffered to have a free currency among the of- 
ficers and men under my command, in whose 
fidelity to the United States I have the most 
perfect confidence. The enclosed Gazette, pub- 
lished the 24th at Yorktown, wiU show you 
that it is the wish of Congress that they should 
have an unrestrained circulation.* 

" I take the liberty to transmit to you a few 
printed copies of a resolution of Congress of the 
23d instant, and to request that you will be in- 
strumental in communicating its contents, so 
far as it may be in your power, to the persons 
who are the objects of its operations. The be- 
nevolent purpose it is intended to answer will, 
I persuade myself, sufiiciently recommend it to 
your candor. I am. Sir," &c. 

The tidings of the capitulation of Burgoyne 
had been equally efiicacious in quickening the 



* In the Gazette of that date the Conciliatory Bills were 
published by order of Congress ; aa an instance of their 
reception by the public, we may mention that in Rhode 
Island the populace burned them under the gallows. 

( 



456 



REJOICINGS AT VALLEY FORGE— SIR WILLIAM HOWE. 



[1778. 



action of the French cabinet. The negotiations, 
which had gone on so slowly as almost to 
reduce our commissioners to despair, were 
brought to a happy termination, and on the 2d 
of May, ten days after the passing by Congress 
of the resolves just cited, a messenger arrived 
express from France with two treaties, one of 
amity and commerce, the other of defensive al- 
liance, signed in Paris on the 6th of February 
by M. Girard on the part of France, and by 
Benjamin Franklin, Silas Deane, and Arthur 
Lee on the part of the United States. This 
last treaty stipulated that, should war ensue 
between France and England, it should be 
made a common cause by the contracting par- 
ties, in which neither should make truce or 
peace with Great Britain without the consent 
of the other, nor either lay down their arms 
xzntil the independence of the United States 
was established. 

These treaties were unanimously ratified by 
Congress, and their promulgation was cele- 
brated by public rejoicings throughout the 
country. The 6th of May was set apart for a 
military fete at the camp at Valley Forge. 
The army was assembled in best array ; there 
was solemn thanksgiving by the chaplains at 
the head of each brigade ; after which a grand 
parade, a national discharge of thirteen guns, a 
general feu de joie, and shouts of the whole 
army, " Long live the King of France — Long 
live the friendly European Powers — Huzza for 
the American States." A banquet succeeded, 
at which Washington dined in public with all 
the oflBcers of his army, attended by a band of 
music. Patriotic toasts were given and heartily 
cheered. " I never was present," writes a 
spectator, "where there was such unfeigned 
and perfect joy as was discovered in every coun- 
tenance. Washington retired at five o'clock, 
on which there was universal huzzaing and 
clapping of hands — ' Long live General Wash- 
ington.' The non-commissioned officers and 
privates followed the example of their officers 
as he rode past their brigades. The shouts 
continued till he had proceeded a quarter of a 
mile, and a thousand hats were tossed in the 
air. Washington and his suite turned round 
several times and cheered in reply." Gates 
and Mifflin, if in the camp at the time, must 
have seen enough to convince them that the 
commander-in-chief was supreme in the affec- 
tions of the army. 

On the 8th, the council of war, ordered by 
Congress, was convened ; at which were pres- 



ent Major-Generals Gates, Greene, Stirling, Mif- 
flin, Lafayette, De Kalb, Armstrong, and Steu- 
ben, and Brigadier-Generals Knox and Dupor- 
taU. After the state of the forces, British and 
American, their number and distribution, had 
been laid before the councQ by the commander- 
in-chief, and a fuU discussion had been held, it 
was unanimously determined to remain on the 
defensive, and not attempt any offensive opera- 
tion until some opportunity should occur to 
strike a successful blow. General Lee was not 
present at the council, but afterwards signed 
the decision. 

While the Conciliatory BUls failed thus sig- 
nally of their anticipated effect upon the Con- 
gress and people of the United States, they 
were regarded with indignation by the royal 
forces in America, as offering a humiliating 
contrast to the high and arrogant tone hitherto 
indulged towards the " rebels." The;; struck 
dismay too into the hearts of the American 
royalists and refugees ; who beheld in them 
sure prognostics of triumph to the cause they 
had opposed, and of mortification and trouble, 
if not of exile, to themselves. 

The military career of Sir William Howe in 
the United States was now drawing to a close. 
His conduct of the war had given much dissat- 
isfaction in England. His enemies observed that 
every thing gained by the troops was lost by 
the general ; that he had suffered an enemy 
with less than four thousand men to reconquer 
a province which he had recently reduced, and 
lay a kind of siege to his army in their winter 
quarters ; * and that he had brought a sad re- 
verse upon the British arms by failing to co- 
operate vigorously and efficiently with Bur- 
goyne. 

Sir William, on his part, had considered him- 
self slighted by the ministry ; his suggestions, 
he said, were disregarded, and the reinforce- 
ments withheld which he considered indispen- 
sable for the successful conduct of the war. 
He had therefore tendered his resignation, 
which had been promptly accepted, and Sir 
Henry Clinton ordered to relieve him. Clin- 
ton arrived in Philadelphia on the 8th of May, 
and took command of the army on the 11th. 

Sir William Howe was popular among the 
officers of his army, from his open and engag- 
ing manners ; and, perhaps, from the loose rule 
which indulged them in their social excesses. 
A number of them combined to close his in- 



* Btedman, vol. i., p. 384. 



^T. 46.] THE MISCHIANZA— LAFAYETTE DETACHED TO WATCH PHILADELPHIA. 457 



glorious residence in Philadelphia by a still 
more inglorious pageant. It was called the 
MiscniANZA (or Medley), a kind of regatta and 
tournament, the former on the Delaware, the 
latter at a country-seat on its banks. 

The regatta was in three divisions ; each 
with its band of music, to which the oarsmen 
kept time. 

The river was crowded with boats, which 
were kept at a distance from the squadrons of 
gayly decorated barges, and the houses, bal- 
conies, and wharves along the shore, were filled 
with spectators. 

We forbear to give the fulsome descriptions 
of the land part of the Mischianza furnished by 
various pens ; and will content ourselves with 
the following, from the pen of a British writer 
who was present. It illustrates sufficiently the 
absurdity of the scene. 

" All the colors of the army were placed in 
a grand avenue three hundred feet in length, 
lined with the king's troops, between two tri- 
umphal arches, for the two brothers, the Ad- 
miral Lord Howe and the General Sir William 
Howe, to march along in pompous procession, 
followed by a numerous train of attendants, 
with seven silken Knights of the Blended Eose, 
and seven more of the Burning Mountain, and 
fourteen damsels dressed in the Turkish fashion, 
to an area of one hundred and fifty yards square, 
lined also with the king's troops ; for the ex- 
hibition of a tilt and tournament,or mock fight 
of old chivalry, in honor of those two heroes. 
On the top of each triumphal arch was a figure 
of Fame bespangled with stars, blowing from 
her trumpet, in letters of light, Tes lauriers sont 
immortels (Thy laurels are immortal)." On 
this occasion, according to the same writer, 
" men compared the importance of Sir Wil- 
liam's services with the merit he assumed, and 
the gravity with which he sustained the most 
excessive praise and adulation." 

The unfortunate Major Andr6, at that time 
a captain, was very efficient in getting up this 
tawdry and somewhat effeminate pageant. He 
had promoted private theatricals during the 
winter, and aided in painting scenery and de- 
vising decorations. He wrote a glowing de- 
scription of the Mischianza, in a letter to a 
friend, pronouncing it as perhaps the most 
spendid entertainment ever given by any army 
to their general. He figured in it as one of the 
Knights of the Blended Kose. In a letter 
written to a lady, in the following year, he al- 
ludes to his preparations for it as having made 



him a complete milliner, and offers his services 
to furnish her supplies in that department. 

At the time of this silken and mock heroic 
display, the number of British chivalry in Phil- 
adelphia was nineteen thousand five hundred 
and thirty, cooped up in a manner by an Amer- 
ican force at Valley Forge, amounting, accord- 
ing to official returns, to eleven thousand eight 
hundred men. Could any triumphal pageant 
be more ill-placed and ill-timed ! 



CHAPTER XXXIII. 

Soon after Sir Henry Clinton had taken the 
command, there were symptoms of an intention 
to evacuate Philadelphia. Whither the enemy 
would thence direct their course was a matter 
of mere conjecture. Lafayette was therefore 
detached by Washington, with twenty-one 
hundred chosen men and five pieces of cannon, 
to take a position nearer the city, where he 
might be at hand to gain information, watch 
the movements of the enemy, check their pred- 
atory excursions, and fall on their rear when 
in the act of withdrawing. 

The marquis crossed the Schuylkill on the 
18th of May, and proceeded to Barren Hill, 
about half way between Washington's camp 
and Philadelphia, and about eleven miles from 
both. Here he planted his cannon facing the 
south, with rocky ridges bordering the Schuyl- 
kill on his right ; woods and stone houses on 
his left. Behind him the roads forked, one 
branch leading to Matson's Ford of the Schuyl- 
kill, the other by Swedes' Ford to Valley Forge. 
In advance of his left wing was McLane's com- 
pany and about fifty Indians. Pickets and 
videttes were placed in the woods to the south, 
through which the roads led to Philadelphia, 
and a body of six hundred Pennsylvania militia 
were stationed to keep watch on the roads 
leading to White Marsh. 

In the mean time Sir Henry Clinton, having 
received intelligence through his spies of this 
movement of Lafayette, concerted a plan to 
entrap the young French nobleman. Five 
thousand men were sent out at night, under 
General Grant, to make a circuitous march by 
White Marsh, and get in the rear of the Ameri- 
cans ; another force under General Grey was 
to cross to the west side of the Schuylkill, and 
take post below Barren HUl, while Sir Henry 



458 PLAN TO ENTRAP LAFAYETTE— PREPARATIONS TO LEAVE PHILADELPHIA. [111$. 



in person "svas to lead a third division along the 
Philadelphia road. 

The plan came near heing completely success- 
ful, through the remissness of the Pennsyl- 
vania militia who had left their post of obser- 
vation. Early in the morning, as Lafayette was 
conversing with a young girl who was to go 
to Philadelphia and collect information under 
pretext of visiting her relatives, word was 
brought that red coats had been descried in the 
Avoods near "White Mai'sh. Lafayette was ex- 
l^ecting a troop of American dragoons in that 
quarter, who wore scarlet uniforms, and sup- 
posed these to be them ; to be certain, how- 
ever, he sent out an officer to reconnoitre. The 
latter soon came spurring back at full speed. 
A column of the enemy had pushed forward 
on the road from White Marsh, were within a 
mile of the camp, and had possession of the 
road leading to Valley Forge. Another column 
was advancing on the Philadelphia road. In 
fact, the young French general was on the 
point of being surrounded by a greatly superior 
force. 

Lafayette saw his danger, but maintained his 
presence of mind. Throwing out small parties 
of troops to show themselves at various points 
of the intervening wood, as if an attack on 
Grant was meditated, he brought that general 
to a halt, to prepare for action, while he with 
his main body pushed forward for Matson's 
Ford on the Schuylkill. 

The alarm-guns at sunrise had apprised 
"Washington that the detachment under Lafay- 
ette was in danger. The troops at Valley Forge 
were instantly under arms. "Washington, with 
his aides-de-camp and some of his general 
officers, galloped to the summit of a hill, and 
anxiously reconnoitred the scene of action with 
a glass. His solicitude for the marquis was 
soon relieved. The stratagem of the youthful 
warrior had been crowned with success. He 
completely gained the march upon General 
Grant, reached Matson's Ford in safety, crossed 
it in great order, and took a strong position on 
high grounds which commanded it. The ene- 
my arrived at the river just in time for a 
skirmish as the artillery was crossing. Seeing 
that Lafayette had extricated himself from 
their hands, and was so strongly posted, they 
gave over all attack, and returned somewhat 
disconcerted to Philadelphia ; while the youth- 
ful marquis rejoined the army at Valley Forge, 
where he was received with acclamations. 
The exchange of General Lee for General J 



Prescott, so long delayed by various impedi- 
ments, had recently been effected, and Lee was 
reinstated in his position of second in com- 
mand. Colonel Ethan Allen, also, had been 
released from his long captivity in exchange 
for Colonel Campbell. Allen paid a visit to the 
camp at Valley Forge, where he had much 
to tell of his various vicissitudes and hardships. 
"Washington, in a letter to the President of 
Congress suggesting that something should be 
done for Allen, observes : " His fortitude and 
firmness seem to have placed him out of the 
reach of misfortune. There is an original some- 
thing about him that commands admiration, 
and his long captivity and sufferings have only 
served to increase, if possible, his enthusiastic 
zeal. He appears very desirous of rendering 
his services to the States, and of being em- 
ployed ; and at the same time, he does not dis- 
cover any ambition for high rank." 

In a few days, a brevet commission of colonel 
arrived for Ahen ; but he had already left camp 
for his home in Vermont, where he appears to 
have hung up his sword ; for we meet with no 
further achievements by him on record. 

Indications continued to increase of the de- 
parture of troops from Philadelphia. The 
military quarters were in a stir and bustle ; 
effects were packed up ; many sold at auction ; 
baggage and heavy cannon embarked ; trans- 
ports fitted up for the reception of horses, and 
hay taken on board. "Was the whole army to 
leave the city, or only a part ? The former 
was probable. A war between France and 
England appeared to be impending: in that 
event Philadelphia would be an ineligible posi- 
tion for the British army. 

New Tork, it was concluded, would be the 
place of destination ; either as a rendezvous, 
or a post whence to attempt the occupation of 
the Hudson. "Would they proceed thither by 
land or water ? Supposing the former, "Wash- 
ington would gladly have taken post in Jersey 
to oppose or harass them, on their march 
through that State. His camp, however, was 
encumbered by upwards of three thousand sick ; 
and covered a great amount of military stores. 
He dared not weaken it by detaching a suffi- 
cient force ; especially as it was said the enemy 
intended to attack him before their departure. 
For three weeks affairs remained in this 
state. "Washington held his army ready to 
march toward the Hudson at a moment's warn- 
ing ; and sent General Maxwell with a brigade 
of Jersey troops, to 'co-operate with Major- 



Mt. 46.] ARRIVAL OF BRITISH COMMISSIONERS— THEIR DISAPPOINTMENT. 



459 



General Dickinson and the militia of that State, 
in breaking down the bridges and harassing 
the enemy, should they actually attempt to 
march through it. At the same time he wrote 
to General Gates, who was now at his post on 
the Hudson, urging liim to call in as large a 
force of militia as he could find subsistence for, 
and to be on the alert for the protection of 
that river. 

In the mean time, the commissioners empow- 
ered under the new Conciliatory Bills to nego- 
tiate the restoration of peace between Great 
Britain and her former colonies, arrived in the 
Delaware in the Trident ship-of-war. These 
were Frederick Howard, Earl of Carlisle; 
"William Eden (afterwards Lord Aukland), 
brother of the last colonial governor of Mary- 
land ; and George Johnstone, sometimes called 
commodore, from having served in the navy, 
but more commonly known as Governor John- 
stone, having held that office in Florida. He 
was now a member of Parliament, and in the 
opposition. Their secretary was the celebrated 
Dr. Adam Ferguson, an Edinburgh professor ; 
author of a Roman History, and who in his 
younger days (he was now about fifty-five years 
of age) had been a " fighting chaplain at Fonte- 
noy." 

The choice of commissioners gave rise to 
much criticism and cavil ; especially that of 
Lord Carlisle, a young man of fashion, amiable 
and intelligent, it is true, but unfitted by his 
soft European habits for such a mission. " To 
captivate the rude members of Congress," said 
Wilkes, " and civilize the wild inhabitants of 
an unpolished country, a noble peer was very 
properly appointed chief of the honorable em- 
bassy. His lordship, to the surprise and ad- 
miration of that part of the New World, carried 
with him a green ribbon, the gentle manners, 
winning behavior, and soft insinuating address 
of a modern man of quality and a professed 
courtier. The muses and graces with a group 
of little laughing loves were in his train, and for 
the first time crossed the Atlantic." * 

Mr. Eden, by his letter still in existence, t 
appears to have been unkindly disposed tow- 
ards America. Johnstone was evidently the 
strongest member of the commission. Fox 
pronounced him " the only one avIio could have 
the ear of the people in America," he alone 
had been their fi-iend in Great Britain, and 
was acquainted with the people of Pennsylvania. 



* 19 Parliamentary Hist., 1338. 

t Force's Am. Arcliives, vol. i. 962. 



The commissioners landed at Philadelphia 
on the 6th of June, and discovered, to their 
astonishment, that they had come out, as it 
were, in the dark, on a mission in which but a 
half confidence had been reposed in them by 
government. Three weeks before their depar- 
ture from England, orders had been sent out 
to Sir Henry Clinton to evacuate Philadelphia 
and concentrate his forces at New York ; yet 
these orders were never imparted to them. 
Their letters and speeches testify their surprise 
and indignation at ^nding their plan of opera- 
tions so completely disconcerted by their own 
cabinet. " We found every thing here," writes 
Lord Carlisle, " in great confusion ; the army 
upon the point of leaving the town, and about 
three thousand of the miserable inhabitants 
embarked on board of our ships, to convey 
them from a place where they think they would 
receive no mercy from those w^o will take 
possession after us." 

So Governor Johnstone, in speeches subse- 
quently made in Parliament : " On my ar- 
rival, the orders for the evacuation had been 
made public — the city was in the utmost con- 
sternation : a more affecting spectacle of woe I 
never beheld." And again : "-The commis- 
sioners were received at Philadelphia with all 
the joy which a generous people could express. 
Why were you so long a-coming ? was the gen- 
eral cry. Do not abandon us. Retain the 
army and send them against Washington, and 
the affair is over. Ten thousand men will arm 
for you in this province, and ten thousand in 
the lower counties, the moment you take the 
field and can get arms. The declarations were 
general and notorious, and I am persuaded, if 
we had been at liberty to have acted in the 
field, our most sanguine expectations would 
have been fulfilled." 

The orders for evacuation, however, were 
too peremptory to be evaded, but Johnstone 
declared that if he had known of them, he 
never would have gone on the mission. The 
commissioners had prepared a letter for Con- 
gress, merely informing that body of their ar- 
rival and powers, and their disposition to pro- 
mote a reconcihation, intending quietly to 
await an answer ; but the unexpected situation 
of aftairs occasioned by the order for evacua- 
tion, obliged them to alter their resolution, and 
to write one of a different character, bringing 
forward at once all the powers delegated to 
them. 

On the 9th June, Sir Henry Clinton informed 



460 



THE COMMISSIONERS' PROCEEDINGS— THEIR MANIFESTO. 



[1118. 



"Wasliington of the arrival of the commissioners, 
and requested a passport for their secretary, 
Dr, Ferguson, the historian, to proceed to 
Yorktown bearing a letter to Congress. "Wash- 
ington sent to Congress a copy of Sir Henry's 
lettei-, but did not consider himself at liberty 
to grant the passport until authorized by 
them. 

"Without waiting the result, the commission- 
ers forwarded, by the ordinary military post, 
their letter, accompanied by the " Conciliatory 
Acts " and other documeiiJ:s. They were re- 
ceived by Congress on the 13th. The letter of 
the commissioners was addressed " to His Ex- 
cellency, Henry Laurens, the President and 
others, the members of Congress." The read- 
ing of the letter was interrupted ; and it came 
near being indignantly rejected, on account of 
expressions disrespectful to France ; charging it 
with being the insidious enemy of both England 
and her colonies, and interposing its pretended 
friendship to the latter " only to prevent recon- 
ciliation and prolong this destructive war." 
Several days elapsed before the Congress re- 
covered sufficient equanimity to proceed with 
the despatches of the commissioners, and de- 
liberate on the propositions they contained. 

In their reply, signed by the president (June 
lYtli), they observed, that nothing but an 
earnest desire to spare further eifusion of blood, 
could have induced them to read a paper con- 
taining expressions so disrespectful to his most 
Christian Majesty, or to consider propositions 
so derogatory to the honor of an independent 
nation; and in conclusion they expressed a 
readiness to treat as soon as the King of Great 
Britain should demonstrate a sincere disposi- 
tion for peace, either by an explicit acknowl- 
edgment of the independence of the States, or 
by the withdrawal of his fleets and armies. 

"We will not follow the commissioners through 
their various attempts, overtly and covertly, to 
forward the object of their mission. We can- 
not, however, pass unnoticed an intimation 
conveyed from Governor Johnstone to General 
Joseph Reed, at this time an influential member 
of Congress, that eflfectual services on his part 
to restore the union of the two countries might 
be rewarded by ten thousand pounds sterling, 
and any office in the colonies in His Majesty's 
gift. To this, Eeed niad'e his brief and mem- 
orable reply : " I am not worth purchasing ; 
but such as I am, the King of Great Britain 
is not rich enough to do it." 

A letter was also written by Johnstone to 



Robert Morris, the celebrated financier, then 
also a member of Congress, containing the fol- 
lowing significant paragraph : " I believe the 
men who have conducted the affairs of America 
incapable of being influenced by improper mo- 
tives ; but in all such transactions there is risk ; 
and I think that whoever ventures, should be 
assured, at the same time, that honor and emol- 
ument should naturally follow the fortune of 
those who have steered the vessel in the stonn 
and brought her safely into port. I think "Wash- 
ington and the President have a right to every 
favor that grateful nations can bestow, if they 
could once more unite our interest, and spare 
the miseries and devastation of war." 

These transactions and letters being com- 
municated to Congress, were pronounced by 
them daring and atrocious attempts to corrupt 
their integrity, and they resolved that it was 
incompatible with their honor to hold any cor- 
respondence or intercourse with the commis- 
sioner who made it ; especially to negotiate 
with him upon affairs in which the cause of 
liberty was concerned. 

The commissioners, disappointed in their 
hopes of influencing Congress, attempted to 
operate on the feelings of the public, at one 
time by conciliatory appeals, at another by 
threats and denunciations. Their last measure 
was to publish a manifesto recapitulating their 
official proceedings ; stating the refusal of 
Congress to treat with them, and offering to 
treat within forty days with deputies from all 
or any of the colonies or provincial Assemblies ; 
holding forth, at the same time, the usual offers 
of conditional amnesty. This measure, like all 
which had preceded it, proved ineffectual ; the 
commissioners embarked for England, and so 
terminated this tardy and blundering attempt 
of the British Government and its agents to 
effect a reconciliation — the last attempt that 
was made. 

Lord Carlisle, who had taken the least promi- 
nent part in these transactions, thiis writes in 
the course of them to his friend, tlie witty 
George Selwyn, and his letter may serve as a 
peroration. " I enclose you our manifesto, 
which you will never read. 'Tis a sort of dy- 
ing speech of the commission ; an effort from 
which I expect little success. * * * * Every 
thing is upon a great scale upon this continent. 
The rivers are immense ; the climate violent 
in heat and cold ; the prospects magnificent ; 
the thunder and lightning tremendous. The 
disorders incident to the country make every 



\ 



^T. 46.] PREPARATIONS TO EVACUATE PHILADELPHIA— COUNCIL OF WAR. 



461 



constitution tremble. We have nothing on a 
great scale with us but our blunders, our mis- 
conduct, our ruin, our losses, our disgraces and 
misfortunes, that -will mark the reign of a 
prince, who deserves better treatment and 
kinder fortunes." 



CHAPTEE XXXIV. 

The delay of the British to evacuate Phila- 
delphia tasked the sagacity of "Washington, but 
he supposed it to have been caused by the 
arrival of the commissioners from Great Brit- 
ain. The force in the city in the mean time 
had been much reduced. Five thousand men 
had been detached to aid in a sudden descent 
on the French possessions in the West Indies ; 
three thousand more to Florida. Most of the 
cavalry with other troops had been shipped 
with the provision train and heavy baggage to 
New York. The effective force remaining with 
Sir Henry was now about nine or ten thousand 
men ; that under Washington was a little more 
than twelve thousand Continentals, and about 
thirteen hundred militia. It had already ac- 
quired considerable proficiency in tactics and 
field manoeuvring under the diligent instruc- 
tions of Steuben. 

Early in June, it was evident that a total 
evacuation of the city was on the point of tak- 
ing place : and circumstances convinced Wash- 
ington that the march of the main body would 
be through the Jerseys. Some of his oflicers 
thought differently, especially General Lee, 
who had now the command of a division com- 
posed of Poor, Yarnum, and Huntington's 
brigades. Lee, since his return to the army, 
had resumed somewhat of his old habit of 
cynical supervision, and had his circle of ad- 
mirers, among whom he indulged in caustic 
comments on military affairs and the merits of 
commanders. 

On the present occasion he addressed a letter 
to Washington, dated June 15th, suggesting 
other plans which the enemy might have in 
view. " Whether they do or do not adopt any 
of these plans," added he, " there can no in- 
convenience arise from considering the sub- 
ject, nor from devising means of defeating their 
purposes, on the supposition that they will." 

Washington, in his reply, gave the sug- 
gestions of Lee a candid and respectful con- 
sideration, but in the course of his letter took 
occasion to hint a little gentle admonition. 



" I shall always be happy," writes he, " in a 
free communication of your sentiments upon 
any important subject relative to the service, 
and only beg that they may come directly to 
myself. The custom which many officers have, 
of speaking freely, and reprobating measures, 
which, upon investigation, may be found to be 
imavoidable, is never productive of good, but 
often, of very mischievous consequences." 

In consequence probably of the suggestions 
of Lee, Washington called a general council of 
war, on the I7th, to consider what measures 
to adopt ; whether to undertake any enterprise 
against the enemy in their present circum- 
stances — whether the army should remain in 
its actual position, until the final evacuation had 
taken place, or move immediately toward the 
Delaware — whether, should the enemy march 
through the Jerseys, it would be advisable to 
attack them while on the way, or to push on di- 
rectly to the Hudson, and secure that impor- 
tant communication between the Eastern and 
Southern States ? In case an attack while on 
the march were determined on, should it be a 
partial or a general one ? 

Lee spoke eloquently on. the occasion. He 
was opposed to an attack of any kind. He 
would make a bridge of gold for the enemy. 
They were nearly equal in number to the 
Americans, and far superior in discipline ; in 
fact, never had troops been better disciplined. 
An attack would endanger the safety of the 
cause. It was now in a prosperous state, in 
consequence of the foreign alliance just formed ; 
all ought not to be put at risk at the very mo- 
ment of making such an alliance. He advised 
merely to follow the enemy, observe their mo- 
tions, and prevent them from committing any 
excesses. 

Lee's opinions had still great weight with 
the army ; most of the ofiicers, both foreign 
and American, concurred with him. Greene, 
Lafayette, Wayne, and Oadwalader, thought 
differently. They could not brook that the 
enemy should evacuate the city, and make a 
long march through the country unmolested. 
An opportunity might present itself, amid the 
bustle and confusion of departure, or while 
embarrassed in defiles with a cumbrous baggage 
train, of striking some signal blow, that would 
indemnify them for all they had suffered in 
their long and dreary encampment at Valley 
Forge. 

Washington's heart was with this latter 
counsel; but seeing such want of unanimity 



462 



EVACUATIOX OF PHILADELPHIA— COUNCIL OF WAR. 



[1778. 



among his generals, he requested their opinions 
in writing. Before these were given in, word 
was brought that the enemy had actually evac- 
uated the city. 

Sir Henry had taken his measures with great 
secrecy and despatch. The army commenced 
moving at three o'clock on the morning of the 
18th, retiring to a point of land below the town 
formed by the confluence of the Delaware and 
Schuylkill, and crossing the former river in 
boats. By ten o'clock in the morning the rear- 
guard landed on the Jersey shore. 

On the first intelligence of this movement, 
Washington detached General Maxwell, with 
his brigade, to co-operate with General Dickin- 
son and the New Jersey militia in harassing 
the enemy on their march. He sent General 
Arnold, also, with a force to take command of 
Philadelphia, that ofBcer being not yet sufli- 
ciently recovered from his wound for field ser- 
vice ; then breaking up his camp at Valley 
Forge, he pushed forward with his main force 
in pursuit of the enemy. 

As the route of the latter lay along the east- 
ern bank of the Delaware as high as Trenton, 
"Washington was obliged to make a consider- 
able circuit, so as to cross the river higher up 
at Coryell's Ferry, near the place where, eighteen 
months previously, he had crossed to attack 
the Hessians. 

On the 20th, he writes to General Gates : 
" I am now with the main body of the army 
within ten miles of Coryell's Ferry. General 
Lee is advanced with sis brigades, and will 
cross to-night or to-morrow morning. By the 
last intelligence the enemy are near Mount 
Holly, and moving very slowly ; but as there 
are so many roads open to them, their route 
could not be ascertained. I shall enter the Jer- 
seys to-morrow, and give you the earliest notice 
of their movements, and whatever may affect 
you." 

Heavy rains and sultry summer heat retarded 
his movements ; but the army crossed on the 
24th. The British were now at Moorestown 
and Mount Holly. Thence they might take 
the road on the left for Brunswick, and so on 
to Staten Island and New York ; or the road 
to the right through Monmouth, by the Heights 
of Middletown to Sandy Hook. Uncertain 
wliich they might adopt, Washington detached 
Colonel Morgan with six hundred picked men 
to reinforce Maxwell, and hang on their rear ; 
while he himself pushed forward with the main 
body towards Princeton, cautiously keeping 



along the mountainous country to the left of 
the most northern road. 

The march of Sir Henry was very slow. His 
army was encumbered with baggage and pro- 
visions, and all the nameless superfluities in 
which British officers are prone to indulge. 
His train of wheel carriages and bat horses 
was twelve miles in extent. He was retarded 
by heavy rain and intolerable heat ; bridges 
had to be built and causeways constructed over 
streams -and marshes, where they had been de- 
stroyed by the Americans. 

From his dilatory movements, Washington 
suspected Sir Henry of a design to draw him 
down into the level country, and then, by a 
rapid movement on his right, gain possession 
of the strong ground above him, and bring 
him to a general action on disadvantageous 
terms. He himself was inclined for a general 
action whenever it could be made on suit- 
able ground : he halted, therefore, at Hopewell, 
about five miles from Princeton, and held an- 
other council of war while his troops were re- 
posing and refreshing themselves. The result 
of it, writes his aide-de-camp. Colonel Hamil- 
ton, " would have done honor to the most 
honorable society of midwives and to them 
only." * The purport was to keep at a distance 
from the enemy, and annoy them by detach- 
ments. Lee, according to Hamilton, was the 
prime mover of this plan, in pursuance of 
which a detachment of fifteen hundred men 
was sent off under Brigadier-General Scott, to 
join the other troops near the enemy's line. 
Lee was even opposed to sending so large a 
number. 

Generals Greene, Wayne, and Lafayette were 
in the minority in the council, and subsequently 
gave separately the same opinion in writing, 
that the rear of the enemy should be attacked 
by a strong detachment, while the main army 
should be so disposed as to give a general bat- 
tle, should circumstances render it advisable. 
As this opinion coincided with his own, Wash- 
ington determined to act upon it. 

Sir Henry Clinton in the mean time had ad- 
vanced to AUentown, on his way to Brunswick, 
to embark on the Raritan. Finding the pas- 
sage of that river likely to be strongly disputed 
by the forces under Washington, and others 
advancing from the north under Gates, he 
changed his plan, and turned to the right by a 
road leading through Freehold to Navesink 



* MS. letter of Ilainilton to Elias Boudinot. 



JEt. 40.] CONTKADICTORY CONDUCT OF LEE RESPECTING THE COMMAND. 



4G3 



and Saiuly Hook ; to embark at tlio latter 
place. 

Washington, no longer in doubt as to tlio 
route of the euonij-'s march, detached "Wayne 
with one thousand men to join tlio advanced 
corps, Avhich, thus augmented, was upwards of 
four thousand strong. The connnand of the 
advance properly belonged to Leo as senior 
major-general ; but it was eagerly solicited by 
Lafoyctte, as an attack by it was intended, and 
Leo was strenuously opposed to every thing of 
the kind. "NVashington willingly gave his con- 
sent, provided General Leo were satistied with 
the arrangement. The latter ceded the com- 
mand without hesitation, observing to the mai'- 
quis that he was well pleased to bo freed from 
all responsibility in executing plans which he 
was sure would fail. 

Lafayette set out on the 25th to form a junc- 
tion as soon as possible with the force mider 
General Scott ; while "Washington, leaving his 
baggago at Kingston, moved with the main 
body to Cranberry, three miles in tho rear 
of the advanced corps, to be ready to sup- 
port it. 

Scarce, however, had Lee rolinciuished the 
command, when he changed his mind. In a 
note to "Washington, ho declared that, in assent- 
ing to tho arrangement, he had considered the 
command of the detachment one more fitting a 
young volunteering general than a veteran like 
himself, second in command in the army. He 
now viewed it in a ditYerent light. Lafayette 
would be at tho head of all tho Continental 
pai'ties already in tho line ; sis thousand men 
at least ; a couunand next to that of tho com- 
mander-in-chief. Should the detachment march, 
therefore, he entreated to have the command 
of it. So far he spoke personally, " but," added 
he, " to speak as an ofileer, 1 do not think that 
this detachment ought to march at all, until at 
least the head of the enemy's right column has 
passed Cranberry ; then if it is necessary to 
march the whole army, I cannot see any im- 
propriety in the marquis's commanding this 
detachment, or a greater, as an advanced guard 
of the army ; but if this detachment, with Max- 
well's corps, Scott's, Morgan's, and Jackson's, 
is to be considered as a separate, chosen, active 
corps, and put under the marquis's command 
until the enemy leave the Jerseys, both myself 
and Lord Stirling will bo disgraced." 

Washington was perplexed how to satisfy 
Lee's punctilious claims without wounding the 
feelings of Lafayette. A chango in tho dis- 



position of tho enemy's lino of march furtiishod 
an expedient. Sir Henry Clinton, tinding him- 
self harassed by liglrt troops on tho tlanks, and 
in danger of an attack in tho rear, placed all 
his baggage in front under tho convoy of Knyp- 
hausen, while ho threw tho main strength of 
his army in the roar under Lord Connvallis. 

This made it necessary for Washington to 
strengthen his advanced corps ; and ho took 
this occasion to detach Lee, with Scott's and 
Varnum's brigades, to support tho force under 
Lafayette. As Lee Avas the senior major-gen- 
eral, this gave him tho command of the whole 
advance. Washington explained the matter in 
a letter to tho marquis, who resigned tho com- 
mand to Leo when the latter joined him on 
the 2'rth. That evening the enemy encamped 
on high ground near Monmouth Court House. 
Lee encamped Avith tlie advance at English- 
town, about five miles distant. Tlio main body 
was throe miles in his roar. 

About sunset, Washington rodo forward to 
tho advance, and anxiously reconnoitred Sir 
Henry's position. It was protected by woods 
and morasses, and too strong to bo attacked 
with a prospect of success. Should the enemy, 
however, proceed ten or twelve miles further 
unmolested, they would gain the heights of 
Middlotown, and be on ground still more dilH- 
cult. To prevent this, ho resolved that an 
attack should be made on their roar early in 
the morning, as soon as their front should bo 
in motion. This plan he communicated to 
General Lee, in presence of his otlicors, order- 
ing him to make dispositions for the attack, 
keeping his troops lying on their arms, ready 
for action on the shortest notice; a dispo- 
sition ho intended to observe with his own 
troops. This done, ho Kxle back to the main 
body. 

Aiiprohensivo that Sir Henry might decamp 
in tho night, Washington sent orders to Leo 
before midnight, to detach six or seven hun- 
dred men to lio near tho enemy, watch and 
give notice of their movements, and hold them 
in chock when on tho march, until tho rest of 
the troops could come up. General Dickinson 
was charged by Leo with this duty. IMorgan 
was likewise stationed with his corps to be 
ready for skirmisliing. 

Early in the morning, Washington received 
an express from Dickinson, informing him that 
the enemy were in motion. He instantly sent 
orders to Lee to push forward and attack 
them, unless there should be powerful reasons 



4G4 



RETREAT OF THE ADVANCE CORPS— SINGULAR CONDUCT OF LEE. 



[Ills. 



to the contrary, adding, that he was coming 
on to support him. For that purpose he im- 
mediately set forward with his own troops, 
ordering them to throw by their knapsacks and 
blankets. 

Knyphausen, with the British vanguard, had 
began about daybreak to descend into the 
valley between Monmouth Court House and 
Middletown. To give the long train of wag- 
gons and pack-horses time to get weU on the 
way, Sir Henry Clinton with his choice troops 
remained in camp on the heights of Freehold, 
until eiglit o'clock, when he likewise resumed 
the line of march toward Middletown. 

In the mean time Lee, on hearing of the 
early movement of the enemy, had advanced 
with the brigades of Wayne and Maxwell, to 
support the light troops engaged in skirmish- 
ing. The difficulty of reconnoitring a country 
cut up by woods and morasses, and the per- 
plexity occasioned by contradictory reports, 
embarrassed his moverfients. Being joined by 
Lafayette with the main body of the advance, 
he had now about four thousand men at his 
command, independent of those under Morgan 
and General Dickinson. 

Arriving on the heights of Freehold, and rid- 
ing forward with General Wayne to an open 
place to reconnoitre, Lee caught sight of a force 
under march, but partly hidden from view by 
intervening woods. Supposing it to be a mere 
covering party of about two thousand men, he 
detached Wayne with seven hundred men and 
two pieces of artillery, to skirmish in its rear 
and hold it in check ; while he, with the rest 
of his force, taking a shorter road through the 
woods, would get in front of it, and cut it off 
from the main body. He at the same time 
sent a message to Washington, apprising him 
of this movement and of his certainty of suc- 
cess.* 

Washington in the mean time was on his 
march with the main body, to support the ad- 
vance, as he had promised. The booming of 
cannon at a distance indicated that the attack 
so much desired had commenced, and caused 
him to quicken his march. Arrived near Free- 
hold church, where the road forked, he de- 
tached Greene with part of his forces to the 
right, to flank the enemy in the rear of Mon- 
mouth Court House, while he, with the rest of 
the column, would press forward by the other 
road. 



* E-i-idence of Dr. McHenry on the Court-Martial. 



Washington had alighted while giving these 
directions, and was standing with his arm 
thrown over his horse, when a countryman 
rode up and said the Continental troops were 
retreating. Washington was provoked at what 
he considered a false alarm. The man pointed, 
as his authority, to an American fifer who just 
then came up in breathless aifright. The fifer 
was ordered into custody to prevent his spread- 
ing an alarm among the troops who were ad- 
vancing, and was threatened with a flogging 
should he repeat the story. 

Springing on his horse, Washington had 
moved forward but a short distance when he 
met other fugitives, one in the garb of a sol- 
dier, who all concurred in the report. He now 
sent forward Colonels Fitzgerald and Harrison, 
to learn the truth, while he himself spurred 
past Freehold meeting house. Between that 
edifice and the morass beyond it, he met Gray- 
son's and Patton's regiments in most disorderly 
retreat, jaded with heat and fatigue. Riding 
up to the officer at their head, Washington de- 
manded whether the whole advanced corps were 
retreating. The officer believed they were. 

It seemed incredible. There had been scarce 
any firing — Washington had received no notice 
of the retreat from Lee. He was stiU almost 
inclined to doubt, when the heads of several 
columns of the advance began to appear. It 
was too evident — the whole advance was fall- 
ing back on the main body, and no notice had 
been given to him. One of the first officers 
that came up was Colonel Shreve at the head 
of his regiment ; Washington, greatly surprised 
and alarmed, asked the meaning of this retreat. 
The colonel smiled significantly — he did not 
know — he had retreated by order. There had 
been no fighting excepting a slight skirmish 
with the enemy's cavalry, which had been re- 
pulsed. 

A suspicion flashed across Washington's 
mind, of wrong-headed conduct on the part of 
Lee, to mar the plan of attack adopted con- 
trary to his counsels. Ordering Colonel Shreve 
to march his men over the morass, halt them 
on the hill beyond and refresh them, he gal- 
loped forward to stop the retreat of the rest 
of the advance, his indignation kindling as he 
rode. At the rear of the regiment he met 
Major Howard ; he, too. could give no reason 
for the retreat, but seemed provoked at it — 
declaring that he had never seen the like. An- 
other officer exclaimed with an oath that they 
were flying from a shadow. 



/St. 46.] 



BATTLE OF MONMOUTH COURT HOUSE. 



465 



Arriving at a rising ground, Washington be- 
eld Lee approaching with the residue of his 
3mmand in full retreat. By this time he was 
iiioroughly exasperated. 

" What is the meaning of all this, sir ? " de- 
manded he, in the sternest and even fiercest 
tone, as Lee rode up to him. 

Lee for a moment was disconcerted, and 
hesitated in making a reply, for Washington's 
aspect, according to Lafayette, was terrible. 

" I desh'e to know the meaning of this dis- 
order and confusion," was again demanded still 
more vehemently. 

Lee, stung by the manner more than the 
words of the demand, made an angry reply, 
and provoked still sharper expressions, which 
have been variously reported. lie attempted 
a hurried explanation. His troops had been 
thrown into confusion by contradictory intel- 
ligence ; by disobedience of orders ; by the 
meddling and blundering of individuals ; and 
he had not felt disposed, he said, to beard the 
whole British army with troops in such a situa- 
tion. 

" I have certain information," rejoined Wash- 
ington, " that it was merely a strong covering 
party." 

" That may be, but it was stronger than 
mine, and I did not think proper to run such a 
risk." 

" I am very sorry," replied Washington, 
" that you undertook the command, unless you 
meant to fight the enemy." 
' " I did not think it prudent to bring on a 
general engagement." 

" Whatever your opinion may have been," 
replied Washington, disdainfully, " I expected 
my orders would have been obeyed." 

This all passed rapidly, and, as it were, in 
flashes, for there was no time for parley. The 
enemy were within a quarter of an hour's 
march. Washington's appearance had stopped 
the retreat. The fortunes of the day were to 
be retrieved, if possible, by instant arrange- 
ments. These he proceeded to make with great 
celerity. The place was favorable for a stand ; 
it was a rising ground, to which the enemy 
could approach only over a narrow causeway. 
TJie rallied troops were hastily formed upon 
liiis eminence. Colonels Stewart and Ramsey, 
with two batteries, were stationed in a covert 
of woods on their left, to protect them and 
1 keep the enemy at bay. Colonel Oswald was 
posted for the same purpose on a height, with 
two field-pieces. The promptness with which 
30 



every thing was done showed the effects of the 
Baron Steuben's discipline. 

In the interim, Lee, being asked about the 
disposition of some of the troops, replied that 
he could give no orders in the matter ; as he 
supposed General Washington intended he 
should have no further command. 

Shortly after this, Washington, having made 
all his arrangements with great despatch but 
admirable clearness and precision, rode back to 
Lee in calmer mood, and inquired, " Will you 
retain the command on this height or not ? if 
you will, I will return to the main body, and 
have Ig formed on the next height." 

" It is equal to me where I command," re- 
plied Lee. 

" I expect you will take proper means for 
checking the enemy," rejoined Washington. 

" Your orders shall be obeyed ; and I shall 
not be the fii'st to leave the ground," was the 
reply. 

A warm cannonade by Oswald, Stewart, and 
Eamsey, had the desired eflect. The enemy 
were brought to a stand, and Washington had 
time to gallop back and bring on the main 
body. This he formed on an eminence, with a 
wood in the rear and the morass in front. The 
left wing was commanded by Lord Stirling, 
who had with him a detachment of artillery 
and several field-pieces. General Greene was 
on his right. 

Lee had maintained his advanced position 
with great spirit, but was at length obliged to 
retire. He brought off his troops in good order 
across a causeway which traversed the morass 
in front of Lord Stirling. As he had promised, 
he was the last to leave the ground. Having 
formed his men in a line, beyond the morass, 
he rode up to Washington. " Here, sir, are 
my troops," said he ; " how is it your pleasure 
I should dispose of them ? " Washmgton saw 
that the poor fellows wore exhausted by march- 
ing, counter-marching, hard fighting, and the in- 
tolerable heat of the weather : he ordered Lee, 
therefore, to repair with them to the rear of 
Englishtown, and assemble there all the scat- 
tered fugitives he might meet with. 

The batteries under the direction of Lord 
Stirling opened a brisk and well-sustained fire 
upon the enemy ; who, finding themselves 
warmly opposed in front, attempted to turn 
the left flank of the Americans, but were driven 
back by detached parties of infantry stationed 
there. They then attempted the right ; but 
here were met by General Greene, who had 



466 



LEE FOILED BY SIR HENRY CLINTON— RETREAT OF THE ENEMY. 



[lYTS. 



planted his artillery under Knox, on a com- 
manding ground, and not only checked them 
but eutiladed those who were in front of the 
left wing. Wayne too, with an advanced party 
posted in an orchard, and partly sheltered by a 
barn, kept up a severe and well-directed fire 
upon the enemy's centre. Kepeated attempts 
were made to dislodge him, but in vain. Col- 
onel Monckton of the royal grenadiers, who 
had distinguished himself and been wounded 
in the battle of Long Island, now undertook to 
drive Wayne from his post at the point of the 
bayonet. Having made a brief harangue to 
his men, he led them on in column. Wayne's 
men reserved their fire, until Colonel Monck- 
ton, waving his sword, called out to his grena- 
diers to charge. At that instant a sheeted 
volley laid him low, and made great slaughter 
in his column, which was again repulsed. 

The enemy at length gave way, and fell back 
to the ground which Lee had occupied in the 
morning. Here their flanks were secured by 
woods and morasses, and their front could only 
be approached across a narrow causeway. 

Notwithstanding the difficulties of the po- 
sition, Washington prepared to attack it ; order- 
ing General Poor with his own and the Caro- 
lina brigade, to move round upon their right, 
and General Woodford on their left ; while the 
artillery should gall them in front. Before 
these orders could be carried into effect the 
day was at an end. Many of the soldiers had 
sunk upon the ground, overcome by fatigue 
and the heat of the weather; all needed re- 
pose. The troops, therefore, which had been 
in the advance, were ordered to lie on their 
arms on the ground .they occupied, so as to be 
ready to make the attack by daybreak. The 
main army did the same, on the field of action, 
to be at hand to support them. Washington 
lay on his cloak at the foot of a tree, with 
Lafayette beside him, talking over the strange 
conduct of Lee ; whose disorderly retreat had 
come so near being fatal to the army. 

It was indeed a matter of general pei-plexity, 
to which the wayward character of Lee greatly 
contributed. Some who recollected his previ- 
ous opposition to all plan of attack, almost 
suspected him of wilfully aiming to procure a 
defeat. It would appear, however, that he 
had been really surprised and thrown into con- 
fusion by a move of Sir Henry Clinton, who, 
seeing the force under Lee descending on his 
rear from Freehold heights, had suddenly 
turned upon it, aided by troops from Knyp- 



hausen's division, to obhge it to call to its 
assistance the flanking parties under Morgan 
and Dickinson, which were threatening his 
baggage train. So that Lee, instead of a mere 
covering party which he had expected to cut 
off, had found himself front to front with the 
whole rear division of the British army ; and 
that, too, on unfavorable ground, with a deep 
ravine and a morass in his rear. 

He endeavored to form his troops for action. 
Oswald's artillery began to play, and there was 
some skirmishing with the enemy's light-horse, 
in which they were repulsed. But mistakes 
occurred ; orders were misunderstood ; one 
corps after another fell back, until the whole 
retreated, almost without a struggle, before an 
inferior force. Lee, himself, seemed to partake 
of the confusion ; taking no pains to check the 
retrograde movement, nor to send notice of it 
to the main body upon which they were falling 
back. 

What opinions Washington gave on the sub- 
ject, in the course of his conversation with the 
marquis, the latter does not tell us ; after it 
was ended, he wrapped himself in his cloak, 
and slept at the foot of the tree, among his 
soldiers. 

At daybreak the drums beat the reveille. 
The troops roused themselves from their heavy 
sleep, and prepared for action. To their sur- 
prise, the enemy had disappeared : there was 
a deserted camp, in which were found four 
ofiicers and about forty privates, too severely 
wounded to be conveyed away by the retreat- 
ing army. Sir Henry Clinton, it appeared, had 
allowed his wearied troops but short repose on 
the preceding night. At ten o'clock, when the 
American forces were buried in their first 
sleep, he had set forward to join the division 
under Knyphausen, which, with the baggage 
train, having pushed on during the action, was 
far on the road to Middletown. So silent had 
been his retreat, that it was imheard by Gen- 
eral Poor's advance party, which lay near by. 

The distance to which the enemy must by 
this time have attained, the extreme heat of 
the weather, and the fatigued condition of the 
troops, deterred Washington from continuing 
a pursuit through a country, where the roads 
were deep and sandy, and there was great 
scarcity of water. Besides, persons well ac- 
quainted with the country assured him that it 
would be impossible to annoy the enemy in ^ 
their embarkation, as he must approach the 
place by a narrow passage, capable of being 



^T. 40.] 



THE KILLED AND WOCXDED— POSITIONS OF THE ENEMY. 



467 



defended by a few men against his whole force. 
Detaching General Maxwell's brigade and Mor- 
gan's rifle corps, therefore, to hang on the rear 
of the enemy, prevent depredation and encom*- 
age desertions, he determined to shape his course 
with his main body by Brunswick toward the 
Hudson, lest Sir Henry should have any design 
upon the posts there. 

The American loss in the recent battle was 
eight officers and sixty-one privates killed, and 
about one hundred and sixty wounded. Among 
the slain were Lieutenant-Colonel Bonner of 
Pennsylvania, and Major Dickinson of Virginia, 
both greatly regretted. 

The officers who had charge of the burying 
parties reported that they found two hundred 
and forty-five non-commissioned officers and 
privates, and four officers, left dead by the 
enemy on the field of battle. There were fresh 
graves in the vicinity also, into which the ene- 
my had hurried their slain before retreating. 
The number of prisoners, including those found 
wounded, was upwards of one hundred. 

Some of the troops on both sides had per- 
ished in the morass, some were found on tlie 
border of a stream which ran through it among 
alder bushes, whither, overcome by heat, fatigue, 
and thirst, they had crawled to drink and die. 

Among the gallant slain of the enemy was 
Colonel Monckton, who fell so bravely wlien 
leading on his grenadiers. His remains were 
interred in the burial-ground of the Freehold 
meeting-house, upon a stone of which edifice 
his name is rudely cut.* 

After giving his troops a day's repose Wash- 
ington decamped on the SOtli, His march lay 
through a countiy destitute of water, with 
deep, sandy roads wearying to the feet, and re- 
flecting the intolerable heat and glare of a July 
sun. Many of the troops, harassed by previous 
fatigue, gave out by the way. Some few died, 
and a number of horses were likewise lost. 
Washington, ever considerate of the health and 
comfort of his men, encamped near Brunswick 
on open, airy grounds, and gave them time to 
repose ; while Lieutenant-Colonel Aaron Burr, 
at that time a young and enterprising officer, 
was sent on a reconnoitring expedition, to learn 
the movements and intentions of the enemy. 
He was authorized to despatch trusty persons 
into New York to make observations, collect 
reports, and get newspapers. Others were to 
be sent to the heights of Bei'gen, Weehawk, and 



■ Lossing'8 Field Book of the Revolution, ii. S63. 



Hoboken, which command a view of the bay 
and river, to observe the situation of the ene- 
my's forces, and note whether any movement 
among the shipping gave signs of an expedition 
up the Hudson ; the immediate object of solici- 
tude. 

Sir Henry Clinton with the royal army had 
arrived at the Highlands of Navesink, in the 
neighborhood of Sandy Hook, on the 30th of 
June. He had lost many men by desertion, 
Hessians especially, during his march through 
the Jerseys, which, with his losses by killed, 
wounded, and captured, had diminished his 
army more than two thousand men. The 
storms of the preceding winter had cut off the 
peninsula of Sandy Hook from the main land, 
and formed a deep channel between them. 
Fortunately the squadron of Lord Howe had 
arrived the day before, and was at anclior 
within the Hook. A bridge was immediately 
made across the channel with the boats of the 
ships, over which the army passed to the Hook 
on the 5th of July, and thence was distributed. 

It was now encamped in three divisions on 
Staten Island, Long Island, and the Island of 
New York : apparently without any immediate 
design of offensive operations. There was a 
vigorous press in New York to man the large 
ships and fit them for sea, but this was in con- 
sequence of a report that a French fleet had 
arrived on the coast. 

Relieved by this intelligence from all appre- . 
hensions of an expedition by the enemy up the 
Hudson, Washington relaxed the speed of his 
movements, and halted for a few days at Para- 
mus, sparing his troops as much as possible 
during the extreme summer heats. 



CHAPTER XXXV. 

Havixg brought the army to a halt, we have 
time to notice a correspondence between Gen- 
eral Lee and Washington immediately subse- 
quent to the affair of Monmouth. The pride 
of the general had been deeply wounded by the 
rebuke he had received on the field of battle. 
On the following day (June 29th) he addressed 
a note to Washington on the subject. By mis- 
take it was dated July 1st. " From the knowl- 
edge I have of your Excellency's character," 
writes he, " I mitst conclude tliat nothing but 
the misinformation of some very stupid, or 
misrepresentation of some very wicked person, 



468 



CORRESPONDENCE— LEE TRIED BY COURT-MARTIAL. 



[1778. 



could have occasioned your making use of so 
very singular expressions as you did on my 
coming up to the ground where you had taken 
post. They implied that I was guilty either 
of disobedience of orders, want of conduct, or 
want of courage. Your Excellency will there- 
fore infinitely oblige me by letting me know 
on which of these three articles you ground 
your charge. I ever had, and hope shall ever 
have, the greatest respect and veneration for 
General Washington. I think him endowed 
with many great and good qualities ; but in 
this instance, I must pronounce that he has 
been guilty of an act of cruel injustice towards 
a man, who certainly has some pretensions to 
the regard of every servant of this country. And 
I think, sir, I have a right to demand some 
reparation for the injury committed ; and, unless 
I can obtain it, I must in justice to myself, 
when this campaign is closed, which I believe 
T,'ill close the war, retire from the service at the 
head of which is placed a man capable of of- 
fering such injuries. But at the same time, in 
justice to you, I must repeat that I from my 
soul believe that it is not a motion of your own 
breast, but instigated by some of those dirty 
earwigs, who will forever insinuate theraslves 
near persons high in office : for I really am 
convinced that when General "Washington acts 
from himself, no man in his army will have 
reason to complain of injustice or indecorum." 
The following was "Washington's reply : 

" Sir, — I received your letter (dated through 
mistake the 1st of July), expressed as I con- 
ceive in terms highly improper. I am not con- 
scious of making use of any very singular ex- 
pressions at the time of meeting you, as you 
intimate. "What I recollect to have said was 
dictated by duty and warranted by the occa- 
sion. As soon as circumstances wiU permit, 
you shall have an opportunity of justifying 
yourself to the army, to Congress, to America, 
and to the world in general ; or of convincing 
them that you were guilty of a breach of or- 
ders, and of misbehavior before the enemy on 
the 28th Instant, in not attacking them as you 
had been directed, and in making an unneces- 
sary, disorderly, and shameful retreat. I am," 
&c., &c. 

To this Lee rejoined, in a note, misdated 28th 
June. "Sir, you cannot afford me greater 
pleasure than in giving me the opportunity of 
ehowing to America the sufficiency of her re- 



spective servants. I trust that temporary pow- 
er of office, and the tinsel dignity attending it, 
will not be able, by all the mists they can raise, 
to obfuscate the bright rays of truth. In the 
mean time, your Excellency can have no objec- 
tion to my retiring from the army," &c. 

Shortly after despatching this note, Lee ad- 
dressed another to "Washington. " I have re- 
flected on both your situation and mine," writes 
he, " and beg leave to observe, that it will be 
for our mutual convenience that a court of in- 
quiry should be immediately ordered : but I 
could wish that it might be a court-martial ; 
for, if the affair is drawn into length, it may be 
difficult to collect the necessary evidences, and 
perhaps might bring on a paper war betwixt 
the adherents to both parties, which may oc- 
casion some disagreeable feuds on the conti- 
nent ; for all are not my friends, nor all your 
admirers. I must entreat, therefore, from your 
love of justice, that you will immediately ex- 
hibit your charge, and that on the first halt I 
may be brought to a trial." 

"Washington in reply acknowledged the re- 
ceipt of the two last notes, and added, " I have 
sent Colonel Scamniel and the adjutant-general, 
to put yoii under arrest, who will deliver you 
a copy of the charges on which you will be 
tried." 

The following were the charges : 

1st. Disobedience of orders, in not attacking 
the enemy on the 28th of June, agreeably to 
repeated instructions. 

2d. Misbehavior before the enemy on the 
same day, by making an unnecessary, disorder- 
ly, and shameful retreat. 

3d. Disrespect to the commander-in-chief in 
two letters, dated tlie 1st of July, and the 28th 
of June. 

A court-martial was accordingly formed on 
the 4th of July, at Brunswick, the first halting 
place. It was composed of one major-general, 
four brigadiers, and eight colonels, with Lord 
Stirling as president. It moved with the army, 
and convened subsequently at Paramus, Peeks- 
kill, and K'orthcastle, the trial lasting until the 
12th of August. From the time it commenced, 
"Washington never mentioned Lee's name when 
he could avoid it, and when he could not, he 
mentioned it without the smallest degree- of i 
acrimony or disrespect. i 

Lee, on the contrary, indulged his natural 
irritability of temper and sharpness of tongue. 
"When put on his guard against any intemperate 
railings against "Washington, as calculated to 



^T. 46.] 



LEE SENTENCED— THE SENTENCE APPROVED BY CONGRESS. 



469 



injure his cause, lie spurned at the advice. 
" No attack, it seems, can be made on General 
"Washington but it must recoil on the assailant. 
I never entertained the most distant wish or 
intention of attacking General Washington. 
I have ever honored and respected him as a 
man and a citizen ; but if the circle which sur- 
rounds him chooses to erect him into an. infalli- 
ble divinity, I shall certainly prove a heretic ; 
and if, great as he is, he can attempt wound- 
ing every thing I ought to hold dear, he must 
tliank his priests if his deityship gets scratched 
in the scuffle." * 

In the repeated sessions of the com't-martial 
and the long examinations which took place, 
many of the unfavorable impressions first re- 
ceived, concerning the conduct and motives of 
Lee, were softened. Some of the officers in 
his detachment, who had made accusations 
against him to the commander-in-chief pre- 
vious to the trial, especially Generals Wayne and 
Scott, were found not to have understood all 
the circumstances of the case in which he was 
placed in his encounter with the rear division 
of Sir Henry Clinton, and that that division 
had been largely reinforced by troops from 
General Knyphausen. 

Lee defended himself with ability. He con- 
tended that after the troops had commenced 
to fall back, in consequence of a retrograde 
movement of General Scott, he had intended 
to form them on the first advantageous ground 
he could find, and that none such presented it- 
self until he reached the place where he met 
General Washington ; on which very place he 
had intended to make battle. 

He denied that in the whole course of the 
day he had uttered the word retreat. But this 
retreat, said he, though necessary, was brought 
about contrary to my orders, contrary to my 
intention ; and, if any thing can deduct from 
my credit, it is, that I did not order a retreat 
which was so necessary.t 

Judge Marshall observes of the variety of 
reasons given by Lee in justification of his re- 
treat, " if they do not absolutely establisli its 
propriety, they give it so questionable a form, as 
to render it probable that a public examination 
never would have taken place, could his proud 
spirit have stooped to offer explanation instead 
of outrage to the commander-in-chief." 

The result of the prolonged and tedious in- 
vestigation was, that he was found guilty of 



* Letter to Joseph Reed. Sparks' Biog. of Lee, p. 174. 
t Letter to Dr. Eiish, Sparks' Biog. of Lee. 



all the charges exhibited against him; the 
second charge, however, was softened by omit- 
ting the word shameful^ and convicting him of 
making an " unnecessary, and in some instances 
a disorderly retreat." He was sentenced to be 
suspended from all command for one year : the 
sentence to be approved or set aside by Con- 
gress. 

We must again anticipate dates, to dispose 
briefly of the career of General Lee, who is not 
connected with subsequent events of the Revo- 
lution. Congress were more than three mouths 
in coming to a decision on the proceedings of 
the court-martial. As the House always sat 
with closed doors, the debates on the subject 
are unknown, but are said to have been warm. 
Lee urged for speedy action, and regretted that 
the people at large could not be admitted to 
form an audience, when the discussion was en- 
tered into of the justice or iniquity, wisdom or 
absurdity of the sentence that had been passed 
upon him. At length, on the 5th of December, 
the sentence was approved in a very thin ses- 
sion of Congress, fifteen members voting in the 
affirmative and seven in the negative. 

From that time Lee was unmeasured in his 
abuse of Washington, and his reprobation of 
the court-martial, which he termed a " court of 
inquisition." He published a long article in the 
newspapers relative to the trial and to the aflTair 
at Monmouth, calculated to injure Washington. 
" I have neither the leisure nor inclination,"' 
observes' the latter, "to enter the lists with 
him in a newspaper ; and so far as his produc- 
tion points to personality, I can and do from 
my inmost soul despise it. =;==!= * * j^ ]jq. 
came a part of General Lee's plan, from the 
moment of his arrest, though it was an event 
solicited by himself, to have the world believe 
that he was a persecuted man, and party was 
at the bottom of it. But however convenient 
it may have been for his purposes to establish 
this belief, I defy him, or his most zealous par- 
tisans, to adduce a single instance in proof of 
it, unless bringing him to trial, at his own re- 
quest, be considered in this light. I can do 
more ; I will defy any person, out of my own 
family, to say, that I have ever mentioned his 
name, if it was to be avoided ; and when not, 
that I have not studiously declined expressing 
any sentiment of him or his behaviek-. How 
far tliis conduct accords with his, let his own 
breast decide. ***** ^g j never en- 
tertained any jealousy of him, so neither did I 
ever do more than common civility and proper 



470 



LEE'S RURAL RETIREMENT— HIS DEATH AND WILL. 



[1778. 



respect to his rank required, to conciliate his 
good opinion. His temper and plans were too 
versatile and violent to attract my admiration ; 
and, that I have escaped the venom of his 
tongue and pen so long is more to he wondered 
at than applauded ; as it is a favor of which no 
officer, under whose immediate command he 
ever served, has had the happiness, if happiness 
can he thus denominated, of hoasting." * 

Lee's aggressive tongue at length involved 
him in a quarrel with Colonel Laurens, one of 
"Washington's aides, a high-spirited young gen- 
tleman, who felt himself bound to vindicate the 
honor of his chief. A duel took place, and 
Lee was wounded in the side. 

Towards spring he retired to his estate in 
Berkley County in Virginia, "to learn to hoe 
tobacco, which," observes he with a sarcastic 
innuendo at Washington, "is the best school to 
form a consummate Oeneral. This is a discov- 
ery I have lately made." 

He led a kind of hermit life on his estate ; 
dogs and horses were his favorite companions. 
,His house is described as a mere shell, destitute 
of comforts and conveniences. For want of 
partitions the different parts were designated 
by lines chalked on the floor. In one corner 
was his bed ; in another were his books ; his 
saddles and harness in a third ; a fourth served 
as a kitchen. 

"Sir," said ho to a visitor, "it is the most 
convenient and economical establishment in the 
world. The lines of chalk which you see on 
the floor, mark the divisions of the apartments, 
and I can sit in any corner and overlook the 
whole without moving from my chair." 

In this retirement he solaced his mortifica- 
tion and resentment by exercising his caustic 
pen in " Queries Political and Military," in- 
tended to disparage the merits and conduct of 
Wasliington, and which were j^ublished in a 
Maryland newspaper. His attempts, it is need- 
less to say, were fallacious, and only recoiled 
on his OAvn head. 

The term of his stispension had expired, when 
a rumor reached him that Congress intended 
to take away his commission. He was in bod- 
ily pain at the time ; his horses wei-e at the 
door for an excursion of business ; the intelli- 
gence "ruffled his temper beyond all bounds." 
In his hArry and heat, without attempting to 
ascertain the truth of the report, he scrawled 
the following note to the President of Cou- 

* Washington to Roed. Sparks, vol. vi. 13a. 



gress : " Sir, I understand that it is in contem- 
plation of Congress, on the principle of econ- 
omy, to strike me out of their service. Con- 
gress must know very little of me, if they 
suppose that I would accept of their money, 
since the confirmation of the wicked and in- 
famous sentence which was passed upon me. 
I am, sir," &c. 

This insolent note occasioned his prompt dis- 
missal from the service. He did not complain 
of it ; but in a subsequent and respectful letter 
to the president, explained the mistaken infor- 
mation which had produced his note, and the 
state of body and mind in which it was written. 
" But, sir," added he, " I must entreat, in the 
acknowledging of the impropriety and inde- 
corum of my conduct in this affair, it may not 
be supposed that I mean to court a restoration 
to the rank I held ; so far from it, that I do 
assure you, had not the incident fallen out, I 
should have requested Congress to accept my 
resignation, as, for obvious reasons, whilst the 
army is continued in its present circumstances, 
I could not serve with safety and dignity," &c. 

Though bitter in his enmities, Lee had his 
friendships, and was warm and constant in them 
as far as his capricious Lnmors would allow. 
There was nothing crafty or mean in his char- 
acter, nor do we think he ever engaged in the 
low intrigues of the cabal ; but he was a disap- 
pointed and embittered man, and the gall of 
bitterness overflowed his generous qualities. In 
such a discordant state of feeling, he was not a 
man for the sweet solitude of the country. He 
became weary of his Virginia estate ; though 
in one of the most fertile regions of the Shen- 
andoah Valley. His farm was mismanaged ; 
liis agents were unfaithful ; he entered into ne- 
gotiations to dispose of his property, in the 
course of which he visited Philadelphia. On 
arriving there, he was taken with chills, fol- 
lowed by a fever, which went on increasing in 
violence, and terminated fatally. A soldier 
even x;nto the end, warlike scenes mingled 
with the delirium of his malady. In his dying 
moments he fancied himself on the field of bat- 
tle. The last words he was heard to utter 
were, " Stand by me, my brave grenadiers ! " 

He left a will and testament strongly marked 
by his peculiarities. There are bequests to in- 
timates of horses, weapons, and suras to pur- 
chase rings of affection ; ample and generous 
provisions for domestics, one of whom he styles 
his " old and faithful servant, or rather, hum- 
ble friend." His landed estate in Berkley was 



^T. 46.] 



ARRIVAL OF A FRENCH FLEET— CORRESPONDENCE. 



471 



to be divided into three equal parts, two of 
then) between two of his former aides-de-camp, 
and the other third between two gentlemen to 
whom he felt nnder obligations. All his* resid- 
uary property to go to his sister Sidney Lee 
and her heirs. 

Eccentric to the last, one clause of his will 
regards his sepulture : " I desire most earnestly 
that I may not be biaried in any church or 
churchyard, or within a mile of any Presby- 
terian or Anabaptist meeting-house ; for, since 
I have resided in this country, I have kept so 
much bad company while living, that I do not 
choose to continue it when dead." 

This part of his will was not complied with. 
He was buried w'ith military honors in the 
cemetery of Christ Church ; and his funeral 
was attended by the highest civic and military 
characters, and a large concourse of citizens. 

The magnanimity exhibited by Washington 
in regard to Lee while liviag, continued after 
his death. He never spoke of him with asper- 
ity, but did justice to his merits, acknowledging 
that " he possessed many great qualities." 

In after years, there was a proposition to 
publish the manuscripts of General Lee, and 
Washington was consulted in the matter, as 
there might be hostile articles among them 
which he might wish to have omitted. " I can 
have no request to make concerning the work," 
writes he in reply. " I never had a difference 
with that gentleman but on public grounds ; 
and my conduct towards him on this occasion 
was such, only, as I felt myself indispensably 
bound to adopt in discharge of the public trust 
reposed in me. If this produced in him un- 
favorable sentiments of me, I can never con- 
sider the conduct I pursued, with respect to 
him, either wrong or improper, however I may 
regret that it may have been differently viewed 
by him, and that it excited his anger and ani- 
madversions. Should there appear in General 
Lee's writings any thing injurious or unfriendly 
to me, the impartial and dispassionate v/orld 
must decide how far I deserved it from the 
general tenor of my conduct." 



CHAPTER XXXVI. 

WniLE encamped at Paramus, Washington, 
in the night of the 13th of July, received a let- 
ter from Congress informing him of the arrival 
of a French fleet on the coast ; instructing him 



to concert measures with the commander, the 
Count D'Estaing, for offensive operations by 
sea and land, and empowering him to call on 
the States from New Hampshire to New Jersey 
inclusive, to aid with their militia. 

Tlie fleet in question was composed of twelve 
ships of the line and six frigates, with a land 
force of four thousand men. On board of it 
came Mons. Gerard, minister from France to 
the United States, and the Hon. Silas Deane, 
one of the American ministers who had effected 
the late treaty of alliance. The fleet had sailed 
from Toulon on the 13th of April. After 
struggling against adverse winds for eighty- 
seven or eighty-eight days, it had made its ap- 
pearance off the northern extremity of the 
Virginia coast and anchored at the mouth of the 
Delaware, on the eighth ^of July. Thence the 
count despatched a letter to Washington, dated 
at sea. "I have the honor of imparting to 
your Excellency," Avrites he, "the arrival of 
the king's fleet, charged by his majesty with 
the glorious task of giving his allies, the United 
States of America, the ftiost striking proofs of 
his affection. Nothing will be wanting to my 
happiness, if I can succeed in it. It is aug- 
mented by the consideration of concerting my 
operations with a General such as your Excel- 
lency. The talents and great actions of Gen- 
eral Washington have insured him, in the eyes 
of all Europe, the title truly sublime of Deliv- 
erer of America," &c. 

The count was unfortunate in the length of 
his voyage. Had he arrived in ordinary time, 
■he might have entrapped Lord Howe's squad- 
ron in the river ; co-operated with Washington 
in investing the British army by sea and land, 
and, by cutting off its retreat to New York, 
compelled it to surrender. 

Finding the enemy had evacuated both city 
and river, the count sent up the French min- 
ister and Mr. Deane to Philadelphia in a frigate, 
and then, putting to sea, continued along the 
coast, A little earlier, and he might have in- 
tercepted the squadron of Lord Howe on its 
w\ay to New York. It had had but a very few 
days the advantage of him, and when he arrived 
with his fleet in the road outside of Sandy 
Hook, he descried the British ships quietly an- 
chored inside of it. 

A frank and cordial correspondence took 
place forthwith between the count and Y>'ash- 
ington, and a plan of action was concerted be- 
tween them by the intervention of confidential 
officers ; Washington's aides-de-camp, Laurens 



472 



PERTURBATION AT NEW YORK— D'ESTAING AT RHODE ISLAND. 



[1778. 



and Hamilton, boarding tlie fleet while off the 
Hook, and Major Chouin, a French oflicer of 
merit, repairing to the American head-quarters. 

The first idea of the count was to enter at 
Sandy Hook, and capture or destroy the Brit- 
ish fleet composed of sis ships of the line, four 
fifty gunships, and a number of frigates and 
smaller vessels ; should he succeed in this, 
which his greatly superior force rendered prob- 
able, he was to proceed against the city, with 
the co-operation of the American forces. To 
be at hand for such purpose, Washington 
crossed the Hudson, Avith his army, at King's 
Ferry, and encamped at White Plains about the 
20th of July. 

In the mean time New York was once more 
in a violent pei-turbation, "British seamen," 
says a writer of the tipies, " endured the morti- 
fication, for the first time, of seeing a British 
fleet blocked up and insulted in their own har- 
bor, and the French flag flying triumphantly 
without. And this was still more embittered 
and aggravated, by beholding every day vessels 
under English colors captured under their very 
eyes by the enem3^"* The army responded 
to tlieir feelings; many royalists of the city, 
too, hastened to offer their services as volun- 
teers ; there was, in short, a prodigious stir in 
every department, military and naval. 

On the other hand, the French oflScers and 
crcAvs were in the higliest state of excitement 
and exultation. The long low point of Sandy 
Hook was all that intervened between them 
and a splendid triumph, and they anticipated 
the glory of " delivering America from the 
English colors which they saw waving on the 
other side of a simple barrier of sand, upon so 
great a crowd of masts." * 

Several experienced American pilots and mas- 
ters of vessels, however, who had accompanied 
Colonels Laurens and Hamilton on board of the 
fleet, declared that there was not sufficient 
depth of water on the bar to admit the safe 
passage of the largest ships, one of whicii car- 
ried 80 and another 90 guns : the attempt, 
therefore, was reluctantly abandoned ; and the 
ships anchored about four miles oflF, near 
Shrewsbury on the Jersey coast, taking in pro- 
visions and water. 

The enterprise wliich the American and 
French commanders deemed next worthy of 
a combined operation, was the recapture of 
Rhode Island proper, that is to say, the island 



* Brit. Ann. Register for 177S, p. 229. 
t Letter of the count. 



which gives its name to the State, and which 
the enemy had made one of their military de- 
pots and strongholds. In anticipation of such 
an enterprise, Washington on the 17th of July 
wi-ote to General Sullivan, who commanded at 
Providence, ordering him to make the necessary 
preparations for a descent from the mainland 
upon the island, and authorizing him to call in 
reinforcements of New England militia. He 
subsequently sent to his aid the Marquis La- 
fayette with two brigades (Varnum's and Glo- 
ver's). Quartermaster-General Greene also was 
detached for the service, being a native of the 
island, well acquainted with its localities, and 
having great influence among its inhabitants. 
Sullivan was instructed to form his whole force. 
Continental, State, and militia, into two equal 
divisions, one to be commanded by Greene, the 
other by Lafayette. 

On the 22d of July, the French fleet, having 
finished taking in its supplies, appeared again 
in full force off the bar at Sandy Hook. The 
British, who supposed they had only been wait- 
ing on the Shrewsbury coast for the high tides 
of the latter part of July, now prepared for a 
desperate conflict ; and, indeed, had the French 
fleet been enabled to enter, it is diflicult to con- 
ceive a more terrible and destructive struggle 
than would have ensued between these gallant 
and deadly rivals with their powerful arma- 
ments brought side to side, and cramped up in 
so confined a field of action. 

D'Estaing, however, had already determined 
his course. After a few demonstrations otf the 
harbor, he stood away to the eastward, and on 
the 29th arrived off Point Judith, coming to 
anchor within five miles of Newport. 

Rhode Island (proper), the object of this ex- 
pedition, is about sixteen miles long, running 
deep into the great Narraganset Bay. Seacon- 
net Channel separates it on the east from the 
mainland, and on the west the main channel 
passes between it and Conanicut Island. The 
town of Newport is situated near the south end 
of the island, facing tlie west, with Conanicut 
Island in front of it. It was protected by bat- 
teries and a small naval force. Here General 
Sir Robert Pigott, who commanded in the 
island, had his head-quarters. The force under 
him was about six thousand strong, variously 
posted about the island, some in works at the 
north end, but the greater part within strongly 
intrenched lines extending across the island, 
about three miles from the town. General 
Greene hastened from Providence on hearing 



JEt. 4G.] 



OPERATIONS BY SEA AND LAND— LORD HOWE'S FLEET. 



473 



of the arrival of the fleet of Count D'Estaing, 
and went on board of it at the anchorage to 
concert a plan of operations. Some questions 
of etiquette and precedence rose between them 
in settling the mode in which the attack was 
to be conducted. It was at length agreed that 
the fleet should force its way into the harbor 
at the same time that the Americans approached 
by land, and that the landing of the troops from 
the ships on the west side of the island should 
take place at the same time that the Americans 
should cross Seaconnet Channel, and land on 
the east side near the north end. This ' com- 
bined operation was to have been carried 
promptly into effect, but was postponed until 
the 10th of August to give time for the rein- 
forcements sent by "Washington to arrive. The 
delay was fatal to the enterprise. 

On the 8th, the Count D'Estaing entered the 
harbor and passed up the main channel, ex- 
changing a cannonade with the batteries as he 
passed, and anchored a little above the town, 
between Goat and Conaiiicut Islands. The 
English, on his approach, burned or scuttled 
three frigates and some smaller vessels, which 
would otherwise have been captured. General 
Sullivan, to be ready for the concerted attack, 
had moved down from Providence to the neigh- 
borhood of Rowland's Ferry, on the east side 
of Seaconnet passage. 

The British troops stationed opposite on the 
north end of the island, fearful of being cut ofi^, 
evacuated their works in tlie night of the 8th, 
and drew into the lines at Newport. 

Sullivan, seeing the works thus abandoned, 
could not resist the temptation to cross the 
channel in flat -bottomed boats on the morning 
of the 9th, and take possession of them. 

This sudden movement, a day in advance of 
the concerted time, and without due notice 
given to the count, surprised and offended him, 
clashing with his notions of etiquette and punc- 
tilio. He, however, prepared to co-operate, 
and was ordering out his boats for the purpose, 
when, about two o'clock in the day, his atten- 
tion v/as called to a great fleet of ships standing 
toward Newport. It was, in fact, the fleet of 
Lord Howe. That gallant nobleman had heard 
of the danger of Newport, and being reinforced 
by four stout ships, part of a squadron coming 
out under Admiral Byron, liad hastened to its 
relief; though stiU inferior in force to the 
French admiral. The delay of the concerted 
attack had enabled him ta arrive in time. The 
wind set directly into the harbor. Had he en- 



tered promptly, the French would have been 
placed between two fires, from his ships and 
the batteries, and cramped up in a confined 
channel, where their largest ships had no room 
to operate. His lordship, Iiowever, merely 
stood in near the land, communicated with 
General Pigott, and having informed himself 
exactly of the situation of the French fleet, 
came to anchor at Point Judith, some distance 
from the south-west entrance of the bay. 

In the night the wind changed to the north- 
east. The count hastened to avail himself of 
the error of the British admiral. Favored by 
the wind, h6 stood out of the harbor at eight 
o'clock in the morning to give the enemy battle 
where he should have good sea-room ; previ- 
ously sending word to General Sullivan, who 
had advanced the preceding afternoon to Qua- 
ker Hill, about ten miles north of Newport, 
that he would land his promised troops and 
marines, and co-operate Avith him on his re- 
turn. 

The French ships were severely cannonaded 
as they passed the batteries, but without ma- 
terial damage. Forming in order of battle, 
they bore down upon the fleet of Lord Howe, 
confidently anticipating a victory from their 
superiority of force. The British ships slipped 
their cables at their approach, and likewise 
formed in line of battle, but his lordsliip avoid- 
ed an encounter while the enemy liad the 
weathergage. To gain this on the one part, 
and retain it on the other, the two fleets ma- 
noeuvred throughout the day, standing to the 
southward, and gradually disappearing from the 
anxious eyes of the belligerent forces on Rhode 
Island. 

The army of Sullivan, now left to itself be- 
fore Newport, amounted to ten tlionsand men, 
having received the militia reinforcements. 
Lafayette advised the delay of hostile operations 
until the return of D'Estaing, but the American 
commander, piqued and chagrined at the depar- 
ture of his allies, determined to commence the 
siege immediately, without waiting for his tardy 
aid. On the twelfth, however, came on a tem- 
pest of wind and rain, which raged for two 
days and nights witii unexampled violence. 
Tents were blown down ; several soldiers and 
many horses perished, and a great part of the 
ammunition recently dealt out to tlie troops 
was destroyed. On the 14th, the weather 
cleared up and the sun shone brightly, but the 
army was worn down and dispirited. Had the 
British troops sallied forth at this juncture hale 



474 



D'ESTAING REFUSES TO CO-OPERATE— DEPARTURE OF THE FLEET. 



[1118. 



and fresh from comfortable quarters, it might 
have fared badly with their weatherbeaten be- 
siegers. The latter, however, being unmolested, 
had time to breathe and refit themselves. 
The day was passed in drying their clothes, 
cleaning their arms, and putting themselves in 
order for action. By the next morning they 
were again on the alert. Expecting the prompt 
return of the French, they now took post on 
Honeyman's Hill, about two miles from the 
British lines, and began to construct batteries, 
form lines of communication, and make regular 
approaches. The British w'ere equally active 
in strengthening their defences. There was 
casual cannonading on each side, but nothing 
of consequence. Several days elapsed without 
the reappearance of the French. The situation 
of the besiegers was growing critical, when, on 
the evening of the 19th, they descried the 
expected fleet standing toward the harbor. 
All now was exultation in the camp. Should 
the French with their ships and troops attack 
the town by sea and land on the one side, while 
the Americans assailed it on the other, the sur- 
render of the place was inevitable. 

These sanguine anticipations, however, were 
shortlived. The French fleet was in a shatter- 
ed and forlorn condition. After sailing from 
before Newport, on the 20th, it had manoeuvred 
for two days with the British fleet, each un- 
willing to enter into action without having the 
weathergage. "While thus mnnceuvring, the 
same furious storm which had raged on shore 
separated and dispersed them with fearful 
ravage. Some single encounters of scattered 
ships subsequently took place, but without de- 
finite result. All were too much tempest-tost 
and disabled to make good fight. Lord Ilowe 
with such of his ships as he could collect bore 
away to New York to refit, and the French 
admiral was now before Newport, but in no 
plight or mood for fighting. 

In a letter to General Sullivan, he informed 
him that pursuant to the orders of his sovereign 
and the advice of his officers, he was bound for 
Boston, being instructed to repair to that port, 
should he meet with misfortune, or a superior 
British force appear upon the coast. 

Dismayed at this intelligence, which threat- 
ened ruin and disgrace to the enterprise, Sulli- 
van wrote a letter of remonstrance to the 
count, and General Greene and the Marquis 
Lafayette repaired with it on board of the 
admiral's ship, to enforce it by their personal 
exertions. They represented to the count the , 



certainty of carrying the place in two days, by 
a combined attack ; and the discouragement 
and reproach that would foUow a failure on 
this their first attempt at co-operation ; an at- 
tempt, too, for which the Americans had made 
such great and expensive preparations, and on 
which they had indulged such sanguine hopes. 
These and other considerations equally urgent 
had their weight with the count, and he was 
inclined to remain and pursue the enterprise, 
but was overruled by the principal officers of 
his fleet. The fact is, that he was properly a 
land ofiicer, and they had been indignant at his 
having a nautical command over their heads. 
They were glad, therefore, of any opportunity 
to thwart and mortify him ; and now insisted 
on his complying with his letter of instructions, 
and sailing for Boston. On Lafayette's taking 
leave, the count assured him that he would 
only remain in Boston time enough to give his 
men repose after their long sufi'erings, and refit 
his ships ; and trusted to leave the port again 
within three weeks after entering it, " to fight 
for the glory of the French name and the inter- 
ests of America." * 

The marquis and General Greene returned at 
midnight, and made a report of the ill success 
of their mission. Sullivan sent another letter 
on the following day, urging D'Estaing in any 
event to leave his land forces. All the general 
officers, excepting Lafayette, joined in signing 
and sending a protest against the departure of 
the fleet for Boston, as derogatory to the honor 
of France, contrary to the intention of his most 
Christian majesty and the interest of his nation, 
destructive of the welfare of the United States, 
and highly injurious to the alliance formed be- 
tween the two nations. The fleet was already 
under way when Colonel Laurens got on board 
of the admiral's ship with the letter and pro- 
test. The count was deeply ofiended by the 
tone of the protest, and the manner in which 
it was conveyed to him. He declared to Colo- 
nel Laurens that " this paper imposed on the 
commander of the king's squadron the painful, 
but necessary law of profound silence." He 
continued his course to Boston. 

At the sailing of the ships there was a feeling 
of exasperation throughout the camp. Sullivan 
gave vent to his vexation in a general order on 
the 24th, wherein he observed : " The general 
cannot help lamenting the sudden and unex- 
pected departure of the French fleet, as he finds 



* Letter of Lafayette % Washington. Memoirs, T i., 
p. 194. 



.Et. 46.] IRRITATION BETWEEN THE ALLIED FORCES— RHODE ISLAND ABANDONED. 475 



it has a tendency to discourage some who 
placed great dependence upon the assistance of 
it; though he can by no means suppose the 
army or any part of it, endangered by this 
movement. He yet hopes the event will prove 
America able to procure that by her own arms 
which her allies refuse to assist in obtaining." 

On cooler reflection he thought proper, in 
subsequent orders, to explain away the rash 
and unwarrantable imputation on French loyal- 
ty contained in the foregoing document, but a 
general feeling of irritation against the French 
continued to prevail in the army. 

^xo had been foretold, the departure of the 
fleet was a death-blow to the enterprise. Be- 
tween two and tliree thousand volunteers aban- 
doned the camp in the course of four and 
twenty hours; others continued to go off; 
desertions occurred among the militia, and in a 
few days the number of besiegers did not exceed 
that of the besieged. 

All thoughts of offensive operations were 
now at an end. The question was how best to 
extricate the army from its perilous position. 
The harbors of Rhode Island being now free, 
and open to the enemy, reinforcements might 
pour in from New York, and render the with- 
drawal of the troops disastrous, if not impos- 
sible. To prepare for rapid retreat, if necessary, 
all the heavy artillery that could be spared, 
was sent off from the island. On the 28th it 
was determined, in a council of war, to fall 
back to the military works at the north end of 
the island and fortify there, until it should be 
known whether the French fleet would soon 
return to their assistance, the Marquis Lafayette 
setting off Avith all speed to have an interview 
with the Count D'Estaing, and ascertain the 
fact. 

General Sullivan broke up his camp, and 
commenced his retreat tMat very night, between 
nine and ten o'clock ; the army retiring by 
two roads ; the rear covered by parties of light 
troops, under Colonels Livingston and Lau- 
rens. * 

Their retreat was not discovered until day- 
light, when a pursuit was commenced. The 
covering parties behaved gallantly, making fre- 
quent stands, abandoning one eminence only 
to take post on another, and keeping up a 
retreating fire that checked the advance of the 
enemy. After a series of skirmishes they were 
pressed back to the fortified grounds on the 
north end of the island ; but Sullivan had 
already taken post there, on Batt's Hill, the 



main body of his army being drawn up in order 
of battle, with strong works in their rear, and 
a redoubt in front of the right wing. 

The British now took post on an advanta- 
geous height called Quaker Hill, a little more 
than a mile from the American front, whence 
they commenced a cannonade which was brisk- 
ly returned. Skirmishing ensued until about 
ten o'clock, when two British sloops-of-war 
and some small vessels having gained a favora- 
ble position, the enemy's troops, under cover 
of their fire, advanced in force to turn the right 
flank of the American army, and capture the 
redoubt which protected it. This was bravely 
defended by General Greene: a sharp action 
ensued, which had nearly become a general 
one ; between two and three hundred men 
were killed on each side ; the British at length 
di-ew back to their artillery and works on Qua- 
ker Hill, and a mutual cannonade was resumed 
and kept up until night. 

On the following day (29th) the enemy 
continued his distant firing, but waited for 
reinforcements before coming to close quarters. 
In the mean time, General Sullivan had received 
intelligence that Lord Howe had again put to 
sea with the design, no doubt, to attempt the 
relief of Newport, and then followed another 
report that a fleet with troops was actually off 
Block Island, and must arrive almost immedi- 
ately in the harbor. 

Under these circumstances it was determined 
to abandon Rhode Island. To do so with safety, 
however, required the utmost caution, as the 
hostile sentries were within four hundred yards 
of each other, and any suspicious movements 
would be easily discovered and reported to the 
British commander. The position on Batt's 
Hill favored a deception. Tents wei-e brought 
forward and pitched in sight of the enemy, and 
a great part of the troops employed throughout 
the day in thi'owing up works, as if the post was 
to be resolutely maintained ; at the same time, 
the heavy baggage and stores were quietly con- 
veyed away in the rear of the hill, and ferried 
across the bay. As soon as it was dark the 
tents were struck, fires were lighted at various 
points, the troops withdrawn, and in a few 
hours the whole were transported across the 
channel to the mainland. In the height of 
the transit, Lafayette arrived. He had ridden 
from the island to Boston, a distance of nearly 
seventy miles, in seven hours, and had conferred 
with the French admiral. 

D'Estaing had convinced him of the inade- 



476 nOWE RETURNS TO ENGLAND— WASHINGTON'S LETTER TO HIS BROTHER. [1778. 



quacy of liis naval force, but had made a spirited 
oflfer of leading his troops by land to co-operate 
with the Americans, Eager to be in time for 
any engagement that might take place, Lafay- 
ette had spurred back still more speedily than 
he went, but was disappointed and mortified 
at finding all the fighting over. He arrived in 
time, however, to bring off the pickets and 
covering parties, amounting to a thousand men, 
which he did in such excellent order that not 
a man was left behind, nor the smallest article 
lost. 

The whole army had crossed by two o'clock 
in the morning unperceived by the enemy, and 
had reason to congratulate themselves on the 
course they had taken, and the quickness of 
their movements ; for the very next day Sir 
Henry Clinton arrived at Newport in a light 
squadron, with a reinforcement of four thou- 
sand men, a naval and land force that might 
effectually have cut off Sullivan's retreat, had 
he lingered on the island. 

Sir Henry finding he had arrived a day too 
late, returned to New York, but first detached 
Major-General Sir Charles Grey with the troops, 
on a ravaging expedition to the eastward ; 
chiefly against ports which were the haunts of 
privateers. This was the same general that 
had surprised "Wayne in the preceding year, 
and effected such slaughter among his men 
with the bayonet. He appears to have been 
fitted for rough and merciless warfare. In the 
course of his present expedition he destroyed 
more than seventy vessels in Acushnet River, 
some of them privateers with their prizes, 
others peaceful merchant ships. New Bedford 
and Fair Haven having been made military 
and naval deposits, were laid waste, wharves 
demolished, rope-walks, store-houses and mills, 
with several private dwellings, wrapped in 
flames. Similar destruction was effected at 
the Island of Martha's Vineyard, a resort of 
privateers ; where the inhabitants were dis- 
armed and a heavy contribution levied upon 
them in sheep and cattle. Having thus ravaged 
the coasts of New England, the squadron 
returned laden with inglorious spoil to New 
York. 

Lord Howe, also, who had sailed for Boston 
in the hope of intercepting the Count D'Es- 
taing, and had reached there on the 30th of 
August, found the French fleet safely sheltered 
in Nantasket Road, and protected by American 
batteries erected on commanding points. He 
also returned to New York, and shortly after- 



ward, availing himself of a permission granted 
him some time before by government, resigned 
the command of the fleet to Admiral Gambier, 
to hold it until the arrival of Admiral Byron. 
His lordship then returned to England, having 
rendered important services by his operations 
along the American coast and on the waters of 
the Delaware, and presenting a strong contrast, 
in his incessant activity, to the easy indolence 
and self-indulgence of big brother. 

The failure of the combined enterprise against 
Rhode Island was a cause of universal chagrin 
and disappointment, but to none more so than 
to Washington, as is evident from the follow- 
ing passage of a letter to his brother, John 
Augustine : 

" An unfortunate storm, and some measures 
taken in consequence of it by the French ad- 
miral, blasted in one moment the fairest hopes 
that ever were conceived ; and, from a moral 
certainty of success, rendered it a matter of 
rejoicing to get our own troops safe off the 
island. If the garrison of that place, consisting 
of nearly six thousand men, had been captured, 
as there was, in appearance at least, a hundred 
to one in favor of it, it would have given the 
finishing blow to British pretensions of sover- 
eignty over this country ; and would, I am 
persuaded, have hastened the departure of the 
troops in New York, as fast as their canvas 
wings would carry them away." 

But what gave Washington the greatest 
solicitude, was the effect of this disappoint- 
ment upon the public mind. The failure of the 
enterprise was generally attributed to the de- 
parture of the French fleet from Newport, and 
there was at one time such popular exaspera- 
tion, tliat it was feared the means of repairing 
the French ships at Boston would be withheld. 
Count D'Estaing, and the other French ofiicers, 
on their part, were irritated by the protests of 
the American oflScers, and the expressions in 
Sullivan's general order derogatory to French 
loyalty. The count addressed a letter to Con- 
gress, explaining and vindicating his conduct 
subsequent to his arrival on the coast. 

Washington regarded this mutual irritation 
wliich had so suddenly sprung up between the 
army and the fleet, with the most poignant 
anxiety. He wrote to Sullivan and Greene 
on the subject, urging them to suppress the 
feuds and jealousies which had already arisen, 
to conceal as much as possible from the soldiery 
and public the misunderstandings which had 
occurred between the oflficers of the two na- 



^Et. 46.] 



WASHINGTON'S LETTER TO D'ESTAING— INDIAN WARFARE. 



477 



tions ; to discountenance all illiberal and un- 
friendly observations on the part of the army, 
and to cultivate the utmost harmony and good 
will. 

Congress, also, endeavored to suppress the 
protest of the olBcers of Sullivan's army which 
had given so much offence ; and, in a public 
resolution, expressed tlieir perfect approbation 
of the conduct of the count, and their sense of 
his zeal and attachment. 

Nothing perhaps tended more to soothe his 
wounded sensibilities, than a letter from "Wash- 
ington, couched in the most delicate and con- 
siderate language. " If the deepest regret, that 
the best concerted enterprise and bravest ex- 
ertions should have been rendered fruitless by 
a disaster, which human prudence was incapa- 
ble of foreseeing or preventing, can alleviate 
disappointment, you may be assured that the 
whole continent sympathizes with you. It 
will be a consolation to you to reflect, that the 
thinking pai't of mankind do not form their 
judgment from events ; and that their equity 
will ever attach equal glory to those actions 
Avhich deserve success, and those which have 
been crowned with it. It is in the trying cir- 
cumstances to which your excellency lias been 
exposed, that the virtues of a great mind are 
displayed in their brightest lustre, and that a 
general's character is better known than in the 
hour of victory. It was yours, by every title 
which can give it ; and the adverse element, 
which robbed you of your prize, can never 
deprive you of the glory due to you." 



CHAPTER XXXVII. 

WniLK hostilities were carried on in the 
customary form along the Atlantic borders, In- 
dian warfare, with all its atrocity, was going 
on in the interior. The British post at Niagara 
was its cradle. It was the common rallying 
place of tories, refugees, savage warriors, and 
other desperadoes of Ihe frontiers. Hither 
Brant, the noted Indian chief, had retired after 
the repulse of St. Leger at Fort Schuyler, to 
plan further mischief; and here was concerted 
the memorable incursion into the Valley of 
Wyoming, suggested hf tory refugees,who had 
until recently inhabited it. 

The Valley of Wyoming is a beautiful region 
lying along the Susquehanna. Peaceful as was 
its aspect, it had been the scene of sanguinary 



feuds prior to the Revolution, between the 
people of Pennsylvania and Connecticut, who 
both laid claim to it. Seven rural forts or block- 
houses, situated on various parts of the valley, 
had been strongholds during these territorial 
contests, and remained as places of refuge for 
women and children in times of Indian ravage. 

The expedition now set on foot against it, 
in June, was composed of Butler's rangers, 
Johnson's loyal greens, and Brant, with lus 
Indian braves. Their united force, about 
eleven hundred strong, was conducted by Colo- 
nel John Butler, renowned in Indian warfare. 
Passing from the Chemung and Susquehanna 
in canoes, they landed at a place called Three 
Islands, struck through the wilderness to a gap 
or "notch" of the mountains, by which they 
entered the Valley of Wyoming. Butler made 
his head-quarters at one of the strongholds al- 
ready mentioned, called Wintermoot's Fort, 
from a tory family of the same name. Hence 
he sent out his marauding parties to plunder 
and lay waste the country. 

Rumors of this intended invasion had reached 
the valley some time before the appearance of 
the enemy, and had spread great consternation. 
Most of the sturdy yeomanry were absent in 
the army. A company of sixty men, enlisted 
under an act of Congress, and hastily and im- 
perfectly organized, yet styling themselves reg- 
ulars, took post at one of the strongholds called 
Forty Fort ; where they were joined by about 
three hundred of the most efBcient of the yeo- 
manry, armed and equipped in rude rustic style. 
In this emergency old men and boys volun- 
teered to meet the common danger, posting 
themselves in the smaller forts in which women 
and children had taken refuge. Colonel Zebu- 
Ion Butler, an officer of the Continental army, 
took the general command. Several officers 
arrived from the army, having obtained leave 
to repair home for the protection of their fami- 
lies. They brought word that a reinforcement, 
sent by Washington, was on its way. 

In the mean time the marauding parties sent 
out by Butler and Brant were spreading deso- 
lation through the valley ; farm-houses were 
wra]iped in flames ; husbandmen were mur- 
dered while at work in the fields ; all who had 
not taken refuge in the fort were threatened 
with destruction. What was to be done? 
Wait for the arrival of the promised reinforce- 
ment, or attempt to check the ravage ? The 
latter was rashly determined on. 

Leaving the women and children in Forty 



478 



MASSACRE OF WYOMING— MOVEMENTS OF THE ARMIES. 



[1778. 



Fort, Colonel Zebulon Butler with his men sal- 
lied forth on the 8d of July, and made a rapid 
move upon Wintermoot Fort, hoping to come 
upon it by surprise. They found the enemy 
drawn up in front of it, in aline extending from 
the river to a marsh ; Colonel John Butler and 
his rangers, with Johnson's royal greens, on 
the left ; Indians and tories on the right. 

The Americans formed a line of the same 
extent ; the regulars under Colonel Butler on 
the right flank, resting on the river, the militia 
under Colonel Denison on the left wing, on the 
marsh. A sharp fire was opened from right 
to left ; after a few volleys the enemy in front 
of Colonel Butler began to give way. The 
Indians, however, throwing themselves into 
the marsh, turned the left flan^ of the Ameri- 
cans, and attacked tlie militia in the rear. 
Denison, finding himself exposed to a cross fire, 
sought to change his position, and gave the 
word to fall back. It was mistaken for an 
order to retreat. In an instant the left wing 
turned and fled ; all attempts to rally it were 
vain ; the panic extended to the right wing. 
The savages, throwing down their rifles, rushed 
on with tomahawk and scalping-kuife, and a 
horrible massacre ensued. Some of the Ameri- 
cans escaped to Forty Fort, some swam the 
river ; others broke their way across the 
swamp, and climbed the mountain ; some few 
were taken prisoners ; but the greater number 
were slauglitered. 

The desolation of tlie valley was now com- 
pleted ; fields were laid waste, houses burnt, 
and their inhabitants murdered. According 
to the British accounts, upwards of four hun- 
dred of the yeomanry of Wyoming were slain, 
but the women and children were spared, " and 
desired to retire to their rebel friends." * 

Upwards of five thousand persons, says the 
same account, fled in the utmost distress and 
consternation, seeking refuge in the settlements 
on the Lehigh and the Delaware, After com- 
pleting this horrible work of devastation, the 
enemy retired before the arrival of the troops 
detached by Washington. >, 

We might have swelled our narrative of this 
affair by many individual acts of atrocity com- 
mitted by royalists on their old friends and 
neighbors, and even their near relatives ; but 
we forbear to darken our page by such stigmas 
on human nature. Sufiice it to say, it was one 
of the most atrocious outrages perpetrated 



* Gentleman's Magazine for 1778, p. 545. 



throughout the war ; and, as usual, the tories 
concerned in it were the most vindictive and 
merciless of the savage crew. Of the measures 
taken in consequence we shall speak hereafter. 

For a great part of the summer, Washington 
had remained encamped at White Plains, watch- 
ing the movements of the enemy at New York. 
Early in September he observed a great stir of 
preparation ; cannon and military stores were 
embarked, and a fleet of one hundred and forty 
transports were ready to make sail. What was 
their destination? AVashington deplored the 
facility possessed by the enemy of transporting 
their troops from point to point by sea. " Their 
rapid movements," said he, "enable them to 
give us solicitude for the safety of remote points, 
to succor which we should have to make ruin- 
ous marches, and after all, perhaps, flnd our- 
selves the dupes of a feint." 

There Avere but two capital objects which 
they could have in view, beside the defeat and 
dispersion of his army. One was to get posses- 
sion of the forts and passes of the Highlands ; 
the other, by a junction of their land and naval 
forces, to attempt the destruction of the French 
fleet at Boston, and regain possession of that 
town. These points were so far asunder, that 
it was diflicult to protect the one, without leav- 
ing the other exposed. To do the best that the 
nature of the case would admit, Washington 
strengthened the works and reinforced the gar- 
rison in the Highlands, stationing Putnam with 
two brigades in the neighborhood of West 
Point. General Gates was sent with three 
brigades to Danbury in Connecticut, where he 
was joined by two brigades under General Mc- 
Dougall, while Washington moved his camp to 
a rear position at Fredericksburg on the bor- 
ders of Connecticut, and about thirty miles 
from West Point, so as to be ready for a move- 
ment to the eastwai-d, or a speedy junction for 
the defence of the Hudson. To facilitate an 
eastern movement he took measures to have 
all the roads leading to Boston repaired. 

Scarce had Washington moved from White 
Plains, when Sir Henry Clinton threw a de- 
tachment of five thousand men under Lord 
Cornwallis into the Jerseys, between theHack- 
ensack and Hudson Elvers, and another of three 
thousand under Knyphausen into Westchester 
County, between the Hudson and the Bi'onx. 
These detachments held communication with 
each other, and by the aid of flat-bottomed 
boats could unite their forces, in twenty-four 
hours, on either side of the Hudson. 



iET. 46.] MASSACRE OF BAYLOR'S DRAGOONS— MASSACRE OF INFANTRY. 



479 



"Washington considered these mere foraging 
expeditions, though on a large scale, and de- 
tached troops into the Jerseys to co-operate 
with the militia in checking them ; but, as 
something more might be intended, he ordered 
General Putnam to cross the river to West 
Point, for its immediate security: while he him- 
self moved with a division of hisarmy toFishiiill. 

Wayne, who was with the detachment in the 
Jerseys, took post with a body of militia and 
a regiment of light-horse in front of the division 
of Lord Oornwallis. The militia were quar- 
tered at the village of New Tappan ; but Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel Baylor, who commanded the 
liglit-horse, chose to encamp apart, to be free, 
as is supposed, from the control of Wayne. 
He took up his quarters, therefore, in Old Tap- 
pan, where his men lay very negligently and 
unguardedly in barns. Cornwallis had intelli- 
gence of their exposed situation, and laid a 
plan to cut off the whole detachment. A body 
of troops from Knyphausen's division was to 
cross the Hudson in the night, and come by 
surprise upon the militia in 'Smr Tappan : at the 
same tin)e, Major-General Grey, of marauding 
renown, was to advance on the left, and attack 
Baylor and his dragoons in their careless quar- 
ters in Old Tappan. 

Fortunately Knyphausen's troops, led by 
Lieutenant-Colonel Campbell, were slow in 
crossing the river, and the militia were apprised 
by deserters of their danger in time to escape. 
Not so with Baylor's party. General Grey, 
having cut off a sergeant's patrol, advanced in 
silence, and surrounded with his troops three 
barns in which the dragoons were sleeping. 
We have seen, in his surprise of Wayne's de- 
tachment in the preceding year, how stealthy 
and effective he was in the work of destruction. 
To prevent noise he had caused his men to 
draw the charges and take the flints from their 
guns, and fix their bayonets. The bayonet was 
his favorite weapon. With this his men rushed 
forward, and, deaf for a time to all cries of 
mercy, made a savage slaughter of naked and 
defenceless men. Eleven were killed on the 
spot, and twenty-five mangled with repeated 
thrusts, some receiving ten, twelve, and even 
sixteen wounds. Among the wounded were 
Colonel Baylor and Major Clough, the last of 
whom soon died. About forty were taken 
prisoners, mostly through the humane interposi- 
tion of one of Grey's captains, whose feelings 
revolted at the orders of his sanguinary com- 
mander. 



This whole movement of troops, on both 
sides of the Hudson, was designed to cover an 
expedition against Little Egg Harbor, on the 
east coast of New Jersey, a noted rendezvous 
of American privateers. It was conducted in 
much the same spirit with that of General 
Grey to the eastward. Three hundred regular 
troops, and a body of royalist volunteers from 
the Jerseys, headed by Captain Patrick Fergu- 
son, embarked at New York on board galleys 
and transports, and made for Little Egg Har- 
bor under convoy of vessels of war. They 
were long at sea. The country heard of their 
coming ; four privateers put to sea and escaped ; 
others took refuge up the river. The wind 
prevented the transports from entering. The 
troops embarked in row galleys and small craft, 
and pushed twenty miles up the river to the 
village of Chestnut Neck. Here were batteries 
without guns, prize ships which had been 
hastily scuttled, and storehouses for the recep- 
tion of prize goods. The batteries and store- 
houses were demolished, the prize ships burnt, 
saltworks destroyed, and private dwellings 
sacked and laid in ashes ; all, it was pretended, 
being the property of persons concerned in 
privateering, or " whose activity in the cause 
of America and unrelenting persecution of the 
loyalists, marked them out as the proper objects 
of vengeance." As those persons were pointed 
out by the tory volunteers of New Jersey who 
accompanied the expedition, we may suppose 
how far private pique and neighborly feud 
entered into these proscriptions. 

The vessels which brought this detachment 
being wind-bound for several days, Capt. Fer- 
guson had time for another enterprise. Among 
the forces detached by Washington into the 
Jerseys to check these ravages, was the Count 
Pulaski's legionary corps, composed of three 
companies of foot, and a troop of horse, of- 
ficered principally by foreigners. A deserter 
from the corps brought word to the British 
commander that the legion Avas cantoned about 
twelve miles up the river ; the infantry in three 
houses by themselves ; Count Pulaski with the 
cavalry at some distance apart. 

Informed of these circumstances. Captain 
Ferguson embarked in boats with two hundred 
and fifty men, ascended the river in the night, 
landed at four in the morning, and surrounded 
the houses in which the infantry were sleeping. 
" It being a night attack," says the captain in 
his oflicial report, "little quarter of course 
could be given, so there were only Jive prisoners.'''' 



480 



RETALIATION ON DONOFS RANGERS— ARRIVAL OF ADMIRAL BYRON. [1778. 



It was indeed a massacre similar to those of the 
bayonet-loving General Grey. Fifty of the 
infantry were butchered on the spot; among 
whom were two of the foreign officers, the 
Baron de Bose and Lieutenant de la Broderie. 

The clattering of hoofs gave note of the ap- 
proach of Pulaski and his horse, whereupon 
the British made a rapid retreat to their boats 
and pulled down the river, and thus ended the 
marauding expedition of Captain Ferguson, 
worthy of the times of the buccaneers. He 
attempted afterwards to excuse his wanton 
butchery of unarmed men, by alleging that the 
deserter from Pulaski's legion told him the 
count, in his general orders, forbade all granting 
of quarters ; information which proved to be 
false, and which, had he been a gentleman of 
honorable spirit, he never would have believed, 
especially on the word of a deserter. 

The detachment on the east side of the Hud- 
son likewise made a predatory and disgraceful 
foray from their lines at King's Bridge, toward 
the American encampment at "White Plains, 
plundering the inhabitants without discrimina- 
tion, not only of their provisions and forage, but 
of the very clothes on their backs. None were 
more efficient in this ravage than a party of 
about one himdred of Captain Donop's Hessian 
yagers, and they were in full maraud between 
Tarrytown and Dobbs' Ferry, when a detach- 
ment of infantry under Colonel Eichard Butler, 
and of cavalry under Major Henry Lee, came 
upon them by surprise, killed ten of them on 
the spot, captured a lieutenant and eighteen 
privates, and would have taken or destroyed the 
whole, had not the extreme roughness of the 
country impeded the action of the cavalry, and 
enabled the yagers to escape by scrambling up 
hill-sides or plunging into ravines. This oc- 
curred but throe days after the masse ere of Colo- 
nel Baylor's party, on the opposite side of the 
Hudson. 

The British detachments having accomplished 
the main objects of their movements, returned 
to New York ; leaving those parts of the coun- 
try they had harassed still more determined in 
their liostility, having achieved nothing but 
v.-hat is least honorable and most detestable in 
warfare. "We need no better comment on 
these measures than one furnished by a British 
writer of the day. " Upon the whole," ob- 
serves he, " even if the treaty between France 
and America had not rendered all hope of suc- 
cess from the present conciliatory system hope- 
less, these predatory and irritating expeditious 



would have appeared peculiariy ill-timed and 
unlucky. Though strongly and warmly recom- 
mended by many here as the most effectual mode 
of war, we scarcely remember an instance in 
which they have not been more mischievous 
than useful to the grand objects of either re- 
ducing or reconciling the provinces." * 

"We may add here that General Grey, vvlio 
had most signalized himself in these sanguinary 
exploits, and who from his stealthy precaution 
to insure the use of the bayonet, had acquired 
the surname of " no flint," was rewarded for a 
long career of military services by being raised 
to the peerage as Lord Grey of Howick, ulti- 
mately Earl Grey. He was father of the cele- 
brated prime minister of that name. 

About the middle of September Admiral 
Byron arrived at New York with the residue 
of the scattered armament, which had sailed 
from England in June to counteract the designs 
of the Count D'Estaiug. Finding that the 
count was still repairing his shattered fleet in 
the harbor of Boston, he put to sea again as 
soon as his ship^were refitted, and set sail for 
that port to entrap him. Success seemed like- 
ly to crown his schemes : he arrived off Boston 
on the 1st of November : his rival was still in 
port. Scarce had the admiral entered the bay, 
however, when another violent storm drove 
him out to sea, disabled his ships, and com- 
pelled him to put into PJiode Island to refit. 
Meanwhile the count having his ships in good 
order, and finding the coast clear, put to sea, 
and made 'the best of his way for the "West 
Indies. Previous to his departure he issued a 
proclamation dated the 28th of October, ad- 
dressed to the French inhabitants of Canada, 
inviting them to resume allegiance to their for- 
mer sovereign. This was a measure in which 
he was not authorized by instructions from his 
government, and Avhich was calculated to 
awaken a jealousy in the American mind as to 
the ultimate views of France in taking a part 
in this contest. It added to the chagrin occa- 
sioned by the failure of the expedition against 
Rhode Island, and the complete abandonment 
by the French of the coasts of the United 
States. 

The force at New York, which had been an 
object of watchful solicitude, was gradually 
dispersed in different directions. Immediately 
after the departure of Admiral Byron for Bos- 
ton, another naval expedition had been set on 



Annual Register, 1778, p. 215. 



Mt. 46.] CAPTURE OF SAVANIf AH— LINCOLN IN COMMAND AT THE SOUTH. 



481 



foot by Sir Henry Clinton. All being ready, a 
fleet of transports with five thousand men, 
under General Grant, convoyed by Commodore 
Hotham with a squadron of six ships of war, 
set sail on the third of November, with the 
secret design of an attack on St. Lucia. 

Towards the end of the same month, another 
body of troops, under Lieutenant-Colonel Camp- 
bell, sailed for Georgia in the squadron of Com- 
modore Hyde Parker ; the British cabinet hav- 
ing determined to carry the war into the South- 
ern States. At the same time General Provost, 
who commanded in Plorida, was ordered by 
Sir Henry Clinton to march to the banks of 
the Savannah Eiver, and attack Georgia in 
flank, while the expedition under Campbell 
should attack it in front on the seaboard. "We 
will briefly note the issue of these enterprises, 
so far beyond Washington's conti-ol. 

The squadron of Commodore Hyde Parker 
anchored in the Savannah Eiver towards the 
end of December. An American force of 
about six hundred regulars, and a few militia 
under General Eobert Howe, were encamped 
near the town, being the remnant of an army 
with which that officer had invaded Florida in 
the preceding summer, but had been obliged to 
evacuate it by a mortal malady which desolated 
his camp. 

Lieutenant-Colonel Campbell landed his troops 
on the 29th of December, about three miles be- 
low the town. The wliole country bordering 
the river is a deep morass, cut up by creeks, 
and only to be traversed by causeways. Over 
one of these, six hundred yards in length, with a 
ditch on each side, Colonel Campbell advanced, 
putting to flight a small party stationed to 
guard it. General Howe had posted his little 
army on the main road with the river on his 
left and a morass in front. A negro gave 
Campbell information of a path leading through 
the morass, by which troops might get unob- 
served to the rear of the Americans. Sir 
James Baird was detached witli the light in- 
fantry by this path, while Colonel Campbell ad- 
vanced in front. The Americans, thus sud- 
denly attacked in front and rear, were com- 
pletely routed ; upwards of one hundred were 
either killed on the spot, or perished in the 
morass ; thirty-eight oflicers and four hundred 
and fifteen privates were taken prisoners, the 
rest retreated up the Savannah Eiver and 
crossed into South Carolina. Savannah, the 
capital of Georgia, was taken possession of by 
the victors, with cannon, military stores, and 
31 



provisions; their loss was only seven killed 
and nineteen wounded. 

Colonel Campbell conducted himself with 
great moderation ; protecting the persons and 
property of the inhabitants, and proclaiming 
security and favor to all that should return 
to their allegiance. Numbers in consequence 
flocked to the British standard : the lower part 
of Georgia was considered as subdued, and 
posts were established by the British to main- 
tain possession. 

While Colonel Campbell had thus invaded 
Georgia in front. General Prevost, who com- 
manded the British forces in Florida, had re- 
ceived orders from Sir Henry Clinton to take 
it in flank. He accordingly traversed deserts 
to its southern frontier, took Sunbury, the only 
remaining fort of importance, and marched 
to Savannah, where he assumed the general 
command, detaching Colonel Campbell against 
Augusta. By the middle of January (1779) 
all Georgia was reduced to submission, 

A more experienced American general than 
Howe had by this time arrived to take com- 
mand of the Southern Department, Major-Geu- 
eral Lincoln, who had gained such reputation 
in the campaign against Burgyone, and whose 
appointment to this station had been solicited 
by tlie delegates from South Carolina and 
Georgia. He had received his ordei-s from 
Washington in the beginning of October. Of 
his operations at the South we shall have occa- 
sion to speak hereafter. 



CHAPTEE XXXVIII. 

About the beginning of December, Washing- 
ton distributed his troops for the winter in a 
line of strong cantonments extending from 
Long Island Sound ^o the Delaware. General 
Putnam commanded at Danbury, General Mc- 
Dougall in the Highlands, while the head-quar- 
ters of the commander-in-chief were near Mid- 
dlebrook in the Jerseys. The olyeets of this 
arrangement were the protection of the coun- 
try ; the security of the important posts on the 
Hudson, and the safety, discipline, and easy 
subsistence of the army. 

In the course of this winter he devised a 
plan of alarm signals, which General Philemon 
Dickinson was employed to carry into elfect. 

On Bottle Hill, Vv-hich commanded a vast 
map of country, sentinels kept watch day and 



482 



LAFAYETTE'S CANADA SCHEME— CONDEMNED BY WASHINGTON. 



[1118. 



night. Should there be an irruption of the 
enemy, an eighteen pounder, called the Old 
Sow, fired every half hour, gave the alarm in 
the daytime or in dark and stormy nights ; an 
immense fire or beacon at other times. On the 
booming of that heavy gun, lights sprang up 
from hill to hill along the difl:erent ranges of 
heights ; the country was aroused, and the yeo- 
manry, hastily armed, hurried to their gather- 
ing places. 

"Washington was now doomed to experience 
great loss in the narrow circle of those about 
him, on whose attachment and devotion he 
could place implicit reliance. The Marquis 
Lafayette, seeing no immediate prospect of ac- 
tive employment in the United States, and an- 
ticipating a war on the continent of Europe, 
was disposed to return to France to offer his 
services to his sovereign ; desirous, however, 
of preserving a relation Avith America, he 
merely solicited from Congress the liberty of 
going home for the next winter ; engaging him- 
self not to depart until certain that the cam- 
paign was over. AVashington backed his ap- 
plication for a furlough, as an arrangement that 
would still link him with the service ; express- 
ing his reluctance to part with an ofiicer who 
united " to all the military fire of youth an 
uncommon maturity of judgment." Congress 
in consequence granted the marquis an unlim- 
ited leave of absence, to return to America 
whenever he should find it convenient. 

The marquis, in truth, was full of a grand 
project for the following summer's campaign, 
which he was anxious to lay before the cabinet 
of Versailles ; it was to effect the conquest of 
Canada by the combined forces, naval and mili- 
tary, of France and the United States. Of 
course it embi'aced a wide scope of operations. 
One body of American troops was to be direct- 
ed against Detroit ; another against Niagara ; 
a third was to seize Oswego, launch a flotilla, 
and get command of Lake Ontario ; and a 
fourth to penetrate Canada by the river St. 
Francis, and secure Montreal and the posts on 
Lake Champlain. While the Americans thus 
invaded Upper Canada, a French fleet with five 
thousand men was to ascend the St. Lawrence, 
and make an attack on Quebec. The scheme 
met the approbation of a great majority in 
Congress, who ordered it to bo communicated 
to Dr. Franklin, then minister at Paris, to be 
laid by him before the French cabinet. Pre- 
vious to a final determination, the House pru- 
dently consulted the opinion of the commander- 



in-chief. Washington opposed the scheme, 
both by letter and in a personal interview with 
Congress, as too complicated and extensive, and 
requiring too great resources in men and money 
to be undertaken with a prospect of success. 
He opposed it also on political grounds. Tliough 
it had apparently originated in a proposition of 
the Marquis Lafayette, it might have had its 
birth in the French cabinet, with a view to 
some ulterior object. He suggested the danger 
of introducing a large body of French troops 
into Canada, and putting them in possession of 
the capital of a province attached to them by 
all the ties of blood, habits, manners, religion, 
and former connection of government. Let us 
realize for a moment, said he, the striking ad- 
vantages France would derive from the posses- 
sion of Canada ; an extensive territory, abound- 
ing in supplies for the use of her islands ; a vast 
source of the most beneficial commerce with 
the Indian nations, which she might then mo- 
nopolize ; ports of her own on this continent in- 
dependent of the precarious good-will of an 
ally ; the whole trade of Newfoundland when- 
ever she pleased to engross it, the finest nur- 
sery for seamen in the world ; and finally, the 
facility of awing and controlling tlicse States, 
the natural and most formidable rival of every 
maritime power in Europe. All these advan- 
tages he feared might prove too great a tempta- 
tion to be resisted by any power actuated by 
the common maxims of national policy ; and, 
with all his confidence in the favorable senti- 
ments of France, he did not think it politic to 
subject her disinterestedness to such a trial. 
" To waive every other consideration," said he, 
grandly, in the conclusion of a letter to the 
President of Congress, " I do not like to add to 
the number of our national obligations. I 
would wish, as much as possible, to avoid 
giving a foreign power new claims of merit for 
services performed to the United States, and 
would ask no assistance that is not indispensa- 
ble." 

The strenuous and far-seeing opposition of 
Washington was at length effectual; and the 
magnificent, but hazardous scheme, was entire- 
ly, though slowly and reluctantly abandoned. 
It appears since, that the cabinet of France had 
really no hand either in originating or promot- 
ing it ; but, on the contrary, was opposed to 
any expedition against Canada; and the in- 
structions to their minister forbade him to aid 
in any such scheme of conquest. 

Much of the winter was passed by Washington 



.Et. 47.] DISSENSIONS IN CONGRESS— PATRIOTIC APPEALS OF WASHINGTON. 



483 



in Philadelphia, occupied in devising and discuss- 
ing plans for the campaign of 1779. It was an 
anxious moment with Mm. Circumstances 
which inspired others with confidence, filled 
him with solicitude. The alliance with France 
had produced a baneful feeling of security, 
which, it appeared to him, was paralyzing the en- 
ergies of the country. England, it Avas thought, 
would now be too much occupied in securing 
her position in Europe, to inci*ease her force 
or extend her operations in America. Many, 
therefore, considered the war as virtually at an 
end ; and were unwilling to make the sacri- 
fices, or supply the means necessary for impor- 
tant military undertakings. 

Dissensions, too, and party feuds were break- 
ing out in Congress, owing to the relaxation of 
that external pressure of a common and im- 
minent danger, which had heretofore produced 
a unity of sentiment and action. That august 
body had, in fact, greatly deteriorated since 
tlie commencement of the war. Many of those 
whose names had been as watchwords at the 
Declaration of Independence, had withdrawn 
from the national councils ; occupied either by 
their individual affairs, or by the affairs of their 
individual States. Washington, whose com- 
prehensive patriotism embraced the whole 
Union, deprecated and deplored the dawning 
of this sectional spirit. America, he declared, 
had never stood in more imminent need of the 
wise, patriotic, and spirited exertions of her 
sons than at this period. The States, sep- 
arately, were too much engaged in their local 
concerns, and had withdrawn too many of 
their ablest men from the general council, for 
the good of the common weal. " Our political 
system," observed he, " is like the mechanism 
of a clock ; it is useless to keep the smaller 
wheels in order, if the greater one, the prime 
mover of the whole, is neglected." It was his 
wish, therefore, that each State should not only 
choose, but absolutely compel its ablest men to 
attend Congress, instructed to investigate and 
reform public abuses. 

Nothing can exceed his appeal to the pa- 
triotism of his native State, Virginia, in a letter 
to Colonel Harrison, the speaker of its House 
of Delegates, written on the 30th of December. 
" Our affairs are in a more distressed, ruinous, 
and deplorable condition than they have been 
since the commencement of the war. By a 
faithful laborer, then, in the cause ; by a man 
who is daily injuring his private estate without 
the smallest earthly advantage, not common to 



all in case of a favorable issue to the dispute ; 
by one who wishes the prosperity of America 
most devoutly, but sees it, or thinks he sees it, 
on the brink of ruin ; you are besought most 
earnestly, my dear Colonel Harrison, to exert 
yourself in endeavoring to rescue your country, 
by sending your best and ablest men to Con- 
gress. These characters must not slumber nor 
sleep at home in such a time of pressing danger. 
They must not content themselves with the 
enjoyment of places of honor or profit in their 
own State, while the common interests of 
America are mouldering and sinking into irre- 
trievable ruin. * * =H jf J yfQj.Q iq ]^q called 
upon to draw a picture of the times and of 
men, from what I have seen, heard, and in part 
know, I should in one word say, that idleness, dis- 
sipation, and extravagance seem to have laid fast 
hold of most of them ; that speculation, pecula- 
tion, and an insatiable thirst for riches, seem to 
have got the better of every other considera- 
tion, and almost of every order of men ; that 
party disputes and personal quarrels are the 
great business of the day ; while the moment- 
ous concerns of an empire, a great and ac- 
cumulating debt, ruined finances, dc^preciated 
money, and want of credit, which in its conse- 
quences is the want of every thing, are but 
secondary considerations, and postponed from 
day to day, from week to week, as if our affairs 
wore the most promising aspect. ***** 
In the present situation of things, I cannot 
help asking where are Mason, Wythe, Jeffer- 
son, Nicholas, Pendleton, Nelson, and another 
I could name ? And why, if you are suffi- 
ciently impressed with your danger, do you 
not, as New York has done in the case of Mr. 
Jay, send an extra member or two, for at least 
a limited time, till the great business of the 
nation is put upon a more respectable and 
happy establishment ? * * * I confess to 
you I feel more real distress on account of the 
present appearance of things, than I have done 
at any one time since the commencement of the 
dispute." 

Nothing seems to have disgusted him more 
during his visit to Philadelphia, than the man- 
ner in which the concerns of the patriot camp 
were forgotten amid the revelry of the capital. 
" An assembly, a concert, a dinner, a supper, 
that will cost three or four hundred pounds, 
will not only take men off from acting in this 
business, but even from thinking of it ; while 
a great part of the officers of our army, from 
absolute necessity, are quitting tJiP service, and 



484 



INDIAN ATROCITIES TO BE SUPPRESSED— THE JERSEY TROOPS. 



[1779. 



the more virtuous few, rather than do this, are 
sinking by sure degrees into beggary and want." 

In discussing the poUcy to be observed in 
the next campaign, "Washington presumed the 
enemy Avould maintain tlieir present posts, and 
conduct the war as heretofore ; in wluch case 
lie was for remaining enthely on the defensive ; 
with the exception of such minor operations 
as might be necessary to check the ravages of 
the Indians. The country, he observed, was 
in a languid and exhausted state, and had need 
of repose. The interruption to agricultural 
pursuits, and the many hands abstracted from 
husbandry by military service, had produced a 
scarcity of bread and forage, and rendered it 
difficult to subsist large armies. Neither was 
it easy to recruit these armies. There was 
abundance of employment; wages were high, 
the value of money was low ; consequently 
there was but little temptation to enlist. Plans 
had been adopted to remedy the deranged state 
of the currency, but they would be slow in 
operation. Great economy must in the mean 
time be observed in the public expenditure. 

The participation of France in the war, also, 
and the prospect that Spain would soon be 
embroiled with England, must certainly divide 
the attention of the enemy, and allow America 
a breathing time ; these and similar considera- 
tions were urged by Washington in favor of a 
defensive policy. One single exception was 
made by him. The horrible ravages and mas- 
sacres perpetrated by the Indians and tlieir 
tory allies at "Wyoming, had been followed by 
similar atrocities at Cherry "Valley, in the State 
of New York, and called for signal vengeance 
to prevent a repetition. "Washington knew by 
experience that Indian warfare, to be effective, 
should never be merely defensive, but must be 
carried into the enemy's country. The Six 
Nations, the most civilized of the savage tribes, 
had proved themselves the most formidable. 
His idea was to make war npon them in their 
own style ; penetrate their country, lay waste 
their villages and settlements, and at the same 
time destroy the British post at Niagara, that 
nestling-place of tories and refugees. 

The policy thus recommended was adopted 
by Congress. An expedition was set on foot 
to carry that part relative to the Indians into 
execution : but here a circumstance occurred, 
which "Washington declared gave him more 
pain than any thing that had happened in the 
war. A Jersey brigade being ordered to 
march, the officers of the first regiment hesi- 



tated to obey. By the depreciation of paper 
money, their pay was incompetent to their 
support ; it was, in fact, merely nominal ; tlie 
consequence was, as they alleged, that they 
were loaded with debt, and their families at 
home were starving ; yet the Legislature of 
their State turned a deaf ear to their com- 
plaints. Thus aggrieved, they addressed a re- 
monstrance to the Legislature on the subject 
of their pay, intimating that, should it not re- 
ceive the immediate attention of that body, 
they might, at the expiration of three days, be 
considered as having resigned, and other offi- 
cers might be appointed in their place. 

Here was one of the many dilemmas which 
called for the judgment, moderation, and great 
personal weight and influence of "Washington. 
He vi'as eminently the soldier's friend, but he 
was no less thoroughly the patriot general. 
He knew and felt the privations and distresses 
of the ariliy, and the truth of the grievances 
complained of; but he saw, also, the evil con- 
sequences that might result from such a course 
as that which the officers had adopted. Act- 
ing, therefore, as a mediator, he corroborated 
the statements of the complainants on the one 
hand, urging on government the necessity of a 
more general and adequate provision for the 
officers of the army, and the danger of subject- 
ing them to too severe and continued priva- 
tions. On the other hand, he represented to the 
officers the difficulties with which government 
itself had to contend from a deranged currency 
and exhausted resources ; and the unavoidable 
delays that consequently impeded its moneyed 
operations. He called upon them, therefore, 
for a further exertion of that patience and per- 
sevei-ance which had hitherto done them the 
highest honor at home and abroad, had inspired 
him with unlimited confidence in their virtue, 
and consoled him amidst every perplexity and 
reverse of fortune to Avhich the national affairs 
had been exposed. " Now that we have made 
so great a progress to the attainment of the 
end we have in view," observed he, " any 
thing like a change of conduct would imply a 
very unhappy change of principle, and a for- 
getfulness, as well of what we owe to ourselves, 
as to our country. Did I suppose it possible 
this could be the case even in a single regiment 
of the army, I should be mortified and cha- 
grined beyond expression. I should feel it as 
a wound given to my own honor, which I con- 
sider as embarked with that of the array at 
large. 



^T. 47.] DISCONTENT OF THE JEKSEY TROOPS— WYOMING REVENGED. 



485 



But the gentlemen," adds he, " cannot be 
in earnest ; they cannot seriously intend any 
thing that would he a stain on their former 
reputation. They have only reasoned wrong 
about the means of obtaining a good end ; and 
on consideration, I hope and flatter myself, 
they will renounce what must appear to be 
improper. At tlie opening of a campaign, 
when under marching orders for an important 
service, their own honor, duty to the public and 
to themselves, and a regard to military propriety, 
will not suffer them to persist in a measure 
which would be a violation of them all. It 
will even wound their delicacy, coolly to re- 
flect that they have hazarded a step which has 
an air of dictating to their country, by taking 
advantage of the necessity of the moment ; for 
the declaration they have made to the State, 
at so critical a time, that unless they obtain 
relief in the short period of three days, they 
must be considered out of the service, has very 
much that aspect." 

These and other observations of similar pur- 
port, were contained in a letter to General 
Maxwell, their commander, to be laid before 
the ofBcers. It produced a respectful reply, but 
one ^vliich intimated no disposition to swerve 
from their determination. After reiterating 
their grievances, " we are sorry," added they, 
" that yon should imagine w^e meant to disobey 
orders. It was and is still our determination 
to march with our regiment, and to do the 
duty of officers unfil the Legislature shall have 
a reasonable time to appoint others, but no 
longer. "We beg leave .to assure your Excel- 
lency, that we have the highest sense of your 
ability and virtues ; that executing your orders 
has ever given us pleasure ; that we love the 
service, and love our country ; — ^but when that 
country gets so lost to virtue and justice, as to 
forget to support its servants, it then becomes 
their duty to retire from its service." 

A commander of less magnanimity than 
Washington would have answered this letter 
by a stern exercise of military rule, and driven 
the really aggrieved parties to extremity. He 
nobly contented himself with the following 
comment on it, forming a paragraph of a letter 
to General Maxwell. " I am sorry the gentle- 
men persist in the principles which dictated 
the step they have taken ; as, the more the 
aflfair imfolds itself, the more reason I see to 
disapprove it. But in the present view they 
have of the matter, and with their present feel- 
ings, it is not probable any new argument that 



could be ofiiered would have more influence than 
the former. While, therefore, the gentlemen 
continue in the execution of their duty, as they 
declare themselves heartily disposed to do, I 
shall only regret that they have taken a step 
of which they must hereafter see the impro- 
priety." 

The Legislature of New Jersey imitated the 
forbearance of "Washington. Compounding 
with their pride, they let the oflicers know 
that on their withdrawing the memorial, the 
subject matter of it would be pi-omptly attend- 
ed to. It was withdrawn. Resolutions were 
immediately passed, granting pecuniary sup- 
plies to both oflacers and soldiers. The morfey 
was forthwith forwarded to camp, and the bri- 
gade marched. 

Such was the paternal spirit exercised by 
Washington, in all the difficulties and discon- 
tents of the army. How clearly he understood 
the genius and circumstances of the people he 
was called upon to manage ; and how truly 
was he their protector even more than their 
commander ! 

We shall briefly dispose of the Indian cam- 
paign. The first act was an expedition from 
Fort Schuyler by Colonel "Van Scbaick, Lieu- 
teuant-Colonel Willett, and Major Cochran, 
with about six hundred men, who, on the 19th 
of April, surprised the towns of the Ononda- 
gas ; destroyed the whole settlement, and re- 
turned to the fort without the loss of a single 
man. 

The great expedition of the campaign, how- 
ever, was in revenge of the massacre of Wyo- 
ming. Early in the summer, three thousand men 
assembled in that lately desolated region, and, 
conducted by General Sullivan, moved up the 
west branch of the Susquehanna into the Seneca 
country. While on the way, they were joined 
by a part of the western army, under General 
James Clinton, who had come from the valley 
of the Mohawk by Otsego lake and the east 
branch of the Susquehanna. The united forces 
amounted to about five thousand men, of which 
Sullivan had the general command. 

The Indians, and their allies the tories, had 
received information of the intended invasion, 
and appeared in arms to oppose it. They were 
much inferior in force, however, being about 
fifteen hundred Indians and two hundred white 
men, commanded by the two Butlers, Johnson, 
and Brant. A battle took place at Newtown 
on the 29th of August, in which they were 
easily defeated. Sullivan then pushed forward 



486 PREDATORY WARFARE OF THE ENEMY— HOSTILITIES ON THE HUDSON. [1779. 



into the heart of the Indian country, penetrat- 
ing as far as the Genesee Elver, laying every 
thing waste, setting fire to deserted dwellings, 
destroying corn-fields, orchards, gardens, every 
thing that could give sustenance to man, the 
design heing to starve the Indians out of the 
country. The latter retreated before him with 
their families, and at length took refuge under 
the protection of the British garrison at Niag- 
ara. Having completed his errand, Sullivan 
returned to Easton in Pennsylvania. The 
thanks of Congress were voted to him and his 
army, but he shortly afterward resigned his 
commission on account of ill health, and retired 
from the service. 

A similar expedition was undertaken by 
Colonel Brodhead, from Pittsburg up the Alle- 
gany, against the Mingo, Muncey, and Seneca 
tribes, with similar results. The wisdom of 
"Washington's policy of carrying the war against 
the Indians into their country, and conducting 
it in their own way, was apparent from the 
general intimidation produced among the tribes 
by tliese expeditions, and the subsequent infre- 
quency of their murderous incursions ; the in- 
stigation of which by the British, had been the 
most inhuman feature of this war. 



CHAPTER XXXIX. 

The situation of Sir Henry Clinton must have 
been mortifying in the extreme to an officer of 
lofty ambition and generous aims. His force, 
between sixteen and seventeen thousand strong, 
was superior in number, discipline, and equip- 
ment to that of Washington ; yet his instruc- 
tions confined him to a predatory warfare car- 
ried on by attacks and marauds at distant 
points, harassing, it is true, yet irritating to 
the country intended to be conciliated, and 
brutalizing to his own soldiery. Such was the 
nature of an expedition set on foot against the 
commerce of the Chesapeake ; by which com- 
merce the armies were supplied and the credit 
of the government sustained. On the 9th of 
May, a squadron under Sir George Collier, con- 
voying transports and galleys, with twenty- 
five hundred men, commanded by General 
Mathews, entered these waters, took possession 
of Portsmouth without opposition, sent out 
armed parties against Norfolk, Sufiblk, Gos- 
port, Kemp's Landing, and otlier neighboring 
places, wliere were immense quantities of pro- 



visions, naval and military stores, and mer- 
chandise of all kinds ; with numerous vessels, 
some on the stocks, others richly laden. Wher- 
ever they went, a scene of plunder, coniiagra- 
tion, and destruction ensued. A few days suf- 
ficed to ravage the whole neighborhood. 

While this was going on at the south, Wash- 
ington received intelligence of movements at 
New York and in its vicinity, which made him 
apprehend an expedition against the Highlands 
of the Hudson. 

Since the loss of Forts Montgomery and Chn- 
ton, the main defences of the Highlands had 
been established at the sudden bend of the river 
where it winds between West Point and Con- 
stitution Island. Two opposite forts com- 
manded this bend, and an iron chain which 
was stretched across it. 

Washington had projected two works also 
just below the Highlands, at Stony Point and 
Verplanck's Point, to serve as outworks of the 
mountain passes, and to protect King's Ferry, 
the most direct and convenient communication 
between the Northern and Middle States. 

A small but strong fort had been erected 
on Verplanck's Point, and was garrisoned by 
seventy men under Captain Armstrong. A 
more important work was in progress at Stony 
Point. When completed, these two forts, on 
opposite promontories, would form as it were 
the lower gates of the Highlands ; miniature 
Pillars of Hercules, of which Stony Point was 
the Gibraltar. • 

To be at hand in case of any real attempt 
upon the Highlands, Washington drew up with 
his forces in that direction ; moving by the 
way of Morristown. 

An expedition up the Hudson was really the 
object of Sir Henry Clinton's movements, and 
for this he was strengthened by the return of 
Sir George Collier with his marauding ships 
and forces from Virginia. On the 30th of May, 
Sir Henry set out on his second grand cruise up 
the Hudson, with an armament of about seventy 
sail, great and small, and one hundred and fifty 
flat boats. Admiral Sir George Collier com- 
manded the armament, and there was a land 
force of about five thousand men under General 
Vaughan. 

The first aim of Sir Henry was to get posses- 
sion of Stony and Verplanck's Points ; his 
former expedition had acquainted him with 
the importance of this pass of the river. On 
the morning of the 31st, the forces were landed 
in two divisions, the largest under General 



^T. 47.] 



CONNECTICUT RAVAGED— FAIRFIELD DESTROYED. 



487 



Vaughan, on the east side of the river, about 
seven or eight miles below Verplaiick's Point ; 
the other, commanded by Sir Henry in person, 
landed in Haverstraw Bay, about three miles 
below Stony Point. There were about thirty 
men in the unfinished fort ; they abandoned it 
on the approach of the enemy, and retreated 
into the Highlands, having first set fire to the 
block-house. The British took quiet possession 
of the fort in the evening ; dragged up cannon 
and mortars in the night, and at daybreak 
opened a furious fire upon Fort Lafayette. It 
was cannonaded at the same time by the armed 
vessels, and a demonstration was made on it 
by the division under General Vaughan. Thus 
surrounded, the little garrison of seventy men 
was forced to surrender with no other stipula- 
tion than safety to their persons and to the 
property they had in the fort. Major Andre 
was aide-de-camp to Sir Henry, and signed the 
articles of capitulation. 

Sir Henry Clinton stationed garrisons in 
both posts, and set to work with great activity 
to complete the fortification of Stony Point. 
His troops remained for several days in two 
divisions on the opposite sides of the river ; 
the fleet generally fell down a little below 
King's Ferry ; some of the square-rigged ves- 
sels, however, with others of a smaller size, 
and flat-bottomed boats, having troops on 
board, dropped down Haverstraw Bay, and 
finally disappeared behind the promontories 
wliich advance across the upper part of the 
Tappan Sea. 

Some of the movements of the enemy per- 
plexed "Washington exceedingly. lie presumed, 
however, that the main object of Sir Henry was 
to get possession of West Point, the guardian 
fortress of the river, and that the capture of 
Stony and Verplanck's Points were preparatory 
steps. He would fain have dislodged him from 
these posts, which cut off all communication 
by the way of King's Ferry, but tliey were too 
stroug ; he had not the force nor military ap- 
paratus necessary. Deferring any attempt on 
them for the present, he took measures for the 
protection of West Point. Leaving General 
Putnam and the main body of the army at 
Smith's Clove, a mountain pass in the rear of 
Haverstraw, he removed his head-quarters to 
New Windsor, to be near West Point in case 
of need, and to press the completion of its 
works. General McDougall was transferred to 
the command of the Point. Three brigades 
were stationed at different places on the oppo- 



site side of the river, under General *Heath, 
from which fatigue parties crossed daily to 
work on the fortifications. 

This strong disposition of the American 
forces checked Sir Henry's designs against the 
Highlands. Contenting himself, therefore, for 
the present, with the acquisition of Stony and 
Verplanck's Points, he returned to New York ; 
where he soon set on foot a desolating expedition 
along the seaboard of Connecticut. That State, 
while it furnished the American armies with 
provisions and recruits, and infested the sea 
with privateers, had hitherto experienced noth- 
ing of the horrors of war within its borders. 
Sir Henry, in compliance with his instructions 
from government, was now about to give it a 
scourging lesson ; and he entertained the hope 
that, in so doing, he might draw down Wasli- 
ington from his mountain fastnesses, and lay 
open the Hudson to a successful incursion. 

General (late Governor) Tryon, was the 
oflScer selected by Sir Henry for this inglorious, 
but apparently congenial service. About the 
beginning of July he embarked with two thou- 
sand six hundred men, in a fleet of trans- 
ports and tenders, and was convoyed up the 
Sound by Sir George Collier with two ships of 
war. 

On the 5th of July, the troops landed near 
New Haven, in two divisions, one led by Tryon, 
the other by Brigadier-General Garth, his lieu- 
tenant. They came upon the neighborhood by 
surprise ; yet the militia assembled in haste, 
and made a resolute though ineffectual opposi- 
tion. The British captured the town, disman- 
tled the fort, and took or destroyed all the 
vessels in the harbor ; with all the artillery, 
ammunition, and public stores. Several pri- 
vate houses were plundered ; but this, it was 
said, was done by the soldiery contrary to 
orders. The enemy, in fact, claimed great 
credit for lenity in refraining from universal 
sackage, considering the opposition they had 
experienced while on the march, and that some 
of the inhabitants of the town had fired upon 
them from the windows. 

They next proceeded to Fairfield ; where, meet- 
ing with greater resistance, they thought the 
moment arrived for a wholesome example of 
severity. Accordingly, they not merely ravag- 
ed and destroyed the public stores and the ves- 
sels in the harbor, but laid the town itself in 
ashes. The exact return of this salutary lesson 
gives the destruction of ninety-seven dwelling- 
houses, sixty-seven barns and stables, forty-eight 



488 



NORWALK DESTROYED— STORMING OF STONY POINT. 



[17V9. 



store-honses, three places of worship, a court- 
house, a jail, aud two school-houses. 

The sight of their homes laid desolate, and 
their dwellings wrapped in flames, only served 
to exasperate the iuhahitants, and produce a 
more detenmined opposition to the progress of 
the destroyers ; whereupon the ruthless ravage 
of the latter increased as they advanced. 

At Norwulk, where they landed on the 11th 
of July, they burnt one hundred and tliirty 
dwelling houses, eighty-seven barns, twenty- 
two store-houses, seventeen shops, four mills, 
two places of worship, and five vessels which 
were in the harbor. All this was private prop- 
erty, and the loss fell on individuals engaged 
in the ordinary occupations of life. These acts 
of devastation were accompanied by atrocities, 
inevitable where the brutal passions of the sol- 
diery are aroused. They were unprovoked, 
too, by any xmusual acts of hostility, the militia 
having no time to assemble, excepting in small 
parties for the defence of their homes and fire- 
sides. The loss of the British throughout the 
whole expedition amounted, according to their 
own accounts, to twenty killed, ninety-six 
wounded, and thirty-two missing. 

It was intended to crown this grand ravage 
by a descent on New London, a noted rendez- 
vous of privateers ; but as greater opposition 
was expected there than at either of the other 
places, the squadron returned to Huntington 
Bay, on Long Island, to await reinforcements ; 
and Commodore Collier proceeded to Throg's 
Neck, to confer with Sir Henry Clinton about 
further operations. 

In this conference Sir Henry was assured 
that the recent expedition Avas producing the 
most salutary etfects ; that the principal inhab- 
itants were incensed at the apathy of Washing- 
ton in remaining encamped near the Hudson, 
while their country was ravaged and their 
homes laid in ashes ; that they complained 
equally of Congress, and talked of withdrawing 
from it their allegiance, and making terms with 
the British commanders for themselves ; finally, 
it was urged that the proposed expedition 
against New London would carry these salutary 
eifects still further, and confirm the inhabitants 
in the sentiments they were beginning to ex- 
press. 

Such were the delusive representations con- 
tinually made to the British commanders in the 
course of this war ; or rather, such were the 
delusions in which they themselves indulged, 
and which led theni to the commission of acts 



calculated to rend still further asunder the kin- 
dred countries. 

Washington, however, was not culpable of 
the apathy ascribed to him. On hearing of the 
departure of the expedition to the eastward, 
and before he was acquainted with its definite 
object, he detached General Heath, with two 
brigades of Connecticut militia, to oounteract 
the movements of the enemy. This was all 
that he could spare from the force stationed for 
the protection of the Highlands. Any weak- 
ening of his posts there might bring the enemy 
suddenly upon him, such was their facility in 
moving from one place to another by means of 
their shipping. Indeed, he had divined that a 
scheme of the kind was at the bottom of the 
hostile movement to the eastward. 

As a kind of counter-check to Sir Henry, he 
had for some days been planning the recapture of 
Stony Point and Fort Lafayette. He had recon- 
noitred them in person ; spies had been thrown 
into them, and information collected from de- 
serters. Stony Point having been recently 
strengthened by the British was now the most 
important. It was a rocky promontory advanc- 
ing far into the Hudson, which washed three sides 
of it. A deep morass, covered at high water, 
separated it from the mainland, but at low tide 
might be traversed by a narrow causeway and 
bridge. The promontory was crowned by strong 
works, furnished with heavy ordnance, com- 
manding the morass and causeway. Lower down 
were two rows of abatis, and the shore at the 
foot of the hill could be swept by vessels of 
war anchored in the river. The garrison Avas 
about six hundred strong, commanded by Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel Johnson. 

To attempt the surprisal of this isolated post, 
thus strongly fortified, was a perilous enterprise. 
General Wayne, Mad Anthony as he was called 
from his daring valor, was the ofiicer to whom 
Washington proposed it, and he engaged in it 
with avidity.* According to Washington's 
plan, it was to be attempted by light-infantry 
only, at night, and with the utmost secrecy, 
securing every person they met to prevent dis- 
covery. Between one and two hundred chosen 
men and officers were to make the surprise ; 
preceded by a vanguard of prudent, deter- 
mined men, well commanded, to remove ob- 
structions, secure sentries, and drive in the 
guards. The whole were to advance with 



* It is a popular tradition, that whenWasbington pro- 
posed to Wayr.o the stoi-ming of Stony Point, the reply 
was, " General, I'll storm h— 11 it j/ou will only plan it." 



^T. 41.] 



THE STORMING AND CAPTURE OF STONY POINT. 



489 



fixed bayonets and unloaded muskets ; all was 
to be done with the bayonet. These parties 
were to be followed by the main body, at a 
small distance, to support and reinforce them, 
or to bring them off in case of failure. All 
were to wear white cockades or feathers, and to 
have a watchword, so as to be distinguished 
from the enemy. " The usual time for exploits 
of this kind," observes Washington, " is a little 
before day, for which reason a vigilant officer is 
then more on the watch. I therefore recom- 
mend a midnight hour." 

On getting possession of Stony Point, "Wayne 
was to turn its guns upon Fort Lafayette, and 
the shipping. A detachment was to march 
down from West Point by Peekskill, to the 
vicinity of Fort Lafayette, and hold itself ready 
to join in the attack upon it, as soon as the 
cannonade began from Stony Point. 

On the 15th of Jvily, about mid-day, Wayne 
set out with his light-infantry from Sandy 
Beach, fourteen miles distant from Stony Point. 
The roads were rugged, across mountains, mo- 
rasses, and narrow defiles, in the skirts of the 
Dunderberg, where frequently it was necessary 
to proceed in single file. About eight in the 
evening, they arrived within a mile and a half 
of the forts, without being discovered. Not a 
dog barked to give the alarm — all the dogs in 
the neighborhood had been privately destroy- 
ed beforehand. Bringing the men to a halt, 
Wayne and his principal officers went nearer, 
and carefully reconnoitred the works and their 
environs, so as to proceed understandingly and 
without confusion. Having made their obser- 
vations they returned to the troops. Midnight, 
it will be recollected, was the time recommend- 
ed by Washington for the attack. About half- 
past eleven, the whole moved forward, guided 
by a negro of the neighborhood who had fre- 
quently carried in fruit to tlie garrison, and 
served the Americans as a spy. Tie led the 
way, accompanied by two stout men disguised 
as farmers. The countersign was given to the 
first sentinel, posted on high ground west of 
the morass. While the negro talked with him, 
tlie men seized and gagged him. The sentinel 
liosted at the head of the causeway was served 
in the same manner ; so that hitherto no alarm 
was given. The causeway, however, Avas 
overflowed, and it was some time after twelve 
o'clock before the troops could cross ; leaving 
tliree hundred men under General Muhlenberg, 
on the western side of the morass, as a re- 
serve. 



At the foot of the promontory, the troops 
were divided into two columns, for simulta- 
neous attacks on opposite sides of the woiks. 
One hundred and fifty volunteers, led by Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel Fleury, seconded by Major Po- 
sey, formed the vanguard of the right column. 
One hundred volunteers under Major Stewart, 
the vanguard of the left. In advance of each 
was a forlorn hope of twenty men, one led by 
Lieutenant Gibbon, the other by Lieutenant 
Knox ; it was their desperate duty to remove 
the abatis. So well had the whole aftair been 
conducted, that the Americans were close upon 
the outworks before they were discovered. 
There was then severe skirmishing at tlie pick- 
ets. The Americans used the bayonet ; the 
others discharged their muskets. The reports 
roused the garrison. Stony Point was instantly 
in an uproar. The drums beat to arms ; every 
one hurried to his alarm post ; the works were 
hastily manned, and a tremendous fire of grape 
shot and musketry opened upon the assailants. 

The two columns forced their way with the 
bayonet, at opposite points, surmounting every 
obstacle. Colonel Fleury was the first to enter 
the fort and strike the British flag. Major 
Posey sprang to the ramparts and shouted, 
" The fort is our own." Wayne, who led the 
right column, received at the inner abatis a con- 
tusion on the head from a musket ball, and 
would have fallen to the ground, but his two 
aides-de-camp supported him. Thinking it was 
a death wound," Carry me into the fort," said 
he, " and let me die at the head of my column." 
He was borne in between his aides, and soon 
recovered his self-possession. The two columns 
arrived nearly at the same time, and met in the 
centre of the works. The garrison surrendered 
at discretion. 

At daybreak, as Washington directed, the 
guns of the fort were turned on Fort Lafayette 
and the shipping. The latter cut their cables 
and dropped down the river. Through a series 
of blunders, the detachment from West Point, 
which was to have co-operated, did not arrive 
in time, and came unprovided with suitable am- 
munition for their battering artillery. This part 
of the enterprise, therefore, failed ; Fort Lafay- 
ette held out. 

The storming of Stony Point stands out in 
high relief as one of the most brilliant achieve- 
ments of the war. The Americans had efiected 
it without firing a musket. On their part, it 
was the silent, deadly work of the bayonet ; 
the fierce resistance they met at the outset may 



490 



GENEROUS LETTER OF LEE TO GENERAL WAYNE. 



[1779. 



be judged by the havoc made in their forlorn 
hope ; out of twenty-two men, seventeen were 
either killed or wounded. The whole loss of 
the Americans was fifteen killed and eighty- 
three wounded. Of the gai'rison, sixty-three 
were slain, including two ofticers ; five hundred 
and fifty-three were taken prisoners, among 
whom were a lieutenant- colonel, four captains, 
and twenty-three subaltern ofiicers. 

Wayne, in his despatches, writes : " The hu- 
manity of our brave soldiery, who scorned to 
take the lives of a vanquished foe when calling 
for mercy, reflects the liighest honor on them ; 
and accounts for the few of the enemy killed 
on the occasion." His words reflect honor on 
himself. 

A British historian confirms his eulogy. 
" The conduct of the Americans upon this oc- 
casion was highly meritorious," writes he ; " for 
they would have been fully justified in putting 
the garrison to the sword ; not one man of 
which was put to death but in fair combat." * 

We are happy to record an instance of gen- 
erous feeling on the part of General Charles 
Lee, in connection with Stony Point. When 
he heard of Wayne's achievement, he wrote to 
him as follows : " What I am going to say, you 
will not, I hope, consider as paying my court 
in this hour of your glory ; for, as it is at least 
my present intention to leave this continent, I 
can have no interest in paying my court to any 
individual. AVhat I shall say, therefore, is dic- 
tated by the genuine feelings of my heart. I 
do most sincerely declare, that your assault of 
Stony Point is not only the most brilliant, in 
my opinion, throughout the whole course of the 
Avar on either side, but that it is the most bril- 
liant I am acquainted with in history ; the as- 
sault of Schweidnitz by Marshal Laudon, I 
think inferior to it. I wish you, therefore, 
most sincerely, joy of the laurels you have de- 
servedly acquired, and that you may long live 
to wear them." 

This is the more magnanimous on the part 
of Lee, as AVayne had been tlie chief witness 
against liim in the court-martial after the 
affair of Monmouth, greatly to his annoyance. 
While Stony Point, therefore, stands a lasting 
monument of the daring courage of " Mad An- 
thony," let it call up the remembrance of this 
freak of generosity on the part of the eccentric 
Lee. 

Tidings of the capture of Stony Point, 



* Stedman, vol. i., p. 145.] 



and the imminent danger of Fort Lafayette, 
reached Sir Henry Clinton just after his" con- 
ference with Sir George Collier at Throg's 
Neck. The expedition against New London 
was instantly given up ; the transports and 
troops were recalled ; a forced march was 
made to Dobbs' Ferry on the Pludson ; a de- 
tachment was sent up the river in transports 
to relieve Fort Lafayette, and Sir Henry fol- 
lowed with a greater force, hoping Washington 
miglit quit his fastnesses, and risk a battle for 
the possession of Stony Point. 

Again the Fabian policy of the American 
commander-in-chief disa^jpointed the British 
general. Having well examined the post in 
company with an engineer and several general 
officers, he found that at least fifteen hundred 
men would be required to maintain it, a num- 
ber not to be spared from the army at present. 

The works, too, were only calculated for de- 
fence on the land side, and were open towards 
the river, where the enemy depended upon 
j)rotection from their ships. It would be neces- 
sary to construct them anew, with great labor. 
The army, also, would have to be in the vicin- 
ity, too distant from West Point to aid in com- 
pleting or defending its fortifications, and ex- 
posed to the risk* of a general action on un- 
favorable terms. 

For these considerations, in which all his 
officers concurred, Washington evacuated the 
post on the 18th, removing the cannon and 
stores, and destroying the works ; after which 
he drew his forces together in the Highlands, 
and established his quarters at West Point, not 
knowing but that Sir Henry might attempt a 
retaliatory stroke on that most important fort- 
ress. The latter took possession of Stony 
Point, and fortified and garrisoned it more 
strongly than ever, but was too Avary to risk 
an attempt upon the strongholds of the High- 
lands. Finding Washington was not to be 
tempted out of them, he ordered the transports 
to fall once more down the river, and returned 
to his former encampment at Philipsburg. 



CHAPTER XL. 

The brilHant affair of the storming of Stony 
Point, was somewhat overshadowed by the 
result of an enterprise at the eastward, under- 
taken without consulting Washington. A Brit- 
ish detachment from Halifax of seven or eight 



JEt. 47.] EXPEDITION AGAINST PENOBSCOT— EXPLOIT OF MAJOR HENRY LEE. 



491 



hundred men, had founded in June a nailitary 
post -on the eastern side of the Bay of Penob- 
scot, nine miles below the river of that name, 
and were erecting a fort there, intended to 
protect Nova Scotia, control the frontiers of 
Massachusetts, and command the vast wooded 
regions of Maine ; whence inexhaustible sup- 
plies of timber might be procured for the royal 
shipyards at Halifax and elsewhere. 

The people of Boston, roused by this move- 
ment, which invaded their territory, and 
touched their pride and interests, undertook, 
on their own responsibility, a naval and mili- 
tary expedition intended to drive off the in- 
vaders. All Boston was in a military bustle, 
enrolling militia and volunteers. An embargo 
of forty days was laid on the shipping, to fa- 
cilitate the equipment of the naval armament ; 
a squadron of armed ships and brigantines un- 
der Commodore Saltonstall, at length put to 
sea, convoying transports, on board of which 
were near four thousand land troops under 
General Lovel. 

Arriving in the Penobscot on the 25th of 
May, they found Colonel Maclean posted on a 
peninsula, steep and precipitous toward the 
bay and deeply treached on the land side, with 
three ships of war anchored before it. 

Lovel was repulsed, with some little loss, in 
an attempt to effect a landing on the peninsula ; 
but finally succeeded before daybreak on the 
28th. The moment was propitious for a bold 
and vigorous blow. The fort was but half fin- 
ished ; the guns were not mounted ; the three 
armed vessels could not have offered a formi- 
dable resistance ; but, unfortunately, the en- 
ergy of a Wayne was wanting to the enterprise. 
Lovel proceeded by regular siege. He threw 
up works at seven hundred and fifty yards dis- 
tance, and opened a cannonade, which was 
continued from day to day, for a fortnight. 
The enemy availed themselves of the delay to 
; strengthen their works, in which they were 
I aided by men from the ships. Distrustful of 
I the efliciency of the militia and of their con- 
I tinuance in camp, Lovel sent to Boston for a 
I reinforcement of Continental troops. He only 
awaited their arrival to carry the place by 
I storm. A golden opportunity was lost by this 
excess of caution. It gave time for Admiral 
I Collier at New York to hear of this enterprise, 
: and take measures for its defeat. 
i On the 13th of August, Lovel was astounded 
'Jj by intelligence that tlie admiral was arrived 
I before the bay with a superior armament. 



Thus fairly entrapped, he endeavored to extri- 
cate his force with as little loss as possible. 
Before news of Collier's arrival could reach 
the fort, he re-embarked his troops in the 
transports to make their escape up the river. 
His armed vessels were drawn up in a crescent 
as if to give battle, but it was merely to hold 
the enemy in check. They soon gave way; 
some were captured, others were set on fire or 
blown up, and abandoned by their crews. 
The transports being eagerly pursued and in 
great danger of being taken, disgorged the 
troops and seamen on the wild shores of the 
river : whence they had to make the best of 
their way to Boston, struggling for upwards of 
a hundred miles through a pathless wilderness, 
before they reached the settled parts of the 
country ; and several of them perishing through 
hunger and exhaustion. 

If Washington was chagrined by the signal 
failure of this expedition, undertaken without 
his advice, he was cheered by the better fortune 
of one set on foot about the same time, imder 
his own eye, by his young friend. Major Henry 
Lee of the Virginia dragoons. This active and 
daring officer had frequently been employed by 
him in scoui-ing the country on the west side 
of the Hudson to collect information ; keep an 
eye upon the enemy's posts ; cut off their sup- 
plies, and check their foraging parties. The 
cotip de main at Stony Point had piqued his 
emulation. In his communications to head- 
quarters he intimated that an opportunity pre- 
sented for an exploit of almost equal daring. 
In the course of his reconnoitring, and by 
means of spies, he had discovered that the 
British post at Paulus Hook, immediately op- 
posite to New York, was very negligently 
guarded. Paulus Hook is a long low point of 
the Jersey shore, stretching into the Hudson, 
and connected to the mainland by a sandy isth- 
mus. A fort had been erected on it, and gar- 
risoned with four or five hundred men, under 
the command of Major Sutherland. It was a 
strong position. A creek fordable only in two 
places rendered tlie hook difficult of access. 
Within this, a deep trench had been cut across 
the isthmus, traversed by a drawbridge with 
a barred gate ; and still within this was a 
double row of abatis, extending into the water. 
The whole position, with the country imme- 
diately adjacent, was separated from the rest of 
Jersey by the Hackensack River, running par- 
allel to the Hudson, at the distance of a very few 
miles, and only traversable in boats, excepting 



492 



NIGHT SURPRISAL OF PAULUS HOOK. 



[1779. 



at the New Bridge, about fourteen miles from 
Paulus Hook. 

Confident in the strength of his position, and 
its distance from any American force. Major 
Sutherland had become remiss in his military 
precautions ; the want of vigilance in a com- 
mander soon produces carelessness in subal- 
terns, and a general negligence prevailed in the 
garrison. 

All this had been ascertained by Major Lee ; 
and he now proposed the daring project of sur- 
prising the fort at night, and thus striking an 
insulting blow " within cannon shot of New 
York." Washington was pleased with the 
project ; he had a relish for signal enterprises 
of the kind ; he was aware of their striking 
and salutary effect upon both friend and foe ; 
and he was disposed to favor the adventurous 
schemes of this young officer. The chief danger 
in the present one, would be in the evacuation 
and retreat after the blow had been effected, 
owing to the proximity of the enemy's force at 
New York. In consenting to the enterprise, 
therefore, he stipulated that Lee should not un- 
dertake it unless sure, from previous observa- 
tion, that the post could be carried by instant 
surprise ; when carried, no time was to be lost 
in attempting to bring off cannon or any other 
articles ; or in collecting stragglers of the gar- 
rison who might skulk and hide themselves. 
He was " to surprise the post ; bring off the 
garrison immediately, and effect a retreat." 

On the 18th of August Lee set out on the 
expedition, at the head of three hundred men 
of Lord Stirling's division, and a troop of dis- 
mounted dragoons under Captain McLane. The 
attack was to be made that night. Lest the 
enemy should hear of their movement, it was 
given out that they were on a mere foraging 
excursion. The road they took lay along that 
belt of rocky and wooded heights which bor- 
ders the Hudson, and forms a rugged neck be- 
tween it and the Hackensack. Lord Stirling 
followed with five hundred men, and encamped 
at the New Bridge on tliat river, to be at hand 
to render aid if required. As it would be per- 
ilous to return along the rugged neck just men- 
tioned, from the number of tlie enemy en- 
camped along the Hudson, Lee, after striking 
the blow, was to push for Dow's Ferry on the 
Hackensack, not far from Paulus Hook, where 
boats would be waiting to receive him. 

It Avas between two and three in the morning 
when Lee arrived at the creek which rendered 
Paulus Hook difficult of access. It liappened, 



fortunately, that Major Sutherland, the British 
commander, had, the day before, detached a 
foraging party under a Major Buskirk, to a part 
of the country called the Englisl: Neighborliood, 
As Lee and his men approached, they were mis- 
taken by the sentinel for this party on its re- 
turn. The darkness of the night favored tlio 
mistake. They passed the creek and ditch, en- 
tered the works unmolested, and had made 
themselves masters of the post before the neg- 
ligent garrison were well roused from sleep. 
Major Sutherland and about sixty Hessians 
threw themselves into a small block-house oa 
the left of the fort and opened an irregular fire. 
To attempt to dislodge them would have cost 
too much time. Alarm guns from the ships iu 
the river and the forts at New York threat- 
ened speedy reinforcements to the enemy. 
Having made one hundred and fifty-nine pris- 
oners, among whom were three officers, Lee 
commenced his retreat, without tarrying to de- 
stroy either barracks or artillery. He had 
achieved his object : a coup de main of signal 
audacity. Pew of the enemy were slain, for 
there was but little fighting, and no massacre. 
His own loss was two men killed and three 
wounded. 

His retreat was attended by perils and per- 
plexities. Through blunder or misapprehen- 
sion, the boats which he was to have found at 
Dow's Ferry on the Hackensack, disappointed 
him ; and he had to make his way with his 
weary troops up the neck of land between that 
river and the Hudson, in imminent danger of 
being cut up by Buskirk and his scouting de- 
tachment. Fortunately Lord Stirling heard of 
his peril, and sent out a force to cover his re- 
treat, which was effected in safety. "Washing- 
ton felt the value of this hardy and brilliant 
exploit. " The increase of confidence," said he, 
" which the army will derive from this affair 
and that of Stony Point, though great, will be 
among the least of the advantages resulting 
from these events." In a letter to the Presi- 
dent of Congress, he extolled the prudence, ad- 
dress, enterprise, and bravery displayed on the 
occasion by Major Lee ; in consequence of which 
the latter received the signal reward of a gold 
medal. 

Washington was now at West Point, dili- 
gently providing for the defence of the High- 
lands against any farther attempts of the ene- 
my. During the time that he made this his 
head-quarters, the most important works, we 
are told, were completed, especially the fort at 



uEt. 4'7.] STYLE OF LIVING AT HEAD-QUARTERS— CLINTON REINEORCED. 



493 



West Point, which formed the citadel of those 
mountains. 

Of his singularly isolated situation with re- 
spect to public affairs, we have evidence in the 
following passage of a letter to Edmund Ean- 
dolph, who had recently taken his seat in Con- 
gress. " I shall be happy in such communica- 
tions as your leisure and other considerations 
will permit you to transmit to me, for I am as 
totally unacquainted with the political state of 
things, and what is going forward in the great 
national council, as if I was an alien ; when a 
competent knowledge of the temper and de- 
signs of our allies, from time to time, and the 
frequent changes and complexion of affairs in 
Europe might, as they ought to do, have a con- 
siderable influence on the operations of our 
army, and would in many cases determine the 
propriety of measures, which under a cloud of 
darkness can only be groped at. I say this 
upon a presumption that Congress, either 
through their own ministers or that of France, 
must be acquainted in some degree with the 
plans of Great Britain, and the designs of 
France and Spain. If I mistake in this conjec- 
ture, it is to be lamented that they have not 
better information ; or, if political motives 
render disclosures of this kind imjiroper, I am 
content to remain in ignorance." 

Of the style of living at head-quarters, we 
have a picture in the following letter to Doctor 
John Cochran, the surgeon-general and physi- 
cian of the army. It is almost the only in- 
stance of sportive writing in all Washington's 
correspondence. 

/ 
" Deae Doctor : — I have asked Mrs. Coch- 
ran and Mrs, Livingston to dine with me to- 
morrow ; but am I not in honor bound to ap- 
prise them of their fare? As I hate deception, 
even where the imagination only is concerned, 
I will. It is needless to premise that my table 
is large enough to hold the ladies. Of this they 
had ocular proof yesterday. To say how it is 
usually covered is more essential ; and this 
shall be the purport of my letter. 

"Since our arrival at this happy spot, we 
have had a ham, sometimes a shoulder of ba- 
con, to grace the head of the table ; a piece of 
roast beef adorns the foot ; and a dish of beans 
or greens, almost imperceptible, decorates the 
'\ centre. When the cook has a mind to cut a 
' figure, wliich I presume will be the case to- 
., morrow, we have two beefsteak pies, or dishes 
I of crabs, in addition, one on each side of the 



centre dish, dividing the space, and reducing 
the distance between dish and dish to about 
six feet, which, without them, would be about 
twelve feet apart. Of late he has had the sur- 
prising sagacity to discover that apples will 
make pies, and it is a question if, in tlie vio- 
lence of his efforts, we do not get one of apples 
instead of having both of beefsteaks. If the 
ladies can put up with such entertainment, and 
will submit to partake of it on plates once tin 
but now iron (not become so by the labor of 
scouring), I shall be happy to sec them." 

We may add, that, however poor the fare and 
poor the table equipage at head-quarters, every 
thing was conducted with strict etiquette and 
decorum, and we make no doubt the ladies in 
question were handed in with as much courtesy 
to the bacon and greens and tin dishes, as 
though they were to be regaled with the dainti- 
est viands, served up on enamelled plate and 
porcelain. 

The arrival of Admiral Arbuthnot, with a 
fleet, bringing three thousand troops and a sup- 
ply of provisions and stores, strengthened the 
hands of Sir Henry Clinton. Still he had not 
sufficient force to warrant any further attempt 
up the Hudson; Washington, by his diligence 
in fortifying West Point, having rendered that 
fastness of the Highlands apparently impreg- 
nable. Sir Henry turned his thoughts, there- 
fore, towards the South, hoping, by a success- 
ful expedition in that direction, to counter- 
balance ill success in other quarters. As this 
would require large detachments, he threw up 
additional works on New York Island and at 
Brooklyn, to render his position secure with the 
diminished force that would remain with him. 

At this juncture news Avas received of the 
arrival of the Count D'Estaing, with a formida- 
ble fleet on the coast of Georgia, having made 
a successful cruise in the West Indies, in the 
course of which he had taken St. Vincent's 
and Granada. A combined attack upon New 
York was again talked of. In anticii)ation of 
it, Washington called upon several of the 
Middle States for supplies of all kinds, and 
reinforcements of militia. Sir Henry Chnton, 
also, changed his plans ; caused Rhode Island 
to be evacuated ; the troops and stores to be 
brought away ; the garrisons brought off from 
Stony and Verplanck's Points, and all his forces 
to be concentrated at New York, which he 
endeavored to put in the strongest posture of 
defence. 



494 



FRENCH MINISTER AT HEAD-QUARTERS— LETTER TO LAFAYETTE. 



[1779. 



Intelligence recently received, loo, that Spain 
had joined France in hostilities against Eng- 
land, contributed to increase the solicitude and 
perplexities of the enemy, -while it gave fresh 
confidence to the Americans. 

The Chevalier de la Luzerne, minister from 
France, with Mons. Barbe Marbois, his secretary 
of legation, having recently landed at Boston, 
paid Washington a visit at his mountain for- 
tress, bringing letters of introduction from 
Lafayette. The chevalier not having yet an- 
nounced himself to Congress, did not choose to 
be received in his public character. "If he 
had," writes "Washington, " except paying him 
military lionors, it was not my intention to 
depart from that plain and simple manner of 
living, which accords with the real interest 
and policy of men struggling under every diffi- 
culty for the attainment of the most inestimable 
blessing of life, liberty.'''' 

In conformity with this intention, he wel- 
comed the chevalier to the mountains with the 
thunder of artillery, and received him at his 
fortress Avith military ceremonial ; but very 
probably surprised him with the stern sim- 
plicity of his table, while he charmed him with 
the dignity and grace with which he presided 
at it. The ambassador evidently acquitted 
himself with true French suavity and diplo- 
matic tact. " He was polite enougli," writes 
"Washington, " to approve my principle, and 
condescended to appear i)leased with our Spar- 
tan living. In a word, he made us all exceed- 
ingly happy by his aftability and good humor 
while he remained in camp." 

Tlie letters from Lafayette spoke of his favor- 
able reception at court, and his appointment to 
an honorable situation in the French army. 
" I had no doubt," writes "Washington, " that 
this would be the case. To hear it from your- 
self adds pleasure to the account. And here, 
my dear friend, let me congratulate you. ISIone 
can do it with more warmth of affection, or 
sincere joy than myself. Your forward zeal in 
the cause of liberty ; your singular attachment 
to this infant world ; your ardent and per- 
severing efforts, not only in America, but since 
your return to France, to serve the United 
States ; your polite attention to Americans, and 
your strict and uniform friendship for me, have 
ripened the first impressions of esteem and 
attaclnnent which I imbibed for you, into such 
perfect love and gratitude, as neither time nor 
absence can impair. This will warrant my as- 
suring you that, whether in the character of 



an officer at the head of a corps of gallant 
Frenchmen, if circumstances should require 
this, whether as a major-general commanding 
a division of the American army, or whether, 
after our swords and spears have given place 
to the ploughshare and the pruning-hook, I 
see you as a private gentleman, a friend and 
companion, I shall welcome you with all the 
warmth of friendship to Columbia's shores ; 
and, in the latter case, to my rural cottage, 
where homely fare and a cordial reception, 
shall be substituted for delicacies and costly 
living. This, from past experience, I know 
you can submit to ; and if the lovely partner 
of your happiness will consent to participate 
with us in such rural entertainment and amuse- 
ments, I can undertake, on behalf of Mrs. 
"Washington, that she will do every thing in 
her power to make Virginia agreeable to the 
marchioness. My inclination and endeavors to 
do this cannot be doubted, when I assure you, 
that I love everybody that is dear to you, and 
consequently participate in the pleasure you 
feel in tlie prospect of again becoming a parent, 
and do most sincerely congratulate you and 
your lady on this fresh pledge she is about to 
give you of her love." 

"Washington's anticipations of a combined 
operation with D'Estaing against New York 
were again disappointed. The Frencli admiral, 
on arriving on the coast of Georgia, had been 
persuaded to co-operate with tlie Southern 
army, under General Lincoln, in an attempt to 
recover Savannah, Avhich liad fallen into the 
hands of the British during the preceding year. 
For three weeks a siege was carried on with 
great vigor, by regular approaches on land, 
and cannonade and bombardment from the 
shipping. On the 9th of October, although the 
approaches were not complete, and no sufficient 
breach had been effected, Lincoln and D'Estaing, 
at tlie head of their choicest troops, advanced 
before daybreak to storm the works. The 
assault was gallant but unsuccessful ; both 
Americans and French had planted their stand- 
ards on the redoubts, but were finally repulsed. 
After the repulse, both armies retired from 
before the place, the French having lost in 
killed and wounded tipwards of six hundred 
men, the Americans about four hundred. 
D'Estaing himself was among the wounded, 
and the gallant Count Pulaski among the slain. 
The loss of the enemy was trifling, being pro- 
tected by their works. 

The Americans recrossed the Savannali River 



^T. 47.] 



BRITISH INVASION OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 



495 



into Sontli Carolina; tlie militia returned to 
their homes, and the French re-embarked. 

The tidings of this reverse, which reached 
Washington late in November, put an end to 
all prospect of co-opei-ation from the French 
fleet ; a consequent change took place in all his 
plans. The militia of New York and Massa- 
chusetts, recently assembled, were disbanded, 
and arrangements were made for the winter. 
The army was thrown into two divisions ; one 
was to be stationed under General Heath in 
the Highlands, for the protection of "West Point 
and the neighboring posts ; the other and prin- 
cipal division was to be hutted near Morris- 
town, where Washington was to have his head- 
quarters. The cavalry were to be sent to Con- 
necticut. 

Understanding that Sir Henry Clinton was 
making preparations at New York for a large 
embarkation of troops, and fearing they might 
be destined against Georgia and Carolina, he 
resolved to detach the greater part of his 
Southern troops for the protection of those 
States; a provident resolution, in which he 
was confirmed by subsequent instructions from 
Congress. Accordingly, the North Carolina 
brigade took up its march for Charleston, in 



November, and the whole of the Virginia line 
in December. 

Notwithstanding the recent preparations at 
New York, the ships remained in port, and 
the enemy held themselves in collected force 
there. Doubts began to be entertained of 
some furtive design nearer at hand, and meas- 
ures were taken to protect the army against an 
attack when in winter-quarters. Sir Henry, 
however, was regulating his movements by 
tliose the French fleet might make after the 
repulse at Savannah. Intelligence at length 
arrived that it had been dispersed by a violent 
storm. Count D'Estaing, with a part, had 
shaped his course for France ; the rest had 
proceeded to the West Indies. 

Sir Henry now lost no time in carrying his 
plans into operation. Leaving the garrison of 
New York under the command of Lieutenant- 
General Knyphausen, he embarked several 
thousand men, on board of transports, to be 
convoyed by five ships of the line and several 
frigates under Admiral Arbuthnot, and set sail 
on the 26th of December, accompanied by 
Lord Cornwallis, on an expedition intended for 
the capture of Charleston and the reduction 
of South Carolina. 



END OF VOL. ni. 



? 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 



VOLUME FOUKTH. 



CHAPTER I. 

The dreary eDcampment at Valley Forge had 
become proverbial for its hardships ; yet they 
i were scarcely more severe than those suffered 
i by Washington's army during the present 
winter, while hutted among the heights of 
I Morristown. The winter set in early, and was 
uncommonly rigorous. The transportation of 
, supplies was obstructed ; the magazines were 
i exhausted, and the commissaries had neither 
! money nor credit to enable them to replenish 
\ them. For weeks at a time the army was on 
half allowance ; sometimes without meat, some- 
times without bread, sometimes without both. 
There was a scarcity, too, of clothing and 
blankets, so that the poor soldiers were starv- 
; ing with cold as well as hunger. 

Washington wrote to President Peed of 

i' Pennsylvania, entreating aid and supplies from 

j that State to keep his army from disbanding. 

I " We have never," said he, "experienced a like 

I extremity at any period of the war." * 

I The year 1V80 opened upon a famishing camp. 

" For a fortnight past," writes Washington, on 

ithe 8th of January, "the troops, both officers 

fand men, have been almost perishing with 

I want. Yet," adds he, feelingly, " they have 

I borne their sufferings with a patience that 

\ merits the approbation, and ought to excite 

[the sympathies, of their countrymen." 

I The severest trials of the Revolution, in fact, 

were not in the field, where there were shouts 

to excite and laurels to be won, but in the 

squalid wretchedness of ill-provided camps, 

where there was nothing to cheer and every 



♦ Life of Reed, ii. 189. 



thing to be endured. To suffer was the lot of 
the revolutionary soldier. 

A rigorous winter had much to do with the 
actual distresses of the army, but the root of 
the evil lay in the derangement of the cur- 
rency. Congress had commenced the war 
without adequate funds, and without the power 
of imposing direct taxes. To meet pressing 
emergencies, it had emitted paper money, 
which, for a time, passed currently at par ; but 
sank in value as further emissions succeeded, 
and that, already in circulation, remained un- 
redeemed. The several States added to the 
evil by emitting paper in their separate ca- 
pacities : thus the country gradually became 
flooded with a " continental currency," as it 
was called ; irredeemable, and of no intrinsic 
value. The consequence was a general de- 
rangement of trade and finance. The conti- 
nental currency declined to such a degree, that 
forty dollars in paper were equivalent to only 
one in specie. 

Congress attempted to put a stop to this de- 
preciation, by making paper money a legal 
tender, at its nominal value, in the discharge 
of debts, however contracted. This opened 
the door to knavery, and added a new feature 
to the evil. 

The commissaries now found it difficult to 
purchase supplies for the immediate wants of 
the army, and impossible to provide any stores 
in advance. They were left destitute of funds, 
and the public credit was prostrated by the 
accumulating debts suffered to remain uncan- 
celled. The changes which had taken place in 
the commissary department added to this con- 
fusion. The commissary-general, instead of 
receiving, as heretofore, a commission on ex- 



32 



498 



THE ARMY AT MORRISTOWN-EXPEDITION AGAINST STATEN ISLAND. [1780. 



penditures, was to have a fixed salary in paper 
currency ; and liis deputies were to be com- 
pensated in like manner, without the usual al- 
lowance of rations and forage. No competent 
agents could be procured on such terms ; and 
the derangement produced throughout the de- 
partment compelled Colonel Wadsworth, the 
able and upright commissary-general, to resign. 
In the present emergency Washington was 
reluctantly compelled, by the distresses of the 
army, to call upon the counties of the State for 
supplies of grain and cattle, proportioned to 
their respective abiUties. These supplies were 
to be brought into the camp within a certain 
time ; the grain to be measured and the cattle 
estimated by any two of the magistrates of the 
county in conjunction with the commissary, 
and certificates to be given by the latter, speci- 
fying the quantity of each and the terms of 
payment. 

Wherever a comphance with this call was 
refused, the articles required were to be im- 
pressed : it was a painful alternative, yet noth- 
ing else could save the army from dissolution 
or starving. Washington charged his oflicers 
to act with as much tenderness as possible, 
graduating the exaction according to the stock 
of each individual, so that no family should be 
deprived of what was necessary to its subsist- 
ence. " While your measures are adapted to 
the emergency," writes he to Colonel Matthias 
Ogden, " and you consult what you owe to the 
service, I am persuaded you will not forget 
that, as we are compelled by necessity to take 
the property of citizens for the support of an 
army on which their safety depends, we should 
be careful to manifest that we have a reverence 
for their rights, and wish not to do any thing 
which that necessity, and even their own good, 
do not absolutely require." 

To the honor of the magistrates and the peo- 
ple of Jersey, Washington testifies that his re- 
quisitions were punctually complied with, and 
in many counties exceeded. Too much praise, 
indeed, cannot be given to the people of this 
State for the patience with which most of them 
bore these exactions, and the patriotism with 
which many of them administered to tlie wants 
of their countrymen in arms. Exhausted as 
the State was by repeated drainings, yet, at one 
time, when deep snows cut ofl^ all distant sup- 
phes, Washington's army was wholly subsisted 
by it. " Provisions came in with hearty good 
will from the farmers in Mendham, Chatham, 
Hanover, and other rural places, together with 



stockings, shoes, coats, and blankets; whde 
the women met together to knit and sew for 
the soldiery." * 

As the winter advanced the cold increased 
in severity. It was the most intense ever re- 
membered in the country. The great bay of 
New York was froz;en over. No supplies could 
come to the city by water. Provisions grew 
scanty ; and there was such lack of firewood, 
that old transports were broken up, and unin- 
habited wooden houses pulled down for fuel. 
The safety of the city was endangered. The 
ships-of-war, immovably ice-bound in its har- 
bor, no longer gave it protection. The insular 
security of the place was at an end. An army 
with its heaviest artillery and baggage might 
cross the Hudson on the ice. The veteran 
Knyphausen began to apprehend an invasion, 
and took measures accordingly; the seamen 
of the ships and transports were landed and 
formed into companies, and the inhabitants of 
the city were embodied, officered, and subjected 
to garrison duty. 

Washington was aware of the opportunity 
which ofi'ered itself for a signal coiqi de main, 
but was not in a condition to profit by it. His 
troops, hutted among the heights of Morris- 
town, were half fed, half clothed, and inferior 
in number to the garrison of New Y^ork. He 
was destitute of funds necessary to fit them for 
the enterprise, and the quartermaster could 
not furnish means of transportation. 

Still, in the frozen condition of the bay and 
rivers, some minor blow might be attempted, 
sufficient to rouse and cheer the spirits of the 
people. With this view, having ascertained 
that the ice formed a bridge across the strait 
between the Jersey shore and Staten Island, 
he projected a descent upon the latter by Lord 
Stirling with twenty-five hundred men, to sur- 
prise and capture a British force of ten or 
twelve hundred. 

His lordship crossed on the night of the 
14th of January, from De Hart's Point to the 
island. His approadi was discovered; the 
troops took refuge in the works, which were 
too strongly situated to be attacked ; a channel 



* Ii:r6m manuscript notes by the Kov. Joseph F. Tuttle. 
This worthy clergyman gives many anecdotes illustrative 
of the active patriotism of the Jersey women. Anna 
Kitchel, wife of a farmer of Whippany, is repeatedly his 
theme of well-merited eulogiura. Her potato bin, meal 
bag and granary, writes he ;jiad always some comfort for 
the patriot soldiers. When unable to billet them m her 
house, a huge kettle filled with meat and vegetables was 
hung over the fire, that they might not go away hungry. 



^T. 48.] CALDWELL, THE PREACHER PATRIOT-FORAY LX 



remainitt^ open through the ice across the bay 
a boat ^vas despatched to New York for rein- 
forcemeats. 



TO WESTCHESTER COUNTY. 499 



The projected surprise having thus proved a 
complete failure, and his own situation becom- 
ing hazardous, Lord Stirling recrossed to the 
Jersey shore with a number of prisoners whom 
he had captured. He was pursued by a party 
of cavalry, which he repulsed, and effected a 
retreat to Elizabethtown. Some few stragglers 
fell into the hands of the enemy, and many of 
his men were severely frostbitten. 

By way of retort, Knyphausen, on the 2oth of 
January, sent out two detachments to harass 
the American outposts. One crossed to Paulus 
Hook, and being joined by part of the garrison 
of that post, pushed on to Newark, surprised 
and captured a company stationed there, set 
• fire to the academy, and returned without loss. 
The other detachment, consisting of one 
hundred dragoons and between three and four 
hundred infantry, under Lieutenant-Colonel 
Boskirk, crossed from Staten Island to Trem- 
bly's Point, surprised the picket-guard at Eliza- 
bethtown, and captured two majors, two cap- 
tains, and forty-two privates. This, likewise, 
was eftected without loss. The disgraceful 
part of the expedition was the burning of the 
town house, a church, and a private residence, 
and the plundering of the inhabitants. 

The church destroyed was a Presbyterian 
place of worship, and its pastor, the Eev. James 
Caldwell, had rendered himself an especial ob- 
ject of hostility to both Briton and tory. He 
was a zealous patriot ; had served as chaplain 
to those portions of the American army that 
successively occupied the Jerseys; and now 
officiated in that capacity in Colonel Elias 
Dayton's regiment, beside occasionally acting 
as commissary. His church had at times served 
as hospital to the American soldier ; or shelter 
to the hastily assembled militia. Its bell was 
the tocsin of alarm; from its pulpit he had 
many a time stirred up the patriotism of his 
countrymen by his ardent, eloquent, and pa- 
thetic appeals, laying beside him his pistols be- 
fore he commenced. His popularity in the 
army, and among the Jersey people, was un 
bounded. He was termed by his friends a 
"rousing gospel preacher," and by the enemy 
a "frantic priest" and a "rebel fire-band." 



was not in his pulpit." We shall have occasion 
to speak of the fortunes of this pastor and hi. 
lamily hereafter. 

Another noted maraud during Knyphausen's 
military sway, was in the lower part of West- 
chester County, in a hilly region lying between 
the British and American lines, which had been 
the scene of part of the past year's campaign.' 
Being often foraged, its inhabitants had become 
belligerent in their habits and quick to retaliate 
on all marauders. 

In this region, about twenty miles from the 
British outposts, and not far from White Plains 
the Americans had established a post of three 
hundred men at a stone building commonly 
known as Young's house, from the name of its 
owner. It commanded a road which passed 
from north to south down along the narrow 
but fertile valley of the Sawmill River, now 
known by its original Indian name of the 
Neperan. On this road the garrison of Young's 
house kept a vigilant eye, to intercept the con- 
voys of cattle and provisions which had been 
collected or plundered by the enemy, and which 
passed down this valley toward New York. 
This post had long been an annoyance to the 
enemy, but its distance from the British lines 
had hitherto saved it from attack. The coun- 
try now was covered with snow ; troops could 
be rapidly transported on sleighs ; and it was 
determined that Young's house should be sur- 
prised, and this rebel nest broken up. 

On the evening of the 2d of February, an 
expedition set out for the purpose from King's 
Bridge, led by Lieutenant-Colonel Norton, and 
consisting of four flank companies of guards, 
two companies of Hessians, and a party of 
Yagers, all in sleighs ; beside a body of Yager 
cavalry, and a number of mounted Westchester 
refugees, with two three-pounders. 

The snow, being newly fallen, was deep ; 
the sleighs broke their way through it with 
difficulty. The troops at length abandoned 
them and pushed forward on foot. The cannon 
were left behind for the same reason. It was a 
weary tramp ; the snow in many places was more 
than two feet deep, and they had to take by-ways 
and cross-roads to avoid the American patrols. 
The sun rose while they were yet seven miles 
from Young's house. To surprise the post was 
out of the question ; still they kept on. Before 



On the present occasion, his church was set on they could reach the house the country had 
fire by a virulent tory of the neighborhood, taken the alarm, and the Westchester yeo- 
who, as he saw it wrapped in flames, " re- raanry had armed themselves, and were hasten- 
gretted that the black-coated rebel, Caldwell, I ing to aid the garrison. 



BURNING OF YOUNG'S HOUSE-ARNOLD IN PHILADELPHIA. [1T80. 



500 

The Britisla light infantry and grenadiers in- 
vested the mansion; tlie cavahy posted them- 
selves on a neighboring eminence, to prevent 
retreat or reinforcement, and the house was 
assailed. It made a brave resistance, and was 
aided by some of the yeomanry stationed in an 
adjacent orchard. The garrison, however, was 
overpowered; mimberswere killed, and nmety 
^vere taken prisoners. The house was sacked 
and set in flames ; and thus, having broken up 
this stronghold of the country, the party has- 
tened to effect a safe return to the lines with 
their prisoners, some of whom were so badly 
wounded that they had to be left at different 
farm-houses on the road. The detachment 
reached King's Bridge by nine o'clock m the 
same evening, and boasted that, in tins enter- 
prise, they had sustained no other loss than 
two killed and twenty-three wounded. 

Of the prisoners many were doubtless farmers 
and farmers' sons, who had turned out in de- 
fence of their homes, and were now to be 
transferred to the horrors of the jail and sugar- 
house in New York. We give this affair as a 
specimen of the petite guerre carried on in the 
southern part of Westchester County, the neu- 
tral GRomD, as it was called, but subjected 
from its vicinity to the city, to be foraged by 
the royal forces, and plundered and insulted by 
refugees and tories. No part of the Union was 
more harried and trampled down by friend and 
foe, during the Eevolution, than this debatable 
region and the Jerseys. 



CHAPTER II. 



The most irksome duty that Washington had 
to perform during this winter's encampment at 
Morristown, regarded General Arnold and his 
military government of Philadelphia in 1778. 
To explain it requires a glance back to that 

period. 

At the time of entering upon this command, 
Arnold's accounts with government were yet 
unsettled; the committee appointed by Con- 
gress, at his own request, to examine them, 
having considered some of his charges dubious, 
and others exorbitant. Washington, however, 
still looked upon him with favor, and, but a 
month previously, had presented him with a 
pair of epaulettes and a sword-knot, "as a 
testimony of his sincere regard and approba- 
tion." 



The command of Philadelphia, atfthis time, 
was a delicate and difficult one, and required 
to be exercised with extreme circumspection. 
The boundaries between the powers vested in 
the military commander, and those inherent in 
the State government, were ill defined. Dis- 
affection to the American cause prevailed both 
among the permanent and casual residents, and | 
required to be held in check with firmness but 
toleration. By a resolve of Congress, no goods, 
wares, or merchandise were to be removed, 
transferred, or sold, until the ownership of 
them could be ascertained by a joint com- 
mittee of Congress and of the Council of Penn- 
sylvania ; any public stores belonging to the 
enemy were to be seized and converted to the 
use of the army. 

Washington, in his letter of instructions, left 
it to Arnold's discretion to adopt such measures 
as should appear to him most effectual and least 
offensive in executing this resolve of Congress ; 
in which he was to be aided by an assistant 
quartermaster-general, subject to his directions. 
"You wiU take every prudent step in your 
power," writes Washington, " to preserve tran- 
quillity and order in the city, and give security 
to individuals of every class and description, 
restraining, as far as possible, till the restora- 
tion of civil government, every species of per- 
secution, insult, or abuse, either from the 
soldiery to the inhabitants, or among each 

other." 

One of Arnold's first measures was to issue a 
proclamation enforcing the resolve of Congress. 
In so doing, he was countenanced by leading 
personages'of Philadelphia, and the proclama- 
tion was drafted by General -Joseph Pvced. The 
measure excited great dissatisfaction, and cir- 
cumstances attending the enforcement of it 
gave rise to scandal. Former instances of a 
mercenary spirit made Arnold liable to suspi- 
cions, and it was alleged that, while by the 
proclamation he shut up the stores and shops so^ 
that even the officers of the army could not' 
procure necessary articles of merchandise, he 
was privately making large purchases for his 
own enrichment. 

His style of living gave point to this scandal. 
He occupied one of the finest houses in the* 
city ; set up a splendid establishment; had hiff 
carriage and four horses and a train of domes-' 
tics; gave expensive entertainments, and in-" 
dulg'ed in a luxury and parade, which were^ 
condemned as little befitting a repubhcan gene-j 
ral ; especially one whose accounts with gov- 



^T. 48.] 



ARNOLD'S ASSOCIATIONS-CHARGES AGAINST HIM. 



501 



ernment were vet unsettled, and who had im- 
putations of mercenary rapacity still hanging 
over him. 

Ostentatious prodigality, in fact, was Arnold's 
besetting sin. To cope with his overwhelming 
expenses, he engaged in various speculations, 
more befitting the traflacking habits of his early 
life than his present elevated position. Nay 
he availed himself of that position to aid his 
speculations, and sometimes, made temporary 
use of the public moneys passing through his 
hands. In his impatience to be rich, he at one 
time thought of taking command of a privateer, 
and making lucrative captures at sea. 

In the exercise of his military functions, he 
had become involved in disputes with the presi- 
dent (Wharton) and executive council of Penn- 
sylvania, and by his conduct, which was deem- 
ed arbitrary and arrogant, had drawn upon 
himself the hostility of that body, which be- 
came stern and unsparing censors of his con- 
duct. 

He had not been many weeks in Philadelphia 
before he became attached to one of its reigning 
belles, Miss Margaret Shippen, daughter of Mr. 
Edward Shippen, in after years chief justice of 
Pennsylvania. Her family were not considered 
well affected to the Amei'ican cause ; the young 
lady herself, during the occupation of the city 
by the enemy, had been a " toast " among the 
British officers, and selected as one of the beau- 
ties of the Mischianza. 

Arnold paid his addresses in an open and 
honorable style, first obtaining by letter the 
sanction of the father. Party feeling at that 
time ran high in Philadelphia on local subjects 
connected with the change of the State govern- 
ment. Arnold's connection with the Shippen 
family increased his disfavor with the president 
and executive council, who were whigs to a 
man ; and it was sneeringly observed, that " he 
had courted the loyalists from the start." 

General Joseph Eeed, at that time one of the 
executive committee, observes in a letter to 
General Greene, " Will you not think it extra- 
ordinary that General Arnold made a public 
entertainment the night before last, of which, 
not only common tory ladies, but the wives and 
daughters of persons proscribed by the State, 
and now with the enemy at New York, formed 
a very considerable number ? The fact is liter- 
ally true." 

Regarded from a diiferent point of view, this 
conduct might have been attributed to the 
(ji courtesy of a gallant soldier ; who scorned to ! 



carry the animosity of the field into the draw- 
mg-room ; or to proscribe and persecute the 
wives and daughters of poHtical exiles. 

In the beginning of December, General Reed 
became president of the executive council of 
Pennsylvania, and under his administration tlio 
ripening hostility to Arnold was brought to a 
crisis. Among the various schemes of the lat- 
ter for bettering his fortunes, and securing tlie 
means of living when the war should come to 
an end, w^as one for forming a settlement in 
the western part of the State of New York, to 
be composed, principally, of the officers and 
soldiers who had served under him. His 
scheme was approved by Mr. John Jay, the 
pure-minded patriot of New York, at that time 
President of Congress, and was sanctioned by 
the New York delegation. Provided with 
letters from them, Arnold left Philadelphia 
about the 1st of January (17Y9), and set out 
for Albany to obtain a grant of land for the 
purpose, from the New York Legislature. 

Within a day or two after his departure, his 
public conduct was discussed in the executive 
council of Pennsylvania, and it was resolved 
unanimously, that the course of his military 
command in the city had been in many cases 
oppressive, unworthy of his rank and station, 
and highly discouraging to the liberties and 
interests of America, and disrespectful to the 
supreme executive authority of the State. 

As he was an officer of the United States, 
the complaints and grievances of Pennsylvania 
were set forth by the executive council in 
eight charges, and forwarded to Congress, 
accompanied by documents, and a letter from 
President Reed. 

Information of these facts with a printed 
copy of tlie charges, reached Arnold at Wash- 
ington's camp on the Raritan, which he had 
visited on the way to Albany. His first solici- 
tude was about the effect they might have upon 
Miss Shippen, to whom he was now engaged. 
In a letter dated February 8th, he entreated 
her not to suft'er these rude attacks on him to 
give her a moment's uneasiness— they could do 
him no injury. 

On the following day he issued an address 
to the public, recalling his faithful services of - 
nearly four years, and inveighing against the 
proceedings of the president and council ; who, 
n-ot content with injuring him in a cruel and 
unprecedented manner with Congress, had 
ordered copies of their charges to be printed 
and dispersed throughout the several States, 



502 



ARNOLD'S ADDRESS TO THE PUBLIC— HIS MARRIAGE. 



[1780. 



for the purpose of prejudicing the public mind 
against him, while the matter was yet in sus- 
pense. " Their conduct," writes he, " appears 
the more cruel and malicious, in making the 
charges after I had left the city ; as my inten- 
tion of leaving the city was known for five 
weeks before." This complaint, we must ob- 
serve, was rebutted, on their part-, by the asser- 
tion that, at the time of his departure, he knew 
of the accusation that was impending. 

In conclusion, Arnold informed the public 
that he had requested Congress to direct a 
court-martial to inquire into his conduct, and 
trusted his countrymen yi'ould suspend their 
judgment in the matter, until he should have 
an opportunity of being heard. 

Public opinion was divided. His brilliant 
services spoke eloquently in his fovor. His 
admirers repined that a fame won by such 
daring exploits on the field should be stifled 
down by cold calumnies in Philadelphia ; and 
many thought, dispassionately, that the State 
authorities had acted with excessive harshness 
towards a meritorious officer, in widely spread- 
ing their charges against him, and thus, in an 
unprecedented way, putting a public brand 
upon him. 

On the 16th of February, Arnold's appeal to 
Congress was referred to the committee which 
had under consideration the letter of President 
Peed and its accompanying documents, and it 
was charged to make a report with all conven- 
ient despatch. A motion was made to suspend 
•Arnold from all command during the inquiry. 
To the credit of Congress it was negatived. 

Much contrariety of feeling prevailed on the 
subject in the committee of Congress and the 
executive council of Pennsylvania, and the 
correspondence between those legislative bodies 
was occasionally tinctured with needless acri- 
mony. 

Arnold, in the course of January, had obtain- 
ed permission from Washington to resign the 
command of Philadelphia, but deferred to act 
upon it, until the charges against him should be 
examined, lest, as he said, his enemies should 
misinterpret his motives, and ascribe his resig- 
nation to fear of a disgraceful suspension in 
consequence of those charges. 

About the middle of March, the committee 
brought in a report exculpating him from all 
criminality in the matters charged against him. 
As soon as the report was brought in, he con- 
sidered his name vindicated, and resigned. 
Whatever exultation he may have felt was 



short-lived. Congress did not call up and act 
upon the report, as, in justice to him, they 
should have done, whether to sanction it or 
not ; but referred the subject anew to a joint 
committee of their body and the assembly and 
council of Pennsylvania. Arnold was, at this 
time, on the eve of marriage with Miss Ship- 
pen, and, thus circumstanced, it must have been 
peculiarly galling to his pride to be kept under 
the odium of imputed delinquencies. 

The report of the joint committee brought 
up animated discussions in Congress. Several 
resolutions recommended by the committee 
were merely of a formal nature, and intended 
to soothe the wounded sensibilities of Pennsyl- 
vania ; these were passed without dissent ; but 
it was contended that certain charges advanced 
by the executive council of that State were 
only cognizable by a court-martial, and, after a 
warm debate, it was resolved (April 3d), by a 
large majority, that the commander-in-chief 
should appoint such a court for the considera- 
tion of them. 

Arnold inveighed bitterly against the injustice 
of subjecting him to a trial before a military 
tribunal for alleged offences of which he had 
been acquitted by the committee of Congress. 
He was sacrificed, he said, to avoid a breach 
with Pennsylvania. In a letter to Washington, 
he charged it all to the hostility of President 
Reed, who, he afiirmed, had by his address 
kept the affair in suspense for two months, and 
at last obtained the resolution of Congress di- 
recting the court-martial. He urged Washing- 
ton to appoint a speedy day for the trial, that 
he might not linger under the odium of an 
unjust public accusation. " I have no doubt 
of obtaining justice from a court-martial," 
writes he, " as every officer in the army must 
feel himself injured by the cruel and unprece- 
dented treatment I have met with. * * * * 
When your Excellency considers my sufterings, 
and the cruel situation I am in, your own 
humanity and feeling as a soldier will render 
every thing I can say further on the subject 
imnecessary." 

It was doubtless soothing to his irritated 
pride, that the woman on whom he liad placed 
liis affections remained true to him ; for his 
marriage with Miss Sbippen took place just five 
days after the mortifying vote of Congress. 

Washington sympathized with Arnold's im- 
patience, and appointed the 1st of May for the 
trial, but it was repeatedly postponed ; first, at 
the request of the Pennsylvania council, to 



JET. 48.] ARNOLD COURT-MARTIALED-VERDICT. TO BE REPRIMANDED. 



50c 



allow time for the arrival of witnesses from 
the South ; afterwards ia consequence of 
threatening movements of the enemy, which 
obliged every officer to be at his post, Arnold, 
in the mean time, continued to reside at Phila- 
delphia, holding his commission in the army, 
but iilling no pubUc office ; getting deeper and 
deeper in debt, and becoming more and more 
unpopular. 

Having once been attached in the street in 
the course of some i?opular tumult, he affected 
to consider his life in danger, and applied to 
Congress for a guard of Continental soldiers, 
" as no protection was to be expected from the 
authority of the State for an honest man." 

Ife was told in reply, that his application 
ought to have been made to the executive 
authority of Pennsylvania ; " in whose disposi- 
tion to protect every honest citizen. Congress 
had full confidence, and liiglily disapr)roved 
the insiniuition of every individual to the con- 
trary.^'' 

For months, Arnold remained in this anxious 
and irritated state. His situation, he said, was 
cruel. His character would continue to suffer 
until he should be acquitted by a court-martial, 
and he would be effectually prevented from 
joining the army, which he wished to do as 
soon as his wounds would permit, that he might 
render the country every service in his power 
in this critical time. " For though I have been 
ungratefully treated," adds he, " I do not con- 
sider it as from my countrymen in general, but 
from a set of men, who, void of principle, are 
governed entirely by private interest." 

At length, when the campaign was over, and 
the army had gone into winter-quarters, the 
long-delayed court-martial was assembled at 
Morristown. Of the eight charges originally 
advanced against Arnold by the Pennsylvania 
council, four only came under the cognizance 
of the court. Of two of these he was entirely 
acquitted. The remaining two were, 

First. That while in the camp at Valley 
Forge, he, without the knowledge of the com- 
mander-in-chief, or the sanction of the State 
government, had granted a written permission 
for a vessel belonging to disaffected persons, to 
proceed from the port of Philadelphia, then in 
possession of the enemy, to any port of the 
United States. 

Second. That, availing himself of his official 
authority, lie had appropriated the public wag- 
gons of Pennsylvania, when called forth on a 
special emergency, to the transportation of pri- 



vate property, and that of persons who volun- 
tarily remained with the enemy, and were 
deemed disaffected to the interests and inde- 
pendence of America. 

In regard to the first of these charges, Ar- 
nold alleged that the person who applied for 
the protection of the vessel, had taken the oatli 
of allegiance to the State of Pennsylvania 
required by the laws; that he was not residing 
in Philadelphia at the time, but had applied on 
behalf of himself and a company, and tliat the 
intentions of that person and his associates with 
regard to the vessel and cargo appeared to be 
upright. 

As to his having granted the permission 
witliout the knowledge of the commander-in- 
chief, though present in the camp, Arnold 
alleged that it was customary in the army for 
general officers to grant passes and protections 
to inhabitants of the United States, friendly to 
the same, and that the protection was given in 
the present instance, to prevent the soldiery 
from plundering the vessel and cargo, coming 
from a place in the possession of the enemy, 
until the proper authority could take cogni- 
zance of the matter. 

In regard to the second charge, while it was 
proved that under his authority public waggons 
had been so used, it was allowed in extenua- 
tion, that they had been employed at private 
expense, and without any design to defraud the 
public or impede the military seiwice. 

In regard to both charges, nothing fraudulent 
on the part of Arnold was proved, but tiie 
transactions involved in the first were pro- 
nounced irregular, and contrary to one of the 
articles of war ; and in the second, imprudent 
and reprehensible, considering the high station 
occupied by the general at the time, and the 
court sentenced him to be reprimanded by the 
commander-in-chief. The sentence was con- 
firmed by Congress on the 12th of February 
(1780). 

We have forborne to go into all the particulars 
of this trial, but we have considered them at- 
tentively, discharging from our minds, as much 
as possible, all impressions produced by Arnold's 
subsequent history, and we are surprised to 
find, after the hostility manifested against him 
by the council of Pennsylvania, and tlieir ex- 
traordinary measure to possess the public mind 
against him, how venial are the trespasses of 
wliich he stood convicted. 

He may have given personal offence by his 
assuming vanity; by the arrogant exercise of 



504 



ARNOLD REPRIMANDED— SOUTH CAROLINA THREATENED. 



[1780. 



his military authority ; he may have displeased 
by his ostentation, and awakened distrust by 
his speculating propensities; but as yet his 
patriotism was unquestioned. No turpitude 
had been proved against him ; his brilliant ex- 
ploits shed a splendor round his name, and he 
appeared before the public, a soldier crippled in 
their service. All these should have pleaded 
in his favor, should have produced indulgence 
of his errors, and mitigated that animosity 
which he always contended had been the cause 
of his ruin. 

The reprimand adjudged by the court-martial 
was administered by Washington with consum- 
mate delicacy. The following were his words, 
as repeated by M. de Marbois, the French secre- 
tary of legation : 

" Our profession is the chastest of all : even 
the shadow of a fault tarnishes the lustre of 
our finest achievements. The least inadver- 
tence may rob us of the public favor, so hard to 
be acquired. I reprehend you for having for- 
gotten, that, in proportion as you had rendered 
yourself formidable to your enemies, you should 
have been guarded and temperate in your de- 
portment towards your fellow-citizens. 

" Exhibit anew those noble qualities which 
have placed you on the list of our most valued 
commanders. I will myself furnish you, as far 
as it may be in my power, with opportunities 
of regaining the esteem of your country." 

A reprimand so mild and considerate, accom- 
panied by such high eulogiums and generous 
promises, might have had a favorable effect upon 
Arnold, had he been in a different frame of 
mind ; but he had persuaded himself that the 
court would incline in his favor and acquit 
him altogether ; and he resented deeply a sen- 
tence, which he protested against as unmerited. 
His resentment was aggravated by delays in 
the settlement of his accounts, as he depended 
upon the sums he claimed as due to him, for 
the payment of debts by which he was harass- 
ed. In following the matter up, he became a 
weary, and probably irritable, applicant at the 
lialls of Congress, and, we are told, gave great 
offence to members by his importunity, while 
he wore out the patience of his friends ; but 
public bodies are prone to be offended by 
the importunity of baffled claimants, and the 
patience of friends is seldom proof against 
the reiterated story of a man's prolonged diffi- 
culties. 

In the month of March, we find him intent 
on a new and adventurous project. He had 



proposed to the Board of Admiralty an expedi- 
tion, requiring several ships of war and three 
or four hundred land troops, offering to take 
command of it should it be carried into effect, 
as his wounds still disabled him from duty on 
land. Washington, who knew his abilities in 
either service, was disposed to favor his propo- 
sition, but the scheme fell through from the 
impossibility of sparing the requisite number of 
men from the army. What Arnold's ultimate 
designs might have been in seeking such a com- 
mand, are rendered problematical by his subse- 
quent conduct. On the failure of the project, 
he requested and obtained from Washington 
leave of absence from the army for the sum- 
mer, there being, he said, little prospect of an 
active campaign, and his wounds unfitting him 
for the field. 



CHAPTER III, 

The return of spring brought little allevia- 
tion to the sufleriugs of the army at Morris- 
town. All means of supplying its wants or 
recruiting its ranks were paralyzed by the 
continued depreciation of the currency. While 
Washington saw his forces gradually diminish- 
ing, his solicitude was intensely excited for the 
safety of the Southern States. The reader will 
recall the departure from New York, in the 
latter part of December, of the fleet of Admiral 
Arbuthnot with the army of Sir Henry Clinton, 
destined for the subjugation of South Carolina. 
" The richness of the country," says Colonel 
Tarleton, in his history of the campaign, " its 
vicinity to Georgia, and its distance from Gen- 
eral Washington, pointed out the advantage 
and facility of its conquest. While it would 
be an unspeakable loss to the Americans, the 
possession of it would tend to secure to the 
crown the southern part of the continent which 
stretches Beyond it." It was presumed that 
the subjugation of it would be an easy task. 
The population was scanty for the extent of 
the country, and was made up of emigrants, or 
the descendants of emigrants, from various 
lands and of various nations : Huguenots, who 
had emigrated from France after the revoca- 
tion of the edict of Nantz ; Germans, from 
the Palatinate ; Irish Protestants, who had re- 
ceived grants of land from the crown ; Scotch 
Highlanders, transported hither after the disas- 
trous battle of CuUoden ; Dutch colonists, who 



^T. 48.] 



LINCOLN IN COMMAND AT CHARLESTON— TARLETON. 



505 



had left New York, after its submission to Eng- 
land, and been settled here on bounty lands. 

Some of these foreign elements might be 
hostile to British domination, but others would 
be favorable. There was a large class, too, 
that had been born or had passed much of 
their lives in England, who retained for it a 
filial aifection, spoke of it as Tiome^ and sent 
their children to be educated there. 

The number of slaves within the province 
and of savages on its western frontier, together 
with its wide extent of unprotected sea-coast, 
were encouragements to an invasion by sea and 
land. Little combination of militia and yeo- 
manry need be apprehended from a population 
sparsely scattered, and where the settlements 
were widely separated by swamps and forests. 
"Washington was in no condition to render 
prompt and effectual relief, his army being at 
a vast distance, and considered as " in a great 
measure broken up." The British, on the con- 
trary, had the advantage of their naval force, 
" there being nothing then in the American 
seas which could even venture to look at it." * 

Such were some of the considerations which 
prompted the enemy to this expedition ; and 
which gave Washington great anxiety concern- 
ing it. 

General Lincoln was in command at Charles- 
ton, but uncertain as yet of the designs of the 
enemy, and at a loss what course to pursue. 
Diffident of hiraself, and accustomed to defer 
to the wisdom of Washington, he turns to him 
in his present j)erplexity. " It is among my 
misfortunes," writes he, modestly, (Jan. 23d), 
" that I am not near enough to your Excellency 
to have the advantage of your advice and di- 
rection. I feel my own insufficiency and want 
of experience. I can promise you nothing but 
a disposition to serve my country. If this town 
should be attacked, as now threatened, I know 
my duty will call me to defend it, as long as 
opposition can be of any avail. I hope my 
inclination will coincide with my duty." 

The voyage of Sir Henry Clinton proved long 
and tempestuous. The ships were dispersed. 
Several fell into the hands of the Americans. 
One ordnance vessel foundered. Most of the 
artillery horses, and all those of the cavalry 
perished. The scattered ships rejoined each 
other about the end of January, at Tybee Bay 
on Savannah River ; where those that had sus- 
tained damage were repaired as speedily as 

* Annual Register 1780, p. 217. 



possible. The loss of the cavalry horses was 
especially felt by Sir Henry, There was a 
corps of two hundred and fifty dragoons, on 
which he depended greatly in the kind of guerilla 
warfare he was likely to pursue, in a country 
of forests and morasses. Lieutenant-Colonel 
Banastre Tarleton, who commanded them, was 
one of those dogs of war, which Sir Henry was 
prepared to let slip on emergencies, to scour 
and maraud the country. This "bold dra- 
goon," SO' noted in Southern warfare, was 
about twenty-six years of age, of a swarthy 
complexion, with small, black, piercing eyes. 
He is described as being rather below the mid- 
dle size, square-built, and strong, " with large 
muscular legs." It will be found that he was 
a first-rate partisan officer, prompt, ardent, 
active, but somewhat unscrupulous. 

Landing from the fleet, perfectly dismounted, 
he repaired with his dragoons, in some of the 
quartermaster's boats, to Port Eoyal Island, 
on the seaboard of South Carolina, " to collect 
at that place, from friends or enemies, by money 
or by force, all the horses belonging to the 
islands in the neighborhood." He succeeded 
in procuring horses, though of an inferior qual- 
ity to those he had lost, but consoled himself 
with the persuasion that he would secure better 
ones in the course of the campaign, by " exer- 
tion and enterprise," — a vague phrase, but very 
significant in the partisan vocabulary. 

In the mean time, the transports having on 
board a great part of the army, sailed under 
convoy on the 10th of February, from Savannah 
to North Edisto Sound, where the troops dis- 
embarked on the 11th, on St. Johns Island, 
about thirty miles below Charleston. Thence, 
Sir Henry Clinton set out for the banks of 
Ashley Eiver, opposite to the city, while a part 
of the fleet proceeded round by sea, for the 
purpose of blockading the harbor. The ad- 
vance of Sir Henry was slow and cautious. 
Much time was consumed by him in fortifying 
intermediate ports, to keep up a secure com- 
munication with the fleet. He ordered from 
Savannah all the troops that could be spared, 
and wrote to Knyphausen, at New York, for 
reinforcements from that place. Every pre- 
caution was taken by him to insure against a 
second repulse from before Charleston, which 
might prove fatal to his military reputation. 

General Lincoln took advantage of this slow- 
ness on the part of his assailant, to extend and 
strengthen the works. Charleston stands at 
the end of an isthmus formed by the Ashley 



506 



WASHINGTON'S SOLICITUDE FOR THE SOUTH. 



[1780. 



and Cooper Rivers. Beyond the main works 
on the land side he cut a canal, from one to the 
other of the swamps which border these rivers. 
In advance of the canal were two rows of 
abatis and a double picketed ditch. Within 
the canal, and between it and the main works, 
were strong redoubts and batteries, to open a 
flunking Are on any approaching column, while 
an inclosed horn work of masonry formed a 
kind of citadel. 

A squadron, commanded by Commodore 
Whipple, and composed of nine vessels of war 
of various sizes, the largest m^ounting forty- 
four guns, was to co-operate with Forts Moul- 
trie and Johnston, and the various batteries, in 
the defence of the harbor. They were to lie 
before the bar so as to command the entrance 
of it. Great reliance also was placed on the 
bar itself, which it was thought no ship-of-the- 
line could pass. 

Governor Rutledge, a man eminent for tal- 
ents, patriotism, firmness, and decision, was 
clothed with dictatorial powers during the 
present crisis ; he had called out the militia of 
the State, and it was supposed they would 
duly obey the call. Large reinforcements of 
troops also were expected from the North. 
Under all these circumstances, General Lincoln 
yielded to the entreaties of the Inhabitants, 
and, instead of remaining with his army in the 
open country, as he had intended, shut himself 
up with them in the place for its defence, 
leaving merely his cavalry and two hundred 
light troops outside, who were to hover about 
the enemy and prevent small parties from 
marauding. 

It Avas not until the 12th of March that Sir 
Henry Clinton effected his tardy approach, and 
took up a position on Charleston Neck, a few 
miles above the town. Admiral Arbuthnot 
soon showed an intention of introducing his 
ships into the harbor, barricading their waists, 
anchoring them in a situation where they 
might take advantage of the first favorable 
spring-tide, and fixing buoys on the bar for 
their guidance. Commodore Whipple had by 
this time ascertained by sounding, that a wrong 
^idea had prev.ailed of the depth of water in 
the harbor, and that his ships could not anchor 
nearer than within three miles of the bar, so 
that it would be impossible for him to defend 
the passage of it. He quitted his station with- 
in it, therefore, after having destroyed a part 
of the enemy's buoys, and took a position 
where his ships might bo abreast, and form a 



cross-fire with the batteries of Fort Moultrie, 
where Colonel Pinckney commanded. 

Washington was informed of these facts, by 
letters from his former aide-de-camp. Colonel 
Laurens, who was in Charleston at the time. The 
information caused anxious forebodings. " The 
impracticability of defending the bar, I fear, 
amounts to the loss of the town and garrison," 
writes he in reply. " It really ajipears to me, 
that the propriety of attempting to defend 
the town, depended on the probability of de- 
fending the bar, and that when this ceased, the 
attempt ought to have been relinquished." 
The same opinion was expressed by him in a 
letter to Baron Steuben ; " but at this distance," 
adds he considerately, " we can form a very 
imperfect judgment of its propriety or neces- 
sity. I have the greatest reliance in General 
Lincoln's prudence, but I cannot forbeai- dread- 
ing the event." 

His solicitude for the safety of the South 
was increased, by hearing of the embarkation 
at New York of two thousand five hundred 
British and Hessian troops, under Lord Eaw- 
don, reinforcements for Sir Henry Clinton. It 
seemed evident the enemy intended to push 
their operations with vigor at the South ; per- 
haps, to make it the principal theatre of the war. 
" We are now beginning," said Washington, 
" to experience the fatal consequences of the 
policy which delayed calling upon the States 
for their quotas of men in time to arrange and 
prepare them for the duties of the field. What 
to do for the Southern States, without involv- 
ing consequences equally alarming in this quar- 
ter, I know not." 

Gladly would he have hastened to the South 
in person, but at this moment his utmost vigi- 
lance was required to keep watch upon New 
York and maintain the security of the Hudson, 
the vital part of the confederacy. The weak 
state of the American means of warfare in both 
quarters, presented a choice of difficulties. The 
South needed support. Could the North give 
it without exposing itself to ruin, since the 
enemy, by means of their ships, could suddenly 
unite their forces, and fall upon any point that 
they might consider weak? Such were the 
perplexities to which he was continually sub- 
jected, in having, with scanty means, to pro- 
vide for the security of a vast extent of coun- 
try, and with land forces merely, to contend 
with an amphibious enemy. 

" Congress will better conceive in how deli- 
cate a situation we stand," writes he, " when I 



yEx. 48.] WASHINGTON'S HOPEFUL LETTER TO STEUBEN— CONTINENTAL CURRENCY. 507 



inform them, that the whole operating force pres- 
ent on this and the other side of the North River, 
amounts only to ten thousand four hundred rank 
and file, of which about two thousand eight 
hundred will have completed their term of ser- 
vice by the last of May ; while the enemy's 
regular force at New York and its dependen- 
cies, must amount, upon a moderate calculation, 
to about eleven thousand rank and file. Our 
situation is more critical from the impossibility 
of concentrating our force, as well for the want 
of the means of taking the field, as on account 
of the early period of the season." * 

Looking, however, as usual, to the good of 
the whole Union, he determined to leave some- 
thing at hazard in the Middle States, where the 
country was internally so strong, and yield fur- 
ther succor to the Southern States, which had 
not equal military advantages. "With the con- 
sent of Congress, therefore, he put the Mary- 
land line under marching orders, together with 
the Delaware regiment, which acted with it, 
and the first regiment of artillery. 

The Baron De Kalb, now at the head of the 
Maryland division, was instructed to conduct 
this detachment with all haste to the aid of 
General Lincoln. He might not arrive in time 
to prevent the faU of Charleston, but he might 
assist to arrest the progress of the enemy and 
save the Carolinas. 

"Washington had been put upon his guard of 
late against intrigues, forming by members of 
the old Conway cabal, who intended to take 
advantage of every military disaster to destroy 
confidence in him. His steady mind, however, 
was not to be shaken by suspicion. "Against 
intrigues of this kind incident to every man of 
a public station," said he, "his best support 
Avill be a faithful discharge of liis duty, and he 
mijst rely on the justice of his country for the 
event." 

His feelings- at the present juncture are ad- 
mirably expressed in a letter to the Baron de 
Steuben. " The prospect, my dear Baron, is 
gloomy, and the storm threatens, but I hope 
we shall extricate ourselves, and bring every 
thing to a prosperous issue. I have been so in- 
ured to difficulties, in the course of this contest, 
that I have learned to look upon them with 
more tranquillity than formerly. Those which 
now present themselves, no doubt require vig- 
orous exertions to overcome them, and I am 
far from despairing of doing iV t 



♦ Letter to the President, April 2d. 
t Washingtotfa Writings, vii. 10. 



CHAPTER IV. 

We have cited the depreciation of the cur- 
rency as a main cause of the difliculties and 
distresses of the army. The troops were paid 
in paper money at its nominal value. A me- 
morial of the officers of the Jersey line to the 
legislature of their State, represented the de- 
preciation to be so great, that four months' pay 
of a private soldier would not procure for his 
family a single bushel of wheat, the pay of a 
colonel would not purchase oats for his horse, 
and a common laborer or express rider could 
earn four times the pay in paper of an Amer- 
ican officer. 

Congress, too, in its exigencies, being desti- 
tute of the power of levying taxes, which 
vested in the State governments, devolved 
upon those governments, in their separate ca- 
pacities, the business of supporting the army. 
This produced a great inequality in the condi- 
tion of the troops ; according to the means and 
the degree of liberality of their respective 
States. Some States furnished their troops 
amply, not only with clothing, but with many 
comforts and conveniences ; others were more 
contracted in their supplies ; while others left 
their troops almost destitute. Some of the 
States, too, undertook to make good to their 
troops the loss in their pay caused by the de- 
preciation of the currency. As this was not 
general, it increased the inequality of condition. 
Those who fared worse than others were in- 
censed not only against their own State, but 
against the confederacy. They were disgusted 
with a service that made such injurious distinc- 
tions. Some of the officers resigned, finding 
it impossible, imder actual circumstances, to 
maintain an appearance suitable to their rank. 
The men had not this resource. They mur- 
mured, and showed a tendency to seditious 
combinations. 

These, and other defects in the military sys- 
tem, were pressed by Washington upon the at- 
tention of Congress in a letter to the President : 
" It were devoutly to be wished," observed he, 
" that a plan could be devised by which every 
thing relating to the army could be conducted 
on a general principle, under the direction of 
Congress. This alone can give harmony and 
consistency to our military establishment, and 
I am persuaded it will be infinitely conducive 
to public economy." * 



* Waehins>-ton's "Writings, Sparks, vol. vii . 



508 



DESTITUTION OF THE ARMY— EETURN OF LAFAYETTE. 



[1780. 



In consequence of this letter it vras proposed 
ia Congress to send a committee of three of its 
members to head-quarters to consult with the 
commander-in-chief, and, in conjunction with 
him, to effect such reforms and changes in. the 
various departments of the army as might be 
deemed necessary. "Warm debates ensued. It 
was objected that this would put too much power 
into a few hands, and especially into those of the 
commander-in-chief; '■'■that his inflxience teas 
already too great; that even his virtues afforded 
motives for alarm ; that the enthusiasm of the 
army, joined to the Mnd of dictatorship already 
confided to him, put Congress and the United 
States at his mercy ; that it teas not expedient 
to expose a man of the highest virtues to such 
temptations.'''' * 

The foregoing passage from a despatch of 
the French minister to his government, is 
strongly illustrative of the cautious jealousy still 
existing in Congress with regard to military 
power, even though wielded by "Washington. 

After a prolonged debate, a committee of 
three was chosen by ballot ; it consisted of 
General Schuyler and Messrs. John Mathews 
and Nathaniel Peabody. It was a great satis- 
faction to "Washington to have his old friend 
and coadjutor, Schuyler, near him in this ca- 
pacity, in which, he declared, no man could be 
more useful, " from his perfect knowledge of the 
resources of the country, the activity of his 
temper, his fruitfuluess of expedients, and his 
sound military sense." t 

The committee, on arriving at the camp, 
found the disastrous state of aftairs had not 
been exaggerated. For five months the army 
had been unpaid. Every department was des- 
titute of money or credit, there were rarely 
provisions for six days in advance ; on some 
occasions the troops had been for several suc- 
cessive days without meat; there was no forage ; 
the medical department had neither tea, choco- 
late, wine, nor spirituous liquors of any kind. 
Yet the men," said "Washington, " have borne 
their distress in general, with a firmness and 
patience never exceeded, and every commenda- 
tion is due to the officers for encouraging them 
to it by exhortation and example. They have 
suffered equally with the men, and, their rela- 
tive situations considered, rather more." In- 
deed, we have it from another authority, that 
many officers for some time lived on bread and 



* Washington's Writings, Sparks, vol. vii., p. 15. 
t Washington to James Duane, Sparks, vii. 34. 



cheese, rather than take any of the scanty al- 
lowance of meat from the men.* 

To soothe the discontents of the army, and 
counteract the alarming efiects of the depre- 
ciation of the currency. Congress now adopted 
the measure already observed by some of the 
States, and engaged to make good to the Con- 
tinental and the independent troops the differ- 
ence in the value of their pay caused by this 
depreciation ; and that all moneys or other 
articles heretofore received by them, should be 
considered as advanced on account, and com- 
prehended at their just value in the final settle- 
ment. 

At this gloomy crisis came a letter from the 
Marquis de Lafayette, dated April 27th, an- 
noimcing his arrival at Boston. "Washington's 
eyes, we are told, were suffused with tears as 
he read this most welcome epistle, and the 
warmth with which he replied to it, showed 
his affectionate regard for this young nobleman. 
" I received your letter," writes he, "with all 
the joy that the sincerest friendship could dic- 
tate, and with that impatience which an ardent 
desire to see you could not fail to inspire. * 

* * * I most sincerely congratulate you 
on your safe arrival in America, and shall em- 
brace you with all the w^armth of an aflection- 
ate friend when you come to head-quarters, 
where a bed is prepared for you." 

He would immediately have sent a troop of 
horse to escort the marquis through the tory 
settlements between Morristown and the Hud- 
son, had he known the route he intended to 
take ; the latter, however, arrived safe at head- 
quarters on the 12th of May, where he was 
welcomed by acclamations, for he was popular 
with both officers and soldiers. Washington 
folded him in his arms in a truly paternal em- 
brace, and they were soon closeted together^o 
talk over the state of affairs, when Lafayette 
made known the result of his visit to France. 
His generous efforts at court had been crowned 
with success, and he brought the animating in- 
telligence that a French fleet, under the Che- 
valier de Ternay, w^as to put to sea early in 
April, bringing a body of troops under the 
Count de Eochambeau, and might soon be ex- 
pected on the coast to co-operate with the 
American forces ; this, however, he was at lib- 
erty to make known only to 'Washington and 
Con,<2;ress. 



* Gen. William Irvine to Joseph Reed. Reed's Me 

moirs, vol. ii., p. 201. 



^T. 48.] 



ARNOLD'S DEBTS AND LIABILITIES— HE GROWS DESPERATE. 



509 



Remaining but a single day at head-quarters, 
lie hastened on to the seat of government, 
where he met the reception which his generous 
enthusiasm in the cause of Aijierican Independ- 
ence had so fully merited. Congress, in a 
resolution on the 16th of May, pronounced his 
return to America to resume his command a 
fresh proof of the disinterested zeal and perse- 
vering attachment which had secured him the 
public confidence and applause, and received 
with pleasure a " tender of the further services 
of so gallant and meritorious an officer." 

"Within three days after the departure of the 
marquis from Morristown, Washington, in a 
letter to him, gave his idea of the plan which 
it would be proper for the French fleet and 
army to pursue on their arrival upon the coast. 
The reduction of New York he considered the 
first enterprise to be attempted by the co-oper- 
ating forces. The whole eflfective land force 
of the enemy he estimated at about eight thou- 
sand regulars and four thousand refugees, with 
some militia, on which no great dependence 
could be i)laced. Their naval force consisted 
of one seventy -four gun ship, and three or four 
small frigates. In this situation of aflTairs the 
French fleet might enter the harbor and gain 
possession of it without difliculty, cut off its 
communications, and with the co-operation of 
the American army, oblige the city to capitu- 
late. He advised Lafayette, therefore, to write 
to the French commanders, urging them, on 
their arrival on the coast, to proceed with their 
land and naval forces, with all expedition, to 
Sandy Hook, and there await further advices ; 
should they learn, however, that the expedition 
under Sir Henry Chnton had returned from the 
South to New York, they were to proceed to 
Ehode Island. 

General Arnold was at this time in Philadel- 
phia, and his connection with subsequent events 
requires a few words concerning his career, 
daily becoming more perplexed. He had again 
petitioned Congress on the subject of his ac- 
counts. The Board of Treasury had made a 
report far short of his wishes. He had ap- 
pealed, and his appeal, together with all the 
documents connected with the case, was re- 
ferred to a committee of three. The old doubts 
and difliculties continued : there was no pros- 
pect of a speedy settlement ; he was in extrem- 
ity. The French minister, M. de Luzerne, was 
at hand ; a gtoerous-spirited man, who had 
manifested admiration of his military character. 
To him Arnold now repaired in his exigency ; 



made a passionate representation of the hard- 
ships of his case ; the inveterate hostility he 
had experienced from Pennsylvania ; the in- 
gratitude of his country ; the disorder brought 
into his private aflairs by the war, and the ne- 
cessity he should be driven to of abandoning 
his profession, unless he could borrow a sum 
equal to the amount of his debts. Such a loan, 
he intimated, it might be the interest of the 
King of France to grant, thereby securing the 
attachment and gratitude of an American gen- 
eral of his rank and influence. 

The French minister was too much of a di- 
plomatist not to understand the bearing of the 
intimation, but he shrank from it, observing 
that the service required would degrade both 
parties. " When the envoy of a foreign power," 
said he, " gives, or if you wiU, lends money, it 
is ordinarily to corrupt those who receive it, 
and to make them the creatures of the sover- 
eign whom he serves ; or rather, he corrupts 
without persuading ; he buys and does not se- 
cure. But the league entered into between the 
king and the United States, is the work of jus- 
tice and of the wisest policy. It has for its 
basis a reciprocal interest and good will. In 
the mission with which I am charged, my true 
glory consists in fulfilling it without intrigue 
or cabal ; without resorting to any secret prac- 
tices, and by the force alone of the conditions 
of the alliance." 

M. de Luzerne endeavored to soften this re- 
pulse and reproof, by complimenting Arnold 
on the splendor of his past career, and by allud- 
ing to the field of glory still before him ; but 
the pressiu-e of debts was not to be Mghtened 
by compliments, and Arnold retired from the 
interview a mortified and desperate man. 

He was in this mood when he heard of the 
expected arrival of aid from France, and the 
talk of an active campaign. It seemed as if his 
military ambition was once more aroused. To 
General Schuyler, who was about to visit the 
camp as one of the committee, he wrote on the 
25th of May, expressing a determination to re- 
join the army, although his wounds still made 
it painful to walk or ride, and intimated, that, 
in his present condition, the command at West 
Point would be best suited to him. 

In reply, General Schuyler wrote from Mor- 
ristown, June 2d, that he had put Arnold's let- 
ter into Washington's hands, and added : " He 
expressed a desire to do whatever was agree- 
able to you, dwelt on your abilities, your mer- 
its, your sufferings, and on the well-earned 



510 MUTINY OF THE CONNECTICUT TROOPS— WASHINGTON WRITES TO REED. [1780. 



claims you have on your country, and intimated, 
that as soon as his arrangements for the campaign 
should take place, he would properly consider 
you." 

In the mean time, the army with which 
Washington was to co-operate in the projected 
attack upon New York, was so reduced hy the 
departure of troops whose term had expired, 
and the tardiness in furnishing recruits, that 
it did not amount quite to four thousand rank 
and file, fit for duty. Among these was a prev- 
alent discontent. Their pay was five months 
in arrear ; if now paid, it would be in Conti- 
nental currency, without allowance for depre- 
ciation, consequently almost worthless for pres- 
ent purposes. 

A long interval of scarcity and several days 
of actual famine brought matters to a crisis. 
On the 25th of May, in the dusk of the even- 
ing, two regiments of the Connecticut line as- 
sembled on their parade by beat of drum, and 
declared their intention to march home bag and 
baggage, " or, at best, to gain subsistence at the 
point of the bayonet." Colonel Meigs, while 
endeavoring to suppress the mutiny, was struck 
by one of the soldiers. Some officers of the 
Pennsylvania line came to his assistance, parad- 
ing their regiments. Every argument and ex- 
postulation was used with the mutineers. They 
were reminded of their past good conduct, of 
the noble objects for which they were contend- 
ing, and of the future indemnifications prom- 
ised by Congress. Their answer was, that their 
sufferings were too great to be allayed by prom- 
ises, in which they had little faith ; they wanted 
present relief, and some present substantial re- 
compense for their services. 

It was with difficulty they could be prevailed 
upon to return to their huts. Indeed, a few 
turned out a second time, with their packs, and 
were not to be pacified. These were arrested 
and confined. 

This mutiny, Washington declared, had given 
him infinitely more concern than any thing that 
had ever happened, especially as he had no 
means of paying the troops excepting in Conti- 
nental money, which, said he, " is evidently im- 
practicable from the immense quantity it would 
require to pay them as much as would make up 
the depreciation." His uneasiness was in- 
creased by finding that printed handbills were 
secretly disseminated in his camp by the ene- 
my, containing addresses to the soldiery, per- 
suading them to desert.* 



* Letter to the President of Cong., May 27. Sparks, vii. 54. 



In this alarming state of destitution, Wash- 
ington looked round anxiously for bread for his 
famishing troops. New York, Jersey, Penn- 
sylvania, and Maryland, were what he termed 
his " flour country." Virginia was sufficiently 
tasked to supply the South. New York, by 
legislative coercion, had already given all that 
she could spare from the subsistence of her in- 
habitants. Jersey was exhausted by the long 
residence of the army. Maryland had made 
great exertions, and might stiU do something 
more, and Delaware might contribute hand- 
somely, in proportion to her extent : but Penn- 
sylvania was now the chief dependence, for 
that State was represented to be full of flour. 
Washington's letter of the 16th of December, 
to President Reed, had obtained temporary re- 
lief from that quarter ; he now wrote to him a 
second time, and still more earnestly. " Every 
idea you can form of our distresses, will foil 
short of the reality. There is such a combina- 
tion of circumstances to exhaust the patience 
of the soldiery, that it begins at length to be 
worn out, and we see in every line of the army, 
features of mutiny and sedition. All our de- 
partments, all our operations, are at a stand, 
and unless a system very diflferent from that 
which has a long time prevailed, be immedi- 
ately adopted throughout the States, our aifairs 
must soon become desperate beyond the possi- 
bility of recovery." 

Nothing discouraged Washington more than 
the lethargy that seemed to deaden the public 
mind. He speaks of it with a degree of des- 
pondency scarcely ever before exhibited. " I 
have almost ceased to hope. The country is 
in such a state of insensibility and indifference 
to its interests, that I dare not flatter myself 
with any change for the better." And again — 
"The present juncture is so interesting, that if 
it does not produce corresponding exertions, it 
will be a proof that motives of honor, public 
good, and even self-preservation, have lost their 
influence on our minds. This is a decisive 
moment ; one of the most, I will go further, 
and say, the most important America has seen. 
The court of France has made a glorious eflFort 
for our deliverance, and if we disappoint its 
intentions by our supineness we must become 
contemptible in the eyes of all mankind, nor 
can we after that venture to confide that our 
allies wiU persist in an attempt to establish 
what, it will appear, we wan* inclination or 
ability to assist them in." With these and 
similar observations, he sought to rouse Presi- 



MtUs.] WASHINGTON APPEALS TO CONGRESS— SIEGE OF CHARLESTON. 



511 



dent Eeed to extraordinary exertions. " This 
is a time," writes he, "to hazard and to take a 
tone of energy and decision. All parties but 
the disaffected will acquiesce in the necessity 
and give it their support." He urges Eeed to 
press upon the legislature of Pennsylvania the 
policy of investing its executive with plenipo- 
tentiary powers. " I should then," writes he, 
" expect every thing from your ability and zeal. 
This is no time for formality or ceremony. The 
crisis in every point of view is extraordinary, 
and extraordinary expedients are necessary. 1 
am decided in this opinion." 

His letter procured relief for the army from 
the legislature, and a resolve empowering the 
president and council, during its recess, to de- 
clare martial law, should circumstances render 
it expedient. " This," observes Eeed, " gives 
us a power of doing what may be necessary 
without attending to the ordinary course of 
law, and we shall endeavor to exercise it with 
prudence and moderation." * 

In like manner, Washington endeavored to 
rouse the dormant fire of Congress, and impart 
to it his own indomitable energy. " Certain I 
am," writes he to a member of that body, " un- 
less Congress speak in a more decisive tone, 
unless they are vested with powers by the 
several States, competent to the purposes of 
war, or assume them as matters of right, and 
they and the States respectively act with more 
energy than they have hitherto done, that our 
cause is lost. We can no longer drudge on in 
tlie old way. By ill-timing the adoption of 
measures, by delay in the execution of them, 
or by unwarrantable jealousies, we incur enor- 
mous expenses and derive no benefit from them. 
One State will comply with a requisition of 
Congress ; another neglects to do it ; a third 
executes it by halves ; and all difi'er, either in 
'the manner, the matter, or so much in point 
of time, that we are always working up-hill ; 
and, while such a system as the present one, 
or rather want of one, prevails, we shall ever 
be unable to apply our strength or resources 
to any advantage — I see one head gradually 
changing into thirteen. I see one army branch- 
ing into thirteen, which, instead of looking up 
to Congress as the supreme controlling power 
of the United States, are considering themselves 
dependent on their respective States. In a 
word, I see the powers of Congress dechning 
too fast for the consideration and respect which 



* Sparks, Corr. of the Rev., vol. ii., p.;466. 



are due to them as the great representative 
body of America, and I am fearful of the con- 
sequences."* 

At this juncture came official intelligence 
from the South, to connect which with the 
general course of events, requires a brief notice 
of the operations of Sir Henry Clinton in that 
quarter. 



CHAPTEE V. 

In a preceding chapter we left the British 
fleet under Admiral Ai'buthnot, preparing to 
force its way into the harbor of Charleston. 
Several days elapsed before the ships were 
able, by taking out their guns, provisions, and 
water, and availing themselves of wind and 
tide, to pass the bar. They did so on the 20tli 
of March, with but slight opposition from sev- 
eral galleys. Commodore Whipple, then, see- 
ing the vast superiority of their force, made a 
second retrograde move, stationing some of his 
ships in Cooper Eiver, and sinking the rest at 
its mouth so as to prevent the enemy from 
running up that river, and cutting off com- 
munication with the country on the east : the 
crews and heavy cannon were landed to aid in 
the defence of the town. 

The reinforcements expected from the North 
were not yet arrived ; the militia of the State 
did not appear at Governor Eutledge's com- 
mand, and other reliances were failing. " Many 
of the North Carolina militia whose terms have 
expired leave us to-day," writes Lincoln to 
Washington, on the 20th of March. " They 
cannot be persuaded to remain longer, though 
the enemy are in our neighborhood." t 

At this time the reinforcements which Sir 
Henry Clinton had ordered from Savannah 
were marching toward the Cambayee under 
Brigadier-General Patterson. On his flanks 
moved Major Ferguson with a corps of rifle- 
men, and Major Cochrane with the infantry of 
the British legion ; two brave and enterprising 
officers. It was a toilsome march, through 
swamps and difficult passes. Being arrived in 
the neighborhood of Port Eoyal, where Tarle- 
ton had succeeded, though indifferently, in re- 
mounting his dragoons, Patterson sent* orders 
to that officer to join him. Tarleton hastened 
to obey the order. His arrival was timely. 

* Letter to Joseph Jones. Sparks, vii. 67. , 
t Correspondence of the Rev., vol. ii., p. 419. 



512 COLONEL WILLIAM WASHINGTON— CHARLESTON REINFORCED BY WOODFORD. [f780. 



The Carolina militia having heard that all the 
British horses had perished at sea, made an 
attack on the front of General Patterson's force, 
supposing it to be without cavalry. To their 
surprise, Tarleton charged them with his dra- 
goons, routed them, took several prisoners, and, 
what was more acceptable, a number of horses, 
some of the militia, he says, " being accoutred 
as cavaliers." 

Tarleton had soon afterwards to encounter a 
worthy antagonist in Colonel William Wash- 
ington, the same cavalry officer who had dis- 
tinguished himself at Trenton, and was destined 
to distinguish himself still more in this South- 
ern campaign. He is described as being sis 
feet in height, broad, stout, and corpulent. 
Bold in the field, careless in the camp ; kind to 
his soldiers ; harassing to his enemies ; gay and 
good-humored ; with an upright heart and a 
generous hand, a universal favorite. He was 
now at the head of a body of Continental cav- 
alry, consisting of his own and Bland's light- 
horse, and Pulaski's hussars. A brush took 
place in the neighborhood of Eantoul's Bridge. 
Colonel Washington had the advantage, took 
several prisoners, and drove back the dragoons 
of the British legion, but durst not pursue them 
for Avant of infantry.* 

On the 7th of April, Brigadier-General Wood- 
ford with seven hundred Virginia troops, after 
a forced march of five hundred miles in thirty 
days, crossed from the east side of Cooper 
Eiver, by the only passage now open, and 
threw himself into Charleston. It was a timely 
reinforcement, and joyfully welcomed ; for the 
garrison, when in greatest force, amounted to 
little more than two thousand regulars and one 
thousand North Carolina militia. 

About the same time Admiral Arbuthnot, in 
the Koebuck, passed Sullivan's Island, with a 
fresh southerly breeze, at the head of a squad- 
ron of seven armed vessels and two transports. 
" It was a magnificent spectacle, satisfactory to 
the royalists," writes the admiral. The whigs 
regarded it with a rueful eye. Colonel Pinck- 
ney opened a heavy cannonade from the bat- 
teries of Fort Moultrie. The ships thundered 
in reply, and clouds of smoke were raised, 
under the cover of which they slipped by, with 
no greater loss than twenty-seven men killed 
and wounded. A store-ship which followed 
the squadron ran aground, was set on fire and 
abandoned, and subsequently blew up. The 



* Gordon, iii. p. 352— see also Tarleton, Hist. Campaign, 
p. 8. 



ships took a position near Port Johnston, just 
without the range of the shot from the Ameri- 
can batteries. After the passage of the ships, 
Colonel Pinckney and a part of the garrison 
withdrew from Fort Moultrie. 

The enemy had by this time completed his 
first parallel, and the town being almost en- 
tirely invested by sea and land, received a joint 
summons from the British general and admiral 
to surrender. " Sixty days have passed," 
writes Lincoln in reply, " since it has been 
known that your intentions against this town 
were hostile, in which, time has been aff'orded 
to abandon it, but duty and inclination point 
to the propriety of supporting it to the last ex- 
tremity." 

The British batteries were now opened. The 
siege was carried on deliberately by regular 
parallels, and on a scale of magnitude scarcely 
warranted by the moderate strength of the 
place. A great object with the besieged was 
to keep open the channel of communication 
with the country by the Cooper Eiver, the last 
that remained by which they could receive 
reinforcements and supplies, or could retreat, 
if necessary. For this purpose, Governor Eut- 
ledge, leaving the town in the care of Lieuten- 
ant-Governor Gadsden, and one-half of the exec- 
utive council, set off with the other half, and 
endeavored to rouse the militia between the 
Cooper and Santee Eivers. His success was 
extremely limited. Two militia posts were 
established by him ; one between these rivers, 
the other at a ferry on the Santee ; some regu- 
lar troops, also, had been detached by Lincoln, 
to throw up works about nine miles above the 
town, on the Wando, a branch of Cooper Eiver, 
and at Lempriere's Point ; and Brigadier-Gen- 
eral Huger,* with a force of militia and Conti- 
nental cavalry, including those of Colonel Wil- 
liam "Washington, was stationed at Monk's 
Corner, about thirty miles above Charleston, 
to guard the passes at the head waters of 
Cooper Eiver. 

Sir Henry Clinton, when proceeding with 
his second parallel, detached Lieutenant-Colo- 
nel Webster with fourteen hundred men to 
break up these posts. The most distant one 
was that of Huger's cavalry at Monk's Corner. 
The surprisal of this was intrusted to Tarleton, 
who, with his dragoons, was in Webster's ad- 
vanced guard. He was to be seconded by 
Major Patrick Ferguson with his riflemen. 



* Pronounced Hugee— of French Huguenot descent. 



^T. 48.] MAJOR FERGUSON—TARLETON AT MONK'S CORNER AND LANEAU'S FERRY. 51Ji 



Ferguson was a fit associate for Tarleton, in 
hardy, scrambling, partisan enterprise ; equally 
intrepid and determined, but cooler and more 
open to impulses of humanity. He was the 
son of an eminent Scotch judge, had entered 
the army at an early age, and served in the 
German wars. The British extolled him as 
superior to the American Indians, in the use 
of the rifle, in short, as being the best marks- 
man liviijg. He had invented one which could 
be loaded at the breach and discharged seven 
times in a minute. It had been used with 
effect by his corps, "Washington, according to 
British authority, had owed his life at the 
battle of Germantown, solely to Ferguson's 
ignorance of his person, having repeatedly been 
within reach of the colonel's unerring rifle.* 

On the evening of the 13th of April, Tarle- 
ton moved with the van toward Monk's Corner. 
A night march had been judged the most ad- 
visable. It was made in profound silence and 
by unfrequented roads. In the course of the 
march, a negro was descried attempting to 
avoid notice. He was seized. A letter was 
found on him from an officer from Huger's 
camp, from which Tarleton learned something 
of its situation and the distribution of the 
troops. A few dollars gained the services of 
the negro as a guide. The surprisal of General 
Huger's camp was complete. Several officers 
and men who attempted to defend themselves, 
were killed or wounded. General Huger, Col- 
onel "Washington, vrith many others, officers 
and men, escaped in the darkness, to the neigh- 
boring swamps. One hundred officers, dra- 
goons, and hussars, were taken, with about four 
hundred horses and near fifty waggons, laden 
with arms, clothing, and ammimition. 

Biggins Bridge on Cooper Kiver was like- 
wise seciired, and the way opened for Colonel 
"Webster to advance nearly to the head of the 
passes, in such a manner as to shut up Charles- 
ton entirely. 

In the course of the maraud which generally 
accompanies a surprisal of the kind, several 
dragoons of the British legion broke into a 
house in the neighborhood of Monk's Corner, 
and maltreated and attempted violence upon 
ladies residing there. The ladies escaped to 
Monk's Corner, where they were protected, 
and a carriage furnished to convey them to a 
place of safety. The dragoons were appre- 
hended and brought to Monk's Corner, where 



♦ Annual Register, 1781, p. 52. 



by this time Colonel "Webster had arrived. 
Major Ferguson, we are told, was for put- 
ting the dragoons to instant death, but Colo- 
nel "Webster did not think his powers war- 
ranted such a measure. " They were sent to 
head-quarters," adds the historian, " and, I 
believe, afterwards tried and whipped." * 

We gladly record one instance in which the 
atrocities which disgraced this invasion met 
with some degree of punishment ; and we hon- 
or the rough soldier, Ferguson, for the fiat of 
"instant death," with which he would have 
requited the most infamous and dastardly out- 
rage that brutalizes warfare. 

During the progress of the siege, General 
Lincoln held repeated councils of war, in which 
he manifested a disposition to evacuate the 
place. This measure was likewise urged by 
General Du Portail, who had penetrated, by 
secret ways, into the town. The inhabitants, 
however, in an agony of alarm, implored Lin- 
coln not to abandon them to the mercies of an 
infuriated and licentious soldiery, and the gen- 
eral, easy and kind-hearted, yielded to their 
entreaties. 

The American cavalry had gradually reas- 
sembled on the north of the Santee, under Col- 
onel "White of New Jersey, where they were 
joined by some mihtia infantry, and by Colonel 
"William "Washington, with such of his dra- 
goons as had escaped at Monk's Corner. Corn- 
wallis had committed the country between 
Cooper and "Wando Elvers to Tarleton's charge, 
with orders to be continually on the move 
with the cavalry and infantry of the legion ; 
to watch over the landing places ; obtain in- 
telligence from the town, the Santee Eiver, 
and the back country, and to burn such stores 
as might fall into his hands, rather than risk 
their being retaken by the enemy. 

Hearing of the fortuitous assemblage of Amer- 
ican troops, Tarleton came suddenly upon them 
by surprise at Laneau's Ferry. It was one of 
his bloody exploits. Five officers and thirty- 
six men were killed and wounded, and seven 
officers and six dragoons taken, with horses, 
arms, and equipments. Colonels "White, "Wash- 
ington, and Jamieson, with other officers and 
men, threw themselves in the river, and es- 
caped by swimming ; while some, who fol- 
lowed their example, perished. 

The arrival of a reinforcement of three thou- 
sand men from New York enabled Sir Henry 



♦ Stedman, ii. 183. 



33 



514 



CLINTON REINFORCED— CHARLESTON CAPITUATES. 



[1780. 



Clinton to throw a powerful detachment, under 
Lord Cornwallis, to the east of Cooper Eiver, 
to complete the investment of the town and 
cut off all retreat. Fort Moultrie surrendered. 
The batteries of the third parallel were opened 
upon the town. They were so near, that the 
Hessian yagers, or sharpshooters, could pick 
off the garrison while at their guns or on the 
parapets. This fire was kept up for two days. 
The besiegers crossed the canal ; pushed a 
double sap to the inside of the abatis, and pre- 
pared to make an assault by sea and land. 

All hopes of successful defence were at an 
end. The works were in ruins ; the guns al- 
most all dismounted ; the garrison exhausted 
with fatigue, the provisions nearly consumed. 
The inhabitants, dreading the horrors of an 
assault, joined in a petition to General Lincoln, 
and prevailed upon him to ofter a surrender on 
terms which had already been offered and re- 
jected. These terms were still granted, and 
the capitulation was signed on the 12th of May. 
The garrison were allowed some of the honors 
of war. They were to march out and deposit 
their arms, between the canal and tlie works, 
but the drums were not to beat a British marcli 
nor the colors to be uncased. The Continental 
troops and seamen were to be allowed their 
baggage, but were to remain prisoners of war. 
The officers of the army and navy were to re- 
tain their servants, swords and pistols, and 
their baggage unsearched ; and were permitted 
to sell their horses ; but not to remove them 
out of the town. The citizens and the militia 
were to be considered prisoners on parole ; the 
latter to be permitted to return home, and both 
to be protected in person and property as long 
as they kept their parole. Among the prison- 
ers, were the lieutenant-governor and five of 
the council. 

The loss of the British in the siege was 
seventy-six killed and one hundred and eighty- 
nine wounded ; that of the Americans nearly 
the same. The prisoners taken by the enemy, 
exclusive of the sailors, amounted to five thou- 
sand six hundred and eighteen men ; compris- 
ing every male adult in the city. The Conti- 
nental troops did not exceed two thousand, 
five hundred of whom were iu the hospital ; 
the rest were citizens and militia. 

Sir Henry Clinton considered the fall of 
Charleston decisive of the fate of South Caro- 
lina. To complete the subjugation of the 
country, he planned three expeditions into 
the interior. One, under Lieutenant-Colonel 



Brown, was to move up the Savannah to 
Augusta, on the borders of Georgia. Another, 
under Lieutenant-Colonel Cruger, was to pro- 
ceed up the south-west side of the Santee Eiver 
to the district of Ninety-Six,* a fertile and 
salubrious region, between the Savannah and 
the Saluda Rivers ; while a third under Corn- 
wallis was to cross the Santee, march up the 
north-east bank and strike at a corps of troops 
under Colonel Buford, which were retreating 
to North Carolina with artillery and a mmiber 
of waggons, laden with arms, ammunition, and 
clothing. 

Colonel Buford, in fact, had arrived too late 
for the relief of Charleston, and was now mak- 
ing a retrograde move ; he had come on with 
three hundred and eighty troops of the Vir- 
ginia line, and two field-pieces, and had been 
joined by Colonel Washington with a few of 
his cavalry that had survived the surprisal by 
Tarleton. As Buford was moving with celerity, 
and had the advantage of distance, Cornwallis 
detached Tarleton in pursuit of him, with one 
hundred and seventy dragoons, a hundred 
mounted infantry, and a three-pounder. The 
bold partisan pushed forward with his usual 
ardor and rapidity. The weather was sultry, 
many of the horses gave out through fatigue 
and heat ; he pressed others by the way, leav- 
ing behind such of his troops as could not keep 
pace with him. After a day and night of 
forced march he arrived about dawn at Buge- 
ley's Mills. Buford, he was told, was about 
twenty miles in advance of him, pressing on 
with all diligence to join another corps of 
Americans. Tarleton continued his march ; 
the horses of the three-pounder were knocked 
up and unable to proceed ; his wearied troops 
were continually dropping in the rear. Still he 
urged forward, anxious to overtake Buford be- 
fore ho could form a junction with the force 
he was seeking. To detain him he sent for- 
ward Captain Kinlock of his legion with a flag, 
and the following letter : 

" SiK, — Resistance being vain, to prevent the 
effusion of blood, I make offers which can 
never be repeated. You are now almost en- 
compassed by a corps of seven hundred light 
troops on horseback ; half of that number are 
infantry with cannons. Earl Cornwallis is like- 
wise within reach with nine British regiments. 



* So called in early times from being ninety-six miles 
from the principal town of the Cherokee nation. 



iET. 48.] 



TARLETON'S BUTCHERY AT WAXHAW. 



515 



I Tvarn yon of the temerity of further inimical 
proceedings." 

He concluded by offering the same conditions 
granted to the troops at Charleston ; " if you 
ai'e rash enough to reject them," added he, 
" the blood be upon your head." 

Kinlock overtook Colonel Buford in full 
march on the banks of the "Waxhaw, a stream 
on the border of North Carolina, and delivered 
the summons. The colonel read the letter 
without coming to a halt, detained the flag for 
some time in conversation, and then returned 
the following note : 

" SiE, — I reject your proposals, and shall de- 
fend myself to the last extremity. 

" I have the honor, &c." 

Tarleton, who had never ceased to press for- 
ward, came upon Buford's rear-guard about 
three o'clock in the afternoon, and captured a 
sergeant and four dragoons. "^Buford had not 
expected so prompt an appearance of the enemy. 
He hastily drew up his men in order of battle, 
in an open wood, on the right of the road. His 
artillery and waggons, which were in the ad- 
vance escorted by part of his infantry, were 
ordered to continue on their march. 

There appears to have been some confusion 
on the part of the Americans, and they had an 
impetuous foe to deal with. Before they were 
w-ell prepared for action they were attacked in 
front and on both flanks by cavalry and mounted 
infantry. Tarleton, who advanced at the head 
of thirty chosen dragoons and some infantry, 
states that when within fifty paces of the Con- 
tinental infantry, they presented, but he heard 
their oflicers command them to retain their fire 
until the British cavalry were nearer. It was 
not until the latter were within ten yards that 
there was a partial discharge of musketry. 
Several of the dragoons sufiered by this fire. 
Tarleton himself was unhorsed, but his troopers 
rode on. The American battalion was broken ; 
most of the men threw down their arms and 
begged for quarter, but were cut down without 
mercy. One hundred and thirty were ^ain on 
the spot, and one hundred and fifty so mangled 
and maimed that they could not be moved. 
Colonel Buford and a few of the cavalry es- 
caped, as did about a hundred of the infantry, 
who were with the baggage in the advance. 
Fifty prisoners were all that were in a con- 
dition to be carried off by Tarleton as trophies 
of this butchery. 



The whole British loss was two officers and 
three privates killed, and one officer and four- 
teen privates wounded. What, then, could 
excuse this horrible carnage of an almost pros- 
trate enemy ? We give Tarleton's own excuse 
for it. It commenced, he says, at the time he 
was dismounted, and before he could mount 
another horse ; and his cavalry were exasper- 
ated by a report that he was slain. Cornwalhs 
apparently accepted this excuse, for he ap- 
proved of his conduct in the expedition, and 
recommended him as worthy of some distin- 
guished mark of royal favor. The world at 
large, however, have not been so easily satisfied, 
and the massacre at the Waxhaw has re- 
mained a sanguinary stain on the reputation of 
that impetuous soldier. 

The two other detachments which had been 
sent out by Clinton, met with nothing but sub- 
mission. The people in general, considering 
resistance hopeless, accepted the proffered pro- 
tection, and conformed to its humiliating terms. 
One class of the population in this colony seems 
to have regarded the invaders as deliverers. 
" All the negroes," writes Tarleton, " men, 
women, and children, upon the appearance of 
any detachment of king's troops, thought them- 
selves absolved from all respect to their Amer- 
ican masters, and entirely released from servi- 
tude. They quitted the plantations and fol- 
lowed the army." * 

Sir Henry now persuaded himself that South 
Carolina was subdued, and proceeded to station 
garrisons in various parts, to maintain it in 
subjection. In the fulness of his confidence, he 
issued a proclamation on the 3d of June, dis- 
charging all the military prisoners from their 
paroles after the 20th of the month, excepting 
those captured in Fort Moultrie and Charles- 
ton. All thus released from their parole were 
reinstated in the rights and duties of British 
subjects; but, at the same time, they were 
bound to take an active part in support of the 
government hitherto opposed by them. Thus 
the protection afforded them while prisoners 
was annulled by an arbitrary fiat — neutrality 
was at an end. All were to be ready to take 
up arms at a moment's notice. Those who 
had families were to form a militia for home de- 
fence. Those who had none, were to serve with 
the royal forces. All who should neglect to 
return to their allegiance, or should refuse to 
take up arms against the independence of their 



» Tarleton's Hist, of Campaign, p. 89. 



516 



KNYPHAUSEN MARAUDS THE JERSEYS. 



[1Y80. 



country, were to be considered as rebels and 
treated accordingly. 

Having struck a blow, which, as he con- 
ceived, was to ensure the subjugation of the 
South, Sir Henry embarked for New York on 
the 5th of June, with a part of his forces, leav- 
ing the residue under the command of Lord 
Cornwallis, who was to carry the war into 
North Carolina, and thence into Virginia. 



CHAPTER VI. 

A HANDBILL published by the Britisli author- 
ities in New York, reached Washington's camp 
on the 1st of June, and made known the sur- 
render of Charleston. A person from Amboy 
reported, moreover, that on the 30th of May 
he had seen one hundred sail of vessels enter 
Sandy Hook, These might bring Sir Henry 
Clinton with the whole or part of his force. 
In that case, flushed with his recent success, 
he might proceed immediately up the Hudson, 
and make an attempt upon West Point, in the 
present distressed condition of the garrison. 
So thinking, Washington wrote to General 
Howe, who commanded that important post, 
to put him on his guard, and took measures to 
have him furnished with supplies. 

The report concerning the fleet proved to be 
erroneous, but on the 6th of June came a new 
alarm. The enemy, it was said, were actually 
landing in force at Elizabethtown Point, to 
carry fire and sword into the Jerseys ! 

It was even so. Knyphausen, through spies 
and emissaries, had received exaggerated ac- 
counts of the recent outbreak in Washington's 
camp, and of the general discontent among the 
l>eople of New Jersey ; and was persuaded that 
a sudden show of military protection, follow- 
ing up the news of tlie capture of Charleston, 
would produce a general desertion among 
Washington's troops, and rally back the in- 
habitants of the Jerseys to their allegiance to 
the crown. 

In this belief he projected a descent into 
the Jerseys with about five thousand men, and 
some light artillery, who were to cross in divi- 
sions in the night of the 5 th of June from 
Staten Island to Elizabethtown Point. 

The first division, led by Brigadier-General 
Stei-ling, actually landed before dawn of the 
6th, and advanced as silently as possible. The 
heavy and measured tramp of the troops, 



however, caught the ear of an American senti- 
nel stationed at a fork where the roads from 
the old and new point joined. He challenged 
the dimly descried mass as it approached, and 
receiving no answer, fired into it. That shot 
wounded General Sterling in the thigh, and ul- 
timately proved mortal. The wounded general 
was carried back, and Knyphausen took his 
place. 

This delayed the march until sunrise, and 
gave time for the troops of the Jersey line, un- 
der Colonel Ehas Dayton, stationed in Eliza- 
bethtown, to assemble. They were too weak 
in numbers, however, to withstand the enemy, 
but retreated in good order, skirmishing occa- 
sionally. The invading force passed through 
the village ; in the advance, a squadron of 
dragoons of Simcoe's regiment of Queen's 
Rangers, with drawn swords and glittering 
helmets ; followed by British and Hessian in- 
fantry.* 

Signal guns and signal fires were rousing the 
country. The militia and yeomanry armed 
themselves with such weapons as were at hand 
and hastened to their alarm posts. The enemy 
took the old road, by what was called Gallop- 
ing Hill, toward the village of Connecticut 
Farms ; fired upon from behind walls and 
thickets by the hasty levies of the country. 

At Connecticut Farms, the retreating troops 
under Dayton fell in with the Jersey brigade, 
under General Maxwell, and a few militia join- 
ing them, the Americans were enabled to make 
some stand, and even to hold the enemy in 
check. The latter, however, brought up seve- 
ral field-pieces, and being reinforced by a second 
division which had crossed from Staten Island 
some time after the first, compelled the Ameri- 
cans again to retreat. Some of the enemy, 
exasperated at the unexpected opposition they 
had met with throughout their march, and 
pretending that the inhabitants of this village 
had fired upon them from their windows, began 
to pillage and set fire to the houses. It so hap- 
pened that to this village the Reverend James 
Caldwell, " the rousing gospel preacher," had 
removed his family as to a place of safety, after 
his church at Elizabethtown had been burnt 
down by the British in January. On the pres- 
ent occasion he had retreated with the regi- 
ment to which he was chaplain. His wife, 
however, remained at the parsonage with her 
two youngest children, confiding in the protec- 

* Passages in the Hist, of Elizabethtown, Capt. "W. C. 
De Hart. 



^T. 48.] 



MURDER OF MRS. CALDWELL— RETREAT OF KNYPHAUSEN. 



517 



tion of Providence, and the humanity of the 
enemy. 

When the sacking of the village took place 
she retired with her children into a hack room 
of the house. Her infant of eight months was 
in the arms of an attendant ; she herself was 
seated on the side of a bed holding a child of 
three years by the hand, and was engaged in 
prayer. All was terror and confusion in the 
village ; when suddenly a musket was discharg- 
ed in at the window. Two balls struck her in 
the breast, and she fell dead on the floor. The 
parsonage and church were set on fire, and it 
was with difficulty her body was rescued from 
the flames. 

In the mean time Knyphausen was pressing 
on with his main force towards Morristown. 
The booming of alarm guns had roused the 
country ; every valley was pouring out its yeo- 
manry. Two thousand were said to be already 
in arms below the mountains. 

"Within half a mile of Springfield Knyphausen 
halted to reconnoitre. That village, through 
which passes the road to Morristown, had been 
made the American raUying-point. It stands 
at the foot of what are called the Short Hills, 
on the west side of Railway River, which runs 
in front of it. On the bank of the river, Gen- 
eral Maxwell's Jersey brigade and the militia 
of the neighborhood, were drawn up to dispute 
the passage ; and on the Short Hills in the 
rear was Washington with the main body of 
his forces, not mutinous and in confusion, but 
all in good order, strongly posted, and ready 
for action. 

Washington had arrived and taken his posi- 
tion that afternoon, prepared to withstand an 
encounter though not to seek one. All night 
his camp fires lighted up the Short Hills, and 
he remained on the alert expecting to be assail- 
ed in the morning ; but in the morning no 
enemy was to be seen. 

Knyphausen had experienced enough to con- 
vince him that he had been completely misin- 
formed as to the disposition of the Jersey peo- 
ple and of the ai-my. Disappointed as to the 
main objects of his enterprise, he had retreated 
under cover of the night, to his place of em- 
barkation, intending to recross to Staten Island 
immediately. 

In the camp at the Short Hills was the Rev- 
erend James Caldwell, whose home had been 
laid desolate. He was still ignorant of the 
event, but had passed a night of great anxiety, 
and, procuring the protection of a flag, hasten- 



ed back in the morning to Connecticut Farms. 
He found the village in ashes, and his wife a 
mangled corpse ! 

In the course of the day Washington receiv- 
ed a letter from Colonel Alexander Hamilton, 
who was reconnoitring in the neighborhood of 
Elizabethtown Point. " I have seen the 
enemy," writes he. " Those in view I calcu- 
late at about three thousand. There may be, 
and probably are, enough others out of sight. 
They have sent all their horses to the other 
side except about fifty or sixty. Their baggage 
has also been sent across, and their wounded. 
It is not ascertained that any of their infantry 
have passed on the other side. * * * ■jj^g 
present movement may be calculated to draw 
us down and betray us into an action. They 
may have desisted from their intention of pass- 
ing till night, for fear of our falling upon their 
rear." 

As Washington was ignorant of the misin- 
formation which had beguiled Knyphausen into 
this enterprise, the movements of that general, 
his sudden advance, and as sudden retreat, 
were eqnally inexplicable. At one time, he 
supposed his inroad to be a mere foraging in- 
cursion ; then, as Hamilton had suggested, a 
device to draw him down from his stronghold 
into the plain, when the superiority of the 
British force would give them the advantage. 

Knyphausen, in fact, had been impeded in 
crossing his troops to Staten Island, by the low 
tide and deep muddy shore, which rendered it 
difiicnlt to embark the cavalry ; and by a de- 
structive fire kept up by the militia posted 
along the river banks, and the adjacent woods. 
In the mean while he had time to reflect on 
the ridicule that would await him in New 
York, should his expedition prove fruitless, and 
end in what might appear a precipitate flight. 
This produced indecision of mind, and induced 
him to recall the troops which had already 
crossed, and which were necessary, he said, to 
protect his rear. 

For several days he lingered with his troops 
at Elizabethtown and the Point beyond ; obhg- 
ing Washington to exercise unremitted vigilance 
for the safety of the Jerseys and of the Hud- 
son. It was a great satisfaction to the latter 
to be joined by Major Henry Lee, who with his 
troop of horse had hastened on from the vicin- 
ity of Philadelphia, where he had recently been 
stationed. 

In tlie mean time, the tragical fate of Mrs. 
Caldwell produced almost as much excitement 



518 



SIR HENRY CLINTON'S ARRIVAL NORTH— SKIRMISH NEAR RAHWAY. 



[1780, 



throngliont the country as that which had been 
caused in the preceding year, by the massacre 
of Miss McCrea. She was connected with 
some of the first people of New Jersey ; was 
winning in person and character, and univer- 
sally beloved. Knyphausen v.'as vehemently 
assailed in the American papers, as if responsi- 
ble for this atrocious act. The enemy, however, 
attributed her death to a random shot, dis- 
charged in a time of confusion, or to the 
vengeance of a menial who had a deadly pique 
against her husband ; but the popular voice 
persisted in execrating it as the wilful and 
Avanton act of a British soldier. 

On the 17th of June the fleet from the South 
actually arrived in the bay of New York, and Sir 
Henry Clinton landed his troops on Staten Island, 
but almost immediately re-embarked them ; as 
if meditating an exi^edition up the river. 

Fearing for the safety of "West Point, Wash- 
ington set off on the 21st June, with the main 
body of his troops, towards Pompton; while 
General Greene, with Maxwell and Stark's 
brigades, Lee's dragoons, and the militia of 
the neighborhood, remained encamped on the 
Short Hills, to cover the country and protect 
the stores at Morristown. 

Washington's movements were slow and 
wary, unwilling to be far from Greene until 
better informed of the designs of the enemy. 
At Eockaway Bridge, about eleven miles be- 
yond Morristown, he received word on the 
23d, that the enemy were advancing from Eliza- 
bethtown against Springfield. Supposing the 
military depot at Morristown to be their ultimate 
object, he detached a brigade to the assistance 
of Greene, and fell back five or sis miles, so as 
to be in supporting distance of him. 

The re-embarkation of the troops at Staten 
Island had, in fact, been a stratagem of Sir 
Henry Clinton to divert the attention of Wash- 
ington, and enable Knyphausen to carry out 
the enterprise which had hitherto hung fire. 
No sooner did the latter ascertain that the 
American commander-in-chief had moved off" 
with his main force towards the Highlands, 
than he sallied from Elizabethtown five thou- 
sand strong, with a large body of cavalry, and 
fifteen or twenty pieces of artillery ; hoping 
not merely to destroy the public stores at Mor- 
ristown, but to get possession of tiiose diflicult 
hills and defiles, among which Washington's 
army had been so securely posted, and which con- 
stituted the strength of that part of the country. 

It was early on the morning of the 23d that 



Knyphausen pushed forward toward Spring- 
field. Beside the main road which passes 
directly through the village toward Morristown, 
there is another, north of it, called the Vaux- 
hall road, crossing several small streams, the 
confluence of which forms the Eahway. These 
two roads unite beyond the village in the prin- 
cipal pass of the Short Hills. The enemy's 
troops advanced rapidly in two compact col- 
umns, the right one by the Yauxhall road, the 
other, by the main or direct road. General 
Greene was stationed among the Short Hills, 
about a mile above the town. His troops 
were distributed at various posts, for there 
v.'ere many passes to guard. 

At five o'clock in the morning, signal-guns 
gave notice of the approach of the enemy. 
The drums beat to anus throughout the camp. 
The troops were hastily called in from their 
posts among the mountain passes, and prepara- 
tions were made to defend the village. 

Major Lee, with his dragoons and a picket- 
guard, was posted on the Yauxhall road, to 
check the right column of the enemy in its 
advance. Colonel Dayton, with his regiment 
of New Jersey militia, Avas to check the left 
column on the main road. Colonel Angel of 
Ehode Island, with about two hundred picked 
men and a piece of artillery, was to defend a 
bridge over the Eahway, a little west of the 
town. Colonel Shreve, stationed with his regi- 
ment at a second bridge over a branch of, the 
Eahway east of the town, was to coyer, if 
necessary, the retreat of Colonel Angel. Those 
parts of Maxwell and Stark's brigades which 
were not thus detached, were drawn up on 
high ground in the rear of the town, having 
the militia on their flanks. 

There was some sharp fighting at a bridge 
on the Yauxhall road, where Major Lee with 
his dragoons and picket guard held the right 
column at bay ; a part of the column, however, 
forded the stream above the bridge, gained a 
commanding position, and obliged Lee to retire. 

The left column met with similar opposi- 
tion from Dayton and his Jersey regiment. 
None showed more ardor in the fight than 
Caldwell the chaplain. The image of his mur- 
dered Avife was before his eyes. Finding the 
men in want of wadding, he galloped to the 
Presbyterian church and brought thence a 
quantity of Watts's psalm and hymn books, 
Avhich he distributed for the purpose among 
the soldiers. " Noav," cried he, "put Watts 
into them, boys ! " 



^T. 48.] 



SPRINGFIELD BURNT— THE JERSEYS EVACUATED. 



519 



The severest fighting of the day was at the 
bridge over the Kahway. For upwards of half 
an hoar Colonel Angel defended it with his 
handful of men against a vastly superior force. 
One-fourth of his men were either killed or 
disabled : the loss of the enemy was still more 
severe. Angel was at length compelled to re- 
tire. He did so in good order, carrying off his 
wounded, and making his way through the 
village to the bridge beyond it. Here his re- 
treat was bravely covered by Colonel Shreve, 
but he too was obliged to give way before the 
overwhelming force of the enemy, and join the 
brigades of Maxwell and Stark upon the hill. 

General Greene, finding his front too much 
extended for his small force, and that he was 
in danger of being outflanked on the left by 
the column pressing forward on the Vaushall 
road, took post with his main body on the first 
range of hills, where the roads were brought 
near to a point, and passed between him and 
the height occupied by Stark and Maxwell. 
He then threw out a detachment which check- 
ed the further advance of the right column of 
the enemy along the Vauxhall road, and secured 
that pass through the Short Hills. Feeling 
himself now strongly posted, he awaited with 
confidence the expected attempt of the enemy 
to gain the height. No such attempt was 
made. The resistance already experienced, 
especially at the bridge, and the sight of mili- 
tia gathering from various points, dampened 
the ardor of the hostile commander. He saw 
that, should he persist in pushing for Morris- 
town, he would have to fight his way through 
a country abounding with difficult passes, every 
one of which would be obstinately disputed ; 
and that the enterprise, even if successful, might 
cost too much, beside taking him too far from 
New York, at a time when a French armament 
might be expected. 

Before the brigade detached by "Washington 
arrived at the scene of action, therefore, the 
enemy had retreated. Previous to their retreat 
they wreaked upon Springfield the same ven- 
geance they had infiicted on Connecticut Farms. 
The whole village, excepting four houses, was 
reduced to ashes. Their second retreat was 
equally ignoble with their first. They were 
pursued and harassed the whole way to Eliza- 
bethtown by light scouting parties and by the 
militia and yeomanry of the country, exasper- 
ated by the sight of the burning village. Lee, 
too, came upon their rear guard with his dra- 
goons ; captured a quantity of stores abandoned 



by them in the hurry of retreat, and made 
prisoners of several refugees. 

It was sunset when the enemy reached Eliza- 
bethtown. During the night they passed over 
to Staten Island by their bridge of boats. By 
six o'clock in the morning all had crossed and 
the bridge had been removed — and the Stat'J of 
New Jersey, so long harassed by the campaign- 
ings of either army, was finally evacuated by 
the enemy. It had proved a school of war to 
the American troops. The incessant marchings 
and counter-marchings; the rude encampments ; 
the exposure to all kinds of hardship and pri- 
vation ; the alarms ; the stratagems ; the rough 
encounters and adventurous enterprises of which 
this had been the theatre for the last three or 
four years, had rendered the patriot soldier 
hardy, adroit, and long-suffering ; had accus- 
tomed him to danger, inured him to discipline, 
and brought him nearly on a level with the 
European mercenary in the habitudes and 
usages of arms, while he had the superior in- 
citements of home, country, and independence. 
The ravaging incursions of the enemy had ex- 
asperated the most peace-loving parts of the 
country ; made soldiers of the husbandmen, 
acquainted them with their own powers, and 
taught them that the foe was vulnerable. The 
recent ineffectual attempts of a veteran general 
to penetrate the fastnesses of Morristown, 
though at the head of a veteran force, " which 
would once have been deemed capable of sweep- 
ing the whole continent before it," was a lasting 
theme of triumph to the inhabitants ; and it is 
still the honest boast among the people of Mor- 
ris County, that " the enemy never were able 
to get a footing among our hills." At the same 
time the. conflagration of villages, by which ■ 
they sought to cover or revenge their repeated 
failures, and their precipitate retreat, harassed 
and insulted by half-disciplined militia, and a 
crude, rustic levy, formed an ignominious close 
to the British campaigns in the Jerseys. 



OIIAPTEE VII. 

Appeehessive that the next move of the 
enemy would be up the Hudson, Washington 
resumed his measures for the secin-ity of West 
Point ; moving towards the Highlands in the 
latter part of June. Circumstances soon con- 
vinced him that the enemy had no present in- 
tention of attacking that fortress, but merely 



520 THE LADIES SUBSCRIBE TO RELIEVE WASHIXGTOX— THE FRENCH FLEET. [1*780. 



menaced him at various points, to retard his 
operations, and oblige him to call out the mili- 
tia ; thereby interrupting agriculture, distress- 
ing the country, and rendering his cause un- 
popular. Having, therefore, caused the mili- 
tary stores in the Jerseys to be removed to 
more remote and secure places, he counter- 
manded by letter the militia, which were march- 
ing to camp from Connecticut and Massachu- 
setts. 

He now exerted himself to the utmost to 
procure from the different State Legislatures, 
their quotas and supplies for the regular army. 
" The sparing system," said he, " has been tried 
until it has brought us to a crisis little less than 
desperate." This was the time, by one great 
exertion, to put an end to the war. The basis 
of every thing was the completion of the Con- 
tinental battalions to their full establishment ; 
otherwise, nothing decisive could be attempted, 
and this campaign, like all the former, must be 
chiefly defensive. He Avarned against those 
" indolent and narrow politicians, who, except 
at the moment of some signal misfortune, are 
continually crying, all is well, and who, to save 
a little present expense, and avoids ome tem- 
porary inconvenience, with no ill designs in 
the main, would protract the war, and risk the 
perdition of our liberties." * 

The desired relief, however, had to be effected 
through the ramifications of General and State 
governments, and their committees. The oper- 
ations were tardy and unproductive. Liberal 
contributions were made by individuals, a bank 
was established by the inhabitants of Philadel- 
phia to facilitate the supplies of the army, and 
an association of ladies of that city raised 
by subscription between seven and eight thou- 
sand dollars, which were put at the disposition 
of Washington, to be laid out in such a manner 
as he might think " most honorable and grati- 
fying to the brave old soldiers Avho had borne 
so great a share of the burden of the war." 

The capture of General Lincoln at Charles- 
ton had left the Southern department without 
a commander-in-chief. As there were likely 
to be important military operations in that 
i|uarter, Washington had intended to recom- 
mend General Greene for the appointment. 
He was an ofBcer on whose abilities, discretion, 
and disinterested patriotism he had the fullest 
reliance, and whom he had always found 
thoroughly disposed to act in unison Avith him 

* Letter to Gov. Trumbull. Sparks, vii. 93. 



in his general plan of carrying on the war. 
Congress, however, with unbecoming precipi- 
tancy, gave that important command to Gen- 
eral Gates (June 13 th), without waiting to con- 
sult Washington's views or wishes. 

Gates, at the time, was on his estate in Vir- 
ginia, and accepted the appointment with avid- 
ity, anticipating new triumphs. His old asso- 
ciate. General Lee, gave him an ominous cau- 
tion at parting. " Beware that your Northern 
laurels do not change to Southern willows! " 

On the 10th of July a French fleet, under 
the Chevalier de Ternay, arrived at Newport, 
in Ehode Island. It was composed of seven 
ships of the line, two frigates, and tAvo bombs, 
and convoyed transports on board of AA'hich 
Avere upwards of five thousand troops. This 
was the first division of the forces promised by 
France, of which Lafayette had spoken. The 
second division had been detained at Brest for 
want of transports, but might soon be expected. 

The Count de Eochambeau,Lieutenant-Gener- 
al of the royal armies, was commander-in-chief 
of this auxiliary force. He was a veteran, 
fifty-five years of age, who had early distin- 
guished himself, when colonel of the regiment 
of Auvergne, and had gained laurels in A^arious 
battles, especially that of Kloster camp, of 
Avhich he decided the success. Since then, he 
had risen from one post of honor to another, 
until intrusted Avith his present important com- 
mand.* 

Another officer of rank and distinction in 
tins force, Avas Major-General the Marquis de 
Chastellux, a friend and relative of Lafayette, 
but much his senior, being now forty-six years 
of age. He Avas not only a soldier, but a man 
of letters, and one familiar Avith courts as Avell 
as camps. 

Count Eochambeau's first despatch to Ver- 
gennes, the French minister of State (July 
IGth), gaA'e a discoiu'aging picture of aftairs. 
" Upon my arrival here," writes he, " the coun- 
try was in consternation, the paper^money had 
fallen to sixty for one, and even the govern- 
ment takes it up at forty for one, Washington 
had for a long time only three thousand men 
under his command. The arrival of the Mar- 
quis de Lafayette, and the announcement of 
succors from France, afforded some encourage- 
ment ; but the tories, who are A'ery numerous, 
gave out that it was only a temporary assist- 
ance, like that of Count d'Estaing. In de- 



* Jean Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, Comte de Rocham- 
hesm, was liorn at Vendoiue, in France, 1725. 



yET. 48.] ROCHAMBEAU'S FIRST IMPRESSIONS— LANDING OF FRENCH TROOPS. 



521 



sci'ibing to you our reception at this place, we 
shall show you the feeling of all the inhabi- 
tants of the continent. This town is of con- 
siderable size, and contains, like the rest, 
both whigs and tories. I landed with my 
staff, without troops ; nobody appeared in the 
streets ; those at the windows looked sad and 
depressed. I spoke to the principal persons of 
that place, and told them, as I wrote to Gen- 
eral Washington, that tliis was merely the ad- 
vanced guard of a greater force, and that the 
king was determined to support them with 
his whole power. In twenty-four hours their 
spirits rose, and last night all the streets, 
houses, and steeples were illuminated, in the 
midst of fireworks, and the greatest rejoicings. 
I am now here with a single company of gren- 
adiers, until wood and straw shall have been 
collected ; my camp is marked out, and I hope 
to have the troops landed to-morrow." 

Still, however, there appears to have been a 
lingering feeling of disappointment in the pub- 
lic bosom. " The whigs are pleased," writes 
de Rochambeau, " but they say that the king 
ought to have sent twenty thousand men, and 
twenty ships, to drive the enemy from New 
York ; that the country was infallibly ruined ; 
that it is impossible to find a recruit to send to 
General Washington's army, without giving 
him one hundred hard dollars to engage for sis 
months' service, and they beseech his majesty 
to assist them with all his strength. The war 
will be an expensive one ; we pay even for our 
quarters, and for the land covered with the 
camp." * 

The troops were landed to the east of the 
town ; their encampment was on a fine situa- 
tion, and extended nearly across the island. 
Much was said of their gallant and martial ap- 
pearance. There was the noted regiment of 
Auvergne, in command of which tlie Count de 
Eochambeau had first gained his laurels, but 
which was now commanded by his son the vis- 
count, thirty years of age. A legion of six 
hundred men also was especially admii-ed ; it 
was commanded by the Duke de Lauzun (Lau- 
zun-Biron), who had gained reputation in the 
preceding year by the capture of Senegal. A 
feeling of adventure and romance, associated 
with the American struggle, had caused many 
of the young nobility to seek this new field of 
achievement, who, to use de Eochambeau's 
words, " brought out with them the heroic and 



* Sparks. Writings of 'Washington, vii. 504. 



chivalrous courage of the ancient French no- 
bility." To their credit be it spoken also, they 
brought with them the ancient French polite- 
ness, for it was remarkable how soon they ac- 
commodated themselves to circumstances, made 
light of all the privations and inconveniences 
of a new country, and conformed to the famil- 
iar simplicity of republican manners. Gen- 
eral Heath, who, by Washington's orders, was 
there to offer his services, was, by his own ac- 
count, " charmed with the oflacers," who, on 
their part, he said, expressed the highest satis- 
faction with the treatment they received. 

The instructions of the French ministry to 
the Count de Eochambeau placed him entirely 
under the command of General Washington, 
The French troops were to be considered as 
auxiliaries, and as such were to take the left of 
the American troops, and, in all cases of cere- 
mony, to yield them the preference. This con- 
siderate arrangement had been adopted at the 
suggestion of the Marquis de Lafayette, and 
was intended to prevent the recurrence of 
those questions of rank and etiquette which 
had heretofore disturbed the combined service. 

Washington, in general orders, congratu- 
lated the army on the arrival of this timely 
and generous succor, which he hailed as a new 
tie between France and America ; anticipating 
that the only contention between the two armies 
would be to excel each other in good oflices, 
and in the display of every military virtue. 
The American cockade had hitherto been black, 
that of the French was white; he recom- 
mended to his officers a cockade of black and 
white intermingled in compliment to their 
allies, and as a symbol of friendship and union. 

His joy at this important reinforcement was 
dashed by the mortifying reflection, that he 
was still unprovided with the troops and mili- 
tary means requisite for the combined opera- 
tions meditated. Still he took upon himself 
the responsibility of immediate action, and 
forthwith despatched Lafayette to have an in- 
terview with the French commanders, explain 
the circumstances of the case, and concert plans 
for the proposed attack upon New York. 

" Pressed on all sides by a choice of difficitl- 
ties," writes he to the President, " I have 
adopted that line of conduct which suited the 
dignity and faith of Congress, the reputation 
of these States, and the honor of our arms. 
Neither the season nor a regard to decency 
would permit delay. The die is cast, and it 
remains with the States to fulfil either their 



522 ARRIVAL OF A BRITISH FLEET— ARNOLD IN COMMAND AT WEST POINT. [1780, 



engagements, preserve their credit, and support 
their independence, or to involve us in disgrace 
and defeat. ***=;=** I shall proceed 
on the supposition that they will ultimately 
consult their own interest and honor, and not 
suffer us to fail for want of moans, which it is 
evidently in their power to afford. What has 
been done, and is doing, by some of the States, 
confirms the opinion I have entertained of the 
sufficient resources of the country. As to the 
disposition of the people to submit to any ar- 
rangements for bringing them forth, I see no 
reasonable grounds to doubt. If we fail for 
want of proper exertions, in any of the govern- 
ments, I trust the responsibility will fall where 
it ought, and that I shall stand justified to Con- 
gress, to my country, and to the world." 

The arrival, however, of the British Admi- 
ral Graves, at ISfew York, on the 13th of July, 
with six ships-of-the-line, gave the enemy such 
a superiority of naval force, that the design on 
New York was postponed until the second 
French division should make its appearance, or 
a squadron under the Count de Guichen, which 
was expected from the West Indies. 

In the mean time Sir Henry Clinton, who 
had information of all the plans and move- 
ments of the allies, determined to forestall the 
meditated attack upon New York, by beating 
up the French quarters on Rhode Island. This 
he was to do in person at the head of six thou- 
sand men, aided by Admiral Arbuthnot witlf 
his fleet. Sir Henry accordingly proceeded 
with his troops to Throg's Neck on the Sound ; 
there to embark on board of transports which 
Arbuthnot was to provide. No sooner did 
Washington learn that so large a force had left 
New York, than he crossed the Hudson to 
Peekskill, and prepared to move towards King's 
Bridge, with the main body of his troops, 
which had recently been reinforced. His in- 
tention was, either to oblige Sir Hemy to aban- 
don his project against Ehode Island, or to 
strike a blow at New York during his absence. 
As Washington was on horseback, observing 
the crossing of the last division of his troops, 
General Arnold approached, having just arrived 
in the camp. Arnold had been manoeuvring 
of late to get the command of West Point, and, 
among other means, had induced Mr. Rob- 
ert R. Livingston, then a New York member 
of Congress, to suggest it in a letter to Wash- 
ington as a measure of great expediency. 
Arnold now accosted the latter to know 
whether any place had been assigned to him. 



He was told that he was to command the left 
wing, and Washington added, that they would 
have further conversation on the subject when 
he returned to head-quarters. The silence and 
evident chagrin with which the reply was re- 
ceived surprised Washington, and he was still 
more surprised when he subsequently learned 
that Ai'nold was more desirous of a garrison 
post than of a command in the field, although a 
post of honor had been assigned him, and active 
service was anticipated. Arnold's excuse was 
that his wounded leg still unfitted him for action 
either on foot or horseback ; but that at West 
Point he might render himself useful. 

The expedition of Sir Henry was delayed by 
the tardy arrival of transports. In the mean 
time he heard of the sudden move of Wash- 
ington, and learned, moreover, that the posi- 
tion of the French at Newport had been 
strengthened by the militia from the neighbor- 
ing country. These tidings disconcerted his 
plans. He left Admiral Arbuthnot to proceed 
with his squadron to Newport, blockade the 
French fleet, and endeavor to intercept the 
second division supposed to be on its way, 
while he with his troops hastened back to 
New York. 

In consequence of their return Washington 
again withdrew his forces to the west side of 
the Hudson ; first establishing a post and 
throwing up small works at Dobbs' Ferry, 
about ten miles from King's Bridge, to secure 
a communication across the river for the trans- 
portation of troops and ordnance, should the 
design upon New York be prosecuted. 

Arnold now received the important com- 
mand which he had so earnestly coveted. It 
included the fortress at West Point and the 
posts from Fishkill to King's Ferry, together 
with the corps of infantry and cavalry ad- 
vanced towards the enemy's line on the east 
side of the river. He was ordered to have 
the works at the Point completed as expe- 
ditiously as possible, and to keep all his posts 
on their guard against surprise ; there being 
constant apprehensions that the enemy might 
make a sudden effort to gain possession of the 
river. 

Having made these arrangements, Washing- 
ton recrossed to the west side of the Hudson, 
and took post at Orangetown or Tappan, on 
the boi-ders of the Jerseys, and opposite to 
Dobbs' Ferry, to. be at hand for any attempt 
upon New York. 

The execution of this cherished design, how- 



^T. 48.] 



GREENE RESIGNS THE OFFICE OF QUARTERMASTER-GENERAL. 



523 



ever, was again postponed by intelligence that 
the second division of the French reinforce- 
ments was blockaded in the harbor of Brest by 
the British : Washington still had hopes that 
it might be carried into effect by the aid of 
the squadron of the Count de Guichen from 
the West Indies ; or of a fleet from Cadiz. 

xVt this critical juncture, an embarrassing de- 
rangement took place in the quartermaster- 
general's department, of which General Greene 
was the head. The reorganization of this de- 
partment had long been in agitation. A sys- 
tem had been digested by Washington, Schuy- 
ler, and Greene, adapted, as they thought, to 
the actual situation of the country, Greene 
had offered, should it be adopted, to continue 
in the discharge of the duties of the depart- 
ment without any extra emolument other than 
would cover the expenses of his family. Con- 
gress devised a different scheme. He con- 
sidered it incapable of execution, and likely to 
be attended with calamitous and disgraceful 
results ; he therefore tendered his resignation. 
Washington endeavored to prevent its being 
accepted. " Unless effectual measures are 
taken," said he, " to induce General Greene 
and the other principal officers of that depart- 
ment to continue their services, there must of 
necessity be a total stagnation of military 
business. We not only nmst cease from the 
preparations for the campaign, but in all proba- 
bility, shall be obliged to disperse, if not dis- 
band the army, for want of subsistence." 

The tone and manner, however, assumed by 
General Greene in offering his resignation, and 
the time chosen when the campaign was opened, 
the enemy in the field, and the French com- 
manders waiting for co-operation, were deeply 
offensive to Congress. His resignation was 
promptly accepted : there was a talk even of 
suspending him from his command in the line. 

Washington interposed his sagacious and 
considerate counsels to allay this irritation, and 
prevent the infliction of such an indignity upon 
an officer, for whom he entertained the highest 
esteem and friendship. " A procedure of this 
kind, without a proper trial," said he, ''must 
touch the feelings of every officer. It wiU 
show in a conspicuous point of view the un- 
certain tenure by which they hold their com- 
missions. In a word, it will exhibit such a 
specimen of power, that I question much if 
there is an officer in the whole line that will 
hold a commission beyond the end of the cam- 
paign, if he does till then. Such an act in the 



most despotic government would be attended 
at least with loud complaints." 

The counsels of Washington prevailed ; the 
indignity was not inflicted, and Congress was 
saved from the error, if not disgrace, of dis- 
carding from her service one of the ablest and 
most meritorious of her generals. 

Colonel Pickering was appointed to succeed 
Greene as quartermaster-general, but the latter 
continued for some time, at the request of 
Washington, to aid in conducting the business of 
the department. Colonel Pickering acquitted 
himself in his new office with zeal, talents, and 
integrity, but there were radical defects in the 
system which defied all ability and exertion. 

The commissariat was equally in a state of 
derangement. " At this very juncture," writes 
Washington (Aug. 20th), " I am reduced to the 
painful alternative, either of dismissing a part 
of the militia now assembling, or of letting 
them come forward to starve ; which it will 
be extremely difficult for the troops already in 
the field to avoid. * * * * Every day's 
experience proves more and more that the pres- 
ent mode of supplies is the most uncertain, 
expensive, and injurious, that could be devised. 
It is impossible for us to form any calculations 
of what we are to expect, and consequently, to 
concert any plans for future execution. No 
adequate provision of forage having been made, 
we are now obliged to subsist the horses of the 
army by force, which, among other evils, often 
gives rise to civil disputes, and prosecutions, as 
vexatious as they are burdensome to the pub- 
lic." In his emergencies he was forced to 
empty the magazines at West Point ; yet these 
afforded but temporary relief; scarcity con- 
tinued to prevail to a distressing degree, and 
on the 6th of September, he complains that the 
army has for two or three days been entirely 
destitute of meat. *' Such injury to the disci- 
pline of the army," adds he, " and such distress 
to the inhabitants, result from these frequent 
events, that my feelings are hurt beyond de- 
scription at the cries of the one and at seeing 
the other." 

The anxiety of Washington at this moment 
of embarrassment was heightened by the receipt 
of disastrous intelligence from the South ; the 
purport of which we shall succinctly relate in 
another chapter. 



524 



PROPOSED INVASION OF NORTH CAROLINA— THOMAS SUMTER. 



[1780. 



CHAPTER Yin. 

Lord Coenwallis, -when left in military 
command at the South by Sir Henry Clinton, 
was charged, it will be recollected, with the 
invasion of North Carolina. It was an en- 
terprise in which much difficulty was to be 
apprehended, both from the character of the 
people and the country. The original settlers 
were from various parts, most of them men 
who had experienced political or religious op- 
pression, and had brought with them a quick 
sensibility to wrong, a stern appreciation of 
their rights, and an indomitable spirit of free- 
dom and independence. In the heart of the 
State was a hardy Presbyterian stock, the 
Scotch Irish, as they were called, having emi- 
grated from Scotland to Ireland, and thence to 
America ; and who were said to possess the 
impulsiveness of the Irishman, with the dogged 
resolution of the Covenanter. 

The early history of the colony abounds 
with instances of this spirit among its people. 
" They always behaved insolently to their gov- 
ernors," complains Governor Barriugton in 
1731 ; " some they have driven out of the 
country — at other times they set up a govern- 
ment of their own choice, supported by men 
under arms. It was in fact the spirit of popu- 
lar liberty and self-government which stirred 
within them, and gave birth to the glorious 
axiom: "the rights of the many against the 
exactions of the few." So ripe was this spirit 
at an early day, that when the boundary line 
was run, in 1V27, between North Carolina and 
Virginia, the borderers were eager to be in- 
cluded within the former province, " as there 
they payed no tribute to God or Ca3sar." 

It was this spirit which gave rise to the con- 
federacy, called the Regulation, formed to with- 
stand the abuses of power ; and the first blood 
shed in our country, in resistance to arbitrary 
taxation, was at Almance in this province, in a 
conflict between the regulators and Governor 
Tryon. Above all, it should never be for- 
gotten, that at Mecklenburg, in the heart of 
North Carolina, was fulminated the first dec- 
laration of independence of the British crown, 
upwards of a year before a like declaration by 
Congress, 

A population so characterized presented 
formidable diflficulties to the invader. . The 
physical difficulties arising from the nature of 
the country consisted in its mountain fast- 



nesses in the north-western part, its vast for- 
ests, its sterile tracts, its long rivers, destitute 
of bridges, and which, though fordable in fair 
weather, were liable to be swollen by sudden 
storms and freshets, and rendered deep, turbu- 
lent, and impassable. These rivers, in fact, 
which rushed down from the mountain, but 
wound sluggishly through the plains, were 
the military strength of the country, as we 
shall have frequent occasion to show in the 
course of our narrative. 

Lord Cornwallis forbore to attempt the in- 
vasion of North Carolina until the summer 
heats should be over and the harvests gathered 
in. In the meantime he disposed of his troops 
in cantonments, to cover the frontiers of South 
Carolina and Georgia, and maintain their in- 
ternal quiet. The command of the frontiers 
was given by him to Lord Rawdon, who made 
Camden his principal post. This town, the 
capital of Kershaw District, a fertile, fruitful 
country, was situated on the east bank of the 
Wateree River, on the road leading to North 
Carolina. It was to be the grand military 
depot for the projected campaign. 

Having made these dispositions, Lord Corn- 
wallis set up his head-quarters at Charleston, 
where he occupied himself in regulating the 
civil and commercial affairs of the province, in 
organizing the militia of the lower districts, 
and in forwarding provisions and munitions of 
war to Camden. 

The proclamation of Sir Henry Clinton, put- 
ting an end to all neutrality, and the rigorous 
penalties and persecutions with which all in- 
fractions of its terms were punished, had for a 
time quelled the spirit of the country. By 
degrees, however, the dread of British power 
gave way to impatience of British exactions. 
Symptoms of revolt manifested themselves in 
various parts. They were encouraged by in- 
telligence that De Kalb, sent by "Washington, 
was advancing through North Carolina, at the 
head of two thousand men, and that the militia 
of that State and of Virginia were joining his 
standard. This was soon followed by tidings 
that Gates, the conqueror of Burgoyne, was 
on his way to take command of the Southern 
forces. 

The prospect of such aid from the North re- 
animated the Southern patriots. One of the 
most eminent of these was Thomas Sumter, 
whom the Carolinians had surnamed the Game 
Cock, He was between forty and fifty years 
of age, brave, hardy, vigorous, resolute. He 



Mt. 4S.] 



SLOW ADVANCE OF DE KALE— GATES TAKES COMMAND. 



525 



had served against the Indians in his boyhood, 
during the old French war, and had been pres- 
ent at tl\e defeat of Braddock. In the present 
Avar he had held the rank of lieutenant-colonel 
of riflemen in the Continental line. After the 
fall of Charleston, when patriots took refuge in 
contiguous States, or in the natural fastnesses 
of the country, he had retired with his family 
into one of the latter. 

The lower part of South Carolina for up- 
wards of a hundred miles back from the sea is 
a level country, abounding with swamps, locked 
up in the windings of the rivers which flow 
down from the Appalachian Mountains. Some 
of these swamps are mere canebrakes, of little 
use until subdued by cultivation, when they 
yield abundant crops of rice. Others are cov- 
ered with forests of cypress, cedar, and laurel, 
green all the year and odoriferous, but tangled 
with vines and almost impenetrable. In their 
bosoms, however, are fine savannahs ; natural 
lawns, open to cultivation, and yielding abun- 
dant pasturage. It requires local knowledge, 
however, to penetrate these wildernesses, and 
hence they form strongholds to the people of 
the country. In one of these natural fastnesses 
on the borders of the Santee, Sumter had taken 
up his residence, and hence he woidd sally forth 
in various directions. During a temporary ab- 
sence his retreat had been invaded, his house 
burnt to the ground, his wife and children 
driven forth without shelter. Private injury 
had thus been added to the incentives of pa- 
triotism. Emerging from his hiding-place, he 
had thrown himself among a handful of fellow- 
suflferers who had taken refuge in North Caro- 
lina. They chose him at once as a leader, and 
resolved on a desperate struggle for the deliver- 
ance of their native State. Destitute of regu- 
lar weapons, they forged rude substitutes out 
of the implements of husbandry. Old mill- 
saws were converted into broad-swords ; knives 
at the ends of poles served for lances ; while 
the country housewives gladly gave up their 
pewter dishes and other utensils, to be melted 
down and cast into bullets for such as had fire- 
arms. 

When Sumter led this gallant band of exiles 
over the border, they did not amount in num- 
ber to two hundred ; yet, with these, he at- 
tacked and routed a well-armed body of British 
troops and tories, the terror of the frontier. 
His followers supplied themselves with wea- 
pons from the slain. In a little while his band 
was augmented by recruits. Parties of militia, 



also, recently embodied under the compelling 
measures of Cornwallis, deserted to the patriot 
standard. Thus reinforced to the amount of 
six hundred men, he made, on the 30th of July, 
a spirited attack on the British post at Eocky 
Mount, near the Catawba, but was repulsed. 
A more successful attack was made by him, 
eight days afterwards, on another post at Hang- 
ing Rock. The Prince of Wales regiment 
which defended it was nearly anniliilated, and a 
large body of North Carolina loyalists, under 
Colonel Brian, was routed and dispersed. The 
gallant exploits of Sumter were emulated in 
other parts of the country, and the partisan 
war thus commenced was carried on with an 
audacity that soon obliged the enemy to call in 
their outposts, and collect their troops in large 
masses. 

The advance of De Kalb with reinforcements 
from the North, had been retarded by various 
difficulties, the most important of which was 
want of provisions. This had been especially 
the case, he said, since his arrival in North 
Carolina. The legislative or executive power, 
he complained, gave him no assistance, nor 
could he obtain supplies from the people but 
by military force. There was no flour in the 
camp, nor were dispositions made to furnish 
any. His troops were reduced for a time to 
short allowance, and at length, on the 6th of 
July, brought to a positive halt at Deep River.* 
The North Carolina militia, under General Cas- 
well, were already in the field, on the road to 
Camden, beyond the Pedee River. He was 
anxious to form a junction with them, and 
with some Virginia troops, under Colonel Por- 
terfield, reliques of the defenders of Charles- 
ton ; but a wide and sterile region lay between 
him and them, diflacult to be traversed, unless 
magazines were established in advance, or he 
were suppUed with provisions to take with 
him. Thus circumstanced, he wrote to Con- 
gress and to the State Legislature, representing 
his situation, and entreating relief. For three 
weeks he remained in this encampment, forag- 
ing an exhausted country for a meagre sub- 
sistence, and was thinking of deviating to the 
right, and seeking the fertile counties of Meck- 
lenburg and Rowan, when, on the 25th of July, 
General Gates arrived at the camp. 

The baron greeted him with a Continental 
salute from his little park of artillery, and re- 
ceived him with the ceremony and deference 



* A brancli of Cape Fear River. The aboriginal name 
Sapporah. 



526 



DESOLATE MARCH— GATES CROSSES THE PEDEE. 



[1780. 



due to a superior officer who was to take the 
command. There was a contest of politeness 
between the two generals. Gates approved of 
De Kalb's standing orders, but at the first re- 
view of the troops, to the great astonishment 
of the baron, gave orders for them to hold 
themselves in readiness to march at a moment'' s 
warning. It was evident he meant to signalize 
himself by celerity of movement in contrast 
with protracted delays. 

It was in vain the destitute situation of the 
troops was represented to him, and that they 
had not a day's provision in advance. His reply 
was, that waggons laden with supplies were com- 
ing on, and would overtake them in two days. 

On the 27th, he actually put the army in 
motion over the Buffalo Ford, on the direct 
road to Camden. Colonel Williams, the ad- 
jutant-general of De Kalb, warned him of the 
sterile nature of that route, and recommended 
a more circuitous one further north, which the 
baron had intended to take, and which passed 
through the abundant county of Mecklenburg. 
Gates jjersisted in taking the direct route, ob- 
serving that he should the sooner form a junc- 
tion with Caswell and the North Carolina 
militia ; and as to the sterility of the country, 
his supplies would soon overtake him. 

The route proved all that had been repre- 
sented. It led through a region of pine bar- 
rens, sand hills, and swamps, with few human 
habitations, and those mostly deserted. The 
supplies of which he had spoken never over- 
took him. His army had to subsist itself on 
lean cattle, roaming almost wild in the woods ; 
and to supply the want of bread with green 
Indian corn, unripe apples, and peaches. The 
consequence was, a distressing prevalence of 
dysentery. 

Having crossed the Pedec Eiver on the 3d 
of August, the army was joined by a handful 
of brave Virginia regulars, under Lieutenant- 
Colonel Porterfield, who had been wandering 
about the country since the disaster of Charles- 
ton ; and, on the 6th, the much-desired junc- 
tion took place with the North Carolina miUtia. 
On the 13th they encamped at Bugeley's Mills, 
otherwise called Clermont, about twelve miles 
from Camden, and on the following day were 
reinforced by a brigade of seven hundred Vir- 
ginia militia, under General Stevens. 

On the approach of Gates, Lord Rawdon had 
concentrated his forces at Camden. The post 
was flanked by the "Wateree River and Pine- 
tree Creek, and strengthened with redoubts. 



Lord Cornwallis had hastened hither from 
Charleston on learning that affairs in this 
quarter were drawing to a crisis, and had ar- 
rived here on the 13th. The British effective 
force thus collected was something more than 
two thousand, including oflicers. About five 
hundred were militia and tory refugees from 
North Carolina. 

The forces under Gates, according to the re- 
turn of his adjutant-general, were three thou- 
sand and fifty-two fit for duty ; more than 
two-thirds of them, however, were militia. 

On the 14th, he received an express from 
General Sumter, who, with his partisan corps, 
after harassing the enemy at various points, 
was now endeavoring to cut off their supplies 
from Charleston. The object of the express 
was to ask a reinforcement of regulars to aid 
him in capturing a large convoy of clothing, 
ammunition, and stores, on its way to the gar- 
rison, and which would pass Wateree Ferry, 
about a mile from Camden. 

Gates accordingly detached Colonel "Wood- 
ford of the Maryland line, with one hundred 
regulars, a party of artillery, and two brass 
field-pieces. On the same evening he moved 
with his main force to take post at a deep 
stream about seven miles from Camden, in- 
tending to attack Lord Rawdon or his redoubts 
should he march out in force to repel Sumter. 

It seems hardly credible that Gates should 
have been so remiss in collecting information 
concerning the movements of his enemy as to 
be utterly unaware that Lord Cornwallis had 
arrived at Camden. Such, however, we are 
assured by his adjutant-general, was the fact."" 

By a singular coincidence. Lord Cornwallis 
on the very same evening sallied forth from Cam- 
den to attack the American camp at Clermont. 

About two o'clock at night, the two forces 
blundered, as it were, on each other about half 
way. A skirmish took place . between their 
advanced guards, in Avhich Porterfield of the 
Virginia regulars was mortally wounded. Some 
prisoners were taken on either side. From 
these the respective commanders learnt the 
nature of the forces each had stumbled upon. 
Both halted, formed their troops for action, 
but deferred further hostilities until daylight. 

Gates was astounded at being told that the 
enemy at hand was Cornwallis with three thou- 
sand men. Calling a council of war, he de- 
manded what was best to be done. For a mo- 



* >r:irrative of Adjutant-General 'Williams. 



Mt. 48.] 



BATTLE OF CAMDEN— DEATH OF DE KALB. 



527 



ment or two there was blank silence. It was 
broken by General Stevens of the Virginia mi- 
litia, w^itb the significant question, "Gentle- 
men, is it not too late now to do any thing but 
fight ? " No other advice was asked or offered, 
and all were required to repair to their respec- 
tive commands,* though General de Kalb, we 
are told, was of opinion that they should re- 
gain their position at Clermont, and there await 
an attack. 

In forming the line, the first Maryland di- 
vision, including the Delawares, was on the 
right, commanded by de Zalb. The Virginia 
militia under Stevens, were on the left. Cas- 
well with the North Carolinians formed the 
centre. The artillery was in battery on the 
road. Each flank was covered by a marsh. 
The second Maryland brigade formed a reserve, 
a few hundred yards in rear of the first. 

At daybreak (Aug. 16th), the enemy were 
dimly descried advancing in column ; they ap- 
peared to be displaying to the right. The dep- 
uty adjutant-general ordered the artillery to 
open a fire upon them, and then rode to Gen- 
eral Gates, who was in the rear of the line, to 
inform him of the cause of the firing. Gates 
ordered that Stevens should advance briskly 
with his brigade of Virginia militia and attack 
them while in the act of displaying. No sooner 
did Stevens receive the order than he put his 
brigade in motion, but discovered that the right 
wing of the enemy was already in line. A few 
sharp shooters were detached to run forward, 
post themselves behind trees within forty or 
fifty yards of the enemy to extort their fire 
while at a distance, and render it less terrible 
to the militia. The expedient failed. The 
British rushed on shouting and firing, Ste- 
vens called to his men to stand firm, and put 
them in mind of their bayonets. Eis words 
were unheeded. The inexperienced militia, dis- 
mayed and confounded by this impetuous as- 
sault, threw down their loaded muskets and 
fled. The panic spread to the North Carolina 
militia. Part of them made a temporary stand, 
but soon joined with the rest in flight, rendered 
headlong and disastrous by the charge and pur- 
suit of Tarleton and his cavalry. 

Gates, seconded by his officers, made several 
attempts to rally the militia, but was borne 
along with them. The day was hazy; there 
was no wind to carry off the smoke, which 
hung over the field of battle hke a thick cloud. 



Nothing could be seen distinctly. Supposing 
that the regular troops were dispersed like the 
militia, Gates gave all up for lost, and retreated 
from the field. 

The regulars, however, had not given way. 
The Maryland brigades and the Delaware regi- 
ment, unconscious that they Avere deserted by 
the militia, stood their ground, and bore the 
brunt of the battle. Though repeatedly broken, 
they as often rallied, and bra^eed even the 
deadly push of the bayonet. At length a 
charge of Tarleton's cavalry on their flank 
threw them into confusion, and drove them 
into the wooA and swamps. None showed 
more gallantry on this disastrous day than the 
Baron de Kalb ; he fought on foot with the 
second Maryland brigade, and fell exhausted 
after receiving eleven wounds. Ilis aide-de- 
camp, De Buysson, supported him in his arms 
and was repeatedly wounded in protecting him. 
He announced the rank and nation of his gen- 
eral, and both were taken prisoners. De Kalb 
died in the course of a few days, dictating in his 
last moments a letter expressing his aflTection for 
the officers and men of his division who had so 
nobly stood by him in this deadly strife. 

If the militia fled too soon in this battle, said 
the adjutant-general, the regulars remained too 
long ; fighting when there was no hope of vic- 
tory.* 

General Gates in retreating had hoped to 
rally a sufficient force at Clermont to cover the 
retreat of the regulars, but the further they 
fled, the more the militia were dispersed, until 
the generals were abandoned by all but their 
aids. To add to the mortification of Gates, he 
learned in the course of his retreat that Sumter 
had been completely successful, and having re- 
duced the enemy's redoubt on the TVateree, 
and captured one hundred prisoners and forty 
loaded waggons, was mai'ching off with his 
booty on the opposite side of the river ; appre- 
hending danger from the quarter in which he 
had heard firing in the morning. Gates had 
no longer any means of co-operating with him ; 
he sent orders to him, therefore, to retire in 
the best manner he could ; while he himself 
proceeded with General Caswell towards the 
village of Charlotte, about sixty miles distant. 

Cornwallis was apprehensive that Sumter's 
corps might form a rallying point to the routed 
army. On the morning of the 17th of August, 
therefore, he detached Tarleton in pursuit with 



* Williams' Narrative. 



* Williams' Narrative. 



528 



SUMTER SURPRISED BY TARLETON AT THE WAXHAWS. 



[1780. 



a body of cavalry and light infantry, about 
three hundred and fifty strong. Sumter was 
retreating up the western side of the "Wateree, 
much encumbered by his spoils and prison- 
ers. Tarleton pushed up by forced and con- 
cealed marches on the eastern side. Horses 
and men suffered from the intense heat of the 
weather. At dusk Tarleton descried the fires 
of the American camp about a mile from the 
opposite shore. He gave orders to secure all 
boats on the river, and to light no fire in the 
camp. In the morning his sentries gave word 
that the Americans were quitting their en- 
campment. It was evident t\my knew noth- 
ing of a British force being in pursuit of 
them. Tarleton now crossed the Wateree ; the 
infantry with a three-pounder passed in boats ; 
the cavalry swam their horses where the river 
was not fordable. The delay in crossing, and 
the diligence of Sumter's march, increased the 
distance between the pursuers and the pursued. 
About noon a part of Tarleton's force gave out 
through heat and fatigue. Leaving them to 
repose on the bank of Fishing Creek, he pushed 
on with about one hundred dragoons, the fresh- 
est and most able ; still marching with great 
circumspection. As he entered a valley, a dis- 
cliarge of small-arms from a thicket tumbled a 
dragoon from his saddle. His comrades gal- 
loped up to the place, and found two American 
videttes, whom they sabred before Tarleton could 
interpose. A sergeant and five dragoons rode 
up to the summit of a neighboring hill to recon- 
noitre. Crouching on their horses they made 
signs to Tarleton. He cautiously approached 
the crest of the hill and looking over beheld 
the American camp on a neighboring height 
and apparently in a most negligent condition. 

Sumter, in fact, having pressed his retreat 
to the neighborhood of the Catawba Ford, and 
taken a strong position at the mouth, of Fishing 
Creek, and his patrols having scoured the road 
without having discovered any signs of an en- 
emy, considered himself secure from surprise. 
The two shots fired by his videttes had been 
heard, but were supposed to have been made 
by militia shooting cattle. The troops having 
for the last four days been almost without food 
or sleep, were now indulged in complete relax- 
ation. Their arms were stacked, and they 
were scattered about, some strolling, some 
lying on the grass under the trees, some bath- 
ing in the river. Sumter himself had thrown 
off part of his clothes on account of the heat of 
the weather. 



Having well reconnoitred this negligent camp, 
indulging in summer supineness and sultry 
repose, Tarleton prepared for instant attack. 
His cavalry and infantry formed into one line 
dashed forward with a general shout, and, be- 
fore the Americans could recover from their 
surprise, got between them and the parade 
ground on which the muskets were stacked. 

All was confusion and consternation in the 
American camp. Some opposition was made 
from behind baggage waggons, and there was 
skirmishing in various quarters, but in a little 
while there was a universal flight to the river 
and the woods. Between three and four hun- 
dred were killed and wounded ; all their arms 
and baggage with two brass field-pieces fell 
into the hands of the enemy, who also recap- 
tured the prisoners and booty taken at Camden. 
Sumter with about three hundred and fifty of 
his men effected a retreat ; he galloped off, it 
is said, without saddle, hat, or coat. 

Gates, on reaching the village of Charlotte, 
had been joined by some fugitives from his 
army. He continued on to Hillsborough, one 
hundred and eighty miles from Camden, where 
he made a stand and endeavored to rally his 
scattered forces. His regular troops, however, 
were little more than one thousand. As to the 
militia of North and South Carolina, they had 
dispersed to their respective homes, depending 
upon the patriotism and charity of the farmers 
along the road for food and shelter. 

It was not until the beginning of September 
that Washington received word of the disas- 
trous reverse at Camden. The shock was the 
greater, as pre^vious rej)orts from that quarter 
had represented the operations a few days pre- 
ceding the action as much in our favor. It 
was evident to Washington that the course of 
war must ultimately tend to the Southern 
States, yet the situation of affairs in the North 
did not permit him to detach any suflacient 
force for their relief. All that he could do for 
the present was to endeavor to hold the enemy 
in check in that quarter. For this purpose, 
he gave orders that some regular troops, en- 
listed in Maryland for the war, and intended 
for the main army, should be sent to the south- 
ward. He wrote to Governor Rutledge of 
South Carolina (12th September), to raise a 
permanent, compact, well-organized body of 
troops, instead of depending upon a numerous • 
army of militia, always " inconceivably expen- 
sive, and too fluctuating and undisciplined " to 
oppose a regular force. He was stUl more ur- 



^T. 48.] 



WASHINGTON'S OPINION OF MILITIA— HIS LETTER TO GATES. 



529 



gent and explicit on this head in his letters to 
the President of Congress (Sept. 15th). " lieg- 
ular troops alone," said he, " are equal to the 
exigencies of modern war, as well for defence 
as offence; and whenever a snhstitute is at- 
tempted, it must prove illusory and ruinous, 
Iv'o militia will ever acquire the habits neces- 
sary to resist a regular force. The firmness 
requisite for the real business of fighting is only 
to be attained by a constant course of disci- 
pline and service. I have never yet been wit- 
ness to a single instance, that can justify a dif- 
ferent opinion ; and it is most earnestly to be 
wished, that the liberties of America may no 
longer be trusted, in any material degree, to so 
precarious a dependence. * * * * In nay 
ideas of the true system of war at the south- 
ward, the object ought to be to have a good 
army, ratber than a large one. Every exertion 
should be made by North Carolina, Virginia, 
Maryland, and Delaware, to raise a permanent 
force of six thousand men, exclusive of horse 
and artillery. These, with the occasional aid 
of the militia in the vicinity of the scene of ac- 
tion, will not only suffice to prevent the further 
progress of the enemy, but, if properly supplied, 
to oblige them to compact their force and re- 
linquish a part of what they now hold. To 
expel them from the country entirely is what 
we cannot aim at, till we derive more ctFectual 
support from abroad; and by attempting too 
much, instead of going forward, we shall go 
backward. Could such a force be once set on 
foot, it would immediately make an inconceiv- 
able change in the face of aifairs not only in 
the opposition to the enemy, but in expense, 
consumption of provisions, and Avaste of arms 
and stores. No magazines can be equal to the 
demands of an army of militia, and none need 
economy more than ours." 

He had scarce written the foregoing, when 
he received a letter from the now vmfortunate 
Gates, dated at Hillsborough, Aug. 30th and 
Sept. 3d, .giving particulars of his discomfiture. 
No longer vaunting and vainglorious, he pleads 
nothing but his patriotism, and deprecates the 
fall which he apprehends awaits him. The ap- 
peal which he makes to "Washington's magna- 
nimity to support him in this day of his re- 
verse, is the highest testimonial he could give 
to the exalted character of the man whom he 
once affected to underrate, and aspired to sup- 
plant. 

"Anxious for the public good," said he, "I 
shall continue my unwearied endeavors to stop 
34 



the progress of the enemy, reinstate our affairs, 
recommence an offensive war, and recover all 
our losses in the Southern States. But if being 
unfortunate is solely a reason sufficient for re- 
moving me from command, I shall most cheer- 
fully submit to the orders of Congress, and re- 
sign an office which few generals would be 
anxious to possess, and where the utmost skill 
and fortitude are subject to be baffled by diffi- 
culties, which must for a time surround the 
chief in command here. That your Excellency 
may meet with no such difficulties, that your 
road to fame and fortune may be smooth and easy, 
is the sincere wish of your most humble servant." 

Again : " If I can yet render good service to 
the United States, it will be necessary it should 
be seen that I have the support of Congress, 
and of your Excellency ; otherv.'ise, some men 
may think they please my superiors by blaming 
rae, and thus recommend themselves to favor. 
But you, sir, wiU be too generous to lend an 
ear to such men, if such there be, and will 
show your greatness of soul rather by protect- 
ing than slighting the unfortunate." 

"Washington in his reply, while he acknowl- 
edged the shock and surprise caused by the 
first account of the unexpected event, did 
credit to the behavior of the Continental troops. 
" The accounts," added he, " which the enemy 
give of the action, show that their victory was 
dearly bought. Under present circumstances, 
the system which you are pursuing seems to 
be extremely proper. It would add no good 
purpose to take a position near the enemy 
while you are so far inferior in force. If they 
can be kept in check by the light irregular 
troops under Colonel Sumter and other active 
officers, they will gain nothing by the time 
which must be necessarily spent by you in col- 
lecting and arranging the new army, forming 
magazines, and replacing the stores which were 
lost in the action." 

"Washington still cherished the idea of a com- 
bined attack upon New York as soon as a 
French naval force should arrive. The de- 
struction of the enemy here would relieve this 
part of the Union from an internal war, and 
enable its troops and resources to be united 
with those of France in vigorous efforts against 
the common enemy elsewhere. Hearing, there- 
fore, that the Count de Guichen, with his "West 
India squadron, was approaching the coast, 
"Washington prepared to proceed to Hartford 
in Connecticut, there to hold a conference with 
the Count de Eochambeau and the Chevalier 



530 



TRAITOROUS SCHEMES OF ARNOLD. 



[1780. 



de Ternay, and concert a plan for future opera- 
tions, of which the attack on New York was 
to form the principal feature. 



CHAPTER IX. 

"We have now to enter upon a sad episode of 
our revolutionary history — the treason of Ar- 
nold. Of the military skill, daring enterprise, 
and indomitable courage of this man — ample 
evidence has been given in the foregoing pages. 
Of the implicit confidence reporfed in his patri- 
otism by Washington, sufficient proof is mani- 
fested in the command with which he was act- 
ually intrusted. But Arnold was false at 
heart, and, at the very time of seeking that 
command, had been for many months in trai- 
torous correspondence with the enemy. 

The first idea of proving recreant to the 
cause he had vindicated so bravely, appears to 
have entered his mind wlien the charges pre- 
ferred against liim by the council of Pennsyl- 
vania were referred by Congress to a court- 
martial. Befoi'e that time he had been in- 
censed against Pennsylvania ; but now his 
wrath was excited against his country, which 
appeared so insensible to his services. Disap- 
pointment in regard to the settlement of Ids 
accounts, added to his irritation, and mingled 
sordid motives with his resentment ; and he 
began to think how, while he wreaked his 
vengeance on his country, he might do it with 
advantage to his fortunes. With this view he 
commenced a correspondence with Sir Henry 
Clinton in a disguised handwriting, and, under 
the signature of Gustavus^ representing himself 
as a person of importance in the American ser- 
vice, who, being dissatisfied with the late pro- 
ceedings of Congress, particularly the alliance 
with France, was desirous of joining the. cause 
of Great Britain, could he be certain of per- 
sonal security, and indemnification for what- 
ever loss of property he might sustain. His 
letters occasionally communicated articles of 
intelligence of some moment which proved to 
be true, and induced Sir Henry to keep up the 
correspondence; which was conducted on his 
part by his aide-de-camp. Major John Andre, 
likewise in a disguised hand, and under the 
signature of John Anderson. 

Months elapsed before Sir Henry discovered 
who was his secret correspondent. Even after 
discovering it he did not see fit to hold out any 



very strong inducements to Arnold for deser- 
tiac. The latter was out of command, and had 
nothing to offer but his services ; which in his 
actual situation were scarcely worth buying. 

In the mean time the circumstances of Ar- 
nold were daily becoming more desperate. 
Debts were accumulating, and creditors becom- 
ing more and more importunate, as his means 
to satisfy them decreased. The public repri- 
mand he had received was rankling in his 
mind, and filling his heart with bitterness. 
Still he hesitated on the brink of absolute in- 
famy, and attempted a half-way leap. Such 
was his proposition to M. de Luzerne to make 
himself subservient to the policy of the French 
government, on condition of receiving a loan 
equal to the amount of his debts. This he 
might have reconciled to his conscience by the 
idea that France was an ally, and its policy 
likely to be friendly. It was his last card be- 
fore resorting to utter treachery. Failing in it, 
his desperate alternative was to get some im- 
portant command, the btitrayal of which to the 
enemy might obtain for him a munificent re- 
ward. 

He may possibly have had such an idea in 
his mind some time previously, when he sought 
the command of a naval and military expedi- 
tion, which failed to be carried into effect ; but 
such certainly was the secret of his eagerness 
to obtain the command of West Point, the great 
object of British and American solicitude, on 
the possession of which were supposed by many 
to hinge the fortunes of the war. 

lie took command of tlie post and its de- 
pendencies about the beginning of August, fix- 
ing his head-quarters at Beverley, a country- 
seat a little below West Point, on the opposite 
or eastern side of the river. It stood in a lonely 
part of the Highlands, high up from the river, 
yet at the foot of a mountain covered with 
woods. It was commonly called the Robinson 
House, having formerly belonged to Washing- 
ton's early friend. Colonel Beverley Robinson, 
who had obtained a large part of the Phillipse 
estate in this neighborhood, by marrying one 
of the heiresses. Colonel Robinson was a roy- 
alist ; had entered into tlie British service, and 
was now residing in New York, and Beverley 
with its surrounding lands had been confis- 
cated. 

From this place Arnold carried on a secret 
correspondence with Major Andr6. Their let- 
ters, still in disguised hands, and under the 
names of Gustavus and John Anderson, pur- 



^T. 48.] 



MAJOR ANDRE. 



531 



ported to treat merely of commercial opera- 
tions, but the real matter in negotiation was 
the betrayal of West Point and the Highlands 
to Sir Henry Clinton. This stupendous piece 
of treachery was to be consummated at the 
time when "Washington, with, the main body 
of his army, would be drawn down towards 
King's Bridge, and the French troops landed 
on Long Island, in the projected co-operation 
against New York, At such time, a tiotilla 
under Eodney, having on board a large land 
force, was to ascend the Hudson to the High- 
lands, whicb would be surrendered by Arnold 
almost without opposition, under pretext of in- 
sufficient force to make resistance. The im- 
mediate result of this surrender, it was Antici- 
pated, would be the defeat of the combined at- 
tempt upon New Yoi-k ; and its ultimate effect 
might be the dismemberment of the Union, and 
the dislocation of the whole American scheme 
of warfare. 

We have before had occasion to mention 
Major Andre, but the part which he took in 
this dark transaction, and tlie degree of roman- 
tic interest subsequently thrown around his 
memory, call for a more specific notice of hii«. 
He was born in London 1751, but his parents 
were of Geneva in Switzerland, where he was 
educated. Being intended for mercantile life, 
he entered a London counting-house, but had 
scarce attained his eighteenth year when he 
formed a romantic attachment to a beautiful 
gir]. Miss Honora Sneyd, by whom his passion 
was returned, and they became engaged. This 
sadly unfitted him for the sober routine of the 
counting-house. " All my mercantile calcula- 
tions," writes he in one of his boyish letters, 
" go to the tune of dear Honora." 

The father of the young lady interfered, and 
the premature match was broken ofl". Andre 
abandoned the counting-house and entered the 
army. His first commission was dated March 
4, 1771 ; but he subsequently visited Germany, 
and returned to England in 1773, still haunted 
by his early passion. His lady love, in the 
mean time, had been wooed by other admirers, 
and in the present year became the second wife 
of Richard Lovell Edgeworth, a young widower 
of twenty-six.* 

Andre came to America in 177-4, as lieuten- 
ant of the Eoyal English Fusileers; and was 
among the officers captured at Saint Johns, 
early in the war, by Montgomery. He still 

* Father, by his first marriage, of the celebrated Maria 
Edgeworth.; 



bore about with him a memento of his boyish 
passion, the " dear talisman," as he called it, 
a miniature of Miss Sneyd painted by himself 
in 1769. In a letter to a friend, soon after his 
capture, he writes, " I have been taken prisoner 
by the Americans, and stripped of every thing 
except the picture of Honora which I conceal- 
ed in my moiith. Preserving that, I yet think 
myself fortunate." 

His temper, however, appears to have been 
naturally light and festive; and if he still 
cherished this " tender remembrance," it was 
but as one of those documents of early poetry 
and romance, which serve to keep the heart 
warm and tender among the gay and cold reali- 
ties of fife. What served to favor the idea was 
a little song which he had composed Avhen in 
Philadelphia, commencing with the lines. 

Return enraptured hours 

When Delia's heart was mine ; 

and which was supposed to breathe the remem- 
brance of his early and ill-requited passion.* 

His varied and graceful talents, and his en- 
gaging manners, rendered him generally popu- 
lar; while his devoted and somewhat subser- 
vient loyalty recommended him to the favor of 
his commander, and obtained him, without any 
distinguished military services, the appointment 
of adjutant-genei-al with the rank of major. 
He was a prime promoter of elegant amuse- 
ment in camp and garrison ; manager, actor, 
and scene painter in those amateur theatricals 
in which the British officers delighted. He 
was one of the principal devisers of the Mischi- 
anza in Philadelphia, in which semi-etFeminate 
pageant he had figured as one of the knights 
champions of beauty ; Miss Shippen, afterwards 
Mrs. Arnold, being the lady whose peerless 
charms he undertook to vindicate. He held, 
moreover, a facile, and at times, satirical pen, 
and occasionally amused himself with carica- 
turing in rhyme the appearance and exploits 
of the " rebel officers." 

Andre had already employed that pen in a 
furtive manner, after the evacuation of Phila- 
delphia by the British ; having carried on a 
correspondence with the leaders of a body of 
loyalists near the waters of the Chesapeake, 
who were conspiring to restore the royal gov- 
ernment.! In the present instance he had en- 
gaged, nothing loth, in a service of intrigue and 
manoeuvre which, however sanctioned by mili- 
tary usage, should hardly have invited the zeal 



* Composed at the request of Miss Rebecca Redman, 
t Simcoe's Military Journal, pp. 163, 154. 



533 



ARNOLD'S NEGOTIATIONS WITH ANDRfi. 



[1780. 



of a high-minded man. "We say manoeuvre, 
because he appears to have availed himself of 
his former intimacy with Mrs. Arnold, to make 
her an unconscious means of facilitating a cor- 
respondence with her husband. Some have 
inculpated her in the guilt of the transaction, 
hut we think unjustly. It has been alleged 
that a correspondence had been going on be- 
tween her and Andre previous to her marriage, 
and was kept up after it ; but as far as we can 
learn, only one letter passed between them, 
written by Andr6 in August 16th, 1779, in 
which he sohcits her remembrance, assures her 
that respect for her and the fair circle in which 
he had become acquainted with her, remains 
unimpaired by distance or political broils, re- 
minds her that the Mischianza had made him 
a complete milliner, and offers her his services 
to furnish her with supplies in that department. 
" I shall be glad," adds he sportively, " to enter 
into the whole detail of cap wire, needles, 
gauze, &c., and to the best of my abilities ren- 
der you, in these trifles, services from which I 
hope you would infer a zeal to be further em- 
ployed." The apparent object of this letter 
was to open a convenient medium of communi- 
cation, which Arnold might use without excit- 
ing her suspicion. 

Various circumstances connected with this 
nefarious negotiation, argue lightness of mind 
and something of debasing alloy on the part of 
Andr6. The correspondence carried on for 
months in the jargon of traffic, savored less of 
the camp than the counting-house ; the pro- 
tracted tampering with a brave but necessitous 
man for the sacrifice of his fame and the be- 
trayal of his trust, strikes us as being beneath 
the range of a truly chivalrous nature. 

Correspondence had now done its part in the 
business ; for the completion of the plan and 
tlie adjustment of the traitor's recompense, a 
personal meeting was necessary between Arnold 
and Andre. The former proposed that it should 
take place at his own quarters at the Eobinson 
House, where Andr6 should come in disguise, 
as a bearer of intelligence, and under the feign- 
ed name of John Anderson. Andre positively 
objected to entering the American lines ; it was 
arranged, therefore, that the meeting should 
take place on neutral ground, near the Ameri- 
can outposts, at Dobbs' Ferry, on the 11th of 
September, at twelve o'clock. Andr6 attended 
at the appointed place and time, accompanied 
by Colonel Beverley Robinson, who was ac- 
quainted with the plot. An application of the 



latter for the restoration of his confiscated 
property in the Highlands, seemed to have 
been used as a blind in these proceedings. 

Arnold had passed the preceding night at 
what was called the White House, the residence 
of Mr. Joshua Hett Smith, situated on the west 
side of the Hudson in Haverstraw Bay, about 
two miles" below Stony Point. He set off 
thence in his barge for the place of rendez- 
vous ; but, not being protected by a flag, was 
fired upon and pursued by the British guard- 
boats stationed near Dobbs' Ferry, He took 
refuge at an American post on the western 
shore, whence he re'turned in the night to his 
quarters in the Robinson House. Lest his ex- 
pedition should occasion some surmise, he 
pretended, in a note to Washington, that he 
had been down the Hudson to arrange signals 
in case of any movement of the enemy upon 
the river. 

New arrangements were made for an inter- 
view, but it was postponed until Washington 
should depart for Hartford to hold the proposed 
conference with Count Rochambeau and the 
other French officers. In the mean time, the 
British sloop-of-war, Vulture, anchored a few 
miles below Teller's Point, to be at hand in aid 
of the negotiation. On board was Colonel 
Robinson, who, pretending to believe that 
General Putnam still commanded in the High- 
lands, addressed a note to him requesting an 
interview on the subject of his confiscated 
property. This letter he sent by a flag, enclos- 
ed in one addressed to Arnold ; soliciting of 
him the same boon should General Putnam be 
absent. 

On the 18th Sept., Washington with his suite 
crossed the Hudson to Verplanck's Point, in 
Arnold's barge, on his way to Hartford. Ar- 
nold accompanied him as far as Peekskill, and 
on the way, laid before him with affected frank- 
ness, the letter of Colonel Robinson, and asked 
his advice. Washington disapproved of any 
such interview, observing, tliat the civil authori- 
ties alone had cognizance of these questions of 
confiscated property. 

Arnold now openly sent a flag on board of 
the Vultm-e, as if bearing a reply to the letter 
he had communicated to the commander-in- 
chief. By this occasion he informed Colonel 
Robinson, that a person with a boat and flag 
would be alongside of the Vulture, on the 
night of the 20th ; and that any matter he 
might wish to communicate, would be laid be- 
fore General Washini2;ton on the following Sat- 



Mr. 48.] 



MIDNIGHT CONFERENCE ON THE BANKS OF THE HUDSON. 



533 



urday, when he might be expected back from 
Newport. J 

On the faith of the information thus covertly 
conveyed, Andre proceeded up the Hudson on 
the 20th, and went on board of the Vulture, 
where he found Colonel Robinson, and expect- 
ed to meet Arnold. The latter, however, had 
made other arrangements, probably with a 
view to his personal security. About half-past 
eleven, of a still and starlight night (the 21st), a 
boat was descried from on board, glidiug si- 
lently along, rowed by two men with muffled 
oars. She was hailed by an officer on watch, 
and called to account. A rtian, seated in the 
stern, gave out that they were from King's 
Ferry, bound to Dobbs' Ferry. He was order- 
ed alongside, and soon made his way on board. 
He proved to be Mr. Joshua Hett Smith, already 
mentioned, whom Arnold had prevailed upon 
to go on board of the Vulture, and bring a 
person on shore who was coming from New 
York with important intelligence. He had 
given him passes to protect him and those with 
him, in case he should be stopped, either in going 
or returning, by the American water guard, 
which patrolled the river in whale-boats. He 
had made him the bearer of a letter addressed 
to Colonel Beverley Robinson, which was to the 
following purport : " This will be delivered to 
you by Mr. Smith, Avho will conduct you to a 
place of safety. Neither Mr. Smith nor any 
other persons shall be made acquainted with 
your proposals; if they (which I doubt not) 
are of such a nature, that I can officially take 
notice of them, I shall do it with pleasure; I 
take it for granted Colonel Robinson will not 
propose any thing, that is not for the interest 
of the United States as well as of himself." All 
this use of Colonel Robinson's name was in- 
tended as a blind, should the letter be inter- 
cepted. 

Robinson introduced Andr6 to Smith by the 
name of John Anderson, who was to go on 
shore in his place (lie being unwell), to have an 
interview with General Arnold. Andre wore 
a blue great coat which covered his uniform, 
and Smith always declared that at the time he 
was totally ignorant of his name and military 
character. Robinson considered this whole 
nocturnal proceeding full of peril, and would 
have dissuaded Andre, but the latter was zeal- 
ous in executing his mission, and, embarking in 
the boat with Smith, was silently rowed to the 
western side of the river, about six miles below 
Stony Point. Here they landed a little after 



midnight, at the foot of a shadowy mountain 
called the Long Clove ; a solitary place, the 
haunt of the owl and the whippoorwill, and 
well fitted for a treasonable conference. 

Arnold was in waiting, but standing aloof 
among the thickets. He had come hither on 
horseback from Smith's house, about three or 
four miles distant, attended by one of Smith's 
servants, likewise mounted. The midnight ne- 
gotiation between Andre and Arnold was car- 
ried on in darkness among the trees. Smith 
remained in the boat, and the servant drew 
off to a distance with the horses. One hour 
after another passed away, when Smith ap- 
proached the place of conference, and gave warn- 
ing that it was near daybreak, and if they lin- 
gered much longer the boat would be discovered. 

The nefarious bargain was not yet complet- 
ed, and Arnold feared the sight of a boat going 
to the Vulture might cause suspicion. He 
prevailed, therefore, upon Andr6 to remain on 
shore until the following night. The boat 
was accordingly sent to a creek higher up the 
river, and Andre, mounting the servant's horse, 
set off with Arnold for Smith's house. The 
road passed through the village of Haverstraw. 
As they rode along in the dark, the voice of a 
sentinel demanding the countersign startled 
Andre with the fearful conviction that he was 
within the American lines, but it was too late 
to recede. It was daybreak when they arrived 
at Smith's house. 

They had scarcely entered when the boom- 
ing of cannon was heard from down the river. 
It gave Andre uneasiness, and with reason. 
Colonel Livingston, who commanded above at 
Verplanck's Point, learning that the Vulture 
lay within shot of Teller's Point, which divides 
Haverstraw Bay from the Tappan Sea, had 
sent a party with cannon to that point in the 
night, and they were now firing upon the sloop 
of war. Andrd watched the cannonade with 
an anxious eye from an upper window in 
Smith's house. At one time he thought the 
Vulture was on fire. He was relieved from 
painful solicitude when he saw the vessel weigh 
anchor and drop down the river out of reach 
of cannon shot. 

After breakfast, the plot for the betrayal of 
"West Point and its dependent -posts was adjust- 
ed, and the sum agreed upon that Arnold was 
to receive, should it be successful. Andre was 
furnished with plans of the works, and explan- 
atory papers, which, at Arnold's request, he 
placed between his stockings and his feet ; 



534 



THE BARGAIN COMPLETED— THE NEUTRAL GROUND. 



[1780. 



promising, ia case of accident, to destroy 
them. 

All matters being thus arranged, Arnold pre- 
pared to return in his own barge to his head- 
quarters at the Robinson House. As the Vul- 
ture had shifted her ground, he suggested to 
Andre a return to New York by land, as most 
safe and expeditious ; the latter, however, in- 
sisted upon being put on board of the sloop of 
war, on the ensuing night. Arnold consented ; 
but, before his departure, to provide against 
the possible necessity of a return by land, he 
gave Andr6 the following pass, dated from the 
Eobinson House : 

" Permit Mr. John Anderson to pass the 
guards at the White Plains, or below, if he 
chooses; he being on public business by my 
direction. B. Aenold, M. Genl." 

Smith also, who was to accompany him, was 
furnished with passports to proceed either by 
water or by land. 

Arnold departed about ten o'clock. Andre 
passed a lonely day, casting many a wistful 
look toward the Vulture. Once on board of 
that ship he would be safe ; he would have 
fulfilled his mission ; the capture of West Point 
would be certain, and liis triumph would be 
complete. As evening approached he grew 
impatient, and spoke to Smith about departure. 
To his surprise, he found the latter had made 
no preparation for it ; he had discharged his 
boatmen, who had gone home : in short, he 
refused to take him on board of the Vulture. 
The cannonade of the morning had probably 
made him fear for his personal safety, should 
he attempt to go on board, the Vulture having 
resumed her exposed position. lie offered, 
however, to cross the river with Andre at 
King's Ferry, put him in the way of returning 
to New York by land, and accompany him for 
some distance on horseback. 

Andr6 was in an agony at finding himself, 
notwithstanding all his stipulations, forced 
within the American lines ; but there seemed 
to be no alternative, and he prepared for the 
hazardous journey. 

He wore, as we have noted, a military coat 
under a long blue surtout ; he was now per- 
suaded to lay it aside, and put on a citizen's 
coat of Smith's; thus adding disguise to the 
other humiliating and hazardous circumstances 
of the case. 

It was about sunset when Andrd and Smith, 



attended by a negro servant of the latter, 
crossed from King's Ferry to Verplanck's Point. 
After proceeding about eight miles on the road 
toward White Plains, they were stopped be- 
tween eight and nine o'clock, near Crompond, 
by a patrolling party. The captain of it was 
uncommonly inquisitive and suspicious. The 
passport with Arnold's signature satisfied 
him. He warned them, however, against the 
danger of proceeding further in the night. 
Cow Boys from the British lines were scouring 
the country, and had recently marauded the 
neighborhood. Smith's fears were again excit- 
ed, and Andre was obliged to yield to them. 
A bed was furnished them in a neighboring 
house, where Andre passed an anxious and 
restless night, under the very eye, as it were, 
of an American patrol. 

At daybreak he awoke Smith, and hurried 
their departure, and his mind was lightened of 
a load of care, when he found himself out of 
the reach of the patrol and its inquisitive com- 
mander. 

They were now approaching that noted part 
of the country, heretofore mentioned as the 
Neutral Ground, extending north and south 
about thirty miles, between the British and 
American lines. A beautiful region of forest- 
clad hills, fertile valleys, and abundant streams, 
but now almost desolated by the scourings of 
Skinners and Cow Boys ; the former professing 
allegiance to the American cause, the latter to 
the British, but both arrant marauders. 

One who had resided at the time in this 
region, gives a sad picture of its state. Houses 
plundered and dismantled ; enclosures broken 
down ; cattle carried away ; fields lying waste ; 
the roads grass-grown ; the country mournful, 
solitary, silent — reminding one of the desola- 
tion presented in the song of Deborah. " In 
the days of Shamgar the son of Anath, in the 
days of Jacl, the highways were unoccupied, 
and the travellers walked in by-paths. The 
inhabitants of the villages ceased ; they ceased 
in Israel." * 

About two and a half miles from Pine's 
Bridge, on the Croton Eiver, Andre and his 
companion partook of a scanty meal at a farm- 
house which had recently been harried by the 
Cow Boys. Here they parted, Smith to return 
home, Andre to pursue his journey alone to 
New York. His spirits, however, were cheerful ; 
for, having got beyond the patrols, he con- 



See Dwight's Travels, vol. iii. 



^T. 48.] 



ANDRfi BROUGHT TO A STAND, AND SEARCHED. 



535 



sidered the most perilous part of his route ac- 
complished. 

About six miles beyond Pine's Bridge he 
came to a place where the road forked, the left 
branch leading toward White Plains in the in- 
terior of the country, the right inclining tow- 
ai'd the Hudson. lie had originally intended 
to take the left hand road, the other being said 
to be infested by Cow Boys. These, however, 
were not to be apprehended by him, as they 
belonged to the lower party or British ; it led, 
too, more directly to New York ; so he turned 
do^vT^ it, and took his course along the river 
road. 

He had not proceeded far, when coming to a 
place where a small stream crossed the road 
and ran into a woody dell, a man stepped out 
from the trees, levelled a musket and brought 
him to a stand, while two other men similarly 
armed, showed themselves prepared to second 
their comrade. 

The man who had first stepped out wore a 
refugee uniform. At sight of it, Andr6's heart 
leapt, and he felt himself secure. Losing all 
caution, he exclaimed eagerly : " Gentlemen, 
I hope you belong to our party ? " — " What 
party ? " was asked. — " The lower party," said 
Andre. — " We do," was the reply. All re- 
serve was now at an end. Andre declared 
himself to be a British officer ; that he had 
been up the country on particular business, and 
must not be detained a single moment. He 
drew out his watch as he spoke. It was a 
gold one, and served to prove to them that he 
was Avhat he represented himself, gold watches 
being seldom worn in those days, excepting by 
persons of consequence. 

To his consternation, the supposed refugee 
now avowed himself and his companions to be 
Americans, and told Andr6 he was their pris- 
oner ! 

It was even so. The sacking and burning 
of Young's House, and the carrying of its rustic 
defenders into captivity, had roused the spirit 
of the Neutral Ground. The yeomanry of that 
harassed country had turned out in parties to 
intercept freebooters from the British lines, 
who had recently been on the maraud, and 
might be returning to the city with their spoils. 
One of these parties, composed of seven men 
of the neighborhood, had divided itself. Four 
took post on a hill above Sleepy Hollow, to 
watch the road which crossed the country ; 
the other tliree, John Paulding, Isaac Van 
Wart, and David Williams by name, stationed 



themselves on the road which runs parallel to 
the Hudson. Two of them were seated on the 
grass playing at cards to pass away the time, 
while one mounted guard. 

The one in refugee gai'b who brought Andre 
to a stand, was John Paulding, a stout-hearted 
youngster, who, like most of the young men 
of this outraged neighborhood, had been re- 
peatedly in arms to repel or resent aggressions, 
and now belonged to the militia. He had twice 
been captured and confined in the loathsome 
military prisons, where patriots sutfered in 
New York, first in the North Dutch Church, 
and last in the noted Sugar House. Both times 
he had made his escape ; the last time, only 
four days previous to the event of which we 
are ti'eating. The ragged refugee coat, which 
had deceived Andr^, and been the cause of his 
betraying himself, had been given to Paulding 
by one of his captors, in exchange for a good 
yeoman garment of which they stripped him.* 
This slight circumstance may have produced 
the whole discovery of the treason. 

Andr6 was astounded at finding into what 
hands he had fallen ; and how he had betrayed 
himself by his heedless avowal. Promptly, 
however, recovering his self-possession, he en- 
deavored to pass off his previous account of 
himself as a mere subterfuge. " A man must 
do any thing," said he laughingly, "to get 
along." He now declared himself to be a Con- 
tinental officer, going down to Dobbs' Ferry to 
get information from below ; so saying, he 
drew forth and showed the pass of General 
Arnold. 

This, in the first instance, would have been 
sufficient ; but his unwary tongue had ruined 
him. The suspicions of his captors were com- 
pletely roused. Seizing the bridle of his horse, 
they ordered him to dismount. He warned 
them that he was on urgent business for the 
general, and that they would get themselves 
into trouble should they detain him. "We 
care not for that," was the reply, as they led 
him among the thickets, on the border of the 
brook. 

Paulding asked whether he had any letters 
about him. He answered, no. They pro- 
ceeded to search him, A minute description is 
given of his dress. He wore a round hat, a 
blue surtout, a crimson close-bodied coat, some- 
what faded : the button-holes worked with 



* Stated on the authority of Commodore Hiram Pauld- 
ing, a son of the captor, who heard it repeatedly from tho 
lips of his father. , 



536 



ANDRifi TAKEN AS A SPY— CIRCUMSTANCES OF HIS CAPTURE. 



[1780. 



gold, and the buttons covered with gold lace, 
a nankeen vest, and small-clothes and boots. 

They obliged him to take otf his coat and 
vest, and found on him eighty dollars in Con- 
tinental money, but nothing to warrant sus- 
picion of any thing sinister, and were disposed 
to let him proceed, when Paulding exclaimed : 
" Boys, I am not satisfied — his boots must 
come oflF." 

At this Andre changed color. His boots, he 
said, came off with difficulty, and he begged he 
might not be subjected to the inconvenience 
and delay. His remonstrances were in vain. 
He was obliged to sit down : his boots were 
drawn off, and the concealed papers discovered. 
Hastily scanning them, Paulding exclaimed, 
" My God ! He is a spy ! " 

He demanded of Andr6 were he had gotten 
these papers. 

" Of a man at Pine's Bridge, a stranger to 
me," was the reply. 

While dressing himself, Andr6 endeavored 
to ransom himself from his captors ; rising 
from one offer to another. He would give any 
sum of money if they would let him go. He 
would give his horse, saddle, bridle, and one 
hundred guineas, and would send them to any 
place that might be fixed upon. 

Williams asked him if he would not give 
more. 

He replied, that he would give any reward 
they might name either in goods or aioney, and 
would remain with two of their party while 
one went to New York to get it. 

Here Paulding broke in and declared with an 
oath, that if he would give ten thousand guin- 
eas, he should not stir one step.* 

The unfortunate Andre now submitted to his 
fate, and the captors set off with tlieir prisoner 
for North Castle, the nearest American post, 
distant ten or twelve miles. They proceeded 
across a hilly and woody region, part of the 
way by the road, part across fields. One 
strode in front, occasionally holding the horse 
by the bridle, the others walked on either side. 
Andr6 rode on in silence, declining to answer 
further questions until he should come before 
a military officer. About noon, they halted at 
a fai-m house where the inhabitants were taking 
their mid-day repast. The wortliy housewife, 
moved by Andr6's prepossessing appearance 
and dejected air, kindly invited him to par- 
take. He declined, alleging that lie had no 



* Testimony of David Williams. 



appetite. Glancing at his gold-laced crimson 
coat, the good dame apologized for her rustic 
fare. "Oh, madam," exclaimed poor Andre 
with a melancholy shake of the head, " it is all 
very good — but, indeed, I cannot eat ! " 

This was related to us by a venerable matron, 
who was present on the occasion, a young girl 
at the time, but who in her old days could not 
recall the scene and the appearance of Andre 
without tears. 

The captors with their prisoner being arrived 
at North Castle, Lieutenant-Colonel Jameson, 
who was in command there, recognized' the 
handwriting of Arnold in the papers found upon 
Andr6, and, perceiving that they were of a 
dangerous nature, sent them oft' by express to 
General Washington, at Hartford. 

Andre, still adhering to his assumed name, 
begged that the commander at West Point 
might be informed that John Anderson, though 
bearing his passport, was detained. 

Jameson appears completely to have lost his 
head on the occasion. He wrote to Arnold, 
stating the circumstances of the arrest, and that 
the papers found upon the prisoner had been 
despatched by express to the commander-in- 
chief, and at the same time, he sent the pris- 
oner himself, under a strong guard, to accom- 
pany the letter.* 

Shortly afterwards, Major Tallmadge, next in 
command to Jameson, but of a much clearer 
head, arrived at North Castle, having been ab- 
sent on duty to White Plains. When the cir- 
cumstances of the case were related to him, 
he at once suspected treachery on the part of 
Arnold. At his earnest entreaties, an express 
was sent after the officer who had Andr6 in 
charge, ordering him to bring the latter back 
to North Castle ; but by singular perversity or 
obtuseness in judgment, Jameson neglected to 
countermand the letter which he had written 
to Arnold. 

When Andre was brought back, and was 
pacing up and down the room, Tallmadge saw 
at once by his air and movements, and the 
mode of turning on his heel, that he was a 
military man. By his advice, and under his 
escort, the prisoner was conducted to Colonel 
Sheldon's post at Lower Salem, as more secure 
than North Castle. 

Here Andre, being told that the papers found 
upon his person liad been forwarded to Wasli- 



* Sparks' ArnoUl. We would note generally, that we 
are indebted to Mr. Sparks' work for many particulars 
given by us of this tale of treason. 



^T. 48.] ANDRE'S LETTER TO WASHINGTON— REMINISCENCE OF ANDRE. 



537 



ington, addressed to him immediately the fol- 
lowing lines : 

" I beg your Excellency will be persuaded 
that no alteration in the temper of ray mind or 
apprehensions for my safety, induces me to 
take the step of addressing you ; but that it is 
to secure myself from the imputation of having 
assumed a mean character for treacherous pui*- 
poses or self-interest. * * It is to vindicate 
my fame that I speak, and not to solicit se- 
curity. 

" The person in your possession is Major John 
Andre, adjutant-general of the Britisli army. 

" The influence of one commander in the 
army of his adversary is an advantage taken 
in war. A correspondence for this purpose I 
held ; as confidential (in the present instance) 
with his Excellency, Sir Henry Clinton. To 
favor it, I agreed to meet upon ground not 
within the posts of either army, a person who 
was to give me intelligence. I came up in the 
Vulture man-of-war for this efi'ect, and was 
fetched from the shore to the beach. Being 
there, I was told that the approach of day 
would prevent my return, and that I must be 
concealed until the next night. I was in my 
regimentals, and had fairly risked my person. 

" Against my stipulation, my intention, and 
without my knowledge beforehand, I was con- 
ducted within one of your posts. Thus was I 
betrayed into the vile condition of an enemy 
within your posts. 

" Having avowed myself a British ofiicer, I 
have nothing to reveal but what relates to my- 
self, which is true, on the honor of an officer 
and a gentleman. 

" The request I have made to your Excel- 
lency, and I am conscious that I address 
myself well, is, that in any rigor policy may 
dictate, a decency of conduct towards me may 
mark, that, though unfortunate, I am branded 
"with nothing dishonorable ; as no motive could 
be mine, but the service of my king, and as I 
Was involuntarily an impostor." 

This letter he submitted to the perusal of 
Major Tallmadge, who was surprised and agi- 
tated at finding the rank and importance of the 
prisoner he had in charge. The letter being 
despatched, and Andre's pride relieved on a 
sensitive point, he resumed his serenity, appar- 
ently unconscious of the awful responsibility 
of his situation. Having a talent for carica- 
ture, he even amused himself in the course of 
the day by making a ludicrous sketch of him- 
self and his rustic escort under march, and pre- 



senting it to an ofiicer in the room with him. 
" This," said he gayly, " will give you an idea 
of the style in which I have had the honor to 
be conducted to my ju-esent abode." 

NOTE. 
Andre's propensity for caricature had receutlj- been 
indulged in a mock heroic poem in three cantos, cele- 
brating an attack upon a British picket by Wayne, 
with the driving into the American camp of a drove 
of cattle by Lee's dragoons. It is written with great 
humor, and is full of grotesque imagery. " Mad An- 
thony" especially is in broad caricature, and repre- 
sented to have lost his horse upon the great occasion." 

His horse that carried all his prog, 

His military speeches, 
His corn-stalk whiskey for his grog — 

Blue Btookings and brown breeches. 

The cantos were published at different times in 
Rivingtou's Gazette. It so happened that the last 
canto appeared on the very day of Andre's capture, 
and ended with the following stanza, which might be 
considered ominous : — 

And now I've closed my epic strain, 

I tremble as I show it, 
Lest this same warrio-drover, Wayne, 

Should ever catch the poet. 



CHAPTER X. 

Ok the very day that the treasonable con- 
ference between Arnold and Andre took place, 
on the banks of Haverstraw Bay, Washington 
had his interview with the French officers at 
Hartford. It led to no important result. In- 
telligence was received that the squadron of 
the Count de Guichen, on which they had re- 
lied to give them superiority by sea, had sailed 
for Europe. This disconcerted their plans, and 
Washington, in consequence, set out tw^o or 
three days sooner than had been anticipated on 
his return to his head-quarters on the Hudson. 
He was accompanied by Lafayette and General 
Knox with their suites ; also, part of the way, 
by Count Matthew Dumas, aide-de-camp to 
Eochambeau. The count, who regarded Wash- 
ington with an entluisiasm w^hich appears to 
have been felt by many of the young French 
officers, gives an animated picture of the manner 
in which he was greeted in one of the towns 
through which they passed. "We arrived 
there," says he, " at night ; the whole popula- 
tion had salfied forth beyond the suburbs. We 
were surroimded by a crowd of children carry- 
ing torches, and reiterating the acclamations 



538 



ARRIVAL OF WASHINGTON— FLIGHT OF ARNOLD, 



[1*780. 



of the citizens ; all were eager to touch the 
person of liim Avhom they hailed with loud cries 
as their father, and they thronged before us 
so as almost to prevent our moving onward. 
General "Washington, much affected, paused 
a few moments, and pressing my hand, ' We 
may be beaten by the English,' said he, ' it is 
the chance of war ; but there is the army they 
will never conquer ! ' " 

These few words speak that noble confidence 
in the enduring patriotism of his countrymen, 
which sustained him throughout all the fluc- 
tuating fortunes of the Eevolution ; yet at this 
very moment it was about to receive one of the 
cruellest of wounds. 

On approaching the Hudson, Washington 
took a more circuitous route than the one he 
had originally intended, striking the river at 
Fishkill just above the Highlands, that he might 
visit West Point, and show the marquis the 
works which had been erected there during his 
absence in France. Circumstances detained 
them a niglit at Fishkill, Their baggage was 
sent on to Arnold's quarters in the Eobinson 
House, with a message apprising the genei'al 
that they would breakfast there the next day. 
In the morning (Sept. 24th) they were in the 
saddle before break of day, having a ride to 
make of eighteen miles through the mouutains. 
It was a pleasant and animated one. Washing- 
ton was in excellent spirits, and the buoyant 
marquis, and geuial, warm-hearted Knox, were 
companions Vith whom he was always dis- 
posed to unbend. 

When witliin a mile of the Eobinson House, 
Washington turned down a cross road leading 
to the banks of the Hudson. Lafayette ap- 
prised him that he was going out of the way, 
and hinted that Mrs. Arnold must be waiting 
breakfast for him. " Ah, marquis ! " replied 
he good-humoredly, " you young men are all 
in love with Mrs. Arnold. I see you are eager 
to be with her as soon as possible. Go you and 
breakfast with her, and tell her not to wait for 
me. I must rido down and examine the re- 
doubts on this side of the river, but will be 
with her shortly." 

The mai-quis and General Knox, however, 
turned off and accompanied him down to the 
redoubts, while Colonel Hamilton, and Lafay- 
ette's aide-de-camp. Major James McHenry, 
continued along the main road to the Eobinson 
House, bearing Washington's apology, and re- 
quest that the breakfast might not be retarded. 

The family with the two aides-de-camp sat 



down to breakfast. Mrs. Arnold had arrived 
but four or five days previously from Philadel- 
phia, T/ith her infant child, then about six 
months old. She was bright and amiable us 
usual. Arnold was silent and gloomy. It was 
an anxious moment with him. This was the 
day appointed for the consummation of the 
plot, when the enemy's ships were to ascend 
the river. The return of the commander-in- 
chief from the East two days sooner than had 
been anticipated, and his proposed visit to the 
forts, threatened to disconcert every thing. 
What might be the consequence Arnold could 
not conjecture. An interval of fearful im- 
aginings was soon brought to a direful close. 
In the midst of the repast a horseman alighted 
at the gate. It was the messenger bearing 
Jameson's letter to Arnold, stating the capture 
of Andre, and that dangerous papers found on 
him had been forwarded to Washington. 

The mine had exploded beueatli Arnold's 
feet ; yet in this awful moment he gave an 
evidence of that quickness of mind which had 
won laurels for him when in the path of duty. 
Controlling the dismay that must have smitten 
him to the heart, he beckoned Mrs. Arnold 
from the breakfast table, signifying a wish to 
speak with her in private. When alone with 
her in her room up stairs, he announced in 
hurried words that he was a ruined man, and 
must instantly fly for his life ! Overcome by 
the shock, she fell senseless on the floor. With- 
out pausing to aid her, he hurried down stairs, 
sent the messenger to her assistance, probably 
to keep him from an interview with the other 
ofllcers ; returned to the breakfast room, and 
informed his guests that he must haste to West 
Point to prepare for the reception of the com- 
mander-in-chief ; and mounting the horse of 
the messenger, which stood saddled at the door, 
galloped down by what is still called Arnold's 
Path, to the landing-place, where his six-oared 
barge was moored. Throwing himself into it, 
he ordered his men to pull out into the middle 
of the i-iver, and then made down with aU 
speed for Teller's Point, which divides Haver- 
straw Bay from the Tappan Sea, saying he must 
be back soon to meet the commander-in-chief. 

Washington arrived at the Eobinson House 
shortly after the flight of the traitor. Being 
informed that Mrs. Arnold was in her room, 
unwell, and that Arnold had gone to West 
Point to receive him, he took a hasty breakfast, 
and repaired to the fortress, leaving word that 
he and his suite would return to diimer. 



^T. 48.] 



FLIGHT OF ARNOLD— LETTER FROM THE TRAITOR. 



539 



In crossing the river, be noticed tliat no 
salute was fired from the fort, nor was there 
any jn-eparation to receive him on his Landing, 
Colonel Lamb, the officer in command, who 
came down to the shore, manifested surprise at 
seeing him, and apologized for this want of 
military ceremony, by assuring him he had not 
been apprised of his intended ^•isit. 

"Is not General Arnold here?" demanded 
Washington. 

" No, sir. He has not been here for two 
days past ; nor have I heard from him in that 
time." 

This was strange and perplexing, but no 
sinister suspicion entered "Washington's mind. 
He remained at the Point throughout the 
morning inspecting the fortifications. In the 
mean time, the messenger whom Jameson had 
despatched to Hartford with a letter covering 
the papers taken on Andre, arrived at the Kob- 
inson House. He had learnt, while on the way 
to Hartford, that Washington had left that 
place, whereupon he turned bridle to overtake 
him, but missed him in consequence of the 
general's change of route. Coming by the 
lower road, the messenger had passed through 
Salem, where Andr6 was confined, and brought 
with him the letter written by that unfor- 
tunate officer to the commander-in-chief, the 
purport of which has already been given. 
These letters being represented as of the ut- 
most moment, were opened and read by Colonel 
Hamilton, as Washington's aide-de-camp and 
confidential officer. He maintained silence as 
to their contents ; met Washington, as he and 
his companions were coming up from the river, 
on their return from West Point, spoke to him 
a few words in a low voice, and they retired 
together into the house. Whatever agitation 
Washington may have felt when these docu- 
ments of deep-laid treachery were put before 
Lim, he wore his usual air of equanimity when 
he rejoined his companions. Taking Knox and 
Lafayette aside, he communicated to them the 
intelligence, and placed the papers in their 
hands. " Whom can we trust now ? " was his 
only comment, but it spoke volumes. 

His first idea was to arrest the traitor. Con- 
jecturing the direction of his flight, he de- 
spatched Colonel Hamilton on horseback to 
spur with all speed to Verplanck's Point, which 
commands the narrow part of the Hudson, just 
below the Highlands, with orders to the com- 
mander to intercept Arnold should he not al- 
ready have passed that post. This done, when 



dinner was announced, he invited the company 
to table. " Come, gentlemen ; since Mrs. Ar- 
nold is unwell, and the general is absent, let us 
sit down without ceremony." The repast was 
a quiet one, for none but Lafayette and Knox, 
beside the general, knew the purport of the 
letters just received. 

In the mean time, Arnold, panic-stricken, 
had sped his caitiff flight through the High- 
lands ; infamy howling in his rear ; arrest 
threatening him in advance ; a fugitive past 
the posts which he had recently commanded ; 
shrinking at the sight of that flag which hither- 
to it had been his glory to defend ! Alas ! how 
changed from the Arnold, who, but two years 
previously, when repulsed, wounded and crip- 
pled, before the walls of Quebec, could yet 
write proudly from a shattered camp, " I am 
in the way of my duty, and I know no fear ! " 

He had passed through the Highlands in 
safety, but there were the batteries at Ver- 
planck's Point yet to fear. Fortunately for 
him, Hamilton, with the order for his arrest, 
had not arrived there. 

His barge was known by the garrison. A 
white handkerchief displayed gave it the sane-, 
tion of a flag of truce : it was sufifered to pass 
without question, and the traitor eftected his 
escape to the Vulture sloop-of-war, anchored a 
few miles below. As if to consummate his 
degradation by a despicable act of treachery 
and meanness, he gave up to the commander 
his coxswain and six bargemen as prisoners of 
war. We are happy to add, that this perfidy 
excited the scorn of the British officers ; and, 
when it was found that the men had supposed 
they were acting under the protection of a flag, 
they were released by order of Sir Henry Clin- 
ton. 

Colonel Hamilton returned to the Kobinson 
House and reported the escape of the traitor. 
He brought two letters also to Washington, 
which had been sent on shore from the Vul- 
ture, under a flag of truce. One was from 
Arnold, of which the following is a transcript : 

u Sir^—The heart which is conscious of its 
own rectitude, cannot attempt to palliate a step 
which the world may censure as wrong ; I have 
ever acted from a principle of love to my coun- 
try, since the commencement of the present 
unhappy contest between Great Britain and the 
colonies; the same principle of love to my 
country actuates my present conduct, however 
it may appear inconsistent to the world, who 
seldom judge right of any man's actions. 



540 



ARNOLD ON BOARD OF THE VULTURE— DISTRESS OF MRS. ARNOLD. 



[1780. 



" I ask no favor for myself. I have too often 
experienced the ingratitude of my country to 
attempt it ; but, from the known humanity of 
your Excellency, I am induced to ask your pro- 
tection for Mrs. Arnold from every insult and 
injury that a mistaken vengeance of my country 
may expose her to. It ought to fall only on 
me ; she is as good and as innocent as an angel, 
and is incapahle of doing wrong. I beg she 
may be permitted to return to her friends in 
Philadelphia, or to come to me as she may 
choose ; from your Excellency I have no fears 
on her account, but she may suffer from the 
mistaken fury of the country." 

The other letter was from Colonel Beverley 
Eobinson, interceding for the release of Andre, 
on the plea that he was on shore under the 
sanction of a flag of truce, at the request of 
Arnold. Robinson had hoped to find favor with 
"Washington on the score of their early inti- 
macy. 

Notwithstanding "Washington's apparent tran- 
quillity and real self-possession, it was a time 
of appalling distrust. How far the treason had 
extended ; who else might be implicated in it, 
was unknown. Arnold had escaped, and was 
actually on board of the "Vulture ; he knew 
every thing about the condition of the posts : 
might he not persuade the enemy, in the pres- 
ent weak state of garrisons, to attempt a conj) 
de main ? "Washington instantly, therefore, 
despatched a letter to Colonel "Wade, who was 
in temporary command at "West Point. " Gen- 
eral Arnold is gone to the enemy," writes he. 
"I have just now received a line from him en- 
closing one to Mrs. Arnold, dated on board of 
the "Vulture. I request that you will be as 
vigilant as possible, and as the enemy may have 
it in contemplation to attempt some enterprise, 
even to-night, against these posts, I Avish you to 
make, immediately after the receipt of this, the 
best disposition you can of your force, so as to 
have a proportion of men in each work on the 
east side of the river." 

A regiment stationed in the Highlands was 
ordered to the same duty, as well as a body of 
the Massachusetts militia from Fishkill. At 
half-past seven in the evening, "Washington 
wi-ote to General Greene, who, in his absence, 
commanded the army at Tappan ; urging him 
to put the left division in motion as soon as 
possible, with orders to proceed to King's Fer- 
ry, where, or before they should arrive there, 
they would be met with further orders. " The 
division," writes he, " will come on light, leav- 



ing their heavy baggage to follow. You will 
also hold all the troops in readiness to move 
on the shortest notice. Transactions of a most 
interesting natui-e, and such as will astonish 
you, have been just discovered." 

His next thought was about Andre. He was 
not acquainted with him personally, and the 
intrigues in which he had been engaged, and 
the errand on which he had come, made him 
consider him an artful and resolute person. 
He had possessed himself of dangerous informa- 
tion, and in a manner had been arrested with 
the key of the citadel in his pocket. On the 
same evening, therefor<^, "Washington wrote to 
Colonel Jameson, charging that every precau- 
tion should be taken to prevent Major Andr6 
from making his escape. " He will no doubt 
effect it, if possible ; and in order that he may 
not have it in his power, you will send him 
under the care of such a party and so many 
officers as to preclude him from the least op- 
portunity of doing it. That he may be less 
liable to be recaptured by the enemy, who will 
no doubt make every effort to regain him, he 
had better be conducted to this place by some 
upper road, rather than by tlie route of Crom- 
pond. I would not wish Mr. Andre to be 
treated with insult ; but he does not appear to 
stand upon the footing of a common prisoner 
of war, and therefore he is not entitled to the 
usual indulgences which they receive, and is 
to be most closelj' and narrowly watched." 

In the mean time, Mrs. Arnold remained in 
the room in a state bordering on frenzy. Ar- 
nold might well confide in the humanity and 
delicacy of "Washington in respect to her. He 
regarded her with the sincerest commiseration, 
acquitting her of all previous knowledge of her 
husband's guilt. On remitting to her, by one 
of his aides-de-camp, the letter of her husband, 
written from on board of the Vulture, he in- 
formed her that he had done all that depended 
upon himself to have him arrested, but not hav- 
ing succeeded, he experienced a pleasure in 
assuring her of his safety.* 

A letter of Hamilton's written at the time, 
with all the sympathies of a young man, gives a 
touching picture of "Washington's first interview 
with her. " She for a time entirely lost herself. 
The general went up to see her, and she upbraid- 
ed him with being in a plot to murder her child. 
One moment she raved, another she melted into 
tears, sometimes she pressed her infant to her 



Memoirs of Lafayette, 1., p. 264, 



Mt. 48.] 



ANDRE'S CONDUCT AS A PRISONER— HIS CONVERSATIONS. 



541 



bosom, and lamented its fate, occasioned by the 
imprudence of its father, in a mimner that 
would have pierced insensibility itself. All the 
sweatness of beauty, all the loveliness of inno- 
cence, all the tenderness of a wife, and all the 
fondness of a mother, showed themselves in 
her appearance, and conduct." 

During the brief time she remained at the 
Eobinson House, she was treated with the ut- 
most deference and delicacy, but soon set off, 
under a passport of "Washington, for her fath- 
er's house in Philadelphia. 



CHAPTER XI. 

Ox the 26th of September, the day after the 
treason of Arnold had been revealed to Wash- 
ington, Andr6 arrived at the Robinson House, 
having been brought on in the night, under es- 
cort and in charge of Major Tallmadge. "Wash- 
ington made many inquiries of tlie major, but 
declined to have the prisoner brought into his 
presence, apparently entertaining a strong idea 
of his moral obliquity, from the nature of the 
scheme in which he had been engaged, and 
the circumstances under which he had been 
arrested. 

The same evening he transmitted him to 
West Point, and shortly afterwards, Joshua H. 
Smith, who had likewise been arrested. Still, 
not considering them secure even there, he de- 
termined on the following day to send them on 
to the camp. In a letter to Greene he writes : 
" They wiU be under an escort of horse, and I 
wish you to have separate houses in camp ready 
for their reception, in which they may be kept 
perfectly secure ; and also strong, trusty guards, 
trebly ofBcered, that a part may be constantly 
in the room with them. They have not been 
permitted to be together, and must be kept 
apart. I would wish the room for iTr. Andre 
to be a decent one, and that he may be treated 
with civility ; but that he may be so guarded as 
to preclude a possibility of his escaping, which 
he will certainly attempt to effect, if it sliall 
seem practicable in the most distant degree." 

Major Tallmadge continued to have the charge 
of Andre. Not regarding him from the anx- 
ious point with the commander-in-chief, and 
liaving,had opportunities of acquiring a person- 
al knowledge of him, he had become fascinated 
by liis engaging qualities. " The ease and affa- 
bility of his manners," writes he, "polished by 



the refinement of good society and a finished 
education, made him a most delightful compan- 
ion. It often drew tears from my eyes, to find 
him so agreeable in conversation on different 
subjects, when I reflected on his future fate, 
and that too, as I feared, so near at hand." 

Early on the morning of the 28th, tlie pris- 
oners were embarked in a barge, to be conveyed 
from West Point to King's Ferry. Tallmadge 
placed Andre by his side on the after seat of 
the barge. Being both young, of equal rank, 
and prepossessing manners, a frank and cordial 
intercourse had grown up between them. 
By a cartel, mutually agreed upon, each miglit 
put to the other any question not involving a 
third person. They were passing below the 
rocky heights of West Point, and in full view 
of the fortress, when Tallmadge asked Andre 
whether he would have taken an active part in 
the attack on it, should Arnold's plan have suc- 
ceeded. xindr6 promptly answered in the af- 
firmative ; pointed out a table of land on tlie 
west shore, where he would have landed at the 
head of a select corps, described the route he 
would have taken up the mountain to a height 
in the rear of Fort Putnam, overlooking the 
whole parade of West Point — " and this he 
did," writes Tallmadge, " with much greater 
exactness than I could have done. This emi- 
nence he would have reached without difficulty, 
as Arnold would have disposed of the garrison 
in such manner as to be capable of little or no 
opposition — and then the 'kcxj of the country 
would have been in his hands, and he would 
have had the glory of the splendid achievement.'''' 

Tallmadge fairly kindled into admiration as 
Andr6, with hereditary French vivacity, acted 
the scene he was describing. " It seemed to 
him," he said, " as if Andre were entering the 
fort sword in hand." 

He ventured to ask what was to have been 
his reward had he succeeded. " Military glory 
was all he sought. The thanks of his general 
and the approbation of his king would have 
been a rich reward for such an undertaking." 

Tallmadge was perfectly charmed, but adds 
quietly, " I think he further remarked, that, if 
he had succeeded, he was to have heen promoted 
to the rank of a Irigadier-generaV 

While thus the prisoner, confident of the 
merit of what he had attempted, kindled with 
the idea of an imaginary triumph, and the 
youthful officer who had him in charge, caught 
fire from his enthusiasm, the barge glided 
through that solemn defile of mountains. 



542 



STORY OF CAPTAIN HALE— ANDRE'S PRISON AT TAPPAN. 



[1Y80. 



through which, but a few days previously, Ar- 
nold, the panic-stricken traitor of the drama, 
had fled like a felon. 

After disembarking at King's Ferry near 
Stony Point, they set off for Tappan under tlie 
escort of a body of horse. As they approach- 
ed the Clove, a deep defile in the rear of the 
Highlands, Andre, who rode beside Tallmadge, 
became solicitous to know the opinion of the 
latter as to what would be the result of his cap- 
ture, and in what light he would be regarded 
by General "Washington and by a military tri- 
bunal, should one be ordered. Tallmadge 
evaded the question as long as possible, but be- 
ing urged to a full and explicit reply, gave it, 
he says, in the following words : " I had a 
much-loved classmate in Yale College, by the 
name of Nathan Hale, who entered the army 
in 1775. Immediately after the battle of Long 
Island, General 'Washington wanted informa- 
tion respecting the strength, position, and 
probable movements of the enemy. Captain 
Hale tendered his seiwices, went over to 
Brooklyn, and was taken, just as he was pass- 
ing the ontposts of the enemy on his return ; 
said I with emphasis — ' Do you remember the 
sequel of the story?' 'Yes,' said Andr6. 
' He was hanged as a spy ! But you surely do 
not consider his case and mine alike ? ' ' Yes, 
precisely similar ; and similar will be your 
fate.' " * 



* The fate of tlio heroic youth hero alluded to, deserves 
a more ample notice. Born in Coventry, Connecticut, 
June 6th, 1755, he entered Yale College In 1770, and grad- 
uated with Bome distinction in September, 1773, having 
previously contracted an engagement of marri.ige ; not 
unlike Andre in this respect, who wooed his " Honora" at 
eighteen. On quitting college he engaged as a teacher, as 
is common with young men in New England, while study- 
ing for a profession. His half- formed purpose was to devote 
himself to the ministry. As a teacher of youth, he was 
eminently skilful, and equally appreciated by parents and 
pupils. He became universally popular. " Everybody 
loved him," said a lady of his acquaintance, " he was so 
Bx^rightly, intelligent and kind, and so handsome." 

Ho was teaching at Now London, when an express ar- 
rived, bringing tidings of the outbreak at Lexington. A 
town meeting was ciiJled, and Halo was among the most 
ardent of the speakers, proposing an instant march to the 
scene of hostilities, and offering to volunteer. " A sense 
of duty," writes ho to his father, " urges me to sacrifice 
every thing for my country." 

He served in the army before Boston as a lieutenant ; 
prevailed on his company to extend their term of service 
by offering them his own paj-, and for his good conduct re- 
ceived from Congress the commission of captain. lie 
commanded a company in Colonel Knowlton's regiment 
in the following year. After the disastrous battle of Long 
Island, Washington applied to that oiHcer for a competent 
person to penetrate the enemy's camp, and procure intel- 
ligence of their designs ; a service deemed vital in that 



" He endeavored," adds Tallmadge, " to an- 
swer my remarks, but it was manifest he was 
more troubled in spirit than I had ever seen 
him before." 

" We stopped at the Clove to dine and let 
the horse-guard refresh," continues Tallmadge. 
"While there, Andr6 kept reviewing his 
shabby dress, and finally remarked to me, that 
he was positively ashamed to go to the head- 
quarters of the American army in such a plight. 
I called my servant and directed him to bring 
my dragoon cloak, which I presented to Major 
Andre. This he refused to take for some 
time ; but I insisted on it, and he finally put it 
on and rode in it to Tappan." 

The place which had been prepared to re- 
ceive Major Andr6, is still pointed out as the 
" 70 Stone House." The caution which Wash- 
ington had given as to his safe keeping was 
strictly observed by Colonel Scammel, the ad- 
jutant-general, as may be seen by his orders to 
the officer of the guards. 

" Major Andre, the prisoner under your 
guard, is not only an officer of distinction in 
the British army, but a man of infinite art and 
address, who will leave no means unattempted 
to make his escape, and avoid the ignominious 
death which awaits him. You are therefore, 
in addition to your sentries, to keep two officers 
constantly in the room with him, with their 
swords drawn, whilst the other officers who 



dispiriting crisis. Hale, in the ardor of patriotism, volun- 
teered for the unenviable enterprise, though fully aware 
of its peril, and the consequences of capture. 

Assuming his old character as schoolmaster, he crossed 
the Bound at night from Norwalk to Huntington on Long 
Island, visited the British encampments unsuspected, 
made drawings of the enemy's works, and noted down 
memoranda in Latin of the information he gathered, and 
then retraced his steps to Huntington, where a boat was 
to meet him and convey him back to the Connecticut 
shore. Unfortunately a British guard-ship was at that time 
anchored out of view in the Sound, and had sent a boat on 
shore for water. Halo mistook it for the expected boat, 
and did not discover his mistake until he foimd him.self in ' 
the hands of enemies. Ho was stripped and searched, the 
plans and memoranda were found concealed in the solea 
of his shoes, and proved him to be a gpj'. 

He was conveyed to the guard-ship, and thence to New 
York, where he was landed on the 21st September, the 
day of the great fire. He was taken to General Howe's 
head-quarters, and, after brief parley with his judge, or- 
dered for execution the next morning at daybreak — a sen- 
tence carried out by the provost martial, the brutal and 
infamous Cunningham, who refused his request for a 
Bible, and destroyed a letter he had addressed to his 
mother, for the reason afterwards given by himself, " that 
the rebels should never know they had a man who could 
die with such firmness." His patriot spirit shone forth 
in his dying words,—" I only regret that I have but one 
life to lose for my country." 



Ml. 48.] CORRESPONDENCE ON ANDR]fi'S BEHALF— TRIAL AND SENTENCE. 



543 



are out of the room are constantly to keep 
walking the entry and around the sentries, to 
see that they are alert. No person whatever 
to be permitted to enter the room, or speak 
with him, unless by direction of the command- 
er-in-chief. You are by no means to suffer 
him to go out of the room on any pretext 
whatever." * 

The capture of Andr6 caused a great sensa- 
tion at New York. He was universally popu- 
lar with the army, and an especial favorite of 
Sir Henry Clinton. The latter addressed a let- 
ter to "Washington on the 29th, claiming the 
release of Andre on similar ground to that 
urged by Colonel Robinson — his having visited 
Arnold at the particular request of that gen- 
eral officer, and under the sanction of a flag of 
truce ; and his having been stopped while trav- 
elling under Arnold's passports. The same 
letter enclosed one addressed by Arnold to Sir 
Henry, and intended as a kind of certificate of 
the innocence of Andr6. " I commanded at 
the time at West Point," writes the renegade, 
" had an undoubted right to send my flag of 
truce to Major Andre, who came to me under 
that protection, and having held conversation 
with him, I delivered him confidential papers 
in my own handwriting to deliver to your Ex- 
cellency. Thinking it much properer he should 
return by land, I directed him to make use 
of the feigned name of John Anderson, under 
which he had, by my direction, come on shore, 
and gave him my passports to go to the "White 
Plains, on his way to New York. * * * * 
All which I had then a j'ight to do, being in 
the actual service of America, under the orders 
of General "Washington, and commanding gen- 
eral at "West Point and its dependencies." He 
concludes, therefore, that Andr6 cannot fail of 
being immediately sent to New York. 

Neither the official demand of Sir Henry 
Clinton, nor the impudent certificate of Arnold, 
had any effect on the steady mind of "Washing- 
ton. He, considered the circumstances under 
which Andr6 had been taken such as would 
have justified the most summary proceedings, 
but he determined to refer the case to the ex- 
amination and decision of a board of general 
officers, which he convened on the 29th of Sep- 
tember, the day after his arrival at Tappan. It 
was composed of six major-generals, Greene, 
Stirling, St. Clair, Lafayette, E. Howe, and Steu- 
ben ; and eight brigadiers. Parsons, James Clin 



■ From a copy among the papers of General Hand. 



ton, Knox, Glover, Paterson, Hand, Hunting- 
don, and Stark. General Greene, who was 
well versed in military law, and was a man of 
sound head and kind heart, was president, and 
Colonel John Lawrence, judge advocate-gen- 
eral. 

Colonel Alexander Hamilton, who, like Tall- 
madge, had drawn to Andre in his misfortunes, 
as had most of the young American officers, 
gives, in letters to his friends, many interesting 
particulars concerning the conduct of the pris- 
oner. ""When brought before the board of 
officers," writes he, ''he met with every mark 
of indulgence, and was required to answer no 
interrogatory which would even embarrass his 
feelings. On his part, while he carefully con- 
cealed every thing that might implicate others, 
he frankly confessed all the facts relating to 
himself, and upon his confession, without the 
trouble of examining a witness, the board made 
up their report." 

It briefiy stated the circinnstances of the 
case, and concluded witli the opinion of the 
court, that Major Andre, adjutant-general of 
the British army, ought to be considered a spy 
from the enemy, and, agreeably to the law and 
usage of nations, ought to suffer death. In a 
conversation with Hamilton, Andr6 acknowl- 
edged the candor, liberality, and indulgence 
with which the board had conducted them- 
selves in their painful inquiry. He met the 
result with manly firmness. " I foresee my 
fate," said he ; " and though I pretend not to 
play the hero, or to be indifferent about life, 
yet I am reconciled to whatever may happen ; 
conscious that misfortune, not guilt, has brought 
it upon me." 

Even in this situation of gathering horrors, 
he thought of others more than of himself. 
" There is only one thing that disturbs my 
tranquillity," said he to Hamilton. " Sir Hen- 
ry Clinton has been too good to me; he has 
been lavish of his kindness. I am bound to 
him by too many obligations, and love him too 
well, to bear the thought that he should re- 
proach himself, or others should reproach him, 
on the supposition of my having conceived 
myself obliged, by his instructions, to run the 
risk I did. I would not for the world leave a 
sting in his mind that should embitter his 
future days." He could scarce finish the sen- 
tence; bursting into tears, in spite of his ef- 
forts to suppress them, and Avith difficulty col- 
lected himself enough afterwards to -add, " I 
wish to be permitted to assure him that I did 



544 



ANDRE AFTER CONDEMNATION— HIS QUALITIES. 



[1780. 



not act under this impression, but submitted 
to a necessity imposed upon me, as contrary to 
my own inclination, as to his wishes." 

His request was complied with, and he wrote 
a letter to Sir Henry Clinton to the above pur- 
port. He made mention also of his mother 
and three sisters, to whom the value of his 
commission would be an object. " It is need- 
less," said he, " to be more explicit on this sub- 
ject; I am persuaded of your Excellency's 
goodness." * 

He concluded by saying, " I receive the great- 
est attention from his Excellency, General 
"Washington, and from every person under 
whose charge I happen to be placed." 

This letter accompanied one from "Washing- 
ton to Sir Henry Clinton, stating the report of 
the board of inquiry, omitting the sentence. 
" From these proceedings," observes he, " it is 
evident that Major Andre was emjiloyed in the 
execution of measures very foreign to the ob- 
jects of flags of truce, and such as they were 
never meant to authoiize in the most distant 
degree ; and this gentleman confessed with the 
greatest candor, in the course of his examina- 
tion, that it was impossible for him to suppose 
that he came on shore under the sanction of a 
flag." 

Captain Aaron Ogden, a worthy officer of 
the New Jersey line, was selected by "Washing- 
ton to bear these despatches to the enemy's 
post at Paulus Hook, thence to be conveyed 
across the Hudson to New York. Before his 
departure, he called by "Washington's request 
on the Marquis Lafayette, who gave him in- 
structions to sound the officer commanding at 
that post whether Sir Henry Clinton might not 
be willing to deliver up Arnold in exchange for 
Andre. Ogden arrived at Paulus Hook in the 
evening, and made the suggestion, as if inci- 
dentally, in the course of conversation. The 
oflicer demanded if he had any authority from 
"Washington for such an intimation. " I have 
no such assurance from General Washington," 
replied he, " but I am prepared to say, that if 
such a proposal were made, I believe it would 
be accepted, and Major Andre set at liberty." 

The ofiicer crossed the river before morning, 
and communicated the matter to Sir Henry 
Clinton, but the latter instantly rejected the 

* The commission was sold by Sir Henry Clinton, for 
tlio benefit of AnUri'a mother aud sisters. The King, 
also, settled a pension on the mother, and offered to confer 
the honor of knighthood on Andre's brother, in order to 
wipe away all stain from the family, that the circumstance 
of his fate might be thought to occasion. 



expedient as incompatible with honor and mili- 
tary principle. 

In the mean time, the character, appearance, 
deportment, and fortunes of Andre, had inter- 
ested the feelings of the oldest and sternest sol- 
diers around him, and completely captivated 
the sympathies of the younger ones. He was 
treated with the greatest respect and kindness 
throughout his confinement, and his table was 
supplied from that of the commander-in-chief. 

Hamilton, who was in daily intercourse with 
him, describes him as well improved by ed- 
ucation and travel, with an elegant turn of 
mind, and a taste for the fine arts. He had at- 
tained some proficiency in poetry, music, and 
painting. His sentiments were elevated, his 
elocution was fluent, his address easy, polite, 
and engaging, with a softness that conciliated 
aflEection. His talents and accomplishments 
were accompanied, says Hamilton, by a difii- 
dence that induced you to give him credit for 
more than appeared. 

No one felt stronger sympathy in his case 
than Colonel Tallmadge, no doubt from the 
consideration that he had been the means of 
bringing him into this awful predicament, by 
inducing Colonel Jameson to have him con- 
ducted back when on the way to Arnold's 
quarters. A letter lies before us, written by 
Tallmadge to Colonel Samuel B. Webb, one of 
Washington's aides-de-camp. " Poor Andre, 
who has been under my charge almost ever 
since he was taken, has yesterday had his trial, 
and though his sentence is not known, a dis- 
graceful death is undoubtedly allotted him. 
By heavens, Colonel Webb, I never saw a man 
whose fate I foresaw whom I so sincerely pitied. 
He is a young fellow of the greatest accom- 
plishments, and was the prime minister of Sir 
Henry on all occasions. He has unbosomed 
his heart to me so fully, and indeed let me 
know^ almost every motive of his actions since 
he came out on his late mission, that he luis 
endeared me to him exceedingly. Unfortunate 
man! He will undoubtedly suffer death to- 
morrow ; and though he knows his fate, seems 
to be as cheerful as if he were going to an as- 
sembly. I am sure he will go to the gallows 
less fearful for his fate, and with less concern 
than I shall bejiold the tragedy. Had he been 
tried by a court of ladies, he is so genteel, 
handsome, polite a young gentleman, that I am 
confident they would have acquitted him. But 
enough of Andre, who, though he dies la- 
mented, falls justly." 



^T. 48.] 



INTERCESSIONS FOR ANDR^— AFFECTING LETTER OF ANDRE. 



545 



The execution was to liave taken place on 
the 1st of October, at five o'clock in the after- 
noon ; but in the interim Washington received 
a second letter from Sir Henry Clinton, dated 
September 30th, expressing an opinion that the 
board of inquiry had not been rightly informed 
of all the circumstances on which a judgment 
ought to be formed, and that, in order tliat he 
might be perfectly apprised of the state of the 
matter before he proceeded to put that judg- 
ment in execution, he should send a commission 
on the following day, composed of Lieutenant- 
Governor Elliot, "William Smith, chief justice 
of the province, and Lieutenaut-Genei'al Eobin- 
son, to Avait near Dobbs' Ferry for permission 
and safe conduct to meet Washington, or such 
persons as he should appoint to converse with 
them on the subject. 

This letter caused a postponement of the ex- 
ecution, and General Greene was sent to meet 
the commissioners at Dobbs' Ferry. They 
came up in the morning of the 1st of October, 
in a schooner, with a flag of truce, and were 
accompanied by Colonel Beverley Eobinson. 
General Eobertson, however, was the only com- 
missioner permitted to land, the others not being 
military officers. A long conference took place 
between him and General Greene, without any 
agreement of opinion upon the question at issue. 
Greene returned to camp promising to report 
faithfully to Washington the arguments urged 
by liobertson, and to inform the latter of the 
result. 

A letter also was delivered to Greene for 
Washington, which Arnold had sent by the 
commissioners, in which the traitor reasserted 
the right he had possessed, as commanding of- 
ficer of the department, to transact all the mat- 
ters with which Andr6 was inculpated, and 
insisted that the latter ought not to suifer for 
them. "But," added he, "if after this just 
and candid representation of Major Andre's 
case, the board of general officers adhere to 
their former opinion, I shall suppose it dictated 
by passion and resentment ; and if that gentle- 
man should sufier the severity of their sentence, 
I shall think myself bound, by every tie of duty 
and honor, to retaliate on such unhappy per- 
sons of your army as may fall within my power, 
that the respect due to flags, and to the laws 
of nations, may be better understood and ob- 
served. I have further to observe, that forty 
of the principal inhabitants of South Carolina 
have justly forfeited their lives, which have 
hitherto been spared by the clemency of his 
35 



Excellency, Sir Henry Clinton, who cannot in 
justice extend his mercy to them any longer, if 
Major Andre suffers ; which, in all probability, 
will open a scene of blood at which humanity 
shudders. 

" Suffer me to entreat your Excellency, for 
your own sake and the honor of humanity, and 
the love you have of justice, that you suffer not 
an unjust sentence to touch the life of Major 
Andre. But if this warning should be disre- 
garded, and he suffer, I call Heaven and earth 
to witness, that your Excellency will be justly 
answerable for the torrent of blood that may 
be spilt in consequence." 

Beside this impudent and despicable letter, 
there was another from Arnold containing the 
farce of a resignation, and concluding with the 
following sentence : " At the same time I beg 
leave to assure your Excellency, that my at- 
tachment to the true interests of my country 
is invariable, and that I am actuated by the 
same principle which has ever been the gov- 
erning rule of my conduct in this unhappy con- 
test." 

The letters of Arnold were regarded with 
merited contempt. Greene, in a brief letter 
to General Eobertson, informed him that he 
had made as full a report of their conference to 
the commander-in-chief, as his memory would 
serve, but that it had made no alteration in 
Washington's opinion and determination. 

Eobertson was piqued at the brevity of the 
note, and professed to doubt whether Greene's 
memory had served him with sufficient fulness 
and exactness ; he addressed therefore to 
Washington his own statement of his reasoning 
on the subject; after despatching which he 
and the other commissioners returned in the 
schooner to New York. 

During this day of respite Andre had con- 
ducted himself with his usual tranquillity. A 
likeness of himself, seated at a table in his 
guard-room, which he sketched with a pen and 
gave to the officer on guard, is still extant. It 
being announced to him that one o'clock on 
the following day was fixed on for his execu- 
tion, he remarked, that since it was his lot to 
die, there was still a choice in the mode ; he 
therefore addressed the following note to 
Washington : 

" Sir : — Buoyed above the terror of death by 
the consciousness of a life devoted to honorable 
pursuits, and stained with no action that can 
give me remorse, I trust that the request I 
make to your Excellency at this serious period. 



546 



THE NATURE OF ANDRE'S MISSION. 



[17S0. 



and which is to soften my last moments, will 
not be rejected. Sympathy towards a soldier 
will surely induce your Excellency and a mili- 
tary tribunal to adapt tlie mode of my death 
to the feelings of a man of honor. 

" Let me hope, sir, that if aught in my char- 
acter impresses you with esteem towards me ; 
if aught in my misfortunes marks me as the 
victim of policy and not of resentment, I shall 
experience the operation of these feelings in 
your breast by being informed that I am not to 
die on a gibbet." 

Had Washington consulted his feelings mere- 
ly, this affecting appeal might not have been in 
vain, for, though not impulsive, he was emi- 
nently benevolent. Andre himself had testified 
to the kind treatment he had experienced 
from the commander-in-chief since his capture, 
though no personal interview had taken place. 
Washington had no popular censure to appre- 
hend should he exercise indulgence, for the 
popular feeling was with the prisoner. But he 
had a high and tenacious sense of tlie duties 
and responsibilities of his jjosition, and never 
more than in this trying moment, when he had 
to elevate himself above the contagious sympa- 
thies of those around him, dismiss all personal 
considerations, and regard the peculiar circum- 
stances of the case. The long course of insid- 
ious operations which had been pursued to 
undermine the loyalty of one of his most 
trusted officers; the greatness of the evil 
which the treason would have effected, if suc- 
cessful; the uncertainty how far the enemy 
had carried, or might still be carrying, their 
scheme of corruption, for anonymous intima- 
tions spoke of treachery in other quartci's ; all 
these considerations pointed this out as a case 
in which a signal example was required. 

And what called for particular indulgence to 
the agent, if not instigator of this enormous 
crime, who had thus been providentially de- 
tected in disguise, and with the means of its 
consummation concealed upon his person? 
His errand, as it has been eloquently urged, 
" viewed in the light of morality, and even of 
that chivalry from which modern war pretends 
to derive its maxims, was one of infamy. He 
had been commissioned to buy with gold what 
steel could not conquer; to drive a bargain 
with one ready for a price to become a traitor ; 
to count out the thirty pieces of silver by 
which British generals and British gentlemen 
were not ashamed to purchase the betrayal 
of a cause, whose shining virtue repelled 



their power, and dimmed the glory of their 
arms." * 

Even the language of traffic in which this 
negotiation had been carried on between the 
pseudo-Gustavus and John Anderson, luad, as 
has before been observed, something ignoble 
and debasing to the chivalrous aspirant who 
stooped to use it ; especially when used as a 
crafty covering in bargaining for a man's soul.t 

It has been alleged in Andr6's behalf, as a 
mitigating circumstance, that he Avas involun- 
tarily a spy. It is true, he did not come on 
shore in borrowed garb, nor with a design to 
pass himself off for another, and procure secret 
information ; but he came, under cloak of mid- 
night, in supposed safety, to effect the betrayal 
of a holy trust ; and it was his undue eagerness 
to secure the objects of this clandestine inter- 
view, that brought him into the condition of 
an undoubted spy. It certainly should not 
soften our view of his mission, that he em- 
barked in it without intending to subject him- 
self to danger. A spice of danger would have 
given it a spice of heroism, however spurious. 
WLen the rendezvous was first projected, he 
sought, through an indirect channel, to let Ar- 
nold know that he would come out with a- flag. 
(We allude to a letter written by him from Xew 
York on the 7th of September, imder his 
feigned signature, to Colonel Sheldon ; evi- 
dently intended to be seen by Arnold ; " I will 
endeavor to obtain permission to go out with 
a flag.") If an interview had taken place under 
that sacred protection, and a triumphant trea- 
son had been the result, what a brand it would 
have affixed to Andre's name, that he had pros- 
tituted a flag of truce to such an end. 

We dwell on these matters, not to checl': the 
sentiment of sympathy awakened in Andre's 
behalf by his personal qualities, but to vindi- 
cate the fair name of Washington from that 
" blot " which some have attempted to cast 
upon it, because, in exercising his stern duty as 
protector of the public weal, during a time of 
secret treason, he listened to policy and justice 
rather than mercy. In doing so, he took 
counsel with some of his general oflicers. 



* Speocli of the Hon. Henrj' J. Raymond, at tbo dedi- 
cation of the Andre monument. 

t See letter of Gustavus to John Anderson. " My 
partner of -whom I hinted in a former letter, has about 
ten thousand pounds cash in hand, ready for a specuLation, 
if any should offer; I liave also one thousand pounds in 
hand, and can collect fifteen hundred more in two or three ^ 
days. Add to this, I have some credit. From these lanta 
you can judge of the purchase that can be made." 



j^T. 48.] 



EXECUTION OF ANDRfi— REWARD OF THE CAPTORS. 



547 



Their opinions coincided with his own — that 
Tinder present circumstances, it was important 
to give a signal warning to tlie enemy, by a 
rigorous observance of the rules of war and 
the usages of nations in like case?.* 

But although Andr6's request as to the mode 
of his death was not to bo granted, it was 
thought best to let him remain in uncertainty 
on the subject ; no answer, therefore, was re- 
turned to his note. On the morning of the 2d, 
he maintained a calm demeanor, though all 
around him were gloomy aijd silent. He even 
rebuked his servant for shedding tears. Hav- 
ing breakfasted, he dressed himself with care 
in the full imiform of a British officer, which 
he liad sent for to New York placed his hat 
upon the table, and accosting the officers on 
guard — " I am ready," said he, " at any mo- 
ment, gentlemen, to wait upon you." 

He walked to the place of execution between 
two subaltern officers, arm in arm, with a se- 
rene countenance, bowing to several gentlemen 
whom he knew. Colonel Tallraadge accom- 
panied him, and we quote his words. " When 
he came within sight of the gibbet, he appeared 
to be startled, and inquired with some emotion 
whether he was not to be shot. Being in- 
formed tliat the mode first appointed for his 
death could not consistently be altered, he ex- 
claimed, ' How hard is my fate ! ' but imme- 
diately added, ' it will soon bo over.' I then 
shook hands with him under the gallows, and 
retired." t 

"While waiting near the gallows until prepara- 
tions were made, says another authority, who 
was present, he evinced some nervousness, put- 
ting his foot on a stone and rolling it ; and 
making an effort to swallow, as if checking an 
hysterical affection of the tliroat. All things 
being ready, he stepped into the waggon ; ap- 
peared to shrink for an instant, but recovering 



* We subjoin a Britit=li officer's view of Andre's case. 
" He was tried by a board of general officers as a spy, and 
condemned' to be hanged. The American general has 
been censured for directing this ignominious sentence to 
be carried into execution ; but doulitless Major Andro was 
"well aware when he undertook the negotiation, of the fate 
that awaited him should he fall into the hands of the en- 
emy. The laws of war award to spies the punishment of 
death. It would, therefore, be difficult to assign a reason 
why Major Andre should have been exempted from that 
fate to which all others are doomed under similar circum- 
stances, although the amiable qualities of the man ren- 
dered the individual case a subject of peculiar com- 
miseration."— Orj'^m and Services of the Coldstream 
Guards : by Col. MacKinnon, vol. ii., p. 9. 

t MSS. of Col. B. Tallmadgo in possession of his daugh- 
ter, Mrs. J. P. Cushman, of Troy, N. Y. 



hitoself, exclaimed : " It will be but a momen- 
tary pang ! " 

Taking off" his hat and stock, and opening his 
shirt collar, he deliberately adjusted the noose 
to his neck, after which he took out a handker- 
chief and tied it over his eyes. Being told by 
the officer in command that his arms must be 
bound, he drew out a second handkerchief, 
with which they were pinioned. Colonel Scam- 
mel now told him that he had an opportunity to 
speak, if he desired it. His only reply was, " I 
pray you to bear witness that I meet my fate like 
a brave man." The waggon moved from under 
him and left him suspended. He died almost 
without a struggle.* He remained suspended 
for about half an hour, during which time a 
deathlike stillness prevailed over the surround- 
ing multitude. His remains were interred 
within a few yards of the place of his execu- 
tion ; whence they were transferred to England 
in 1821, by the British consul, then resident in 
New York, and were buried in Westminster 
Abbey, near a mural monument which had 
been erected to his memory. 

Never has any man, suffering under like cir- 
cumstances, awakened a more universal sym- 
pathy even among those of the country against 
which he had practised. His story is one of 
the touching themes of the Eevolution, and 
his name is still spoken of with kindness in the 
local traditions of the neighborhood where 
he was captured, 

Washington, in a letter to the President of 
Congress, passed a high eulogium on the cap- 
tors of Andre, and recommended them for a 
handsome gratuity ; for having, in all proba- 
bility, prevented one of the severest strokes 
that could have been meditated by the enemy. 
Congress accordingly expressed, in a formal 
vote, a high sense of their virtuous and patri- 
otic conduct ; awarded to each of them a farm, 
a pension for life of two hundred dollars, and 
a silver medal, bearing on one side an escut- 
cheon on which was engraved the word Fidel- 
ity, and on the other side the motto, Vincit 
amor Patrice. These medals were delivered to 
them by General Washington at head-quarters, 
with impressive ceremony. 

Isaac Van Wart, one of the captors, had been 
present at the execution of Andre, and was 
deeply affected by it. He was not fond of re- 
calling the subject, and in after life could rarely 
speak of Andre without tears. 



■ Thatcher's Military Journal, p. 275. 



548 



ARNOLD'S KEWARD— WASHINGTON'S OPINION OF ARNOLD. 



[1780. 



Joshua H. Smith, who aided in bringing An- 
dre and Arnold together, was tried by a court- 
martial on a charge of participathig in the trea- 
son, but was acquitted, no proof appearing of 
his having had any knowledge of Arnold's plot, 
though it was thought he must have been con- 
scious of something wrong in an interview so 
mysteriously conducted. 

Arnold was now made brigadier-general in 
the British service, and put on an official level 
with honorable men who scorned to associate 
with the traitor. "What golden reward he was 
to have received had his treason been success- 
ful, is not known ; but six thousand three hun- 
dred and fifteen pounds sterling were paid to 
him, as a compensation for losses which he 
pretended to have suffered in going over to the 
enemies of his country. 

The vilest culprit, however, shrinks from 
sustaining the obloquy of his crimes. Shortly 
after his arrival in New York, Arnold publish- 
ed an address to the Inhabitants of America, 
in which he endeavored to vindicate his con- 
duct. He alleged that he had originally taken 
up arms merely to aid in obtaining a redress 
of grievances. He had considered the Decla- 
ration of Independence precipitate, and the 
reasons for it obviated, by the subsequent prof- 
fers of the British government ; and he in- 
veighed against Congress for rejecting those 
offers, without submitting them to the people. 

Finally, the treaty with France, a proud, an- 
cient, and crafty foe, the enemy of the Protes- 
tant faith and of real liberty, had completed, 
he said, the measure of his indignation, and 
determined him to abandon a cause sustained 
by iniquity and controlled by usurpers. 

Besides this address, he issued a proclamation 
inviting the officers and soldiers of the Ameri- 
can army, who had the real interest of their 
country at heart, and who were determined to 
be no longer the tools and dupes of Congress, 
and of France, to rally under the royal standard, 
and fight for true American liberty ; holding 
out promises of large bounties and liberal sub- 
sistence, with compensation for all the imple- 
ments and accoutrements of war they might 
bring with them. 

Speaking of this address, " I am at a loss," 
said Washington, " which to admire most, the 
confidence of Arnold in publishing it, or the 
folly of the enemy in supposing that a produc- 
tion signed by so infamous a character will have 
any weight with the people of these States, or 
any influence upon our officers abroad." | 



He was right. Both the address and the proc- 
lamatiou were regarded by Americans with 
the contempt they merited. None rallied to 
the standard of the renegade but a few desert- 
ers and refugees, who were already within the 
British lines, and prepared for any desperate or 
despicable service.* 

Colonel John Laurens, former aide-de-camp 
to Washington, in speaking of Andre's fate, 
observed, " Arnold must undergo a punishment 
comparatively more severe, in the permanent, 
increasing torment of a mental hell." Wash- 
ington doubted it. " He wants feeling," said 
he. " From some traits of his character which 
have lately come to my knowledge, he seems 
to have been so hackneyed in villany, and so 
lost to all sense of honor and shame, that, while 
his faculties wiU enable him to continue his 
sordid pursuits, there will be no time for re- 
morse." And in a letter to Governor Eeed, 
Washington writes, " Arnold's conduct is so 
villanously perfidious, that there are no terms 
that can describe the baseness of his heart. 
That overruling Providence which has so often 
and so remarkably interposed in our favor, never 
manifested itself more conspicuously than in the 



♦ The following passages of a letter ■written by Sir 
Thomas Romilly in London, Dec. 12, 1780, to the Rev. 
John Roget, are worthy of citation : 

" What do j'ou think of Arnold's conduct ? you may 
■u'ell suppose he does not want advocates here. I cannot 
join with them. If he thought, the Americans not justi- 
fied in continuing the war, after the offer of such favorable 
terms as the commissioners held out to them, why did he 
keep his command for two years afterwards? ♦**■»• 

" The arguments used by Clinton and Arnold In their 
letters to Washington, to jirove that Andre could not bo 
con.sidcred as a spy, are, first, that he had with him, when 
he was taken, a protection of Arnold, who was at that 
time acting under a commission of the Congress, and, 
th.erefore, competent to give protections. Certainly he 
was, to all strangers to his negotiations with Clinton, but 
not to Andre, who knew him to be at that time a traitor 
to the Congress — nay, more, whose protection was granted 
for no other purpose but to promote and give effect to his 
treacher3-. In the second place, tlicy say that at the time 
he was taken he was upon neutral ground ; but they do 
not deny that ho had been within the American linos in 
disguise. The letters written by Andre himself, show a 
firm, cool intrepidity, worthy a more glorious end. * * 
****** 

" The fate of this unfortunate young man, and the 
manly style of his letters, have raised more compassion 
here than the loss of thousands in battle, and have excited 
a warmer indignation against the Americans, than any 
former act of the Congress. When the passions of men 
are so deeply affected, you will not expect to find them 
keep within the bounds of reason. Panegyrics of the gal- 
lant Andre are unbounded ; they call him the English 
Mutius, and t.alk of erecting monuments to his memory. 
Cert.ainly, no man in his situation could have behaved 
with more determined cour.age ; but Ids situation was by 
no means such aa to admit of these exaggerated praises." 



Ml. 48.] 



DEATH OF MRS. ARNOLD— ARNOLD'S MOTHER. 



549 



timely discovery of his horrid intention to sur- 
render the post and garrison of West Point into 
the hands of the enemy. ***** jj^g 
confidence and folly which have marked the 
subsequent conduct of this man, are of a piece 
with his villany, and all three are perfect in 
their kind." 

Mrs. Arnold, on arriving at her father's 
house in Philadelphia, had decided on a separa- 
tion from her husband, to whom she could not 
endure the thoughts of returning after his dis- 
honoi*. This course, however, was not allowed 
her. The executive council, wrongfully sus- 
pecting her of having aided in the correspond- 
ence between her husband and Andre, know- 
ing its treasonable tendency, ordered her to 
leave the State within fourteen days, and not 
to return during the continuance of the war. 
" "We tried every means," writes one of her 
connections, " to prevail on the council to per- 
mit her to stay among us, and not to compel 
her to go to that infernal villain, her husband.* 
Mr. Shippen (her father) had promised the 
council, and Mrs. Arnold had signed a writing to 
the same purpose, engaging not to write to Gen- 
eral Arnold any letters whatever, and to receive 
no letters without showing them to the council, 
if she was permitted to stay." It was all in 
vain, and, strongly against her will, she rejoin- 
ed her husband in Now York. His fear for her 
personal safety from the fury of the people 
proved groundless. That scrupulous respect 
for the female sex, so prevalent throughout the 
United States, was her safeguard. "While the 
whole country resounded with execrations of 
her husband's guilt ; while his effigy was dragged 
through the streets of town and village, burnt at 
the stake, or swung on the gibbet, she passed on 
secure from injury or insult- The execrations of 
the populace were silenced at her approach. 
Arriving at nightfall at a village where they 
were preparing for one of these burnings in 
effigy, the pyre remained unkindled, the people 
dispersed quietly to their homes, and the wife 
of tlie traitor was suffered to sleep in peace. 

She returned home but once, about five years 
after her exile, and was treated with such cold- 
ness and neglect that she declared she never 
could come again. In England her charms and 
virtues, it is said, procured her sympathy and 
friendship, and helped to sustain the social po- 
sition of her husband, who, however, was 
" generally slighted, and sometimes insulted." f 



* Lettei-B and Papers relatins 
of Pennsylvania, p. bdv. 



• to the Provincial History 
t Idem, IsvL 



She died in London, in the winter of 1796. In 
recent years it has been maintained that Mrs. 
Arnold was actually cognizant and participant 
of her husband's crime ; but, after carefully 
examining all the proofs adduced, we remain 
of opinion that she was innocent. 

"We have been induced to enter thus largely 
into the circumstances of this story, from the 
undiminished interest taken in it by the readers 
of ximerican history. Indeed, a romance has 
been thrown around the memory of the unfor- 
tunate Andre, which increases with the pro- 
gress of years ; while the name of Arnold will 
stand sadly conspicuous to the end of time as 
,the only American officer of note, throughout 
all the trials and vicissitudes of the Revolution, 
who proved traitor to the glorious cause of his 
country. 

NOTE. 
The following fragment of a letter from Arnold's 
mother to him in early life, was recently put into our 
hands. Well would it have been for him had he ad- 
hered to its pious, though humble counsels. 

Norwich April 12 1754. 
" dear childe. I received yours of 1 instant and was 
glad to hear that you was well : pray my dear let your 
first consern be to make your pease with god as itt is 
of all conserns of y« greatest importence. Keep a 
stedy watch over your thoughts, words and actions, 
be dutifuU to superiors obliging to equalls and affibel 
to inferiors. ****** 

from your afectionate 

Hannah Arnold. 

P. S. I have sent you fifty shillings youse itt pru- 
dently as you are acountabcU to God and your father. 
Your father and aunt joyns with me in love and servis 
to Mr Cogswell and ladey and yourself Your sister 

is from home. 

To Mr 

benedict arnold 

your father put at 

twenty more canterbury 



CHAPTER XII. 

As the enemy would now possess the means, 
through Arnold, of informing themselves thor- 
oughly about West Point, Washington hastened 
to have the works completed and strongly gar- 
risoned, Major-General Greene was ordered 
to march with the Jersey, New York, New 
Hampshire, and Stark's brigades, and take 
temporary command (ultimately to be trans- 
ferred to General Heath), and the Pennsylvania 
troops, which had been thrown into the fortress 



550 



SCHEME TO ENTRAP ARNOLD. 



[1180. 



at the time of Arnold's desertion, were relieved. 
"WasLington himself took post with his main 
army, at Prakeness, near Passaic Falls in New- 
Jersey. 

Insidious attempts had been made by anony- 
mous papers, and other means, as we have 
already hinted, to shake the confidence of the 
commander-in-chief in his officers, and espe- 
cially to implicate General St. Clair in the late 
conspiracy. Washington was exceedingly dis- 
turbed in mind for a time, and engaged Major 
Henry Lee, Avho was stationed with his dra- 
goons on the lines, to probe the matter through 
secret agents in New York. The result proved 
the utter falsehood of these insinuations. 

At the time of making this inquiry, a plan 
was formed at Washington's suggestion to get 
possession of the i)erson of Arnold. The agent 
pitched upon by Lee for the purpose, was the 
sergeant-major of cavalry in his legion, John 
Champe by name, a young Virginian about 
twenty-four years of age, whom he describes 
as being rather above the middle size — full of 
bone and muscle ; with a saturnine countenance, 
grave, thoughtful, and taciturn, of tried loyalty 
and inflexible courage. By many promises and 
much persuasion, Lee brought him to engage 
in the attempt. " I have incited his thirst for 
fame," writes he, " by impressing on his mind 
the virtue and glory of the act." 

Champe was to make a pretended desertion 
to the enemy at New York. There he was to 
enlist in a corps which Arnold was raising, in- 
sinuate himself into some menial or military 
situation about his person, and, watching for a 
favorable moment, was, with the aid of a con- 
federate from NcAvark, to seize him in the 
night, gag him, and bring him across the Hud- 
son into Bergen woods, in the Jerseys. 

Washington, in approving the plan, enjoined 
and stipulated that Arnold should be bi'ought 
to him alive. '"No circumstance whatever," 
said he, " shall obtain my consent to his being 
put to death. The idea which would accom- 
pany such an event, would be, that ruffians 
had been hired to assassinate him. Mj aim is 
to make a public example of him, and this 
should be strongly impressed upon those who 
are employed to bring him off." 

The pretended desertion of the sergeant took 
X'lace on the night of October 20th, and was 
attended with difficulties. He had to evade 
patrols of horse and foot, beside stationary 
guards and irregular scouting parties. Major 
Lee could render him no assistance other than 



to delay pursuit, should his departure be dis- 
covei-ed. About eleven o'clock the sergeant 
took his cloak, valise, and orderly book, drew 
his horse from the picket, and mounting, set 
out on his hazardous course, while the Major 
retired to rest. 

He had not been in bed half an hour, when 
Captain Carnes, offic'er of the day, hurrying into 
his quarters, gave word that one of the patrols 
had fallen in with a dragoon, who, on being 
challenged, put spurs to his horse, and escapeu. 
Lee pretended to be annoyed by the intrusion, 
and to believe that the pretended dragoon was 
some countryman of the neighborhood. The 
captain was piqued ; made a muster of the 
dragoons, and returned with word that the 
sergeant-major was missing, who had gone 
off Avith horse, baggage, arms, and orderly 
book. 

Lee was now compelled to order out a party 
in pursuit under Cornet Middleton, but in so 
doing, he contrived so many delays, that, by 
the time they were in the saddle, Champe had 
an hour's start. His pursuers, too, were obliged 
in the course of the night, to halt occasionally, 
dismount and examine the road, to guide them- 
selves by the horse's tracks. At da^^ break they 
pressed forward more rajjidly, and from the 
summit of a hill descried Champe, not more 
than half a mile in front. The sergeant at the 
same moment caught sight of his pursuers, and 
now the chase became desperate. Champe 
had originally intended to make for Paulus 
Hook, but changed his course, threw his pur- 
suers at fault, and succeeded in getting abreast 
of two British galleys at anchor near the shore 
beyond Bergen. He had no time to lose. 
Cornet Middleton was but two or three hun- 
dred yards behind him. Throwing himself off 
his horse, and running through a marsh, he 
plunged into the river, and called to the galleys 
for help. A boat was sent to his assistance, 
and he was conveyed on board of one of those 
vessels. 

For a time the whole plan promised to be 
successful ; Champe enlisted in Arnold's corps ; 
was employed about his person ; and every 
arrangement was made to surprise him at night 
in a garden in the rear of his quarters, convey 
him to a boat, and ferry him across the Hud- 
son. On the appointed night, Lee, Avith three 
dragoons and three led horses, was in the 
woods of Hoboken, on the Jersey shore, wait- 
ing to receive the captive. Hour after hour 
passed away, — ^no boat approached, — day broke ; 



Mt. 48.] 



FAILURE OF THE SCHEME— INCURSIONS FROM CANADA. 



551 



and the major, with his dragoons and his led 
horses, returned perplexed and disappointed to 
the camp. 

Washington was extremely chagrined at the 
issue of the undei'taking, fearing that the ser- 
geant had been detected in the last scene of 
his perilous and difficult enterprise. It subse- 
quently proved, that on the day preceding the 
night fixed on for the capture, Arnold had re- 
moved his quarters to another part of the town, 
to superintend the embarkation of troops, pre- 
paring (as was rumored) for an expedition to 
be directed by himself, and that the American 
legion, consisting chiefly of American deserters, 
had been transferred from their barracks to 
one of the transports. Among the troops thus 
transferred was John Champe ; nor was he 
able for a long time to effect his escape, and 
resume his real character of a loyal and pa- 
triotic soldier. He was rewarded when he did 
so, by the munificence of the commander-in- 
chief, and the admiration of his old comrades 
in arms ; having so nobly braved, in his coun- 
try's cause, not merely danger, but a long course 
of obloquy. 

"We have here to note the altered fortunes of 
the once prosperous General Gates. Ilis late 
defeat at Camden had withered the laurels 
snatched at Saratoga. As in the one instance 
he had received exaggerated praise, so in the 
other he suffered undue censure. The sudden 
annihilation of an army from which so much 
had been expected, and the retreat of the gen- 
eral before the field was absolutely lost, ap- 
peared to demand a strict investigation. Con- 
gress therefore passed a resolution (October 
5th), requiring Washington to order a court of 
inquiry into the conduct of Gates as commander 
of the Southern army, and to appoint some 
other officer to the command until the inquiry 
should be made. Washington at once selected 
Greene for the important trust, the well-tried 
officer Avhom he would originally have chosen, 
had his opinion been consulted, when Con- 
gress so unadvisedly gave the command to 
Gates. In the present instance his clioice was 
in concurrence Avith tlie expressed wishes of 
the delegates of the three Soutliern States, con- 
veyed to him by one of their number. 

Washington's letter of instructions to Greene 
(October 22d) showed the implicit confidence 
lie reposed in the abilities and integrity of that 
excellent officer. " Uninformed as I am," 
writes he, " of the enemy's force in that quar- 
ter, of our own, or of the resources Avhicli it 



will be in our power to command, for carrying 
on the war, I can give you no particular in- 
structions, but must leave you to govern your- 
self entirely according to your own prudence 
and judgment, and the circumstances in which 
you find yourself. I am aware that the nature 
of the command will offer you embarrassments 
of a singular and complicated nature, but I rely 
upon your abilities and exertions for every 
thing your means aj^II enable you to effect. 

With regard to the court of inquiry, it was 
to be conducted in the quarter in whicli Gates 
had acted, where all the witnesses were, and 
where alone the requisite information could be 
obtained. Baron Steuben, who was to accom- 
pany Greene to the South, was to preside, and 
the members of the court were to be such gen- 
eral and field officers of the Continental troops 
as were not present at the battle of Camden, 
or, having been present, were not wanted as 
witnesses, or were persons to whom General 
Gates had no objection. Tlie affair was to be 
conducted with the greatest impartiality, and 
with as much despatch as circumstances would 
permit. 

Washington concludes his letter of instruc- 
tions to Greene, with expressions dictated by 
friendship as well as official duty. " You will 
keep me constantly advised of the state of your 
afiairs, and of every material occurrence. My 
warmest wishes for your success, reputation, 
health, and happiness accompany you." 

Ravaging incursions from Canada had har- 
assed the northern parts of the State of New 
York of late, and laid desolate some parts of 
the country from which Washington had hoped 
to receive great supplies of flour for the armies. 
Major Carleton, a nephew of Sir Guy, at the 
head of a motley force, European, Tory, and 
Indian, had captured Forts Anne and George. 
Sir John Jolmson also, with Joseph Brant, and 
a mongrel half-savage crew, had laid waste the 
fertile region of the Moliawk Pdver, and burned 
the villages of Schoharie and Caughnawaga. 
The greatest alarm prevailed throughout the 
neighboring country. Governor Clinton him- 
self took the field at the Iiead of the militia, 
but before he arrived at the scene of mischief, 
the marauders had been encountered and driven 
back by General Van Rensselaer and the militia 
of those parts ; not, however, until they had 
nearly destroyed the settlements on tlie Mo- 
hawk. Washington now put Brigadier-General 
James Clinton (the governor's brother) in com- 
mand of the Northern department. 



552 



A STANDING ARMY NEEDED— LAFAYETTE AND HIS LIGHT-INFANTRY. [1780. 



The state of the army was growing more and 
more a subject of solicitude to the commander- 
in-chief. He felt weary of struggling on, with 
such scanty means, and such vast responsibility. 
The campaign, which, at its commencement, 
had seemed pregnant with favorable events, 
had proved sterile and inactive, and was draw- 
ing to a close. The short terms for which 
most of the troops were enlisted must soon 
expire, and then the pre#it army would he 
reduced to a mere shadow. The saddened 
state of his mind may be judged from his let- 
ters. An ample one addressed to General Sul- 
livan, fully lays open his feelings and his diffi- 
culties. "I had hoped," writes he, "but hoped 
in vain, that a prospect was displaying whicb 
would enable me to fix a period to my military 
pursuits, and restore me to domestic life. The 
favorable disposition of Spain ; the promised 
succor from France ; the combined force in the 
West Indies ; the declaration of Russia (acceded 
to by other governments of Europe, and hu- 
miliating to the naval pride and power of 
Great Britain) ; the superiority of France and 
Spain by sea in Europe ; the Irish claims and 
English disturbances, formed, in the aggregate, 
an opinion in my breast, Avhich is not very 
susceptible of peaceful dreams, that the hour 
of deliverance was not far distant ; since, how- 
ever unwUling Great Britain might be to yield 
the point, it would not be in her power to con- 
tinue the contest. But, alas! these prospects , 
flattering as they were, have proved delusory, 
and I see nothing before us but accumulating 
distress. 

" "We have been half of our time without 
provisions, and are likely to continue so. We 
have no magazines, nor money to form them ; 
and in a little time we shall liave no men, if we 
have no money to pay them. In a word, the 
history of the war is a history of false hopes 
and temporary devices, instead of system and 
economy. It is in vain, however, to look back, 
nor is it our business to do so. Our case is not 
desperate, if virtue exists in the people, and 
there is wisdom among our rulers. But to sup- 
pose that this great Revolution can be accom- 
plished by a temporaiy army, that this army 
will be subsisted by State supplies, and that 
taxation alone is adequate to our wants, is in 
my opinion absurd, and as unreasonable as to 
expect an inversion in the order of nature to 
accommodate itself to our views. If it was 
necessary, it could be proved to any person of 
a moderate understanding, that an annual army. 



raised on the spur of the occasion, besides be- 
ing unqualified for the end designed, is, in va- 
rious ways which could be enumerated, ten 
times more expensive than a permanent body 
of men under good organization and military 
discipline, which never was nor ever will be 
the case with new troops. A thousand argu- 
ments resulting from experience and the nature 
of things, might also be adduced to prove that 
the army, if it is dependent upon State sup- 
plies, must disband or starve, and that taxa- 
tion alone, especially at this late hour, cannot 
furnish the means to carry on the war." * 

We wiU here add, that the repeated and elab- 
orate reasonings of Washington, backed by dear- 
bought experience, slowly brought Congress to 
adopt a system suggested by him for the organ- 
ization and support of the army, according to 
which, troops were to be enlisted to serve 
throughout the war, and all officers who con- 
tinued in service until the return of peace were 
to receive half-pay during life. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

The Marquis Lafayette at this time com- 
manded the advance guard of Washington's 
army, composed of six battalions of light-in- 
fantry. They were better clad than the other 
soldiery ; in trim uniforms, leathern helmets, 
with crests of horse-hair. The officers were 
armed with spontoons, the non-commissioned 
officers with fusees ; both with short sabres 
which the marquis had brought from France, 
and presented to them. He was proud of his 
troops, and liad a young man's ardor for active 
service. The inactivity which had prevailed 
for some time past was intolerable to him. To 
satisfy his impatient longings, Wasliington had 
permitted him in the beginning of October to 
attempt a descent at night on Staten Island, to 
surprise two Hessian encampments. It had 
fallen through for want of boats, and other re- 
quisites, but he saw enough, he said, to con- 
vince him that the Americans were altogether 
fitted for such enterprises.! 

The marquis saw with repining the campaign 
drawing to a close, and nothing done that 
would rouse the people in America, and be 
spoken of at the Court of Versailles. He was 
urgent with Washington that tlie campaign 

* Writings of W'ashincton, vii. 22S. 
t Memoircs de Lafayette, T. 1, p. 337. 



^T. 48.] LAFAYETTE ANXIOUS FOR ACTION— MARQUIS DE CHASTELLUX. 



553 



should be terminated by some brilliant stroke. 
" Any enterprise," writes he, " will please the 
people of this country, and show them that we 
do not mean to remain idle when we have men ; 
even a defeat, provided it Avere not disastrous, 
would have its good effect." 

Complaints, he hinted, had been made in 
France of the prevailing inactivity. " If any 
thing could decide the ministry to yield us the 
succor demanded," writes he, " it would be our 
giving the nation a proof that we are ready." 

The brilliant stroke, suggested with some 
detail by the marquis, was a general attack 
upon Fort Washington, and the otlier posts at 
the north end of the island of New York, and, 
under certain circumstances, which he speci- 
fied, maTce a ftishfor the city. 

"Washington regarded the project of his 
young and ardent friend with a more sober 
and cautious eye. " It is impossible, my dear 
marquis," replies he, " to desire more ardently 
than I do to terminate the campaign by some 
happy stroke ; but we must consult our means 
rather than our wishes, and not endeavor to 
better our affairs by attempting things, which 
for want of success may make them worse. 
We are to lament that there has been a misap- 
prehension of our circumstances in Europe ; 
but to endeavor to recover our reputation, we 
should take care that we do not injure it more. 
Ever since it became evident that the allied 
arms could not co-operate this campaign, I 
have had an eye to the point you mention, de- 
termined, if a favorable opening should offer, 
to embrace it : but, so far as my information 
goes, the enterprise would not bo warranted. 
It would, in my opinion, be imprudent to throw 
an army often thousand men upon an island, 
against nine thousand, exclusive of seamen and 
militia. This, from the accounts we have, ap- 
pears to be the enemy's force. All we can do 
at present, therefore, is to endeavor to gain a 
more certain knowledge of their situation, and 
act accordingly." 

The British posts in question were accord- 
ingly reconnoitred from the opposite banks of 
the Hudson, by Colonel Gouvion, an able 
French engineer. Preparations were made to 
carry the scheme into effect, should it be detei-- 
mined upon, in which case Lafayette was to 
lead the attack at the head of his light troops, 
and be supported by Washington with his main 
force ; Avhilc a strong foraging party sent by 
General Heath from West Point to White Plains 
in Westchester County, to draw the attention of 



the enemy in that direction, and mask the real 
design, was, on preconcerted signals, to advance 
rapidly to King's Bridge, and co-operate. 

Washington's own officers were kept in ig- 
norance of the ultimate object of the prepara- 
tory movements. " Never," writes his aide- 
de-camp. Colonel Humphreys, " never was a 
plan better arranged, and never did circum- 
stances promise more sure or complete success. 
The British were not only unalarmed, but our 
own troops were misguided in their operations." 
As the plan was not carried into effect, we have 
forborne to give many of its details. 

At this juncture, the Marquis de Chastellux 
arrived in camp. He was on a tour of curios- 
ity, Avhile the French troops at Rhode Island 
were in winter-quarters, and came on the invi- 
tation of his relative, the Marquis Lafayette, 
who was to present him to Washington. In 
after years he published an account of Ins tour, 
in which we have graphic sketches of the camp 
and the commanders. He arrived with his 
aides-de-camp on the afternoon of November 
23d, and sought the head-quarters of the com- 
mander-in-chief. They were in a large farm- 
house. There was a spacious tent in the yard 
before it for the general, and several smaller 
tents in an adjacent field for his guards. Bag- 
gage waggons were arranged about for the 
transportation of the general's effects, and a 
number of grooms were attending to very fine 
horses belonging to general officers and their 
aides-de-camp. Every thing was in perfect 
order. As De Chastellux rode up, he observed 
Lafayette in front of the house, conversing with 
an officer, tall of stature, Avith a mild and noble 
countenance. It Avas Washington. De Chas- 
tellux alighted and was presented by Lafayette. 
His reception was frank and cordial. Washing- 
ton conducted him into the house. Dinner Avas 
over, but Generals Knox, Wayne, and Howe, 
and Colonels Hamilton, Tilghman, and other 
officers, were still seated round the board. 
Washington introduced De Chastellux to them, 
and ordered a repast for the former and his 
aides-de camp : all remained at table, and a fcAV 
glasses of claret and Madeira promoted socia- 
bility. The marquis soon found himself at his 
ease with Washington, "The goodness and 
benevolence which characterize him," observes 
he, " are felt by all around him ; but the con- 
fidence he inspires is never familiar ; it springs 
from a profound esteem for his virtues, and a 
great opinion of his talents." 

In the evening, after the guests had retired, 



554 WASHINGTON AT HEAD-QUARTERS— DE CHASTELLUX'S IMPRESSIONS OF HIM. [1*780. 



"Washington conducted the marquis to a cham- 
ber prepared for him and his aides-de-camp, 
apologizing with nobly frank and simple polite- 
ness, that his scanty quarters did not afford 
more spacious accommodation. 

The next morning, horses were led up after 
breakfast ; they were to review the troops and 
visit Lafayette's encampment seven miles dis- 
tant. The horses which De Ohastellux and 
"Washington rode, had been presented to the 
latter by the State of Virginia. There were 
fine blood horses also for the aides-de-camp. 
" "Washington's horses," writes De Chastellux, 
" are as good as they are beautiful, and all per- 
fectly trained. He trains them all himself. 
He is a very good and a very hardy cavalier, 
leaping the highest barriers, and riding very 
fast, without rising in the stirrups, bearing on 
the bridle, or suffering his horse to run as if 
wild." 

In the cauip of artillery where General Knox 
received them, the marquis found every thing 
in perfect order, and conducted in the Euro- 
pean style. "Washington apologized for no sa- 
lute being fired. Detachments were in move- 
ment at a distance, in the plan of operations, 
and the booming of guns might give an alarm, 
or be mistaken for signals. 

Incessant and increasing rain obliged "Wash- 
ington to make but a short visit to Lafayette's 
camp, whence, putting spurs to his horse, he 
conducted his French visitors back to head- 
quarters on as fast a gallop as bad roads would 
permit. 

There were twenty guests at table that day 
at head-quarters. The dinner was in the Eng- 
lish style, large dishes of butcher's meat and 
poultry, with different kinds of vegetables, fol- 
lowed by pies and puddings, and a dessert of 
apples and hickory nuts. Wasliington's fond- 
ness for the latter was noticed by the marquis, 
and indeed was often a subject of remark. He 
would sit picking them by the hour after din- 
ner, as he sipped his wine and conversed. 

One of the general's aides-de-camp sat by 
him at the end of the table, according to cus- 
tom, to carve the dishes and circulate the wine. 
Healths were drunk and toasts were given ; 
the latter were sometimes given by the gen- 
eral through his aide-de-camp. The conversa- 
tion was tranquil and pleasant. "Washington 
willingly entered into some details about the 
principal operations of the war, " but always," 
says the marquis, " with a modesty and con- 
ciseness, which proved sufficiently that it was 



out of pure complaisance that he consented to 
talk about himself." 

"Wayne was pronounced agreeable and ani- 
mated in conversation, and possessed of wit ; 
but Knox, with his genial aspect and cordial 
manners, seems to have won De Chastellux's 
heart. " He is thirty -five years of age," writes 
he, " very stout but very active ; a man of tal- 
ent and intelligence, amiable, gay, sincere, and 
loyal. It is impossible to know him without 
esteeming him, and to see him without loving 
him." 

It was about half-past seven when the com- 
pany rose from the table, shortly after which, 
those who Avere not of the household departed. 
There was a light supper of three or four dishes, 
with fruit, and abundance of hickory nuts ; the 
cloth was soon removed ; Bordeaux and Ma- 
deira wine were placed npon the table, and 
conversation went on. Colonel Hamilton was 
the aide-de-camp who officiated, and announced 
the toasts as they occurred. " It is customary," 
writes the marquis, " towards the end of the 
supper to call upon each one for a sentment, 
that is to say, the name of some lady to whom 
he is attached by some sentiment either of 
love, friendship, or simple preference." 

It is evident there was extra gayety at the 
table of the commander-in-chief during this 
visit, in compliment to his French guests ; but 
we are told, that gay conversation often pre- 
vailed at the dinners at head-quarters among 
the aides-de-camp and young officers, in wliich 
"Washington took little part, though a quiet 
smile would show that he enjoyed it. 

"We have been tempted to quote freely the 
remarks of De Chastellux, as they are those of 
a cultivated man of society, whose position and 
experience made him a competent judge, and 
who had an opportunity of observing "Washing- 
ton in a ftimiliar point of view. 

Speaking of his personal appearance, he 
writes : " His form is noble and elevated, well- 
shaped, and exactly proportioned; his physi- 
ognomy mild and agreeable, but such, that one 
does not speak in particular of any one of its 
traits ; and that in quitting him there remains 
simply the recollection of a fine countenance. 
Ilis air is neither grave nor familiar ; one sees 
sometimes on his forehead the marks of thought, 
but never of inquietude ; while inspiring re- 
spect he inspires confidence, and his smile is 
always that of benevolence. 

" Above all, it is interesting," continues the 
mai'quis, " to see him in the midst of the gen- 



^T. 48.] EXPLOIT OF MAJOR TALLMADGE— CORNWALLIS IN SOUTH CAROLINA. 



555 



eral officers of liis array. General iu a republic, 
he has not the imposing state of a marshal of 
France who gives the order ; hero in a repub- 
lic, he excites a different sort of respect, which 
seems to originate in this sole idea, that the 
welfare of each individual is attached to his 
person." 

He sums up his cliaracter in these words : 
" Bi'ave without temerity ; laborious without 
ambition ; generous withoxit prodigality ; noble 
without pride ; virtuous without seventy ; he 
seems always to stop short of that limit, where 
tlie virtues, assuming colors more vivid, but 
more changeable and dubious, might be taken 
for defects." 

During the time of this visit of the marquis 
to head-quarters, news was received of the un- 
expected and accideutal appearance of several 
British armed vessels in the Hudson ; the effect 
was to disconcert the complicated plan of a 
coup-de-main upon the British posts, and finally, 
to cause it to be abandoned. 

Some parts of the scheme were attended 
with success. The veteran Stark, with a de- 
tachment of twenty-five hundred men, made 
an extensive forage in Westchester County, and 
Major Tallmadge with eighty men, chiefly 
dismounted dragoons of SheVlon's regiment, 
crossed in boats from the Connecticut shore to 
Long Island, where the Soimd was twenty miles 
wide ; traversed the Island on the night of the 
22d of November, surprised Fort George at 
Coram, captured the garrison of fifty -two men, 
demolished the fort, set fire to magazines of 
forage, and recrossed the Sound to Fairfield, 
without the loss of a man, an achievement 
which drew forth a high eulogium from Con- 
gress. ■% 

At the end of IsTovember the army went 
into winter-quarters ; the Pennsylvania line in 
the neighborhood of Morristown, the Jersey 
line about Pompton, the New England troops 
at "West Point, and the other posts of the High- 
lands ; and the New York line was stationed 
at Albany, to guard against any invasion from 
Canada. 

The French army remained stationed at New- 
port, excepting the Duke of Lauzun's legion, 
which was cantoned at Lebanon in Connecti- 
cut. Washington's head-quarters were estab- 
lished at New Windsor, on the Hudson. 

We will now turn to the South to note the 
course of affairs in that quarter during the last 
few months. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

CoENWALLis having, as he supposed, entirely 
crushed the " rebel cause " in South Carolina, 
by the defeats of Gates and Sumter, remained 
for some time at Camden, detained by tlie ex- 
cessive heat of the weather and the sickness of 
part of his troops, broken down by the hard- 
ships of campaigning under a southern sun. 
He awaited also supplies and reinforcements. 

Immediately after the victory at Camden, he 
had ordered the friends to royalty in North 
Carolina " to arm and intercept the beaten 
army of General Gates," promising that he 
would march directly to the borders of that 
province in their support ; he now detached 
Major Patrick Ferguson to its western confines, 
to keep the war alive in that (juarter. This 
resolute partisan had with him his own corps 
of light-infantry, and a body of royalist militia 
of his own training. His whole force was be- 
tween eleven and twelve hundred men, noted 
for activity and alertness, and unincumbered 
with baggage or artillery. 

His orders were to skirt the mountain coun- 
try between the Catawba and the Yadkin, 
harass the whigs, inspirit the tories, and em- 
body the militia under the royal banner. This 
done, he was to repair to Charlotte, the capital 
of Mecklenburg County, where he would find 
Lord Cornwallis, who intended to make it his 
rendezvous. Should he, however, in the course 
of his tour, be threatened by a superior force, 
lie was immediately to return to the main 
army. No great opposition, liowever, was ap- 
prehended, the Americans being considered 
totally broken up and dispirited. 

During the suspense of his active operations 
in the field, Cornwallis instituted rigorous 
measures against Americans who continued 
under arms, or, by any other acts, manifested 
what he termed " a desperate persev^eranee in 
opposing His Majesty's Government." Among 
these Avere included many who had taken ref- 
uge in North Carolina. A counnissioner was 
appointed to take possession of their estates 
and property ; of the annual product of which 
a part was to bo allowed for the support of 
their families, the residue to be applied to the 
maintenance of the war. Letters from several 
of tlie principal inhabitants of Charleston hav- 
ing been found in the baggage of the captured 
American generals, the fonr.er were accused of 
breaking their parole, and holding a treason- 



556 



RIGOR OF CORNWALLIS— MOUNTAIN MEN OF CAROLINA. 



[1780. 



able correspondence with the armed enemies 
of England ; they were in consequence confined 
on board of prison ships, and afterwards trans- 
ported to St. Augustine in Florida. 

Among the prisoners taken in the late com- 
bats, many, it was discovered, had British pro- 
tections in their pockets ; these were deemed 
arrant runagates, amenable to the penalties of 
the proclamation issued by Sir Henry Clinton 
on the 3d of June ; they were therefore led 
forth from the provost and hanged, almost 
without the form of an inquiry. 

These measures certainly Avere not in keep- 
ing with the character for moderation and be- 
nevolence usually given to Lord Oornwallis ; 
but they accorded with the rancorous spirit 
manifested toward each other both by whigs 
and tories in Southern warfare. If they were 
intended by his lordship as measures of policy, 
their effect was far different from what he 
anticipated ; opposition was exasperated into 
deadly hate, and a cry of vengeance was raised 
throughout the land. Oornwallis decamped 
from Camden, and set out for North Carolina. 
In the subjugation of that province, he counted 
on the co-operation of the troops which Sir 
Henry Clinton was to send to the lower part 
of Virginia, which, after reducing the Virgin- 
ians to obedience, were to join his lordship's 
standard on the confines of North Carolina. 

Advancing into the latter province, Corn- 
wallis took post at Charlotte, where he had 
given rendezvous to Ferguson. Mecklenburg, 
of which this was the capital, was, as the read- 
er may recollect, the " heady high-minded " 
county, where the first declaration of independ- 
ence had been made, and his lordship from 
uncomfortable experience soon pronounced 
Charlotte " the Hornet's Nest of North Caro- 
lina." 

The surrounding country was wild and rug- 
ged, covered with close and thick woods, and 
crossed in every direction by narrow roads. 
All attempts at foraging were worse than use- 
less. The plantations were small and afforded 
scanty supplies. The inhabitants were stanch 
whigs, with the pugnacious spirit of the old 
Covenanters. Instead of remaining at home 
and receiving the king's money in exchange for 
their prodiice, they turned out witli their rifles, 
stationed themselves in covert places, and fired 
upon the foraging parties ; convoys of provisions 
from Camden had to fight their way, and ex- 
presses were shot down and their despatches 
seized. 



The capture of his expresses was a sore an- 
noyance to Oornwallis, depriving him of all 
intelligence concerning the movements of Col- 
onel Ferguson, whose arrival he was anxiously 
awaiting. The expedition of that doughty 
partisan oflficer here calls for especial notice. 
He had been chosen for this military tour as 
being calculated to gain friends by his concili- 
ating disposition and manners, and his address 
to the people of the country was in that spirit : 
" "We come not to make war upon women and 
children, but to give them money and relieve 
their distresses." Ferguson, however, had a 
loyal hatred of whigs, and to his standard 
flocked many rancorous tories, besides outlaws 
and desperadoes, so that with all his concili- 
ating intentions, his progress through the coun- 
try was attended by many exasperating ex- 
cesses. 

He was on his way to join Oornwallis when 
a chance for a signal exploit presented itself. 
An American force under Colonel Elijah Clarke, 
of Georgia, was retreating to the mountain dis- 
tricts of North Carolina, after an unsuccessful 
attack upon the British post at Augusta. Fer- 
guson resolved to cut oft' their retreat. Turn- 
ing towards the mountains, he made his way 
through a rugged wilderness and took post at 
Gilbert-town, a small frontier village of log- 
houses. He was encouraged to this step, say 
the British chroniclers, by the persuasion that 
there was no force in that part of the country 
able to look him in the face. He had no idea 
that the marauds of his followers had arrayed 
the very wilderness against him. "All of a 
sudden," say the chroniclers just cited, " a nu- 
merous, fierce, and unexpected enemy sprung 
u[*in the depths of the desert. The scattered 
inhabitants of the mountains assembled with- 
out noise or warning, under the conduct of six 
or seven of their militia colonels, to the num- 
ber of six hundred strong, daring, well-mounted, 
and excellent horsemen." * 

These, in fact, were the people of the moun- 
tains which form the frontiers of the Carolinas 
and Georgia, "mountain men," as they were 
commonly called, a hardy race, half huntsmen, 
half herdsmen, inhabiting deep narrow valleys, 
and fertile slopes, adapted to grazing, watered 
by the coldest of springs and brightest of 
streams, and embosomed in mighty forest trees. 
Being subject to inroads and surprisals from 
the Chickasaws, Oherokees, and Creeks, a tacit 

* Annual Register, 1781, p. 52. 



Ml. 48.] 



MOUNTAIN MEN AND FIERCE MEN OF KENTUCKY. 



657 



league existed among them for mntiial defence, 
and it only needed, as in the present instance, 
an alarm to be circulated through their settle- 
ments by swift messengers, to bring them at 
once to the point of danger. Beside these there 
were other elements of war suddenly gathering 
in Ferguson's vicinity. A band of what were 
termed " the wild and fierce " inhabitants of 
Kentucky, with men from other settlements 
west of the Alleghanies, had crossed the moun- 
tains, led by Colonels Campbell and Boone, to 
pounce upon a quantity of Indian goods at Au- 
gusta ; but had pulled up on hearing of the 
repulse of Clarke. The stout yeomen, also, of 
the district of Ninety-Six, roused by the ma- 
rauds of Ferguson, had taken the field, under 
the conduct of Colonel James Williams, of Gran- 
ville County. Here, too, were hard-riders and 
sharp-shooters, from Ilolston Eiver, Powel's 
Valley, Botetourt, Fincastle, and other parts 
of Virginia, commanded by Colonels Campbell, 
Cleveland, Shelby, and Sevier. Such were 
the different bodies of mountaineers and back- 
woodsmen, suddenly drawing together from 
various parts to the number of three thousand. 

Threatened by a force so superior in numbers 
and fierce in hostility, Ferguson issued an ad- 
dress to rouse the tories. " The Backwater 
men have crossed the mountain," said he, 
" McDowell, Hampton, Shelby, and Cleveland 
are at their head. If you choose to be trodden 
upon forever and ever by a set of mongrels, 
say so at once, and let women look out for real 
men to protect them. If you desire to live 
and bear the name of men, grasp your arms in 
a moment and run to camp." 

The taunting appeal produced but little ef- 
fect. In this exigency, Ferguson remembered 
the instructions of Cornwallis, that he should 
rejoin him should ho find himself threatened 
by a superior force ; breaking up his quarters, 
therefore, he pushed for the British army, 
sending messengers ahead to apprise his lord- 
ship of his danger. Unfortunately for him, his 
missives were intercepted. 

Gilbert-town had not long been vacated by 
Ferguson and his troops, when the motley host 
we have described thronged in. Some were 
on foot, but the greater part on horseback. 
Some were in homespun garb ; but the most 
part in hunting-shirts, occasionally decorated 
with colored fringe and tassels. Each man 
had his long rifle, a hunting-knife, his wallet, 
or knapsack and blanket, and either a buck's 
tail or sprig of evergreen in his hat. Here 



and there an oflScer appeared in the Continen- 
tal uniform of blue and buif, but most pre- 
ferred the half-Indian hunting-dress. There 
was neither tent nor tent-equipage, neither 
baggage nor baggage-waggon to encumber 
the movements of that extemporaneous host. 
Prompt warriors of the wilderness, with them 
it was " seize the weapon — sjjring into the 
saddle — and away ! " In going into action, it 
was their practice to dismount, tie their horses 
to the branches of trees, or secure them in 
some other way, so as to be at hand for use 
when the battle was over, either to pursue a 
flying enemy, or make their own escape by 
dint of hoof. 

There was a clamor of tongues for a time at 
Gilbert-town; groups on horseback and foot 
in every part, holding hasty council. Being 
told that Ferguson had retreated by the Cher- 
okee road toward North Carolina, about nine 
hundred of tlie hardiest and best mounted set 
out in urgent pursuit ; leaving those who were 
on foot, or weakly mounted, to follow on as 
fast as possible. Colonel William Campbell, of 
Virginia, having come from the greatest dis- 
tance, was allowed to have command of the 
whole party ; but there was not much order 
nor subordination. Each colonel led his own 
men in his own way. 

In the evening they arrived at the Cowpens, 
a grazing neighborhood. Here two beeves 
were killed and given to be cut up, cooked, and 
eaten as quick as possible. Before those who 
were slow or negligent had half prepared their 
repast, marching orders were given, and all 
were again in the saddle. A rapid and irregu- 
lar- march was kept up all night in murky 
darkness and through a heavy rain. About 
daybreak they crossed Broad River, where an 
attack was appreliended. Not finding the en- 
emy, they halted, lit their fires, made their 
morning's meal, and took a brief repose. By 
nine o'clock they were again on the march. 
The rainy night had been succeeded by a 
bright October morning, and all were in high 
spirits. Ferguson, they learnt, had taken the 
road toward King's Mountain, about twelve 
miles distant. When within three miles of it 
their scouts brought in word that he had tak^n 
post on its summit. The oflicers now held a 
short consultation on horseback, and then pro- 
ceeded. The position taken by Ferguson was 
a strong one. King's Mountain rises out of a 
broken country, and is detacned, on the north, 
from inferior heights by a deep valley, so as to 



558 



BATTLE OF KING'S MOUNTAIN. 



[1780. 



resemble an insulated promontory about balf a 
mile in length with sloping sides, excepting on 
the north. The mountain was covered for the 
most part with lofty forest trees free from 
undei'wood, interspersed with boulders and 
masses of gray rock. The forest was suffi- 
ciently open to give free passago to horsemen. 
As the Americans drew nearer, they could, 
occasionally, through openings of the wood- 
land, descry the glittering of arms along a level 
ridge, forming the crest of King's Mountain. 
This, Ferguson had made his stronghold ; boast- 
ing that " if all the rebels out of hell sliould 
attack him, they would not drive him from it." 
Dismounting at a small stream which runs 
through a ravine, the Americans picketed their 
horses or tied them to the branches of the 
trees, and gave them in chai-ge of a small 
guard. They then formed themselves into 
three divisions of nearly equal size, and pre- 
pared to storm the heights on three sides. 
Campbell, seconded by Shelby, was to lead the 
centre division ; Sevier with McDowell the 
right, and Cleveland and Williams the left. 
The divisions were to scale the mountain as 
nearly as possible at the same time. The figlit- 
ing directions were in frontier style. "When 
once in action, every one must act for himself. 
The men were not to wait for the word of 
command, but to take good aim and fire as fast 
as possible. When they could no longer hold 
their ground, they were to get behind trees, or 
retreat a little, and return to the fight, but 
never to go quite off. 

Campbell allowed time for the flanking divi- 
sions to move to the right and left along the 
base of the mountain, and take their proper 
distances ; he then pushed up in front with the 
centre division, he and Shelby, each at tlie 
head of his men. The first firing was about 
four o'clock, when a picket was driven in by 
Cleveland and Williams on the left, and pur- 
sued up the mountain. Campbell soon arrived 
within rifle distance of the crest of the moun- 
tain, whence a sheeted fire of musketry was 
opened upon him. He instantly deployed his 
men, posted them behind trees, and returned 
the fire with deadly effect. 

Ferguson, exasperated at being thus hunted 
into this mountain fastness, had been chafing 
in his rocky lair and meditating a furious sally. 
• He now rushed out with his regulars, made an 
impetuous charge with the bayonet, and dis- 
lodging his assailants from their coverts, began 
to drive them down the mountain, they not 



having a bayonet among them. He had not 
proceeded far, when a flanking fire was opened 
by one of the other divisions ; facing about 
and attacking this he was again successful, 
when a tbird fire was opened from another 
quarter. Thus, as fast as one division gave 
way before the bayonet, another came to its 
relief ; while those who had given way rallied 
and returned to the charge. The nature of 
the fighting-ground was more favorable to the 
rifle than tlie bayonet, and this was a kind of 
warfare in wliich the frontier men were at 
home. The elevated jiosition of the enemy 
also was in favor of the Americans, securing 
them from the danger of their own cross-fire. 
Ferguson found tliat he was completely in the 
hunter's toils, beset on every side ; but he 
stood bravely at bay, until the ground around 
him Avas strewed with the killed and wounded, 
picked off by the fatal rifle. His men were at 
length broken and retreated in confusion along 
the ridge. He galloped from place to place 
endeavoring to rally them, when a rifle ball 
brought him to the ground, and his white 
horse was seen careering down the mountain 
without a rider. 

This closed the bloody fight ; for Ferguson's 
second in command, seeing all further resist- 
ance hopeless, hoisted a white flag, beat a par- 
ley, and sued for quarters. One hundred and 
fifty of the enemy had fallen, and as many 
been wounded ; while of the Americans, but 
twenty were killed, though a considerable 
number were wounded. Among those slain 
was Colonel James Williams, who had com- 
manded the troops of Ninety-Six, and j^roved 
himself one of the most daring of the partisan 
leaders. 

Eight hundred and ten men were taken pris- 
oners, one hundred of whom were regulars, the 
rest royalists. The rancor awakened by civil 
war was shown in the treatment of some of 
the prisoners. A court-martial was held the 
day after the battle, and a number of tory- 
prisoners who had been bitter in their hostility 
to the American cause, and flagitious in their 
persecution of their countrymen, were hanged. 
This was to revenge the death of American 
prisoners hanged at Camden and elsewhere. 

The army of mountaineers and frontier men 
tlius fortuitously congregated, did not attempt 
to follow up tlieir signal blow. They had no 
general scheme, no plan of campaign ; it was 
the spontaneous rising of the sons of the soil, 
to revenge it on its invaders, and, having 



Mr. 48.] 



RETROGRADE MARCH OF CORNWALLIS— GENERAL MARION. 



559 



effected their purpose, tliey returned in tri- 
umph to their homes. They were little aware 
of the importance of their achievement. The 
hattle of King's Mountain, inconsiderable as it 
was in the numbers engaged, turned the tide 
of Southern warfare. The destruction of Fer- 
guson and his corps gave a complete check to 
the expedition of Oornwallis. He began to fear 
for the safety of South Carolina, liable to such 
sudden irruptions from the mountains ; lest, 
while he was facing to the north, these hordes 
of stark-riding warriors might throw themselves 
behind him, and produce a popular combustion 
in the province he had loft. He resolved, there- 
fore, to return with all speed to that province 
and provide for its security. 

On the 14th of October he commenced his 
retrograde and mortifying march, conducting 
it in the night, and with such hurry and con- 
fusion, that nearly twenty waggons, laden with 
baggage and supplies, were lost. As he pro- 
ceeded, the rainy season set in ; the brooks and 
rivers became swollen, and almost impassable ; 
the roads deep and miry ; provisions and forage 
scanty ; the troops generally sickly, having no 
tents. Lord Oornwallis himself was seized with 
a bilious fever, which obliged him to halt two 
days in the Catawba settlement, and afterwards 
to be conveyed in a waggon, giving up the com- 
mand to Lord Eawdon. 

In the course of this desolate march, the 
British suffered as usual from the vengeance of 
an outraged country, being fired upon from 
behind trees and other coverts by the yeoman- 
ry ; their sentries shot down at tlieir encamp- 
ments ; their foraging parties cut off. " The 
enemy," writes Lord Rawdon, " are mostly 
mounted militia, not to be overtaken by our 
infantry, nor to be safely pursued in this 
strong country by our cavalry." 

For two weeks they were toiling on this re- 
trograde march, through deep roads, and a 
country cut up by water-courses, with the 
very elements arrayed against them. At length, 
after fording the Catawba where it was six 
hundred yards m^ ide, and three and a half deep, 
and where a handful of rilleraen might have 
held them in check, the army arrived at 
Winnsborough, in South Cafolina. Hence, by 
order of Oornwallis, Lord Rawdon wrote on 
the 24th of October to Brigadier-General Les- 
he, who was at that time in the Chesapeake, 
with the force detached by Sir Henry Clinton 
for a descent upon Virginia, suggesting the ex- 
pediency of his advancing to North Carolina 



for the purpose of co-operation with Cornwal- 
lis, who feared to proceed far from South Car- 
olina, lest it should be again in insurrection. 

In the mean time his lordship took post at 
Winnsborough. It Avas a central position, 
where he might cover tljc country from pai-ti- 
san incursions, obtain forage and supplies, and 
await the co-operation of General Leslie. 



CHAPTER XV. 

The victory at King's Mountain had set the 
])artisan sjnrit throughout the country in a 
blaze. Francis Marion was soon in the field. 
He had been made a brigadier-general by Gov- 
ernor Rutledge, but his brigade, as it was 
called, was formed of neighbors and friends, 
and was continually fluctuating in numbers. 
He was nearly fifty years of age, and small 
of stature, but hardy, healthy, and vigorous. 
Brave but not braggart, never avoiding danger, 
but never rashly seeking it. Taciturn and ab- 
stemious ; a strict disciplinarian : careful of the 
lives of his men, but little mindful of his own 
life. Just in his dealings, free from every 
thing selfish or mercenary, and incapable of a 
meanness. He had his haunts and strongholds 
in the morasses of the Pedee and Black River. 
His men were hardy and abstemious as him- 
self; they ate their meat without salt, often 
subsisted on potatoes, were scantily clad, and 
almost destitute of blankets. Marion was full 
of stratagems and expedients. Sallying forth 
from his morasses, he would overrun the lower 
disti-icts, pass the Santee, beat up the small 
posts in the vicinity of Charleston, cut up the 
communication between that city and Camden ; 
and having struck some signal blow, so as to 
rouse the vengeance of the enemy, would re- 
treat again into his fenny fastnesses. Hence 
the British gave him the bye name of the 
Swamp Fox, but those of his countrymen who 
knew his courage, his loftiness of spirit, and 
spotless integrity, considered him the Bayard 
of the South. 

Tarleton, who was on duty in that part of 
the country, undertook, as he said, to draw the 
swamp fox from his cover. He accordingly 
marched cautiously down the east bank of the 
Wateree with a body of dragoons and infantry, 
in compact order. The fox, however, kept 
close ; he saw that the enemy was too strong 
for him. Tarleton now changed his plan. By 



500 



FIGHT AT BLACK STOCK HILL— GATES AT HILLSBOROUGH. 



[1780. 



day he broke up his force into small detach- 
ments or patrols, giving them orders to keep 
near enough to each other to render mutual sup- 
port if attacked, and to gather together at night. 

The artifice had its eflPect. Marion sallied 
forth from his covert just before daybreak to 
make an attack upon one of these detachments, 
when, to his surprise, he found himself close 
upon the British camp. Perceiving the snare 
that had been spread for him, he made a rapid 
retreat. A close pursuit took place. For seven 
hours Marion was hunted from one swamp and 
fastness to another ; several stragglers of his 
band were captured, and Tarleton was in strong 
hope of bringing him into action, when an ex- 
press came spurring from Cornwallis, calling 
for the immediate services of himself and his 
dragoons in another quarter. 

Sumter was again in the field ! That inde- 
fatigable partisan, having recruited a strong 
party in the mountainous country to which he 
retreated after his defeat on the Wateree, had 
reappeared on the west side of the Santee, re- 
pulsed a British party sent against him, killing 
its leader ; then, crossing Broad River, had 
effected a junction with Colonels Clark and 
Brannan, and now menaced the British posts in 
the district of Ninety-Sis. 

It was to disperse this head of partisan war 
that Tarleton was called off from beleaguering 
Marion. Advancing with his accustomed ce- 
lerity, he thought to surprise Sumter on the 
Enoree River. A deserter apprised the latter 
of his danger. He pushed across the river, but 
was hotly pursued, and his rear-guard roughly 
handled. He now made for the Tyger River, 
noted for turbulence and rapidity ; once beyond 
this, he might disband his followers in the 
woods. Tarleton, to prevent his passing it un- 
molested, spurred forward in advance of his 
main body with one hundred and seventy dra- 
goons, and eighty mounted men of the infantry. 
Before five o'clock (Nov. 20) his advanced 
guard overtook and charged the rear guard of 
th'e Americans, who retreated to the main 
body. Sumter finding it impossible to cross 
Tyger River in safety, and being informed that 
the enemy, thus pressing upon him, were with- 
out infantry or cannon, took post on Black 
Stock Hill, with a rivulet and rail fence in 
front, the Tyger River in the rear and on the 
right flank, and a large log-barn on the left. 
The barn was turned into a fortress, and a part 
of tlie force stationed in it to fire through the 
apertures between the logs. 



Tarleton halted on an opposite height to 
await the arrival of his infantry, and part of his 
men dismounted to ease their horses. Sumter 
seized this moment for an attack. He was 
driven back after some sharp fighting. The 
enemy pursued, but were severely galled by 
the fire from the log barn. Enraged at seeing 
his men shot down, Tarleton charged witli Iiis 
cavalry, but found it impossible to dislodge the 
Americans from their rustic fortress. At the 
approach of night he fell back to join his inftm- 
try, leaving the ground strewed with his killed 
and wounded. The latter were treated with 
great humanity by Sumter. The loss of the 
Americans was only three killed and four 
wounded. 

Sumter, who had received a severe wound in 
the breast, remained several hours on the field 
of action ; but, understanding the enemy would 
be powerfully reinforced in the morning, he 
crossed the Tyger River in the night. He was 
then placed on a litter between two horses, and 
thus conducted across the country by a few 
faithful adherents. The rest of his little army 
dispersed themselves through the woods. Tarle- 
ton, finding his enemy had disappeared, claimed 
the credit of a victory ; but those who consid- 
ered the atljxir rightly, declared that he had re- 
ceived a severe check. 

While the attention of the enemy was thus 
engaged by the enterprises of Sumter and Ma- 
rion and tlieir swamp warriors, General Gates 
was gathering together the scattered fragments 
of his army at Hillsborougli. When all were 
collected, his whole force, exclusive of militia, 
did not exceed fourteen hundred men. It was, 
as he said, " rather a shadow than a substance." 
His troops, disheartened by defeat, were in a 
forlorn state, without clothing, without pay, 
and sometimes without provisions. Destitute 
of tents, they constructed hovels of fence-rails, 
poles, brushwood, and the stalks of Indian 
corn, the officers faring no better than the 
men. 

The vanity of Gates was completely cut down 
by his late reverses. He had lost, too, the con- 
fidence of his officers, and was unable to main- 
tain discipline among his men ; who through 
their irregularities became a terror to the 
country people. 

On the retreat of Cornwallis from Charlotte, 
Gates advanced to that place to make it his 
winter-quarters. Huts were ordered to be 
built, and a regular encampment was com- 
menced. Smallwood, with a body of militia, 



Mt. 48.] 



GATES'S DOMESTIC MISFORTUNES— ARRIVAL OF GREENE. 



561 



was stationed below on the Catawba to guard 
the road leading through Camden ; and further 
down was posted Brigadier-General Morgan, 
with a corps of light troops. 

To add to his depression of spirits, Gates 
received the melancholy intelligence of the 
deatli of an only son, and, while he was yet 
writhing under the blow, came oflBcial de- 
spatches informing him of his being superseded 
in command. A letter fro^ Washington, we 
are told, accompanied them, sympathizing with 
him in his domestic misfortunes, adverting with 
peculiar delicacy to his reverses in battle, assur- 
ing him of his undiminished confidence in his 
zeal and capacity, and his readiness to give him 
the command of the left wing of his army as 
soon as he could make it convenient to join 
him. 

The effect of this letter was overpowering. 
Gates was found walking about his room in the 
greatest agitation, pressing the letter to his lips, 
breaking forth into ejaculations of gratitude 
and admiration, and when he could find utter- 
ance to his thoughts, declared that its tender 
sympathy and considerate delicacy had con- 
veyed more consolation and delight to his heart 
than he had believed it possible ever to have 
felt again.* 

General Greene arrived at Charlotte, on the 
2d of December. On his way from the North 
he had made arrangements for supplies from 
the different States ; and had left the Baron 
Steuben in Virginia to defend that State and 
procure and send on reinforcements and stores 
for the Southern army. On the day following 
his arrival, Greene took formal command. The 
delicacy with which he conducted himself 
towards his unfortunate predecessor is said to 
have been "edifying to the army." Consulting 
with his officers as to the court of inquiry on 
the conduct of General Gates, ordered by Con- 
gress ; it was determined that there was not a 
sufficient nurnber of general officers in camp to 
sit upon it ; that the state of General Gates's 
feelings, in consequence of the death of his son, 
disqualified him from entering upon the task 
of his defence ; and that it would be indelicate 
in the extreme to press on him an investigation, 
which his honor would not permit him to defer. 
Beside, added Greene, his is a case of misfor- 
tune, and the most honorable course to be pur- 



* Related by Dr. William Reed, at that time super- 
intendent of the Hospital department at Hillsborough, to 
Alexander Garden, aide-de-camp to Greene.— Garden's 
Anecdotes, p. 350. 

36 



sued, both with regard to General Gates and 
the government, is to make such representa- 
tions as may obtain a revision of the order of 
Congress directing an inquiry into his conduct. 
In this opinion all present concurred. 

Gates, in fact, when informed in the most 
delicate manner of the order of Congress, was 
urgent that a court of inquiry should be imme- 
diately convened : he acknowledged there was 
some important evidence that could not at 
present be procured; but he relied on the 
honor and justice of the court to make allow- 
ance for the deficiency. He was ultimately 
brought to acquiesce in the decision of the coun- 
cil of war for the postponement, but declared 
that he could not think of servmg until the 
matter should have been properly investigated. 
He determined to pass the interim on his estate 
in Virginia. Greene, in a letter to "Washington 
(December 7th), writes : " General Gates sets 
out to-morrow for the northward. Many offi- 
cers think very favorably of his conduct, and 
that, whenever an inquiry takes place, he will 
honorably acquit himself." 

The kind and considerate conduct of Greene, 
on the present occasion, completely subdued 
the heart of Gates, The coldness, if not ill- 
will, with which he had hitherto regarded him, 
was at an end, and, in all his subsequent cor- 
respondence with him, he addressed him in 
terms of affection. 

"We take pleasure in noting the generous con- 
duct of the General Assembly of Virginia tow- 
ards Gates. It was in session when he arrived 
at Richmond. " Those fathers of the common- 
wealth," writes Col. H. Lee, in his Memoirs, 
" appointed a committee of their body to wait 
on the vanquished general, and assure him of 
their high regard and esteem, that their re- 
membrance of his foriner glorious services was 
never to be obliterate by any reverse of for- 
tune ; but, ever mindful of his great merit, they 
would omit no opportunity of testifying to the 
world the gratitude which Virginia, as a mem- 
ber of the American Union, owed to him in his 
military character." 

Gates was sensibly affected and comforted by 
this kind reception, and retired with a lighten- 
ed heart to his farm in Berkeley County. 

The whole force at Charlotte, when Greene 
took command, did not much exceed twenty- 
three hundred men, and more than half of them 
were militia. It had been broken in spirit by 
the recent defeat. The officers had fallen into 
habits of negligence ; the soldiers were loose 



562 



GREENE'S APHORISMS-GALLANT EXPLOIT OF COLONEL WASHINGTON. [1780. 



and disorderly, without tents and camp equi- 
page ; badly clothed and fed, and prone to re- 
lieve tlieir necessities by depredating upon the 
inhabitants. Greene's letters written at the 
time, abound with military aphorisms suggested 
by the squalid scene around him. " There must 
be either pride or principle," said he, "to make 
a soldier. No man wiU think himself bound 
to fight the battles of a State that leaves him 
perishing for want of covering ; nor can you 
inspire a soldier with the sentiment of pride, 
while his situation renders him an object of 
pity, rather than of envy. Good feeding is the 
first principle of good service. It is impossible 
to preserve discipline where troops are in want 
of every thing— to attempt severity will only 
thin the ranks by a more hasty desertion." 

The state of the country in which he was to 
act was equally discouraging, " It is so exten- 
sive," said he, " and the powers of government 
so weak, that everybody does as he pleases. 
The inhabitants are much divided in their poli- 
tical sentiments, and the whigs and tories pur- 
sue each other with little less than savage fury. 
The back country people are bold and daring ; 
but the people upon the sea shore are sickly, 
and but indifferent militia." 

" War here," observes he in another letter, 
" is upon a very diflferent scale to what it is at 
the Northward. It is a plain business there. 
The geography of the country reduces its ope- 
rations to two or three points. But here it is 
everywhere ; and the country is so full of 
deep rivers and impassable creeks and swamps, 
that you are always liable to misfortimes of a 
capital nature. The whigs and tories," adds he, 
» are continually out in small parties, and all 
the middle country is so disaflfected that you 
cannot lay in the most trifling magazine, or send 
a waggon through the^^oountry with the least 
article of stores withoii^a guard." 

A recent exploit had given some animation 

to the troops. Lieutenant-Colonel Washington, 

detached with a troop of light-horse to check 

a foraging party of the enemy, scoured the 

country within thirteen miles of Camden. Here 

he found a body of loyalist mihtia strongly 

posted at Clermont, the seat of Colonel Ruge- 

ley, their tory commander. They had en- 

pco'nsed themselves in a large barn, built of logs, 

and had fortified it by a slight intrenchment 

and a line of abatis. To attack it with cavalry 

was useless. Colonel Washington dismounted 

a part of his troops to appear like infantry ; 

placed on two waggon-wheels the trunk of a 



pine-tree, shaped and painted to look like a 
field-piece, brought it to bear upon the enemy, 
and, displaying his cavalry, sent in a flag sum- 
moning the garrison to surrender instantly, on 
pain of having their log castle battered about 
their ears. The garrison, to the number of one 
hundred and twelve men, with Colonel Eugeley 
at their head, gave themselves up prisoners of 
war.* Cornwallis, mentioning the ludicrous 
affair in a letter to Tarleton, adds sarcastically : 
" Eugeley will not be made a brigadier." The 
unlucky colonel never again appeared in arms. 
The first care of General Greene was to re- 
organize his army. He went to work quietly 
but resolutely : called no councils of war ; com- 
municated his plans and intentions to few, and 
such only as were able and willing to aid in 
executing them. " If I cannot inspire respect 
and confidence by an independent conduct," 
said he, " it will be impossible to instil disci- 
pline and order among the troops." His efforts 
were successful ; the army soon began to as- 
sume what he termed a military complexion. 

He was equally studious to promote harmony 
among his oflicers, of whom a number were 
young, gallant, and intelligent. It was his de- 
light ^to have them at his genial but simple ta- 
ble, where parade and restraint were banished, 
and pleasant and instructive conversation was 
promoted; which, next to reading, was his 
great enjoyment. The manly benignity of his 
manners diflused itself round his board, and a 
common sentiment of affection for their chief 
united the young men in a kind of brother- 
hood. 

I rinding the country around Charlotte ex- 
hausted by repeated foragings, he separated the 
army into two divisions. One, about one 
thousand strong, was commanded by Brigadier- 
General Morgan, of rifle renown, and was com- 
posed of four hundred Continental infantry, 
under Lieutenant-Colonel Howard of the Mary- 
land line, two companies of Virginia militia, 
under Captains Tripplet and Tate, and one hun- 
dred dragoons, under Lieutenant-Colonel Wash- 
ington. With these Morgan was detached tow- 
ards the district of Ninety-Six, in South Caro- 
lina, with orders to take a position near the 
confluence of the Pacolet and Broad Rivers, 
and assemble the militia of the country. With 
the other division, Greene made a march of 
toilful diflSculty through a barren country, with 
waggons and horses quite unfit for service, to 



' Williams' Narrative. 



^x.48.] GREENE ON THE PEDEE RIVER-HOSTILE EMBARKATIONS TO T. E SOUTH. 



563 



Hicks' Creek, in Chesterfield district, on the 
east side of the Pedee Eiver opposite the Che- 
raw IliUs. There he posted liimself, on the 
26th, partly to discourage the enemy from at- 
tempting to possess themselves of Cross Creek 
wliieh would give them command of the greatest 

part of the provisions of the lower coxmtry 

partly to form a camp of repose; ."and no 
army," writes lie, "ever wanted one more, 
the troops having totally lost their discipline." 
" I will not pain your Excellency," writes he 
to Washington, " with further accounts of the 
wants and sufferings of this army ; but I am not 
without great apprehension of its entire disso- 
lution, unless the commissary's and quartermas- 
ter's departments can be rendered more compe- 
tent to the demands of the service. Nor are 
the clothing and hospital departments ui)on a 
better footing. Not a shilling in the pay cliest, 
nor a prospect of any for months to come. 
This is really making bricks without straw." 

Governor Rutledge also wrote to Washington 
from Greene's camp, on the 28th of December, 
imploring aid for South Carolina. " Some of 
the stanch inhabitants of Charleston," writes 
he, " have been sent to St. Augustine, and others 
are to follow. The enemy have hanged many 
people, who, from fear, or the impracticability 
of removing, had received protections or given 
paroles, and from attachment to, liad afterwards 
taken part with us. They have burned a great 
number of houses, and turned many women, 
formerly of good fortune, with their children 
(whom their husbands or parents, from an un- 
willingness to join the enemy, had left), almost 
naked into the woods. Their cruelty and the 
distresses of the people are indeed beyond de- 
scription, I entreat your Excellency, therefore, 
seriously to consider the unhappy state of South 
Carolina and Georgia ; and I rely on your hu- 
manity and your knowledge of their importance 
to the Union for such speedy and effectual 
support, as may compel the enemy to evacuate 
every part of these countries." * 



CHAPTER XVI. 

The occurrences recorded in the last few 
chapters made Washington apprehend a design 
on the part of the enemy to carry the stress of 
war into the Southern States. Conscious that 

* Correspondence of the Revolution, iii. 188. 



he was the man to whom all looked in time of 
emergency, and who was, in a manner, respon- 
sible for the general course of military affairs, 
he deeply felt the actual impotency of his 
position. 

In a letter to Franklin, who was minister- 
plenipotentiary at the court of Versailles, he 
strongly expresses his chagrin. " Disappointed 
of the second division of French troops, but 
more especially in the expected naval superi-" 
ority, which was the pivot upon which every 
thing turned ; we have been compelled to spend 
an inactive campaign, after a flattering prospect 
at the opening of.it, and vigorous struggles to 
make it a decisive one on our part. Latterly 
we have been obliged to become spectators of 
a^succession of detachments from the army at 
New York in aid of Lord Cornwallis, while our 
naval weakness, and the political dissolution of 
a great part of our army, put it out of our 
power to counteract them at the southward, or- 
to take advantage of them here." 

The last of these detachments to the South 
took place on the 20th of December, but was not 
destined, as Washington had supposed, for South 
Carolina. Sir Henry Clinton had received in- 
formation that the troops already mentioned as 
being under General Leslie in the Chesapeake, 
had, by orders from Cornwallis, sailed for 
Charleston, to reinforce his lordship ; and tliis 
detachment was to take their place in Virginia. 
It was composed of British, German, and refu- 
gee troops, about seventeen hundred strong, and 
was commanded by Benedict Arnold, now 
a brigadier-general in his majesty's service. Sir 
Henry Clinton, who distrusted the fidelity of 
the man he had corrupted, sent with him Colo- 
nels Dundas and Simcoe, experienced officers, 
by Avhose advice he was to be guided in every 
important measure. He was to make an incur- 
sion into Virginia, destroy the public magazines, 
assemble and arm the loyalists, and hold him- 
self ready to co-operate with Lord Cornwallis. 
He embarked his troops in a fleet of small ves- 
sels, and departed on liis enterprise animated 
by the rancorous spirit of a renegade, and 
prepared, as he vaunted, to give the Americans 
a blow " that would make the whole continent 
shake." We shall speak of his expedition 
hereafter. 

As Washington beheld one hostile armament 
afteu another winging its way to the South, and 
received applications from that quarter for as- 
sistance, which he had not the means to furnish, 
it became painfully apparent to him, that the 



564 WASHINGTON URGES A FOREIGN LOAN— MISSION OF COLONEL LAURENS. [1780. 



efforts to carry on the war had exceeded the 
natural capabilities of the country. Its widely 
diffused population, and tlic composition and 
temper of some of its people, rendered it diffi- 
cult to draw together its resources. Commerce 
■s\-a3 almost extinct; there was not sufficient 
natural wealth on which to found a revenue ; 
paper currency had depreciated through want 
of funds for its redemption until it was nearly 
worthless. The mode of supplying the army 
by assessing a proportion of the productions of 
the earth, had proved ineffectual, oppressive, 
and productive of an alarming opposition. 
Domestic loans yielded hut .trifling assistance. 
The patience of the army was nearly exhaust- 
ed ; the people were dissatisfied with the mode 
of supporting the war, and there was reason to 
apprehend, that, under the pressure of imposi- 
tions of a new and odious kind, they might 
imagine they had only exchanged one kind of 
tyranny for another. 

We give hut a few of many considerations 
which Washington was continually urging 
upon the attention of Congress in Ins full and 
perspicuous manner ; the end of which was to 
enforce his opinion that a foreign loan was in- 
dispensably necessary to a continuance of the 
war. 

His earnest counsels and entreaties were at 
length successful in determining Congress to 
seek aid both in men and money from abroad. 
Accordingly, on the 28th of December they 
commissioned Lieutenant-Colonel John Lau- 
rens, special minister at the court of Versailles, 
to apply for such aid. The situation he had 
lield, as aide-de-camp to the commander-in- 
chief, had given him an opportunity of observ- 
ing the course of affairs, and acquainting him- 
self with the wants and resources of tlie comi- 
try; and he was instructed to confer with 
Washington, previous -to his departure, as to 
the objects of his mission. Not content with 
impressing him verbally with his policy, Wash- 
ington gave him a letter of instructions for his 
government, and to be used as occasion might 
require. In this he advised him to solicit a 
loan sufficiently large to be a foundation for 
substantial arrangements of finance, to revive 
public credit, and give vigor to future opera- 
tions ; — next to a loan of money, a naval 
force was to be desired, sufficient to maintain 
a constant superiority on the American Qpast ; 
also additional succor in troops. In a word, a 
means of co-operation by sea and land, with 
purse and sword, competent by a decided effort 



to attain, once for all, the great objects of the 
alliance, the liberty and independence of the 
United States, 

He was to show, at the same time, the ample 
means possessed by the nation to repay the 
loan, from its comparative freedom from debt, 
and its vast and valuable tracts of unsettled 
lands, th.e variety and fertility of its climates 
and soils, and its advantages of every kind for 
a lucrative commerce, and rapid increase of 
population and prosperity. 

Scarce had Colonel Laurens been appoint- 
ed to this mission, when a painful occurrence 
proved the urgent necessity of the required aid. 

In the arrangements for winter-quarters, the 
Pennsylvania line, consisting of six regiments, 
was hutted near Morristown. These troops 
had experienced the hardships and privations 
common to the whole army. General Wayne, 
who commanded them, had a soldier's sympa- 
thy in the sufferings of his men, and speaks of 
them in feeling language : " Poorly clothed, 
badly fed, and worse paid," writes he, " some 
of them not having received a paper dollar for 
near twelve months ; exposed to winter's pierc- 
ing colfl, to drifting snows and chilling blasts, 
with no protection but old worn-out coats, tat- 
tered linen overalls, and but one blanket be- 
tween three men. In this situation the enemy 
begin to work upon their passions, and have 
found means to circulate some proclamations 
among them. * * * The officers in general, 
as well as myself, find it necessary to stand for 
hours every day exposed to wind and weather 
among the poor naked fellows, while they are 
working at their huts and redoubts, often assist- 
ing with our own hands, in order to produce a 
conviction to their minds that we share, and 
more than share, every vicissitude in ctmimon 
with them : sometimes asking to participate their 
bread and water. The good effect of this conduct 
is very conspicuous, and prevents their mur- 
muring in public ; but the delicate mind and eye 
of humanity are hurt, very mucli hurt, at their 
visible distress and private complainings." 

How strongly is hero depicted the trials to 
which the soldiers of the Revolution were con- 
tinually subjected. But the Pennsylvania line 
had an additional grievance peculiar to them- 
selves. Many of them had enlisted to serve 
" for three years, or during war," that is to 
say, for less than three years should the war 
cease in less time. When, however, having 
served for three years, they sought their dis- 
charge, the officers, loth to lose such experi- 



^T. 49.] 



REVOLT OF THE PENNSYLVANIA LINE. 



565 



enced soldiers, interpreted the terms of enlist- 
ment to mean three years, or to the end of the 
war, should it continue for a longer time. 

This chicanery naturally produced great ex- 
asperation. It was heightened by the conduct 
of a deputation from Pennsylvania, which, 
while it left veteran troops unpaid, distributed 
gold by handsful among raw six-month levies, 
whose time was expiring, as bounties on their 
re-enlisting for the war. 

The first day of the New Year arrived. The 
men were excited by an extra allowance of ar- 
dent spirits. In the evening, at a preconcerted 
signal, a great part of the Pennsylvania line, 
non-commissioned officers included, turned out 
under arms, declaring their intention to march 
to Philadelphia, and demand redress from Con- 
gress. Wayne endeavored to pacify them; 
they were no longer to be pacified by words. 
He cocked his pistols ; in an instant their bayo- 
nets were at his breast. " We love, we respect 
you," cried they, " but you are a dead man if 
you fire. Do not mistake us ; we are not going 
to the enemy : were they now to come out, 
you would see ns fight under your orders with 
as much resolution and alacrity as ever." * 

Their threat was not an idle one. In an at- 
tempt to suppress the mutiny there was a 
bloody alTra}^, in which numbers were wounded 
on both sides ; among whom were several offi- 
cers. One captain was killed. 

Three regiments which had taken no part in 
the mutiny were paraded under tlieir officers. 
The mutineers compelled them to join their 
ranks. Their number being increased to about 
thirteen hundred, they seized upon six field- 
pieces, and set out in the night for Pliiladel- 
phia under command of their sergeants. 

Fearing the enemy might take advanta'ge of 
this outbreak, Wayne detached a Jersey bri- 
gade to Chatham, and ordered the militia to be 
called out there. Alarm fires were kindled upon 
the hills ; alarm guns boomed from post to 
post ; the country was soon on the alert. 

Wayne' was not " Mad Anthony " on the 
present occasion. All his measui'es were taken 
with judgment and forecast. He sent provi- 
sions after the mutineers, lest they should sup- 
ply their wants from the country people by 
force. Two officers of rank spurred to Phila- 
delpliia, to apprise Congress of the approach of 
the insurgents, and put it upon its guard. 
Wayne sent a despatch with news of the out- 

* Quincy's Memoir of Major Bhaw, p. 85. 



break to Washington ; he then mounted his 
horse, and accompanied by Colonels Butler and 
Stewart, two officers popular with the troops, 
set off after the mutineers, either to bring them 
to a halt, or to keep with them, and seek every 
occasion to exert a favorable influence over them. 

Washington received Wayne's letter at his 
head-quarters at New Windsor on the 3d of 
January. His first impulse was to set out at 
once for the insurgent camp. Second thoughts 
showed the impolicy of such a move. Before 
he could overtake the mutineers, they would 
either have returned to their duty, or their af- 
fair would be in the hands of Congress. How 
far, too, could his own troops be left with 
safety, distressed as they were for clothing and 
provisions ? Beside, the navigation of the Hud- 
son v/as still open ; should any disaffection ap- 
pear in the neighboring garrison of West Point, 
the British might send up an expedition from 
New York to take advantage of it. Under 
these circumstances, he determined to continue 
at New Windsor. 

He wrote to Wayne, however, approving of 
his intention to keep with the troops, and im- 
prove every favorable interval of passion. 
His letter breathes that paternal spirit with 
which he watched over the army ; and that 
admirable moderation mingled with discipline 
with which he managed and moulded their 
wayward moods. " Opposition," said he, " as 
it did not succeed in the first instance, cannot 
be efl["ectual while the men remain togethei-, 
but will keep alive resentment, and may tempt 
them to turn about and go in a body to the 
enemy ; who, by their emissaries, will use every 
argument and means in their power to per- 
suade them that it is their only asylum ; which, 
if they find their passage stopped at the Dela- 
ware, and hear that the Jersey militia are col- 
lecting in their rear, they may think but too 
probable. I Avould, tlierefore, recommend it 
to you to cross the Delaware with them, draw 
from them what they conceive to be their prin- 
cipal grievances, and promise faithfully to rep- 
resent to Congress and to the State the sub- 
stance of them, and endeavor to obtain a re- 
dress. If they could be stopped at Bristol or 
Germantown, the better. I look upon it, that 
if you can bring them to a negotiation, matters 
may be afterwards accommodated ; but that an 
attempt to reduce them by force will either 
drive them to the enemy, or dissipate them in 
such a manner that they will never be recov- 
ered." 



566 



REVOLT OF THE PENNSYLVANIA LINE. 



[1Y81. 



How clearly one reads in this letter that tem- 
perate and magnanimous spirit which moved 
over the troubled waters of the Eevolution, 
allayed the fury of the storms, and controlled 
every thing into peace. 

Having visited the Highland posts of the 
Hudson, and satisfied himself of the fidelity of 
the garrisons, "Washington ordered a detach- 
ment of eleven hundred men to be ready to 
march at a moment's warning. General Knox, 
also, was despatched by him to the Eastern 
States, to represent to their governments the 
alarming crisis produced by a long neglect of 
the subsistence of the army, and to urge them 
to send on 'immediately money, clothing, and 
other supplies for their respective lines. 

In the mean time, as Washington had appre- 
hended. Sir Henry Clinton received intelligence 
at New York of the mutiny, and hastened to 
profit by it. Emissaries were despatched to 
the camp of the mutineers, holding out oifers 
of pardon, protection, and ample pay, if they 
would return to their allegiance to the crown. 
On the 4th of January, although the rain pour- 
ed in torrents, troops and cannon were hurried 
on board of vessels of every description, and 
transported to Staten Island, Sir Henry accom- 
panying them. There they were to be held in 
rejidiness, either to land at Amboy in the Jer- 
seys, should the revolters be drawn in that di- 
rection, or to make a dash at West Point, should 
the departure of Washington leave that post 
assailable. 

General Wayne and his companions. Colonels 
Butler and Stewart, had overtaken the insur- 
gent troops on the 3d of January, at Middle- 
brook. They were proceeding in military form, 
under the control of a self-constituted board 
of sergeants, whose orders were implicitly 
obeyed. A sergeant-major, who had formerly 
deserted from the British army, had the general 
command. 

Conferences were held by Wayne with ser- 
geants delegated from each regiment. They 
ai)peared to be satisfied with the mode and 
promises of redress held out to them ; but the 
main body of the mutineers persisted in revolt, 
and proceeded on the next day to Princeton. 
Wayne hoped they might continue further on, 
and would gladly have seen them across the 
Delaware, beyond the influence of the ene- 
my ; but their leaders clung to Princeton, lest 
in further movements they might not be able 
to keep their followers together. Their pro- 
ceedings continued to be orderly ; military 



forms were stiU observed ; they obeyed their 
leaders, behaved well to the people of the 
country, and committed no excesses. 

General Wayne and Colonels Butler and 
Stewart remained with them in an equivocal 
position ; popular, but without authority, and 
almost in durance. The insurgents professed 
themselves still ready to march under them 
against the enemy, but would permit none 
other of their former oflBcers to come among 
them. The Marquis de Lafayette, General St. 
Clair, and Colonel Laurens, the newly-appointed 
minister to France, arrived at the camp and 
were admitted ; but afterwards were ordered 
away at a short notice. 

The news of the revolt caused great conster- 
nation in Philadelphia. A committee of Con- 
gress set ofi" to meet the insurgents, accompa- 
nied by Eeed, the president of Pennsylvania, 
and one or two other officers, and escorted by 
a city troop of horse. The committee halted 
at Trenton, whence President Reed wrote to 
Wayne, requesting a personal interview at four 
o'clock in the afternoon, at four miles' distance 
from Princeton. Wayne was moreover told to 
inform the troops, that he (Reed) would be 
there, to receive any pro^-nsitions from them, 
and redi'ess any injuries they might have sus- 
tained ; but that, after the indignities they had 
oftered to the marquis and General St. Clair, 
he could not venture to put himself in their 
power. 

Wayne, knowing that the letter was intend- 
ed for his troops more than for himself, read it 
publicly on the parade. It had a good effect 
upon the sergeants and many of the men. 
The idea that the president of their State 
should have to leave the seat of government 
and stoop to treat with them, touched their 
sectional pride and their home feelings. They 
gathered round the horseman who had brought 
the letter, and inquired anxiously whether Presi- 
dent Reed was unkindly disposed towards 
them ; intimating privately their dislike to the 
business in which they were engaged. 

Still, it was not thought prudent for Presi- 
dent Reed to trust himself within their camp. 
Wayne promised to meet him on the follow- 
ing day (7th), though it seemed uncertain 
whether he was master of himself, or whether 
he was not a kind of prisoner. Tidings had 
just been received of the movements of Sir 
Henry Clinton, ?.nd of tempting overtures he 
intended to make, and it was feared the men 
might listen to them. Three of the light-horse 



^T. 49.] ARTICLES OF ACCOMMODATION— MUTINY OF JERSEY TROOPS. 



567 



were sent in the direction of Amboy to keep a 
look-out for any lauding of the enemy. 

At this critical juncture, two of Sir Henry's 
emissaries arrived in the camp, and delivered 
to the leaders of the malcontents a paper con- 
taining his seductive proposals and promises. 
Tlie mutineers, though openly arrayed in arms 
against their government, spurned at the idea 
of turning " Arnolds," as they termed it. The 
emissaries were seized and conducted to Gen- 
eral Wayne, who placed them in confinement, 
promising that they should be liberated, should 
the pending negotiation faih 

This incident had a great effect in inspiring 
hope of the ultimate loyalty of the troops ; and 
the favorable representations of the temper of 
tlie men, made by General Wayne in a personal 
interview, determined President Reed to ven- 
ture among them. The consequences of their 
desertion to the enemy were too alarming to 
be risked. " I have biit one life to lose," said 
he, " and my country has tlie first claim to it." * 

As he approached Princeton with his suite, 
he found guards regularly posted, who turned 
out and saluted him in military style. The 
wht;»}e line was drawn out under arms near the 
college, and the artillery on the point of firing a 
salute. He prevented it, lest it should alarm 
the country. It was a hard task for him to 
ride along the line as if reviewing troops regu- 
larly organized ; but the crisis required some 
sacrifice of the kind. The sergeants were all 
in the places of their respective ofiicers, and 
saluted the president as he passed ; never were 
mutineers more orderly and decorous. 

The propositions now oifered to the troops 
were : — To discharge all those who had enlisted 
indefinitely for three years or during the war ; 
the fact to be inquired into by three commis- 
sioners appointed by the executive — where the 
original enlistment could not be produced in 
evidence, the oath of the soldier to suflice. 

To give immediate certificates for the deficit 
in their pay caused by the depreciation of the 
currency, and the arrearages to be settled as 
soon as circumstances would permit. 

To furnish them immediately with certain 
specified articles of clothing which were most 
wanted. 

These propositions proving satisfactory, the 
troops set out for Trenton, where the negotia- 
tion was concluded. 

Most of the artillerists and many of the in- 



■ Letter to the Executive Council. 



fantry obtained their discharges ; some on their 
oaths, others on account of the vague terms 
under which they had been enlisted ; forty 
days' furlough was given to the rest, and thus, 
for a time, the whole insurgent force was dis- 
solved. 

The two spies who had tampered with the 
fidelity of the troops,' were tried by a court- 
martial, found guilty, and hanged at the cross- 
roads near Trenton. A reward of fifty guineas 
each, was otfered to two sergeants who had 
arrested and delivered them up. They declined 
accepting it ; saying, they had merely acted by 
order of the board of sergeants. The hundred 
guineas were then ofiered to the board. Their 
reply is worthy of record, " It was not," said 
they, " for the sake or through any expectation 
of reward, but for the love of our country, that 
we sent the spies immediately to General 
Wayne ; we therefore do not consider our- 
selves entitled to aijy other reward but the 
love of our country, and do jointly agree to 
accept of no other." 

The accommodation entered into with the 
mutineers of the Pennsylvania line appeared 
to Washington of doubtful policy, and likely to 
have a pernicious efiect on the whole army. 
His apprehensions were soon justified by events. 
On the night of the 20th of January, a part of 
the Jersey troops, stationed at Pompton, rose 
in arms, claiming the same terms just yielded 
to the Pennsylvanians. For a time, it was 
feared the revolt would spread throughout the 
line. 

Sir Henry Clinton was again on the alert. 
Troops were sent to Staten Island, to be ready 
to cross into the Jerseys, and an emissary was 
despatched to tempt the mutineers with seduc- 
tive oifers. 

In this instance, Washington adopted a more 
rigorous course than in the other. The present 
insurgents were not so formidable in point of 
numbers as the Pennsylvanians; the greater 
part of them, also, were foreigners, for whom 
he felt less sympathy than for native troops. 
He was convinced too of the fidelity of the 
troops under his immediate command, who 
were from the Eastern States, A detachment 
from the Massachusetts line was sent under 
Major-General Howe, who was instructed to 
compel the mutineers to unconditional submis- 
sion ; to grant them no terms while in arms, 
or in a state of resistance ; and on their sur- 
render, instantly to execute a few of the most 
active and incendiary leaders, " You will also 



568 RATIFICATION OF THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATIOX— ARNOLD IN VIRGINIA. [1781. 



try," added he, " to avail yourself of the ser- 
vices of the militia, representing to them how 
dangerous to civil liberty, is the precedent of 
armed soldiers dictating to their country." 

His orders were pimctually obeyed, and were 
crowned with complete success. Howe had the 
good fortune, after a tedious night march, to 
surprise the mutineers napping in their huts 
just at daybreak. Five minutes only were al- 
lowed them to parade without their arms and 
give up their ringleaders. This was instantly 
complied with, and two of them were executed 
on the spot. Thus, the mutiny was quelled, 
the officers resumed their command, and all 
things were restored to order.* 

Thus terminated an insurrection, which, for 
a time, had spread alarm among the friends of 
American liberty, and excited the highest hopes 
of its foes. The circumstances connected with 
it had ultimately a beneficial efifect in strength- 
ening the confidence of those friends, by prov- 
ing that, however the Americans might quarrel 
with their own government, nothing could again 
rally them under the royal standard. 

A great cause of satisfaction to Washington 
was the ratification of the articles of confeder- 
ation between the States, which took place not 
long after this agitating juncture. A set of 
articles had been submitted to Congress by Dr. 
Franklin, as far back as 1775. A form had 
been prepared and digested by a committee in 
1776, and agreed upon, with some modifications, 
in 1777, but had ever since remained in abey- 
ance, in consequence of objections made by in- 
dividual States. The confederation was now 
complete ; and Washington, in a letter to the 
President of Congress, congratulated him and 
the body over which he presided, on an event 
long wished for, and which he hoped would 
have the happiest eftects upon the politics of 
this country, and be of essential service to our 
cause in Europe. 

It was, after all, an instrument far less effi- 
cacious than its advocates had anticipated ; but 
it served an important purpose in binding the 
States together as a nation, and keeping them 
from falling asunder into individual powers, 
after the pressure of external danger should 
cease to operate. 



* Memoir of Major Shaw, by Hon. Josiali Qiiincy, 
p. 89. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

The armament with which Arnold boasted 
he was " to shake the continent," met with 
that boisterous weather which often rages along 
our coast in the winter. His ships were tem- 
pest-tost and scattered, and half of his cavalry 
horses and several of his guns had to be thrown 
overboard. It was the close of the year when 
he anchored in the Chesapeake. 

Virginia, at the time, was almost in a de- 
fenceless state. Baron Steuben, who had the 
general command there, had recently detached 
such of his regular troops as were clothed and 
equipped, to the South, to reinforce General 
Greene. The remainder, five or six hundred 
in number, deficient in clothing, blankets, and 
tents, were scarcely fit to take the field, and 
the volunteers and militia lately encamped be- 
fore Portsmouth, had been disbanded. Gov- 
ernor Jefferson, on hearing of the arrival of the 
fleet, called out the militia from the neighbor- 
ing counties ; but few could be collected on the 
spur of the moment, for the whole country was 
terror-stricken and in confusion. Having-Iand 
and sea forces at his command, Arnold opened 
the new year with a buccaneering ravage. As- 
cending James Eiver with some small vessels 
which he had captured, he landed on the fourth 
of January with nine hundred men at West- 
over, about twenty-five miles below Richmond, 
and pushed for the latter place, at that time 
little more than a village, though the metropo- 
lis of Virginia. Halting for the night within 
twelve miles of it, he advanced on the follow- 
ing day with as much military parade as possi- 
ble, so as to strike terror into a militia patrol, 
which fled back to Richmond, reporting that a 
British force, fifteen hundred strong, was at 
hand. 

It was Arnold's hope to capture the governor ; 
but the latter, after providing for the security 
of as much as possible of the public stores, had 
left Richmond the evening before on horseback 
to join his family at Tuckahoe, whence, on the 
following day, he conveyed them to a place of 
safety. Governor Jefferson got back by noon 
to Manchester, on the opposite side of James 
River, in time to see Arnold's marauders march 
into the town. Many of the inhabitants had 
fled to the countiy ; some stood terrified spec- 
tators on the hills ; not more than two hundred 
men were in arms for the defence of the place ; 
these, after firing a few volleys, retreated to 



.Ex. 49.] RAVAGING INCURSION OF ARNOLD-WASHINGTON'S OPINION OF HAMILTON. 569 



Richmond and Shockoe Hills, whence they 
were driven by the cavalry, and Arnold had 
possession of the capital. He sent some of the 
citizens to the governor, offering to spare the 
town, provided his ships might come up James 
River to be laden with tobacco from the ware- 
houses. His offer was indignantly rejected, 
whereupon fire was set to the public edifices,' 
stores, and workshops; private houses were 
pillaged, and a great quantity of tobacco con- 
sumed. 

While this was going on. Colonel Simcoe had 



southward, he adjured Jefferson not to permit 
attention to immediate safety so to engross his 
thoughts as to divert him from measures for 
reinforcing the Southern army. 

About this time an important resolution was 
adopted in Congress. Washington had repeat- 
edly, in his communications to that body, at- 
tributed much of the distresses and disasters 
of the war to the congressional mode of 
conducting business through committees and 
" boards," thus causing irregularity and delay, 
preventing secrecy and augmenting expense! 



^ t::^^:':,!^-!-- - - -^ ^-^« =:^.= 



river, where ho destroyed a cannon foundry 
and sacked a public magazine ; broke off the 
trunnions of the cannon, and threw into the 
river the powder which he could not carry 
away, and, after effecting a complete devasta- 
tion, rejoined Arnold at Richmond, which dur- 
ing the ensuing night resounded with the 
drunken orgies of the soldiery. 
Having completed his ravage at Richmond, 



Arnold re-embarked at Westover and fell slowly placed upon them." 



gress decided to appoint heads of departments ; 
secretaries of foreign affairs, of war and of ma- 
rine, and a superintendent of finance. " I am 
happy, thrice happy, on private as well as 
pubhc account," writes he, " to find that these 
are in train. For it will ease my shoulders of 
an immense burthen, which the deranged and 
perplexed situation of our affairs, and the dis- 
tresses of every department of the army, had 



down the river, landing occasionally to burn, 
plunder, and destroy ; pursued by Steuben with 
a few Continental troops and all the militia 
that he could muster. General Nelson, also, 
with similar levies opposed him. Lower'down 
the river some skirmishing took place, a few 
of Arnold's troops were killed and a number 
wounded, but he made his way to Portsmouth 



General Sullivan, to whom this was written 
and who was in Congress, was a warm friend 
of Washington's aide-de-camp. Colonel Hamil- 
ton, and he sounded the commander-in-chief 
as to the qualifications of the colonel to take 
charge of the department of finance. " I am 
unable to answer," replied Washington, "be- 
cause I never entered upon a discussion with 



., ,-r » ,, , ' — ^ -^ i^^^yvl cuLcicu iiijuu a uiscussion witn 

oppose e Norfolk, ^^^ere he took post on the him, but this I can venture to advance, from a 

20th of January and proceeded to fortify. thorough knowledge of him, that there are few 

Steuben would have attempted to drive him men to be found of his age, who have more 

trom this position, but his means were totally general knowledge than he possesses; and none 



inadequate. Collecting from various parts of 
the country all the force tJiat could be mus- 
tered, he so disposed it at different points as to 
hem the traitor in, prevent his making further 
incursions, and drive him back to his intrench- 
ments should he attempt any. 

Governor Jefferson returned to Richmond 
after the enemy had left it, and wrote thence 
to the commander-in-chief an account of this 
ravaging incursion of "the parricide Arnold." 
It was mortifying to Washington to see so in- 
considerable a party committing such extensive 
depredations with impunity, but it was his 
opinion that their principal object was to make 
a diversion in favor of Cornwallis ; and as the 
evils to be apprehended from Arnold's preda- 



whose soul is more firmly engaged in the cause, 
or who exceeds him in probity and sterling 
virtue." 

This was a warm eulogium for one of Wash- 
ington's circumspect character, but it was sin- 
cere. Hamilton had been four years in his 
military family, and always treated by him 
with marked attention and regard. Indeed, it 
had surprised many to see so young a man ad- 
mitted like a veteran into his counsels. It was 
but a few days after Washington had penned 
the eulogium just quoted, when a scene took 
place between him and the man he had praised 
so liberally, that caused him deep chagrin. 
We give it as related by Hamilton himself, 
in a letter to General Schuyler, one of whose 



tory incursions were not to be compared with daughters he had recently married, 
the injury to the common cause, and the dan- "An unexpected change has taken place in 
ger to Virginia in particular, whicli would re- my situation," writes Hamilton (Feb 18) " I 
suit from the conquest of the States to the | am no longer a member of the general's family 



570 



MISUNDERSTANDING BETWEEN WASHINGTON AND HAMILTON. [1181. 



This information will surprise you, and the 
manner of the change will surprise you more. 
Two days ago the general and I passed each 
other on the stairs :— he told me he wanted to 
speak to me. I answered that I would wait 
on him immediately. I went below and deliv- 
ered Mr. Tilghman a letter to be sent to the 
commissary, containing an order of a pressing 
and interesting nature. 

" Returning to the general, 1 was stopped 
on the way by the Marquis de Lafayette, and 
we conversed together about a minute on a 
matter of business. He can testify how impa- 
tient I was to get back, and that I left him in 
a manner which, but for our intimacy, would 
have been more than abrupt. Instead of find- 
ing the general, as is usual, in his room, I met 
him at the head of the stairs, where, accosting 
me in an angry tone, ' Colonel Hamilton (said 
he), you have kept me waiting at the head of 
the stairs these ten minutes ;— I must tell you, 
sir, you treat me with disrespect.' I replied, 
without petulancy, but with decision, 'I am 
not conscious of it, sir ; but since you have 
tliought it necessary to tell me so, we part.' 
' Yery well, sir (said he), if it be your choice,' 
or something to this effect, and we separated. 
I sincerely believe my absence, which gave so 
much umbrage, did not last two minutes. 

" In less than an hour after, Tilghman came 
to me in the general's name, assuring me of his 
great confidence in my abilities, integrity, use- 
fulness, &c., and of his desire, in a candid con- 
versation, to heal a difference which could not 
have happened but in a moment of passion. I 
requested Mr. Tilghman to tell him,— 1st. That 
I had taken my resolution in a manner not to 
be revoked. 2d. That as a convei;sation could 
serve no other purpose than to produce ex- 
planations, mutually disagreeable, though I 
certainly would not refuse an interview, if he 
desired it, yet I would be happy if he would 
permit me to decline it. 3d. That though de- 
termined to leave the family, the same princi- 
ples which had kept me so long in it, would 
continue to direct my conduct towards him 
when out of it. 4th. That, however, I did not 
wish to distress him, or the public business, by 
quitting him before he could derive other assist^ 
ance by the return of some of the gentlemen 
who were absent. 5th. And that, in the mean 
time, it depended on him to let our behavior 
to each other be the same as if nothing had 
happened. He consented to decline the con- 
versation, and thanked me for my offer of 



continuing my aid in the mamier I had men- 
tioned. 

" I have given you so particular a detail of 
our difference, from the desire I have to justify 
myself in your opinion. Perhaps you may 
think I was precipitate in rejecting the over- 
ture made by the general to an accommodation. 
I assure you, my dear sir, it was not the effect 
of resentment ; it was the deliberate result of 
maxims I had long formed for the government 
of my own conduct." 

In considering this occurrence, as stated by 
Hamilton himself, we think he was in the 
wrong. His hurrying past the general on the 
stairs without pausing, although the latter ex- 
pressed a wish to speak with him ; his giving 
no reason for his haste, which, however " press- 
the letter he had to deliver, he could have 



spared at least a moment to do ; his tarrying 
below to talk with the Marquis de Lafayette, 
the general all this time remaining at the 
head of the stairs, had certainly an air of great 
disrespect, and we do not wonder that the 
commander-in-chief was deeply offended at be- 
ing so treated by his youthful aide-de-camp. 
His expression of displeasure was measured and 
dignified, however irritated he may have been, 
and such an explanation, at least, was due to 
him, as Hamilton subsequently rendered to 
General Schuyler, through a desire to justify 
himself in that gentleman's opinion. The re- 
ply of Hamilton, on the contrary, savored very 
much of petulance, however devoid he may 
have considered it of that quality, and his 
avowed determination "to part," simply be- 
cause taxed by the general with want of re- 
spect, was singularly curt and abrupt. 

Washington's subsequent overture intended 
to soothe the wounded sensitiveness of Hamil- 
ton and soften the recent rebuke, by assurances 
of unaltered confidence and esteem, strikes us 
as in the highest degree noble and gracious, and 
furnishes another instance of that magnanimity 
which governed his whole conduct. AVe trust 
that General Schuyler, in reply to Hamilton's 
appeal, intimated that he had indeed been pre- 
cipitate in rejecting such an overture. 

The following passage in Hamilton's letter 
to Schuyler, gives the real key to his conduct 
on this occasion. 

"I always disliked the oflice of an aide-de- 
camp, as having in it a kind of personal depend- 
ence. I refused to serve in this capacity with 
two major-generals, at an early period of the 
war. Infected, however, with the enthusiasm 



JE:r.A9.] THE RECONCILIATIOX-CORNWALMS ABOUT TO INVADE NORTH CAROLINA. 571 



of the times, an idea of the general's character 
overcame my scruples, and induced me to ac- 
cept his invitation to enter into liis family. * 
* * It has been often with great difficulty 
that I have prevailed upon myself not to re- 
nounce it ; but while, from motives of public 
utility, I was doing violence to my feelings, I 
was always determined, if there should ever 
happen a breach between us, never to consent 
to an accommodation. I was persuaded that 
when once that nice barrier which marked the 
boundaries of what we owed to each other 
should be thrown down, it might be propped 
again, but could never be restored." 

Hamilton, in fact, had long been ambitious 
of an independent position, and of some oppor- 
tunity, as he said, " to raise his character above 
mediocrity." When an expedition by Lafay- 
ette against Staten Island had been meditated 
in the autumn of 1780, he had applied to the 
commander-in-chief, through the marquis, for 
the command of a battalion, which was witli- 
out a field-oiEcer. Washington had declined 011 
the ground that giving him a whole battalion 
might be a subject of dissatisfaction, and that 
should any accident happen to him in the act- 
ual state of affairs at head-quarters, the com- 
mander-in-chief would be embarrassed for want 
of his assistance. 

He had next been desirous of the post of ad- 
jutant-general, which Colonel Alexander Scam- 
mel was about to resign, and was recommended 
for that office by Lafayette and Greene, but, 
before their recommendations reached Wash- 
ington, he had already sent in to Congress tlie 
name of Brigadier-General Hand, who received 
the nomination. 

These disappointments may have rendered 
Hamilton doubtful of his being properly appre- 
ciated by tlie commander-in-chief; impaired 
his devotion to him, and determined him, as he 
says, " if there should ever happen a bi-each 
between them, never to consent to an accom- 
modation." It almost looks as if, in his high- 
strung and sensitive mood, he had been on the 
watch for an offence, and had grasped at the 
shadow of one. 

Some short time after the rupture had taken 
place, Washington received a letter from Lafay- 
ette, then absent in Virginia, in which the Mar- 
quis observes, " Considering the footing I am 
upon with your Excellency, it would, perhaps, 
appear strange to you, that I never mentioned 
a circumstance which lately happened in your 
family. I was the first who knew of it, and from 



that moment exerted every means in my power 
to prevent a separation, which I knew was not 
agreeable to your Excellency. To this measure 
I was prompted by affection to you; but I 
thought it was improper to mention any thing 
about it, until you were pleased to impart it to 
me." 

The following was Washington's reply : "The 
event, which you seem to speak of with re- 
gret, my friendship for you would most assur- 
edly have induced me to impart to you the 
moment it happened, had it not been for the 
request of Hamilton, who desired that no men- 
tion should be made of it. Why this injunction 
on me, while he was communicating it himself, 
is a little extraordinary. But I complied, and 
religiously fulfilled it." 

We are happy to add, that though a tempo- 
rary coolness took place between the connnand- 
er-in-chief and his late favorite aide-de-camp, 
it was but temporary. The friendship between 
these illustrious men was destined to survive 
tlie Revolution, and to signalize itself through 
many eventful years, and stands recorded in the 
correspondence of Washington almost at the 
last moment of his life,* 



CHAPTER XYIII. 

The stress of war, as Washington appre- 
hended, was at present shifted to the South. 
In a former chapter, we left General Greene, in 
the latter part of December, posted with one 
division of his army on the east side of the 
Pedee River in North Carolina, having detached 
General Morgan with the other division, one 
thousand strong, to take post near the conflu- 
ence of the Pacolet and Broad Rivers, in South 
Carolina, 

Cornwallis lay encamped about seventy miles 
to the south-west of Greene, at Winnsborough 
in Fairfield district. General Leslie had recently 
arrived at Charleston from Vii'ginia, and was 
advancing to reinforce him with fifteen hundred 
men. This would give Cornwallis such a su- 
periority of force, that he prepared for a second 
invasion of North Carolina. His plan was to 
leave Lord Rawdon at the central post of Cam- 
den with a considerable body of troops to keep 



* His last letter to Ilamilton, in whieh. ho assures him 
of " his very groat esteem and regard," was written by 
Washington -but two days before his death. Sparks, 
xi. 409. 



572 



TARLETON SENT AGAINST MORGAN. 



[1781. 



all quiet, while bis lordship by rapid marches 
would throw himself between Greene and Vir- 
ginia, cut him off from all reinforcements in 
that quarter, and oblige him either to make 
battle with his present force, or retreat precipi- 
tately from North Carolina, which would be 
disgraceful.* In either case Cornwallis counted 
on a general rising of the royalists ; a re-estab- 
lishment of regal government in the Oarolinas, 
and the clearing away of all impediments to 
further triumphs in Virginia and Maryland. 

By recent information, he learnt that Morgan 
had passed both the Catawba and Broad Rivers, 
and was about seventy miles to the north-west 
of him, on his way to the district of ISTinety-Six. 
As he might prove extremely formidable if left 
in his rear, Tarletou was sent in quest of him, 
with about three hundred and fifty of his fa- 
mous cavalry, a corps of legion and light-infan- 
try, and a number of the royal artillery with 
two field-pieces ; about eleven hundred choice 
troops in all. His instructions were to pass 
Broad River for the protection of Ninety-Six, 
and either to strike at Morgan and push him to 
the utmost ; or to drive him out of the coun- 
try, so as to prevent his giving any trouble on 
that side. 

Cornwallis moved with his main force on the 
12th of December in a north-west direction be- 
tween the Broad River and the Catawba, lead- 
ing toward the back country. This was for 
the purpose of crossing the great rivers at their 
fords near their sources ; for they are fed by 
innumerable petty streams which drain the 
mountains, and are apt in the winter time, 
when storms of rain jirevail, to swell and be- 
come impassable below their forks. He took 
this route also, to cut oflf Morgan's retreat, or 
prevent his junction with Greene, should Tarle- 
ton's expedition fail of its object. General 
Leslie, whose arrival was daily expected, was 
to move up along the eastern side of the 
Wateree and Catawba, keeping parallel with 
his lordship and joining him above. Every 
thing on the part of Cornwallis was well plan- 
ned, and seemed to promise him a successful 
campaign. 

Tarleton, after several days' hard marching, 
came upon the traces of Morgan, who was post- 
ed on the north bank of the Pacolet, to guard 
the passes of tliat river. He sent word to 
Cornwallis of his intention to force a passage 
across the river, and compel Morgan either to 

* Cornwallis to Lord George Germain, March 17. 



fight or retreat, and suggested that his lordship 
should proceed up the eastern bank of Broad 
River, so as to be at hand to co-operate. His 
lordship, in consequence, took up a position at 
Turkey Creek, on Broad River. 

Morgan had been recruited by North Caroli- 
na and Georgia militia, so that his force was 
nearly equal in number to that of Tarleton, 
but, in point of cavalry and discipline, vastly 
inferior. Cornwallis, too, was on his left, and 
might get in his rear ; checkiug his impulse, 
therefore, to dispute the passage of the Pacolet, 
he crossed that stream and retreated towards 
the upper fords of Broad River. 

Tarleton reached the Pacolet on the evening 
of the loth, but halted on observing some troops 
on the opposite bank. It was merely a party 
of observation which Morgan had left there, 
but he supposed that officer to be there in full 
force. After some manoeuvring to deceive his 
adversary, he crossed the river before daylight 
at Easterwood shoals. There was no opposi- 
tion. Still he proceeded warily, until he learnt 
that Morgan, instead of being in his neighbor- 
liood, was in full march toward Broad River. 
Tarleton now pressed on in pursuit. At ten 
o'clock at night he reached an encampment 
which Morgan had abandoned a few houi-s pre- 
viously, apparently in great haste, for the camp 
fires were still smoking and provisions had been 
left behind half-cooked. Eager to come upon 
his enemy while in the confusion of a hurried 
flight, Tarleton allowed his exhausted troops 
but a brief repose, and, leaving his baggage 
under a guard, resumed his dogged march about 
two o'clock in the night ; tramping forward 
through swamps and rugged broken grounds, 
round the western side of Thickety Mountain. 
A little before daylight of the 17th, he captured 
two videttes, from whom he learnt, to his sur- 
prise, that Morgan, instead of a headlong re- 
treat, had taken a night's repose, and was actu- 
ally preparing to give him battle. 

Morgan, in fact, had been urged by his offi- 
cers to retreat across Broad River, which was 
near by, and make for the mountainous country ; 
but, closely pi'essed as he was, he feared to be 
overtaken while fording the river, and while 
his troops wei'e fotigued, and in confusion ; be- 
side, being now nearly equal in number to the 
enemy, military pride would not suffer him to 
avoid a combat. 

The place where he came to a halt, was 
known in the early grants by the name of Han- 
nah's Cowpens, being part of a grazing estab- 



^T. 49.] 



BATTLE OF THE COWPENS. 



573 



lishment of a man named Hannah. It was in an 
open wood, favorable to the action of cavah-y. 
Thei^ were two eminences of unequal height, 
and separated from each other by an interval 
about eighty yards wide. To the first emi- 
nence, which was the highest, there was an 
easy ascent of about three hundred yards. On 
these heights Morgan had posted himself. His 
flanks were improtected, and the Broad Eiver, 
running parallel on his rear, about six miles 
distant, and winding round on the left, would 
cut off retreat, should the day prove unfortu- 
nate. 

The ground, in the opinion of tacticians, was 
not well chosen ; Morgan, a veteran bush-fight- 
er, vindicated it in after times in his own 
characteristic way. " Had I crossed the river, 
one-half of the militia would have abandoned 
mc. Had a swamp been in view they would 
have made for it. As to covering my wings, I 
knew the foe I had to deal with, and that there 
would be nothing but downright fighting. As 
to a retreat, I wished to cut off all hope of one. 
Should Tarleton surround me with his cavalry, 
it would keep my troops from breaking away, 
and make them depend upon tlieir bayonets. 
When men are forced to fight, they will sell 
their lives dearly." 

In arranging his troops for action, he drew 
out his infantry in two lines. The first was 
composed of the North and South Carolina 
militia, under Colonel Pickens, having an ad- 
vanced corps of North Carolina and Georgia 
volunteer riflemen. This line, on which he had 
the least dependence, was charged to wait until 
the enemy were within dead shot ; then to 
take good aim, fire two volleys and fall back. 

The second line, drawn up a moderate dis- 
tance in the rear of the first, and near the brow 
of the main eminence, was composed of Colo- 
nel Howard's light infantry and the Virginia 
riflemen ; all Continental troops. They were 
informed of the orders which had been given 
to the first line, lest they should mistake their 
falling back for a retreat. Colonel Howard 
had the comnumd of this line, on which the 
greatest reliance was placed. 

About a hundred and fifty yards in the rear 
of the second line, and on the slope of the lesser 
eminence, was Colonel "Washington's troop of 
cavalry, about eighty strong ; with about fifty 
mounted Carolinian volunteers, under Major 
McCall, armed with sabres and pistols. 

British writers of the day gave Morgan credit 
for uncommon ability and judgment in the dis- 



position of his force ; placing the militia, in 
whom he had no great confidence, in fidl view 
on the edge of tlie wood, and keejung his best 
troops out of sight, but drawn up in excellent 
order and prepared for all events.* 

It was about eight o'clock in the morning 
(Jan. 17th), when Tarleton came up. The posi- 
tion of the Americans seemed to him to give 
great advantage to his cavalry, and he made 
hasty preparations for immediate attack, antici- 
pating an easy victory. Part of his infantry 
he formed into a line, with dragoons on each 
flank. The rest of the infantry and cavalry 
were to be a reserve, and to wait for orders. 

There was a physical difference in the condi- 
tion of the adverse troops. The British were 
haggard from want of sleep and a rough night- 
tramp ; the Americans, on the contrary, wei'e 
fresh from a night's rest, invigorated by a morn- 
ing's meal, and deliberately drawn up. Tarle- 
ton took no notice of these circumstances, or 
disregarded them. Impetuous at all times, and 
now confident of victory, he did not even wait 
until the reserve could be placed, but led on 
his first line, which rushed shouting to the at- 
tack. The North Carolina and Georgia riflemen 
in the advance, delivered their tire with effect 
and fell back to the flanks of Pickens' militia. 
These, as they had been instructed, waited until 
the enemy were within fifty yards, and then 
made a destructive volley, but soon gave way 
before tlie push of the bayonet. The British in- 
fantry pressed up to the second line, while forty 
of their cavalry attacked it on the right, seek- 
ing to turn its flank. Colonel Howard made a 
brave stand, and for some time there was a 
bloody conflict; seeing himself, however, in 
danger of being outflanked, he endeavored to 
change his front to the right. His orders were 
misunderstood, and his troops were falling into 
confusion, when Morgan rode up and ordered 
them to retreat over the hill, where Colonel 
Washington's cavalry were hurried forward for 
their protection. 

The British, seeing the troops retiring over 
the hill, rushed forward irregularly in pursuit 
of what they deemed a routed foe. To their 
astonishment, they were met by Colonel Wash- 
ington's dragoons, who spurred on them impet- 
uously, while Howard's infantry, facing about, 
gave them an effective volley of musketry, and 
then charged with the bayonet. 

The enemy now fell into complete confusion. 



* Annual Register, 1781, p. 



674 MORGAN PUSHES FOR THE CATAWBA— CORNWALLIS IN PURSUIT OF HIM. [1781. 



Some few artillerymen attempted to defend 
their guns, but were cut down or taken prison- 
ers, and the cannon and colors captured. A 
panic seized upon tlie British troops, aided no 
doubt by fatigue and exhaustion. A general 
flight took jilace. Tarleton endeavored to 
bring his legion cavalry into action to retrieve 
the day. They had stood aloof as a reserve, 
and now, infected by the panic, turned their 
backs upon their commander, and galloped otf 
through the woods, riding over the flying in- 
fantry. 

Fourteen of his officers, however, and forty 
of his dragoons, remained true to him ; with 
these he attempted to withstand the attack of 
Washington's cavalry, and a fierce melee took 
place ; but on the approach of Howard's infan- 
try Tarleton gave i;p all for lost, and spurred 
oft' with his few but faithful adherents, trusting 
to the speed of their horses for safety. They 
made for Hamilton's ford on Broad Eiver, 
thence to seek the main army under Oorn- 
wallis. 

The loss of the British in this action was ten 
officers and above one hundred men killed, two 
hundred wounded, and between five and six 
hundred rank and file made prisoners ; while 
the Americans had but twelve men killed and 
sixty wounded. The disparity of loss shows 
how complete had been the confusion and de- 
feat of the enemy. " During the ^hole period 
of the war," says one of their own writers, 
" no other action reflected so much dishonor on 
the British arms."* 

The spoils taken by Morgan, according to his 
own account, were two field-pieces, two stand- 
ards, eight hundred muskets, one travelling 
forge, thirty-five waggons, seventy negroes, 
upwards of one hundred dragoon-horses, and 
all the music. The enemy, however, had de- 
stroyed most of their baggage, which was im- 
mense. 

Morgan did not linger on the field of battle. 
Leaving Colonel Pickens with a body of militia 
under the protection of a flag, to bury the dead 
and provide for the wounded of both armies, 
he set out on the same day about noon, with 
his prisoners and spoils. Lord Cornwallis, with 
his main force, was at Turkey Creek, only 
twenty -five miles distant, and must soon hear 
of the late battle. His object was to get to the 
Catawba before he could be intercepted by his 
lordship, who lay nearer than he did to the 



Stedman, ii., p. 324. 



fords of that river. Before nightfall lie crossed 
Broad Eiver at the Cherokee ford, and halted 
for a few hours on its northern bank. Before 
daylight of the 18th he was again on the march. 
Colonel Washington, who had been in pursuit 
of the enemy, rejoined him in the course of the 
day, as also did Colonel Pickens, who had left 
such of the wounded as could not be moved, 
under the protection of a fiag of truce. 

Still fearing that he miglit be intercepted be- 
fore he could reach the Catawba, he put his 
prisoners in charge of Colonel Washington and 
the cavalry, with orders to move higher up into 
the country, and cross the main Catawba at the 
Island ford ; while he himself pushed forward 
for that river by the direct route ; thus to dis- 
tract the attention of the enemy should they be 
in pursuit, and to secure his prisoners from 
being recaptured. 

CornwalUs, on the eventful day of the l7th, 
was at his camp on Turkey Creek, confidently 
waiting for tidings from Tarleton of a new tri- 
umph, when, towards evening, some of his 
routed dragoons came straggling into camp, hag- 
gard and forlorn, to tell the tale of his defeat. 
It was a thunder-stroke. Tarleton defeated ! 
and by the rude soldier he had been so sure 
of entrapping ! It seemed incredible. It was 
confirmed, however, the next morning, by the 
arrival of Tarleton himself, discomfited and 
crest-fallen. In his account of the recent bat- 
tle, he represented the force under Morgan to 
be two thousand. This exaggerated estimate, 
together with the idea that the militia would 
now be out in great force, rendered his lord- 
ship cautious. Supposing that Morgan, elated 
by his victory, would linger near the scene of 
his triumph, or advance toward Ninety-Six, 
Cornwallis remained a day or two at Turkey 
Creek to collect the scattered remains of Tarle- 
ton's forces, and to wait the arrival of General 
Leslie, whose march had been much retarded 
by the waters, but who " was at last out of 
the swamps." 

On the 19th, having been rejoined by Leslie, 
his lordship moved towards King's Creek, and 
thence in the direction of King's Mountain, 
until informed of Morgan's retreat toward the 
Catawba. Cornwallis now altered his course in 
that direction, and, trusting that Morgan, en- 
cumbered, as he supposed him to be, by prison- 
ers and spoils, might be overtaken before he 
could cross that river, detached a part of his 
force, without baggage, in pursuit of him, whilo 
he followed on with the remainder. 



^T. 49.] CORNWALLIS AT RAMSOUR'S MILLS— GREENE'S DISPOSITION OF HIS ARMY. 575 



Nothing, say the British chroniclers, could 
exceed the exertions of the detachnaent; but 
Morgan succeeded in reaching the Catawba 
and crossing it in the evening, just two hours 
before those in pursuit of him arrived on its 
banks. A heavy rain came on and fell all 
niglit, and by daybreak the river was so swol- 
len as to be impassable.* 

This sudden swelling of the river was consid- 
ered by the Americans as something providen- 
tial. It continued for several days, and gave 
Morgan time to send oif his prisoners who had 
crossed several miles above, and to call out the 
militia of Mecklenburg and Eowan Counties to 
guard the fords of the river. t 

Lord Oornwallis had moved slowly with 
his main body. lie was encumbered by an 
immense train of baggage ; the roads were 
through deep red clay, and the country was cut 
up by streams and moi-asses. It was not until 
the 25th, that he assembled his whole force at 
Eamsour's Mills, on the Little Catawba, as the 
south fork of that river is called, and learnt 
that Morgan had crossed the main stream. 
ISTow he felt the loss he had sustained in the 
late defeat of Tarleton, of a great part of his 
light troops, which are the life and spirit of an 
army, and especially efficient in a thinly-peo- 
pled country of swamps and streams, and for- 
ests, like that he was entangled in. 

In this crippled condition, he determined to 
relieve his army of every thing that could im- 
pede rapid movement in his future operations. 
Two days, therefore, were spent by him at 
Ramsour's Mills, in destroying all such baggage 
and stores as could possibly be spared. He 
began with his own. His officers followed his 
example. Superfluities of all kinds were sac- 
rificed without flinching. Casks of wine and 
spirituous liquors were staved ; quantities even 
of provisions were sacrificed. No waggons 
were spared but those laden with hospital 
stores, salt, and ammunition, and four empty 
ones, for the sick and wounded. The alacrity 
with which these sacrifices of comforts, con- 
veniences, and even necessaries, were made, 
was honorable to both ofiicers and men.f 



* Stedman, ii. 326. Corn-«vallis to Sir H. Clinton ; see 
also Remembrancer, 11S1, part 1, 303. 

t This sudden swelling of the river has been stated by 
Bomo ^VTiter8 as having taken place on the 29th, on the ap- 
proach of Cornwallls's main force, whereas it took place 
on the 23d, on the approach of the detachment sent by 
his lordship in advance in pursuit of Morgan. The inac- 
curacy as to date has given rise to dispute* among his- 
torians. 

t Annual Register, 1781, p. 53. 



• The whole expedient was subsequently sneer- 
ed at by Sir Henry Clinton, as being " some- 
thing too like a Tartar move;" but his lord- 
ship was preparing for a trial of speed, where 
it was important to carry as light weight as 
possible. * 



CHAPTER XIX. 

General Gkeene was gladdened by a letter 
from Morgan, written shortly after his defeat 
of Tarleton, and transmitted the news to Wash- 
ington with his own generous comments. 
" The victory was complete," writes he, " and 
the action glorious. The brilliancy and success 
with which it was fought, does the highest 
honor to the American arms, and adds splen- 
dor to the character of the general and his offi- 
cers. I must beg leave to recommend them to 
your Excellency's notice, and doubt not but 
from your representation, Congress will receive 
pleasure from testifying their approbation of 
their conduct." 

Another letter from Morgan, written on the 
25th, spoke of the approach of Cornwallis and 
his forces. " My numbers," writes he, " are at 
this time too weak to fight them. I intend to 
move towards Salisbury, to get near the main 
army. I think it would be advisable to join 
our forces, and fight them before they join 
Phillips, which they certainly will do if they 
are not stopped." 

Greene had recently received intelligence of 
the landing of troops at "Wilmington, from a 
British squadron, supposed to be a force under 
Arnold, destined to push up Cape Fear River, 
and co-operate with Cornwallis; he had to 
prepare, therefore, not only to succor Morgan, 
but to prevent tliis co-operation. He accortj- 
ingly detached General Stevens with his Vir- 
ginia militia (whose term of service was nearly 
expired) to take charge of Morgan's prisoners, 
and conduct them to Charlottesville in Virginia. 
At tlie same time he wrote to the Govern- 
ors of North Carolina and Virginia, for all the 
aid they could furnish ; to Steuben, to hasten 
forward his recruits, and to Shelby, Campbell, 
and others, to take arms once more, and rival 
their achievements at King's Mountain. 

Tills done, he left General Huger in com- 
mand of the division on the Pedee, with or- 
ders to hasten on by forced marches to Salis- 
bury, to join the other division ; in the mean 



576 



GREENE JOINS MORGAN— CORNWALLIS CROSSES THE CATAWBA. 



[1781. 



time he set off on horseback to Morgan's camp, 
attended merely by a guide, an aide-de-camp, 
and a sergeant's guard of dragoons. His ob- 
ject was to aid Morgan in assembling militia 
and checking the enemy until the junction of 
his forces could be effected. It was a hard ride 
of upwards of a hundred miles through a rough 
country. On the last day of January he reach- 
ed Morgan's camp at Sherrard's ford on the east 
side of the Catawba. The British army lay on 
the opposite side of the river, but a few miles 
distant from it, and ajipeared to be making 
preparations to force a passage across, as it was 
subsiding, and would soon be fordable. Greene 
supposed Cornwallis had in view a junction 
with Arnold at Cape Fear ; he wrote, there- 
fore, to General Huger to hurry on, so that 
with their united forces they could give his 
lordship a defeat before he could effect the 
junction. "J«wi not without Ao^es," writes 
he, " of mining Lord Cornioallis if he persists 
in his mad scheme of pushing through the coun- 
try ; and it is my earnest desire to form a junc- 
tion as early for this purpose as possible. De- 
sire Colonel Lee to force a march to join us. 
Here is a fine field, and great glory aheadP 

More correct information relieved him from 
the apprehension of a co-operation of Arnold 
and Cornwallis. The British troops which had 
lauded at Wilmington, were merely a small de- 
tachment sent from Charleston to establish a 
military depot for the use of Cornwallis in his 
southern campaign. Tliey had taken posses- 
sion of Wilmington without opposition. 

Greene now changed his plans. He was 
aware of the ill-provided state of the British 
army, from the voluntary destruction of their 
waggons, tents, and baggage. Indeed, when 
he first heard of this measure, on his arriving 
at Sherrard's ford, he had exclaimed : " Then 
Cornwallis is ours." His plan now was to 
tempt the enemy continually with the prospect 
of a battle, but continually to elude one ; to 
harass them by a long pursuit, draw them 
higher into the country, and gain time for the 
division advancing under Huger to join him. 
It was the Fabian policy that he had learnt un- 
der Washington, of whom he prided himself on 
being a disciple. 

As the subsiding of the Catawba would en- 
able Cornwallis to cross, Greene ordered Mor- 
gan to move off silently with his division, on 
the evening of the 31st, and to press his march 
all night, so as to gain a good start in advance, 
while lie (Greene) would remain to bring on 



the militia, who were employed to check the 
enemy. These militia, assembled from the 
neighboring counties, did not exceed five hun- 
dred. Two hundred of them were distributed 
at different fords ; the remaining three Iitui- 
dred, forming a corps of mounted riflemen 
under General Davidson, were to watch the 
movements of the enemy, and attack him 
whenever he should make his main attempt to 
cross. When the enemy should have actually 
crossed, the different bodies of militia wore to 
make the best of their way to a rendezvous, six- 
teen miles distant, on the road to Salisbury, 
where Greene would be waiting to receive 
them, and conduct their further movements. 

While these dispositions were being made by 
the American commander, Cornwallis was pre- 
paring to cross the river. The night of the 
31st was chosen for the attempt. To divert 
the attention of the Americans, he detached 
Colonels Webster and Tarleton with a part of 
the army to a public ford called Seattle's ford, 
where he supposed Davidson to be stationed. 
There they were to open a cannonade, and 
make a feint of forcing a passage. The main 
attempt, however, was to be made six miles 
lower down, at McGowan's, a private and un- 
frequented ford, where little, if any, opposition 
was anticipated. 

Cornwallis set out for that ford, with the 
main body of his army, at one o'clock in the 
morning. The night was dark and rainy. He 
had to make his way through a wood and 
swamp where there was no road. His artil- 
lery stuck fast. The line passed on without 
them. It was near daybreak by the time the 
head of the column reached the ford. To their 
surprise, they beheld numerous camp fires on 
the opposite bank. Word was hastily carried 
to Cornwallis that the ford was guarded. It was 
so indeed : Davidson was there with his riflemen. 

His lordship would have waited for his artil- 
lery, but the rain was still falling, and might 
render the river unfordable. At that place the 
Catawba was nearly five hundred yards wide, 
about three feet deep, very rapid, and full of 
large stones. The troops entered the river in 
platoons, to support each other against the 
current, and were ordered not to fire until they 
should gain the opposite bank. Colonel Hall, 
of the light-infantry of the guards, led the 
way ; the grenadiers followed. The noise of 
the water and the darkness covered their 
movements until they were nearly half-way 
across, when they were descried by an Ameri- 



Ml. 49.] A SKIRMISH WITH MILITIA— CORN WALLIS'S PURSUIT OF GREENE. 



577 



can sentinel. He challenged them three times, 
and receiving no answer, fired. Terrified by the 
report, the man who was guiding the Brit- 
ish turned and fled. Colonel Hall, thus aban- 
doned, led the way directly across the river ; 
whereas the true ford inclined diagonally fur- 
ther down. Hall had to pass through deeper 
water, but he reached a part of the bank where 
it was unguarded. The American pickets, 
too, which had turned out at the alarm given 
by tlie sentinel, had to deliver a distant and 
slanting fire. Still it had its effect. Three of 
the British were killed, and thirty-six wounded. 
Colonel Hall pushed on gallantly, but was shot 
down as he ascended the bank. The horse on 
which Cornwallis rode was wounded, but the 
brave animal carried his lordship to the shore, 
where he sank under him. The steed of Brig- 
adier-General O'Hara rolled overVith him into 
the water, and General Leslie's horse was borne 
away by the tumultuous current and with difli- 
culty recovered. 

General Davidson hastened with his men 
towards the place where the British were land- 
ing. The latter formed as soon as they found 
themselves on firm ground, charged Davidson's 
men before he had time to get them in order, 
killed and wounded about forty, and put the 
rest to flight. 

General Davidson was the last to leave the 
ground, and was killed just as he was mount- 
ing his horse. AVhen the enemy had effected 
the passage, Tarleton was detached with his 
cavalry in pursuit of the militia, most of whom 
dispersed to their homes. Eager to avenge 
his late disgrace, he scoured the country, and 
made for Tarrant's tavern, about ten miles dis- 
tant, where about a hundred of them had as- 
sembled from different fords, on their way to 
the rendezvous, and were refreshing them- 
selves. As Tarleton came clattering upon 
them with his legion, they ran to their horses, 
delivered a hasty fire, which emptied some of 
his saddles, and then made for the Avoods ; a 
few of the worst mounted were overtaken and 
slain. Tarleton, in his account of his cam- 
paigns, made the number nearly fifty ; but the 
report of a British officer, who rode over the 
ground shortly afterwards, reduced it to ten. 
The truth probably lay between. The surviv- 
ors were dispersed beyond rallying. Tarleton, 
satisfied with his achievement, rejoined the 
main body. Had he scoured the country a 
few miles further. General Greene and his suite 
might have fallen into his hands. 
37 



The general, informed that the enemy had 
crossed the Catawba at daybreak, awaited 
anxiously at the rendezvous the arrival of the 
militia. It was not until after midnight that 
he heard of their utter dispersion, and of the 
death of Davidson. Apprehending the rapid 
advance of Cornwallis, he hastened to rejoin 
Morgan, who with his division was pushing- 
forward for the Yadkin, first sending orders to 
General Huger to conduct the other division 
by the most direct route to Guilford Court- 
house, where the forces were to be united. 
Greene spurred forward through heavy rain 
and deep miry roads. It was a dreary ride 
and a lonely one, for he had detached his aides- 
de-camp in different directions, to collect the 
scattered militia. At mid-day he alighted 
weary and travel-stained at the inn at Salis- 
bury, where the army physician who had 
charge of the sick and wounded prisoners re- 
ceived him at the door, and inquired after his 
well-being. " Fatigued, hungry, alone, and 
penniless," was Greene's heavy-hearted reply. 
The landlady, Mrs. Elizabeth Steele, overheard 
his desponding words. While he was seated 
at table, she entered the room, closed the door, 
and drawing from under her apron two bags 
of money which she had carefully hoarded in 
those precarious times, " Take these," said 
the noble-hearted woman ; " you will want 
them, and I can do without them." This is 
one of the numberless instances of the devoted 
patriotism of our women during the Eevohition. 
Their patriotism was apt to be purer and more 
disinterested than that of the men. 

Cornwallis did not advance so rapidly as had 
been apprehended. After crossing the Cataw- 
ba, he had to wait for his waggons and artil- 
lery, which had remained on the other side in 
the woods ; so that by nightfall of the 1st of 
February, he was not more than five miles on 
the road to Salisbury. Eager to come up with 
the Americans, he mounted some of the in- 
fantry upon the baggage horses, joined them 
to the cavalry, and sent the whole forward 
under General O'Hara. They arrived on the 
banks of the Yadkin at night, between the 2d 
and od of February,, just in time to capture a 
few waggons lingering in the rear of the Ameri- 
can army, which had passed. The riflemen 
who guarded them retreated after a short 
skirmish. There were no boats with which to 
cross ; the Americans had secured them on 
the other side. The rain which had fallen 
throughout the day had overflooded the ford 



578 



A SEVERE MARCH— CONTEST OF SKILL BETWEEN THE TWO ARMIES. 



[1781. 



by which the American cavalry had passed. 
The pursuers were again brought to a stand. 
After some doubt and delay, Cornwallis took 
his course up the south side of the Yadkin, and 
crossed by what is still called the Shallow 
Ford, while Greene continued on unmolested to 
Guilford Court-house, where he was joined by 
General Huger and his division, on the 9th. 

Cornwallis was now encamped about twenty- 
five miles above them at the old Moravian town 
of Salem. Greene summoned a council of war 
(almost the only time he was known to do so) 
and submitted the question whether or not to 
offer battle. There was a unanimous vote in 
the negative. A fourth part of the force was 
on the sick list, from nakedness and exposure. 
The official returns gave but two thousand and 
thirty-six, rank and file, fit for duty. Of these 
upwards of six hundred were militia. 

Cornwallis had from twenty-five hundred to 
three thousand men, including three hundred 
cavaliy, all thorougldy disciplined and well 
equipped. It was determined to continue the 
retreat. 

The great object of Greene now was to get 
across the river Dan, and throw himself into 
Virginia, With the reinforcements and assist- 
ance he might there expect to find, he hoped to 
effect the salvation of the South, and prevent 
the dismemberment of the Union. The object 
of Cornwallis was to get between him and 
Virginia, force him to a combat before he could 
receive those reinforcements, or enclose him in 
between the great rivers on the west, the sea 
on the east, and the two divisions of the British 
army under himself and Lord Rawdon on the 
north and south. His lordship had been in- 
formed that the lower part of the Dan, at pres- 
ent, could only be crossed in boats, and that the 
country could not afford a sufficient number 
for the passage of Greene's army ; he trusted, 
therefore, to cut him off from the upper part 
of the river, where alone it was fordable. 
Greene, however, had provided against such 
a contingency. Boats had been secured at 
various places by his agents, and could be col- 
lected at a few hours' notice at the lower fer- 
ries. Instead, therefore, of striving with his 
lordship for the upper fords, Greene shaped 
his course for Boyd's and Irwin's fords, just 
above the confluence of the Dan and Staunton 
Eivers which forms the Roanoke, and about 
sseventy miles from Guilford Court-house. This 
would give him twenty-five miles advantage 
of Lord Cornwallis at the outset. General 



Kosciuszko was sent with a party in advance 
to collect the boats and throw up breastworks 
at the ferries. 

In ordering his march, General Greene took 
the lead with the main body, the baggage, and 
stores. General Morgan would have had the 
command of the rear-guard, composed of seven 
hundred of the most alert and active troops, 
cavalry and light-infantry ; but, being disabled 
by a violent attack of ague and rheumatism, it 
was given to Colonel Otho H. Williams (for- 
merly adjutant-general), who had with him 
Colonels Howard, Washington, and Lee. 

This corps, detached some distance in the 
rear, did infinite service. Being lightly equip- 
ped, it could manoeuvre in front of the British 
line of march, break down bridges, sweep off 
provisions, and impede its progress in a variety 
of ways, while the main body moved forward 
unmolested. It was now that Cornwallis most 
felt the severity of the blow he had received 
at the battle of the Cowpens in the loss of his 
light troops, having so few to cope with the 
elite corps under Williams. 

Great abilities were shown by the com- 
manders on either side in this momentous trial 
of activity and skill. It was a long and severe 
march for both armies, through a wild and 
rough country, thinly peopled, cut up by 
streams, partly covered by forests, along deep 
and frozen roads, under drenching rains, with- 
out tents at night, and with scanty supplies of 
provisions. The British suffered the least, for 
they were well equipped and comfortably clad ; 
whereas the poor Americans were badly off for 
clothing, and many of them without shoes. 
The patriot armies of the Revolution, however, 
were accustomed in their winter marches to 
leave evidences of their hardships in bloody 
foot-prints. 

We forbear to enter into the details of this 
masterly retreat, the many stratagems and 
manoeuvres of the covering party to delay and 
hoodwink the enemy. Tarleton himself bears 
witness in his narrative, that every measure of 
the Americans was judiciously designed and 
vigorously executed. So much had Cornwallis 
been misinformed at the outset as to the means 
below of passing the river, and so difficult was 
it, from want of light troops, to gain informa- 
tion while on the march, that he pushed on in 
the firm conviction that he was driving the 
American army into a trap, and would give it 
a signal blow before it could cross the Dan. 

In the mean time, Greene, with the main 



Mt. 49.] 



CORNWALLIS AT HILLSBOROUGH— HIS PROCLAMATION. 



579 



body, reached the banks of the river, and suc- 
ceeded in crossing over with ease in the course 
of a single day at Boyd's and Irwin's ferries, 
sending back word to Williams, who with his 
covering party was far in the rear. That intel- 
ligent officer encamped, as usual, in the evening, 
at a wary distance in front of the enemy, but 
stole a march upon them after dark, leaving 
his camp fires burning. He pushed on all 
night, arriving at the ferry in the morning of 
the 15th, having marched forty miles within 
the last four and twenty hours ; and made such 
despatch in crossing, that his last troops had 
landed on the Virginia shore by the time the 
astonished enemy arrived on the opposite bank. 
Nothing, according to their own avowal, could 
surpass the grief and vexation of the British at 
discovering, on their arrival at Boyd's ferry, 
" that all their toils and exertions had been 
vain, and that all their hopes were frus- 
trated." * 



CHAPTER XX. 

Foe a day the two armies lay panting within 
sight of each other on the opposite banks of 
the river, which had put an end to the race. 
In a letter to Thomas Jefferson, dated the day 
of the crossing, Greene writes : " On the Dan 
Eiver, almost fatigued to death, having had a 
retreat to conduct of upwards of two hundred 
miles, manoeuvring constantly in the face of the 
enemy to give time for the militia to turn out 
and get off our stores." And to Washington 
he writes (Feb. 15), " Lord Cornwallis has 
been at our heels from day to day ever since 
we left Guilford, and our movements from 
thence to this place have been of the most 
critical kind, having a river in oTsr front and 
the enemy in our rear. The miserable condi- 
tion of the troops for clothing has rendered the 
march the most painful imaginable, many hun- 
dred of the soldiers tracking the ground with 
their bloody feet. Your feelings for the suffer- 
ings of the soldier, had you been with us, would 
have been severely tried." lie concludes by 
an honorable testimonial in tlieir favor : " Our 
army are in good spirits, notwithstanding their 
sufferings and excessive fatigue." 

On the 16th the i*iver began to subside ; the 
enemy might soon be able to cross. Greene 
prepared for a further retreat by sending for- 

* Annual Register, 1781. 



ward his baggage on the road to Halifax, and 
securing the passage of the Staunton. At 
Halifax he was resolved to make a stand, 
rather than suffer the enemy to take posses- 
sion of it without a struggle. Its situation on 
the Eoanoke would make it a strong position 
for their army, supported by a fleet, and would 
favor their designs both on Virginia and the 
Carolinas. With a view to its defence, in- 
trenchments had already been thrown up, under 
the direction of Kosciuszko. 

Lord Cornwallis, however, did not deem it 
prudent, under present circumstances, to ven- 
ture into Virginia, where Greene would be sure 
of powerful reinforcements. North Carolina 
was in a state of the utmost disorder and con- 
fusion ; he thought it better to remain in it for 
a time, and profit by having compelled Greene 
to abandon it. After giving his troops a day's 
repose, therefore, he put them once more in 
motion on the 18th, along the road by which 
he had pursued Greene. The latter, who was 
incessantly on the alert, was informed of this 
^•etrograde move, by a preconcerted signal ; the 
waving of a white handkerchief, under cover of 
the opposite bank, by a female patriot. 

This changed the game. Lee, with his le- 
gion, strengthened by two veteran Maryland 
companies, and Pickens, with a corps of South 
Carolina militia, all light troops, were trans- 
ported across the Dan in the boats, with orders 
to gain the front of Cornwallis, hover as near 
as safety would permit, cut off his intercourse 
with the disaffected parts of the country, and 
check the rising of the royalists. " If we can 
but delay him for a day or two," said Greene, 
" he must be ruined." Greene, in the mean 
while, remained with his main force on the 
northern bank of the Dan ; waiting to ascertain 
his lordship's real designs, and ready to cross at 
a moment's warning. 

The movements of Cornwallis, for a day or 
two, were of a dubious nature, designed to per- 
plex his opponents ; on the 20th, however, he 
took post at Hillsborough. Here he erected 
the royal standard, and issued a proclamation, 
stating that, v.-hereas it had pleased Divine 
Providence to prosper the operations of his 
majesty's arms in driving the rebel army out 
of the province, he invited all his loyal subjects 
to hasten to this standard with their arms and 
ten days' provisions, to assist in suppressing the 
remains of rebellion, and re-establishing good 
order and constitutional government. 

By another instrument, all who could raise 



580 THE COUNTRY SCOURED BY LEE AND PICKENS— AFFAIR WITH COLONEL PYLE. [1781. 



independent companies were called upon to 
give in their names at head-quarters, and a 
bounty in money and lands was promised to 
those who should enlist under them. The com- 
panies thus raised were to be formed into regi- 
ments. 

These sounding appeals produced but little 
effect on the people of the surrounding districts. 
Many hundreds, says Tarleton, rode into the 
camp to talk over the proclamation, inquire 
the news of the day, and take a view of the 
king's troops. The generality seemed desirous 
of peace, but averse from any exertion to pro- 
cure it. They acknowledged that the Conti- 
nentals had been chased out of the province, 
but apprehended they would soon return. 
" Some of the most zealous," adds he, " prom- 
ised to raise companies, and even regiments ; 
but their followers and dependents were slow 
to enlist." Tarleton himself was forthwith de- 
tached with the cavalry and a small body of 
infantry, to a region of country lying between 
the Haw and Deep Rivers, to bring on a con- 
siderable number of loyalists who were said to 
be assembling there. 

Eumor, in the mean time, had magnified the 
effect of his lordship's proclamations. Word 
was brought to Greene, that tlie tories were 
flocking from all quarters to the royal standard. 
Seven companies, it was said, had been raised 
in a single day. At this time the reinforce- 
ments to the American camp had been little 
more than six hundred Virginia militia, under 
General Stevens. Greene saw that at this rate, 
if Cornwallis were allowed to remain undis- 
turbed, he would soon have complete command 
of North Carolina ; he boldly determined, 
therefore, to recross the Dan at all hazards 
with the scanty force at his command, and give 
his lordship check. In this spirit he broke up 
his camp and crossed the river on the 23d. 

In the mean time, Lee and Pickens, who 
were scouting the country about Hillsborough, 
received information of Tai'leton's recruiting 
expedition to the region between the Haw and 
Deep Rivers. There was no foe they were 
more eager to cope with ; and they resolved 
to give him a surprise. Having forded the 
Haw one day about noon, they learnt from a 
countryman that Tarleton was encamped about 
three miles off, that his horses were unsaddled, 
and that every thing indicated confident secu- 
rity. They now pushed on under covert of the 
woods, prepared to give the bold partisan a 
blow after Ms own fashion. Before they 



reached the place Tarleton had marched on; 
they captured two of his staffs, however, who 
had remained behind, settling with the people 
of a farm-house for supplies furnished to the 
detachment. 

Being informed that Tarleton was to halt for 
the night at the distance of six miles, they still 
trusted to surprise him. On the way, however, 
they had an encounter with a body of three or 
four hundred mounted royalists, armed with 
rifles, and commanded by a Colonel Pyle, 
marching in quest of Tarleton. As Lee with 
his cavalry was in the advance, he was mis- 
taken for Tarleton, and hailed with loyal accla- 
mations. He favored the mistake, and was 
taking measures to capture the royalists, when 
some of them, seeing the infantry under Pick- 
ens, discovered their error, and fired upon the 
rear-guard. The cavalry instantly charged 
upon them ; ninety were cut down and slain, 
and a great number wounded ; among the lat- 
ter was Colonel Pyle himself, who took refuge 
among thickets on the borders of a piece of 
water which still bears his name. The Ameri- 
cans alleged in excuse for the slaughter, that it 
was provoked by their being attacked ; and 
that the sabre was used, as a continued firing 
might alarm Taiieton's camp. We do not 
wonder, however, that British writers pro- 
nounced it a massacre ; though it was but fol- 
lowing the example set by Tarleton himself, in 
this ruthless campaign. 

After all, Lee and Pickens missed the object 
of their enterprise. The approach of night and 
the fatigue of their troops, made them defer 
their attack upon Tarleton until morning. In 
the mean time, the latter had received an ex- 
press from Cornwallis, informing him that 
Greene had passed the Dan, and ordering him 
to return to 'Hillsborough as soon as possible. 
He hastened to obey. Lee with his legion was 
in the saddle before daybreak ; but Tarleton's 
troops were already on the march. " The le- 
gion," writes Lee, " accustomed to night expe- 
ditions, had been in the habit of using pine- 
torch for flambeau. Supplied with this, though 
the morning was dark, the enemy's trail was 
distinctly discovered, whenever a divergency 
took place in his route. 

Before sunrise, however, Tarleton had forded 
the Haw, and " Light-Horse Harry " gave over 
the pursuit, consoling himself that though he 
had not effected the chief object of his enter- ,J 
prise, a secondary one was completely exe- 
cuted, which would repress the tory spirit just 



^T. 49.] 



MAN(EUVRES OF CORNWALLIS— GREENE REINFORCED. 



581 



beginning to burst forth. "Fortune," writes 
he in his magniloquent way, "Fortune, which 
sways so imperiously the affairs of war, de- 
monstrated throughout the operation its su- 
preme control.* Nothing was omitted on the 
part of the' Americans, to give to the expedi- 
tion the desired termination ; but the very 
bright prospects which for a time presented 
themselves, were suddenly overcast; — the ca- 
I>ricious goddess gave us Pyle and saved Tarle- 
ton." 

The re-appearance of Greene and his army 
in North Carolina, heralded by the sconrings 
of Lee and Pickens, disconcerted the schemes 
of Lord Oornwallis. The recruiting service 
was interrupted. Many royalists who were 
on the way to his camp returned home. For- 
age and provisions became scarce in the neigh- 
borhood. He found himself, he said, " amongst 
timid friends and adjoining to inveterate 
rebels." On the 26th, therefore, he aban- 
doned Hillsborough, threw himself across the 
Haw, and encamped near Alamance Creek, one 
of its principal tributaries, in a country favor- 
able to supplies and with a tory population. 
^^His position was commanding, at the point of 
concurrence of roads from Salisbury, Guilford, 
High Eockford, Cross Creek, and Hillsborough. 
It covered also the communication with Wil- 
mington, where a depot of military stores, so 
important to his half-destitute army, had re- 
cently been established. 

Greene, with his main arraj^, took post about 
fifteen miles above him, on the heights between 
Troublesome Creek and Reedy Fork, one of the 
tributaries of the Haw. His plan was to cut 
the enemy off from the upper counties ; to 
harass him by skirmishes, but to avoid a gen- 
eral battle ; thus gaining time for the arrival 
of reinforcements daily expected. He rarely 
lay more than two days in a place, and kept 
his light troops under Pickens and "Williams 
between him and the enemy ; hovering about 
the latter ; intercepting his intelligence ; attack- 
ing his foraging parties, and striking at his 
flanks whenever exposed. Sharp skirmishes 
occurred between them and Tarleton's cavalry 
with various success. The country being much 
of a wilderness, obliged both parties to be on 
the alert; but the Americans, accustomed to 
bush-fighting, were not easily surprised. 

On the Gth of March, Cornwallis, learning 
that the light troops under Williams were very 

* Lee'B Memoirs of the War, i. 319. 



carelessly posted, put his army suddenly in mo- 
tion, and crossed the Alamance in a thick fog ; 
with the design to beat up their quarters, drive 
them in upon the main army, and bring Greene 
to action should he come to their assistance. 
His movement was discovered by the Ameri- 
can patrolSj and the alarm given. Williams 
hastily called in his detachments, and retreated 
Avith his light troops across Reedy Fork, while 
Lee with his legion manoeuvred in front of the 
enemy, A stand was made by the Americans 
at Wetzell's Mill, but they were obliged to re- 
tire with the loss of fifty killed and wounded. 
Cornwallis did not pursue ; evening was ap- 
proaching, and he had failed in his main object ; 
that of bringing Greene to action. The latter, 
fixed in his resolve of avoiding a conflict, had 
retreated across the Haw, in order to keep up 
his communication with the roads by which 
he expected his supplies and reinforcements. 
The militia of the country, who occasionally 
flocked to his camp, were chiefly volunteers, 
who fell off after every skirmish, " going home," 
as he said, " to tell the news." " At this time," 
said he on the 10th, " I have not above eight 
or nine hundred of them in the field ; yet there 
have been upwards of five thousand in motion 
in the course of four weeks. A force fluctuat- 
ing in this manner can promise but slender 
hopes of success against an enemy in high dis- 
cipline, and made formidable by the superior- 
ity of their numbers. Hitherto, I have been 
obliged to eft'ect that by finesse which I dare 
not attempt by force." * 

Greene had scarcely written this letter when 
the long-expected reinforcements arrived, hav- 
ing been hurried on by forced marches. They 
consisted of a brigade of Virginia militia, under 
General Lawson, two brigades of North Caro- 
lina militia, under Generals Butler and Eaton, 
and four hundred regulars, enlisted for eighteen 
months. His whole effective force, according 
to oflicial returns, amounted to four thousand 
two hundred and forty-three foot, and one hun- 
dred and sixty-one cavalry. Of his infantry, 
not quite two tliousand were regulars, and of 
these, three-fourths Avere new levies. His force 
nearly doubled in number that of Cornwallis, 
which did not exceed two thousand four hun- - 
dred men ; but many of Greene's troops were 
raw and inexperienced, and had never been in 
battle; those of the enemy were veteran?, 
schooled in warfare, and, as it were, welded 



Letter to Governor Jefferson, March 10. 



582 



BATTLE OF GUILFORD COURT-HOUSE. 



[1Y81. 



together by campaigning in a foreign land, 
Tv'here their main safety consisted in standing 
by each other. 

Greene knew the inferiority of his troops in 
this respect ; his reinforcements, too, fell far 
short of what he had been led to expect, yet 
he determined to accept the battle which had 
so long been offered. The corps of light troops, 
under "Williams, which had rendered such effi- 
cient service, was now incorporated with the 
main body, and all detachments were ordered 
to assemble at Guilford, within eight miles of 
the enemy, where he encamped on the 14th, 
sending his waggons and heavy baggage to the 
Iron Works at Troublesome Creek, ten miles in 
his rear. 

Cornwallis, from the difficulty of getting cor- 
rect information, and from Greene's frequent 
change of position, had an exaggerated idea of 
the American force, rating it as high as eight 
thousand men : still he trusted in his well- 
seasoned veterans, and determined to attack 
Greene in his encampment, now that he seemed 
disposed for a general action. To provide 
against the possibility of a retreat, he sent his 
carriages and baggage to Bell's Mills, on Deep 
River, and set out at daybreak on the 15th for 
Guilford. 

Within four miles of that place, near the New 
Garden Meeting-house, Tarleton with the ad- 
vanced guard of cavalry, infantry, and yagers, 
came upon the American advance-guard, com- 
posed of Lee's partisan legion, and some moun- 
taineers and Virginia militia. Tarleton and 
Lee were well matched in military prowess, and 
the skirmish between them was severe. Lee's 
horses, being from Virginia and Pennsylvania, 
were superior in weight and strength to those 
of his opponent, which had been chiefly taken 
from plantations in South Carolina. The latter 
were borne down by a charge in close column ; 
several of their riders were dismounted, and 
killed or taken prisoners. Tarleton, seeing 
that his weakly mounted men fought to a dis- 
advantage, sounded a retreat ; Lee endeavored 
to cut him off: a general conflict of the van- 
guards, horse and foot, ensued, when the ap- 
pearance of the main body of the enemy obliged 
Lee, in his turn, to retire with precipitation. 

During this time, Greene was preparing for 
action on a woody eminence, a little more than 
a mile south of Guilford Court-House. The 
neighboring country was covered with forest, 
excepting some cultivated fields about the court- 
house, and along the Salisbury road, which 



passed through the centre of the place, from 
south to north. 

Greene had drawn out his troops in three 
lines. The first, composed of North Carolina 
militia, volunteers, and riflemen, under Generals 
Butler and Eaton, was posted behind a fence, 
with an open field in front, and woods on the 
flanks and in the rear. About three hundred 
yards behind this, was the second line, com- 
posed of Virginia militia, under Generals Ste- 
vens and Lawson, drawn up across the road, 
and covered by a wood. The third line, about 
four hundred yards in the rear of the second, 
was composed of Continental troops or regu- 
lars ; those of Virginia under General Huger 
on the right, those of Maryland under Colonel 
Williams on the left. Colonel Washington 
with a body of dragoons, Kirkwood's Dela- 
ware infantry, and a battalion of Virginia 
militia covered the right flank ; Lee's legion, 
with the Virginia riflemen under Colonel Camp- 
bell, covered the left. Two six-pounders were 
in the road, in advance of the first line ; 
two field-pieces with the rear-line near the 
court-house, where General Greene took his 
station. 

About noon the head of the British army 
was descried advancing spiritedly from the 
south along the Salisbury road, and defiling 
into the fields. A cannonade was opened 
from the two six-pounders in front of the first 
American line. It was answered by the Brit- 
ish artillery. Neither produced much eifect. 
The enemy now advanced coolly and steadily 
in three columns ; the Hessians and Highland- 
ers under General Leslie, on the right, the 
Royal artillery and guards in the centre, and 
Webster's brigade on the left. The North 
Carolinians, who formed the first line, waited 
until the enemy were within one hundred and 
fifty yards, when, agitated by their martial ar- 
ray and undaunted movement, they began to 
fall into confusion ; some fired off their pieces 
without taking aim ; others tln-ew them down, 
and took to flight. A volley from the foe, a 
shout, and a charge of the bayonet, completed 
their discomfiture. Some fled to the woods, 
others fell back upon the Virginians, who 
formed the second line. General Stevens, who 
commanded the latter, ordered his men to open 
and let the fugitives pass, pretending that they 
had orders to retire. He had taken care, how- 
ever, to post forty riflemen in the rear of his 
own line, with orders to fire upon any one who 
should leave his post. Under his spirited com- 



Ml. 49.] 



BATTLE OF GUILFORD COUET-HOUSE. 



583 



mand and example, tlie Virginians kept their 
ground and fought bravely. 

The action became much broken up and di- 
versified by the extent of the ground. The thick- 
ness of the woods impeded the movements of 
the cavalry. The reserves on both sides were 
called up. The British bayonet again suc- 
ceeded ; the second line gave way, and General 
Stevens, who had kept the field for some time, 
after being wounded in the thigh by a musket- 
baD, ordered a retreat. 

The enemy pressed with increasing ardor 
against the third line, composed of Continental 
troops, and supported by Colonel Washington's 
dragoons and Kirkwood's Delawares. Greene 
counted on these to retrieve the day. They 
were regulars ; they were fresh, and in perfect 
order. He rode along the line, calling on them to 
stand firm, and give the enemy a warm reception. 

The first Maryland regiment which was on 
the right wing, was attacked by Colonel "Web- 
ster, with the British left. It stood the shock 
bravely, and being seconded by some Virginia 
troops, and Kirkwood's Delawares, drove Web- 
ster across a ravine. The second Maryland 
regiment was not so successful. Impetuously 
attacked by Colonel Stewart, with a battalion 
of the guards, and a company of grenadiers, it 
faltered, gave way, and fled, abandoning two 
field-pieces, which were seized by the enemy. 
Stewart was pursuing, when the first regiment 
which had driven Webster across the ravine, 
came to the rescue with fixed bayonets, while 
Colonel Washington spurred up with his cav- 
alry. The fight now was fierce and bloody. 
Stewart was slain ; the two field-pieces were 
retaken, and the enemy in their turn gave way 
and were pursued with slaughter ; a destruc- 
tive fire of grape-shot from the enemy's artil- 
lery checked the pursuit. Two regiments ap- 
proached on the right and left ; Webster re- 
crossed the ravine and fell upon Kirkwood's 
Delawares. There was intrepid fighting in 
different parts of the field ; but Greene saw 
that the day was lost ; there was no retrieving 
the effect produced by the first flight of the 
North Carolinians. Unwilling to risk the utter 
destruction of his army, he directed a retreat, 
which was made in good order, but they had 
to leave their artillery on the field, most of the 
horses having been killed. About three miles 
from the field of action he made a halt to col- 
lect stragglers, and then continued on to the 
place of rendezvous at Speedwell's Iron Works 
on Troublesome Creek. 



The British were too much cut up and fa- 
tigued to follow up their victory. Two regi- 
ments with Tarleton's cavalry attempted a pur- 
suit but were called back. Efforts were made 
to collect the wounded of both armies, but they 
were dispersed over so wide a space, among' 
woods and thickets, that night closed before 
the task was accomplished. It Avas a dismal 
night even to the victors ; a night of unusual 
darkness, with torrents of rain. The army 
was destitute of tents ; there were not suffi- 
cient houses in the vicinity to receive the 
wounded ; provisions were scanty ; many had 
tasted very little food for the last two days ; 
comforts were out of the question. Nearly 
fifty of the wounded sank under their aggra- 
vated miseries, and expired before morning. 
The cries of the disabled and dying, who re- 
mained on the field of battle, during the night, 
exceeded all description. Such a complicated 
scene of horror and distress, adds the British 
writer, whose words Ave quote, it is hoped, for 
the sake of humanity, rarely occurs, even in 
military life.* 

The loss of the Americans in this hard-fought 
affair, was never fully ascertained. Their of- 
ficial returns, made immediately after the ac- 
tion, give little more than four hundred killed 
and wounded, and between eight and nine hun- 
dred missing; but Lord Cornwallis states in 
his despatches, that between two and three 
hundred of the Americans were found dead on 
the field of battle. 

The loss sustained by his lordship, even if 
numerically less, was far more fatal; for, in 
the circumstances in which he was placed, it 
was not to be supphed, and it completely 
maimed him. Of his small army, ninety-three 
had fallen, four hundred and thirteen were 
wounded, and twenty-six missing. Among the 
killed and wounded were several officers of 
note. Thus, one-fourth of his army was either 
killed or disabled ; his troops were exhausted 
by fatigue and hunger ; his camp was encum- 
bered by the wounded. His victory, in fact, 
was almost as ruinous as a defeat. 

Greene lay for two days within ten miles of 
him, near the Iron Works on Troublesome 
Creek, gathering up his scattered troops. He 
had imbibed the spirit of Washington, and re- 
mained undismayed by hardships or reverses. 
Writing to the latter, he says : " Lord Corn- 
wallis will not give up this country, without 



* Stedman, vol. ii. p. 346. 



584 



GREENE IN PURSUIT OF CORNWALLIS. 



[1781. 



being soundly beaten. I wish our force was 
more competent to the business. But I am in 
hopes, by httle and little, to reduce him in 
time. His ti'oops are good, well found, and 
fight with great obstinacy. 

"Virginia," adds he, " has given me every 
support I could wish or expect, since Lord 
Cornwallis has been in North Carolina ; and 
nothing has contributed more to this, than the 
prejudice of the people in favor of your Excel- 
lency, which has extended to me from the 
friendship you have been pleased to honor me 
with." * 

And again : " The service here is extremely 
severe, and the officers and soldiers bear it with 
a degree of patience that does them the highest 
honor. I have never taken off my clothes since 
I left the Pedee. I was taken with a fainting 
last night, owing, I suppose, to excessive fa- 
tigue and constant watching. I am better to- 
day, but far from well. I have little prospect 
of acquiring much reputation while I labor un- 
der so many disadvantages. I hope my friends 
will make full allowances ; and as for vulgar 
opinion, I regard it not." 

In Washington he had a friend v^'hose appro- 
bation was deai'er to him than the applause of 
thousands, and who knew how to appreciate 
him. To Greene's account of the battle he 
sent a cheering reply. " Although the honors 
of the field do not fall to your lot, I am con- 
vinced you deserve them. The chances of war 
are various, and the best-concerted measures 
and most flattering prospects, may and often do 
deceive us, especially while we are in the 
power of the militia. The motives which in- 
duced you to risk an action with Lord Corn- 
wallis are supported upon the best military 
principle, and the consequence, if you can pre- 
vent the dissipation of your troops, will no 
doubt be fortunate." 

The consequence, it will be found, was such 
as Washington, with his usual sagacity, pre- 
dicted. Cornwallis, so far from being able to 
advance in tlie career of victory, could not even 
liold the ground he had so bravely won, but 
was obliged to retreat from the scene of tri- 
xamph, to some secure position where he might 
obtain supplies for his famished army. 

Leaving, therefore, about seventy of liis of- 
ficers and men, who were too severely wounded 
to bear travelling, together with a number of 
wounded Americans, in the New Garden Meet- 



■ Sparta. Correspondence of the Revolution, iii. 267. 



ing -house, and the adjacent buildings, under 
the protection of a flag of truce, and placing the 
rest of his wounded in waggons or on horse- 
back, he set out, on the third day after the 
action, by easy marches, for Cross Creek, other- 
wise called the Haw, an eastern branch of Cape 
Fear River, where was a settlement of Scottish 
Highlanders, stout adherents, as he was led to 
believe, to the royal cause. Here he expected 
to be i^lentifuUy supplied with provisions, and 
to have his sick and wounded well taken care 
of. Hence, too, he could open a communica- 
tion by Cape Fear River, with Wilmington, and 
obtain from the depot recently established 
there, such supplies as the country about Cross 
Creek did not aftord. 

On the day on which he began his march, 
he issued a proclamation, setting forth his vic- 
tory, calling upon all loyal subjects to join his 
standard, and holding out the usual promises 
and threats to such as should obey or should 
continue in rebellion. 

No sooner did Greene learn that Cornwallis 
was retreating, than he set out to follow him, 
determined to bring him again to action ; and 
presenting the singular spectacle of the van- 
quished pursuing the victor. His troops, how- 
ever, suffered greatly in this pursuit, from win- 
try weather, deep, wet, clayey roads, and scar- 
city of provisions ; the country through wliich 
they marched being completely exhausted ; 
but they harassed the enemy's rear-guard with 
frequent skirmishes. 

On the 28th, Greene arrived at Ramsey's 
Mills, on Deep River, hard on the traces of 
Cornwallis, who had left the place a few hours 
previously, with such precipitation, that sev- 
eral of his wounded, who had died while on the 
march, were left behind unburied. Several 
fresh quarters of beef had likewise been forgot- 
ten, and were seized upon with eagerness by 
the hungry soldiery. Such had been the ur- 
gency of the pursuit this day, that many of the 
American troops sank upon the road exhausted 
with fatigue. 

At Deep River, Greene was brought to a 
stand. Cornwallis had broken down the 
bridge by which he had crossed.; and further 
pursuit for the present was impossible. The 
constancy of the militia now gave way. They 
had been continually on the march with little 
to eat, less to drink, and obliged to sleep in the 
woods in the midst of smoke. Every step had 
led tliem from their homes and increased their 
privations. They were now in want of every 



^T. 49.] GREENE CHANGES HIS PLAN— WEARY RETREAT OF THE BRITISH. 



585 



thing, for the retreating enemy left a famished 
country behind liim. Tlie term for which 
most of them had enlisted was expired, and 
they now demanded their dischai'ge. The de- 
mand was just and reasonable, and, after striv- 
ing in vain to shake their determination, Greene 
felt compelled to comply with it. His force 
thus reduced, it would be impossible to pursue 
the enemy further. The halt he was obliged 
to make to collect provisions and rebuild the 
bridge, wotdd give them such a start as to leave 
no hope of overtaking them should they con- 
tinue their retreat; nor could he fight them 
upon equal terms should they make a stand. 
The regular troops would be late in the field, 
if raised at all: Virginia, from the unequal op- 
eration of the law for drafting, was not likely 
to furnish many soldiers : Maryland, as late as 
the 13th instant, had not got a man ; neither 
was there the least prospect of raising a man 
in North Carolina. In this situation, remote 
from reinforcements, inferior to the enemy in 
numbers, and without hope of support, what 
was to be done ? " If the enemy falls down 
toward "Wilmington," said he, " they will be in 
a position where it would be impossible for us 
to injure them if we had a force." * Suddenly 
he determined to change his course, and carry 
the war into South Carolina. This would 
oblige the enemy either to follow him, and 
thus abandon North Carolina; or to sacrifice 
all his posts in the upper part of North Caro- 
lina and Georgia, To Washington, to whom 
he considered himself accountable for all his 
policy, and from whose counsel he derived 
confidence and strength, he writes on the pres- 
■ ent occasion. " All things considered, I think 
the movement is warranted by the soundest 
reasons, both political and military. The ma- 
noeuvre will be critical and dangerous, and the 
troops exposed to every hardship. But as I 
shai-e it with them, I may hope they will bear 
up under it with that magnanimity which has 
always supported them, and for which they de- 
serve every thing of their country." — " I shall 
take every measure," adds he, " to avoid amis- 
fortune. But necessity obliges me to commit 
myself to chance, and, I trust, my friends will 
do justice to my reputation, if any accident at- 
tends me." 

In this brave spirit, he apprised Sumter, 
Pickens, and Marion, by letter, of his inten- 
tions, and called upon them to be ready co-op- 



* Greene to Washington. Cor. Rev., iii. 27S. 



erate with all the militia they could collect; 
promising to send forward cavalry and small 
detachments of light infantry, to aid them in 
capturing outposts before the army should ar- 
rive. 

To Lafayette he writes at the same time. " I 
expect by this movement to draw Cornwallis 
out of this State, and preiaent Mm from forming 
a junction with Arnold. If you follow to sup- 
port me, it is not impossible that we may give 
him a drubbing, especially if General Wayne 
comes up with the Pennsylvanians." 

In pursuance of his plan, Greene, on the 30th. 
of March, discharged all his militia with many 
thanks for the courage and fortitude with which 
they had followed him through so many scenes 
of peril and hardship ; and joyously did the 
poor fellows set out for their homes. Then, 
after giving his " little, distx'essed, though suc- 
cessful army," a short taste of the repose they 
needed, and having collected a few days' pro- 
vision, he set forward on the 5th of April 
toward Camden, where Lord Eawdon had his 
head-quarters. 

Cornwallis, in the mean time, was grievously 
disappointed in the hopes he had formed of ob- 
taining ample provisions and forage at Cross 
Creek, and strong reinforcements from the roy- 
alists in that neighborhood. Neither coidd he 
open a communication by Cape Fear Eiver, for 
the conveyance of his troops to Wilmington. 
The distance by water was upwards of a hun- 
dred miles, thfe breadth of the river seldom 
above one hundred yards, the banks high, and 
the inhabitants on each side generally hostile. 
He was compelled, therefore, to continue his 
retreat by land, quite to Wilmington, where he 
arrived on the Tth of April, and his troops, 
weary, sick, and wounded, rested for the pres- 
ent from the " unceasing toils and unspeakable 
hardships, which they had undergone during 
the past three months." * 

It was his lordship's intention, as soon as he 
should have equipped his own corps and re- 
ceived a part of the expected reinforcements 
from Ireland, to return to the upper country, 
in hopes of giving protection to the royal inter- 
ests in South Carolina, and of preserving the 
health of his troops until he should concert 
new measures with Sir Henry Clinton.t His 
plans were all disconcerted, however, by intel- 
ligence of Greene's rapid march toward Cam- 



* See Letter of Cornwallis to Lord George Germain, 
April 18. Also Annual Register, 1781, p. 72. 

t Answer to Clinton's Narrative, Introduction, p. vi. 



586 



CORNWALLIS MARCHES FOR VIRGINIA— ARNOLD AT PORTSMOUTH. 



[1781. 



den. Never, we are told, was liis lordship 
more affected than by this news. " My situa- 
tion here is very distressing," writes he. 
" Greene took the advantage of my being 
obliged to come to this place, and has marched 
to South Carolina. My expresses to Lord Eaw- 
don on my leaving Cross Creek, warning him 
of the possibility of such a movement, have all 
failed ; mountaineers and militia have poured 
into the back part of that province, and I much 
fear that Lord Eawdon's posts will be so dis- 
tant from each other, and his troops so scat- 
tered, as to put him into the greatest danger 
of being beaten in detail, and that the worst of 
consequences may happen to most of the troops 
out of Charleston." * 

It was too late for his lordship to render any 
aid by a direct move towards Camden. Be- 
fore he could arrive there, Greene would have 
made an attack ; if successful, his lordship's 
army might be hemmed in among the great 
rivers, in an exhausted country, revolutionary 
in its spirit, where Greene might cut off their 
subsistence, and render their arms useless. 

All thoughts of offensive operations against 
North Carolina were at an end. Sickness, de- 
sertion, and the loss sustained at Guilford 
Court-house, had reduced his little army to 
fourteen hundred and thirty-five men. 

In this sad predicament, after remaining sev- 
eral days in a painful state of irresolution, he 
determined to take advantage of Greene's hav- 
ing left the back part of Virginia open, to 
march directly into that province, and attempt 
a junction with the force acting there under 
General Phillips. 

By this move, he might draw Greene back to 
the northward, and by the reduction of "Vir- 
ginia, he might promote the subjugation of the 
South. The move, however, he felt to be per- 
ilous. His troops were worn down by upwards 
of eight hundred miles of marching and coun- 
ter-marching, through an inhospitable and im- 
practicable country ; they had now three hun- 
dred more before them ; under still worse cir- 
cumstances than those in which they first set 
out ; for, so destitute were they, notwithstand- 
ing the supplies received at "Wilmington, that 
his lordship, sadly humorous, declared, "his 
cavalry wanted every thing, and his infantry 
every thing but shoes."t 

There was no time for hesitation or delay ; 
Greene might return and render the junction 

* Letter to Major-General Phillips. 
t Annual Register, 1781, p. 90. 



with Phillips impracticable : having sent an 
express to the latter, therefore, informing him 
of his coming, and appointing a meeting at 
Petersburg, his lordship set oft' on the 25th of 
April, on his fated march into Virginia. 

We must now step back in dates to bring up 
events in the more northern parts of the Union. 



CHAPTER XXI. 

In a former chapter we left Benedict Arnold 
fortifying himself at Portsmouth, after his 
ravaging incursion. At the solicitation of Gov- 
ernor Jefierson, backed by Congress, the Chev- 
alier de la Luzerne had requested the French 
commander at the eastward to send a ship of 
the line and some frigates to Chesapeake Bay 
to oppose the traitor. Fortunately, at this junc- 
ture a severe snow-storm (Jan. 22d) scattered 
Arbuthnot's blockading squadron, wrecking 
one ship of the line and dismasting others, and 
enabled the French fleet at Newport to look 
abroad ; and Eochambeau wrote to "Washington 
that the Chevalier Destouches, who command- 
ed the fleet, proposed to send three or four 
ships to the Chesapeake. 

Washington feared the position of Arnold, 
and his well-known address, might enable him 
to withstand a mere attack by sea ; anxious to 
ensure his capture, he advised that Destouches 
should send his whole fleet, and that De Eo- 
chambeau should embark about a thousand men 
on board of it, with artillery and apparatus for a 
siege ; engaging, on his own part, to send off im- 
mediately a detachment of twelve hundred men 
to co-operate. " The destruction of the corps 
under the command of Arnold," writes he, " is 
of such immense importance to the welfare of 
the Southern States, that I have resolved to 
attempt it with the detachment I now send in 
conjunction with the militia, even if it should 
not be convenient for your Excellency to detach 
a part of your force ; provided M. Destouches 
is able to protect our operations by such dispo- 
sition of his fleet as will give us the command 
of the bay, and prevent succors from being sent 
from New York." 

Before the receipt of this letter, the French 
commanders, acting on their first impulse, had, 
about the 9th of February, detached M. de Til- 
ly, with a sixty-gun ship and two frigates, to 
make a dash into the Chesapeake. Washington 
was apprised of their sailing just as he was 



^T. 49.] EXPEDITIONS SENT AGAINST ARNOLD— WASHINGTON AT NEWPORT. 



587 



preparing to send off the twelve hundred men 
spoken of in his letter to De Eochambeau. 
He gave the command of this detachment to 
Lafayette, instructing him to act in conjunction 
^x\ih. the militia and the ships sent by Destou- 
ches, against the enemy's corps actually in Vir- 
ginia. As the case was urgent, he was to suffer 
no delay, when on the march, for want either 
of provisions, forage, or waggons, but where 
ordinary means did not suffice, he was to resort 
to military impress. " You are to do no act 
whatever with Arnold," said the letter of in- 
struction, " that directly or by implication may 
screen him from the punishment due to his 
treason and desertion, which, if he should fall 
into your hands, you wiU execute in the most 
summary manner." 

Washington wrote at the same time to the 
Baron Steuben, informing him of the arrange- 
ments, and requesting him to be on the alert. 
" If the fleet should have arrived before this 
gets to hand," said he, " secrecy will be out of 
the question ; if not, you will conceal your 
expectations, and only seem to be preparing 
for defence. Arnold, on the appearance of the 
fleet, may endeavor to retreat through North 
Carolina. If you take any measure to obviate 
this, the precaution will be advisable. Should 
you be able to capture this detachment with 
its chief, it will be an event as pleasing as it 
will be useful." 

Lafayette set out on his march on the 22d 
of February, and Washington was indulging 
the hope that, scanty as was the naval force 
sent to the Chesapeake, the combined enterprise 
might be successful, when, on the 27th, he re- 
ceived a letter from the Count de Eochambeau 
announcing its failure. De Tilly had made his 
dash into Chesapeake Bay, but Arnold had been 
apprised by the British Admiral Arbuthnot of 
his approach, and had drawn his ships high up 
Elizabeth Eiver. The water was too shallow 
for the largest French ships to get within four 
leagues of him. One of De Tilly's frigates ran 
aground, and was got off with difficulty, and 
that commander, seeing that Arnold was out 
of his reach, and fearing to be himself blockad- 
ed should he linger, put to sea and returned to 
Newport ; having captured during his cruise a 
British frigate of forty-four guns, and two pri- 
vateers with their prizes. 

The French commanders now determined to 
follow the plan suggested by Washington, and 
operate in the Chesapeake with their whole 
fleet and a detachment of land troops, being. 



as they said, disposed to risk every thing to 
hinder Arnold from establishing himself at 
Portsmouth. 

Washington set out for Newport to concert 
operations with the French commanders. Be- 
fore his departure, he wrote to Lafayette, on 
the 1st of March, giving him intelligence of 
these intentions, and desiring him to transmit 
it to the Baron Steuben. " I have received a 
letter," adds he, "from General Greene, by 
which it appears that Cornwallis, with twenty- 
five hundred men, was penetrating the country 
with very great rapidity, and Greene with a 
much inferior force retiring before him, having 
determined to pass the Eoanoke, This intelli- 
gence, and an apprehension that Arnold may 
make his escape before the fleet can arrive in 
the bay, induces me to give you greater latitude 
than you had in your original instructions. 
You are at liberty to concert a plan with the 
French general and naval commander for a 
descent into North Carolina, to cut off the de- 
tachment of the enemy which had ascended 
Cape Fear Eiver, intercept, if possible, Corn- 
wallis, and relieve General Greene and the 
Southern States. This, however, ought to be 
a secondary object, attempted in case of Arnold's 
retreat to New York ; or in case his reduction 
should be attended with too much delay. There 
should be strong reasons to induce a change of 
our first plan against Arnold if he is stiU in 
Virginia." 

Washington arrived at Newport on the 6th 
of March, and found the French fleet ready for 
sea ; the troops, eleven hundi-ed strong, com- 
manded by General the Baron de Viomenil, 
being already embarked. 

Washington went immediately on board of 
the Admiral's ship, where he had an interview 
with the Count de Eochambeau, and arranged 
the plan of the campaign. Eeturning on shore 
he was received by the inhabitants with enthu- 
siastic demonstrations of affection ; and was 
gratified to perceive the harmony and good will 
between them and the French army and fleet. 
Much of this he attributed to the wisdom of 
the commanders, and the discipline of the troops, 
but more to magnaninfity on the one part, and 
gratitude on the other ; and he hailed it as a 
happy presage of lasting friendship between the 
two nations. 

On the 8th of March, at ten o'clock at night, 
he writes to Lafayette : " I have the pleasure 
to inform you that the whole fleet went out 
with a fair wind this evening about sunset. 



588 



EXGAGEMENT OF THE ENGLISH AND FKENCH FLEETS. 



[1781. 



We have not heard of any move of the British 
in Gardiner's Bay. Should we luckily meet 
with no interruption from them, and Arnold 
should continue in Virginia, until the arrival 
of M. Destouches, I flatter myself you will 
meet with that success which I most ardently 
wish, not only on the public, hut your own 
account." 

The British fleet made sail in pursuit, on the 
morning of the 10th ; as the French had so 
much the start, it was hoped they would reach 
Chesapeake Bay before them. Washington 
felt the present to be a most important mo- 
ment. " The success of the expedition now in 
agitation," said he, " seems to depend upon a 
naval superiority, and the force of the two 
fleets is so equal, that we must rather hope for, 
than entertain an assurance of victory. The 
attempt, however, made by our allies to dis- 
lodge the enemy in Virginia, is a bold one, and 
should it fail, will nevertheless entitle them to 
the thanks of the public." 

On returning to his head-quarters at New 
Windsor, Washington on the 20th of March 
found letters from General Greene, informing 
him that he had saved all his baggage, artillery, 
and stores, notwithstanding the hot pursuit of 
the enemy, and was now in his turn following 
them, but that he was greatly in need of rein- 
forcements. 

" My regard for the public good, and my 
inclination to promote your success," writes 
Washington in reply, " will prompt me to give 
every assistance, and to make every diversion 
in your favor. But what can I do if I am not 
furnished with the means ? From what I saw 
and learned at the eastward, I am convinced 
the levies will be late in the field, and I fear far 
short of the requisition. I most anxiously wait 
the event of the present operation in Virginia. 
If attended with success, it may have the hap- 
piest influence on our southern affairs, by leav- 
ing the forces of Virginia free to act. For 
while there is an enemy in the heart of a coun- 
try, you can expect neither men nor supplies 
from it, in that full and regular manner in wliich 
they ought to be given." 

In the mean time, Lafayette with his detach- 
ment was pressing forward by forced marches 
for Virginia. Arriving at the Head of Elk on 
the 3d of March, he halted until he should re- 
ceive tidings respecting the French fleet. A 
letter from the Baron Steuben spoke of the 
preparations he was making, and the facility of 
taking the fortifications of Portsmouth, " sword 



in hand." The youthful marquis was not so 
sanguine as the veteran baron. " Arnold,'*said 
he, " has had so much time to prepare, and 
plays so deep a game ; nature has made the 
position so respectable, and some of the troops 
under his orders have been in so many actions, 
that I do not flatter myself to succeed so easi- 
ly." On the 7th he received Washington's let- 
ter of the 1st, apprising him of the approaching 
departure of the whole fleet with land forces. 
Lafayette now conducted his troops by water 
to Annapolis, and concluding, from the time the 
ships were to sail, and the winds which had 
since prevailed, thsiFrench fleet must be already 
in the Chesapeake, he crossed the bay in an open 
boat to Virginia, and pushed on to confer with 
the American and French commanders ; get a 
convoy for his troops, and concert matters for 
a vigorous co-operation. Arriving at York on 
the 14th, he found the Baron Steuben in the 
bustle of military preparations, and confident of 
having five thousand militia ready to co-operate. 
These, with Lafoyette's detachment, would be 
sufiicient for the attack by land ; nothing was 
wanting but a co-operation by sea ; and the 
French fleet had not yet appeared, though 
double the time necessary for the voyage had 
elapsed. The marquis repaired to General 
Muhlenburg's camp near Suflfolk, and reconnoi- 
tred with him the enemy's works at Ports- 
mouth ; this brought on a trifling skirmish, but 
every thing appeared satisfactory ; every thing 
promised complete success. 

On the 20th, word was brought that a fleet 
had come to anchor within the capes. It was 
supposed of course to be the French, and now 
the capture of the traitor was certain. He 
himself from certain signs appeared to be in 
great confusion ; none of his ships ventured 
down the bay. An officer of the French navy 
bore down to visit the fleet, but returned with 
the astounding intelligence that it was British ! 

Admiral Arbuthnot had in fact overtaken 
Destouches on the 16th of March, off" the capes 
of Virginia. Their forces were nearly equal ; 
eight ships of the line and four frigates on each 
side, the French having more men, the English 
more guns. An engagement took place which 
lasted about an hour. The British van at first 
took the brunt of the action, and was severely 
handled ; the centre came up to its relief. The 
French line was broken and gave way, but ral- 
lied, and formed again at some distance. The 
crippled state of some of his ships prevented 
the British admiral from bringing on a second 



iET. 49.] LETTER TO COLONEL LAURENS— MEASURES TO REINFORCE GREENE. 



589 



encounter ; nor did the Frencli seek one, but 
shaped their course the next day back to New- 
port. Both sides claimed a victory. The Brit- 
ish certainly effected the main objects they hac^ 
in view ; the French were cut off from the 
Chesapeake ; the combined enterprise against 
Portsmouth was disconcerted, and Arnold was 
saved. Great must have been the apprehen- 
sions of the traitor, while that enterprise threat- 
ened to entrap him. He knew the peculiar 
peril impending over him ; it had been an- 
nounced in the sturdy reply of an American 
prisoner, to his inquiry what his countrymen 
would do to him if he was captured. — " They 
would cut off the leg wounded in the service 
of your country and bury it with the honors 
of war ; the rest of you they would hang ! " 

The feelings of Washington, on hearmg of the 
result of the enterprise, may be judged from 
the following passage of a letter to Colonel 
John Laurens, then minister at Paris. "The 
failure of this expedition, which was most flat- 
tering in the commencement, is much to be 
regretted ; because a successful blow in that 
quarter would, in all probability, have given a 
decisive turn to our affairs in all the Southern 
States ; because it has been attended with con- 
siderable expense on our part, and much incon- 
venience to the State of Virginia, by the assem- 
bling of our militia ; because the world is dis- 
appointed at not seeing Arnold in gibbets ; and 
above all, because we stood in need of something 
to keep us afloat till the result of your mission 
is known ; for be assured, my dear Laurens, 
day does not follow night more certainly, than 
it brings with it some additional proof of the 
impracticability of carrying on the war, without 
the aids you were directed to solicit. As an 
honest and candid man, as a man whose all de- 
pends on the final and happy termination of 
the present contest, I assert this, while I give 
it. decisively as my opinion, that, without a for- 
eign loan, our present force, which is but the 
remnant of an arn&y, cannot be kept together 
this campaign, much less will it be increased, 
and in readiness for another. ****** 
If France delays a timely and powerful aid in 
the critical posture of our affairs, it will avail 
us nothing should she attempt it hereafter. "We 
are at this hour suspended in the balance ; not 
from choice, but from hard and absolute neces- 
sity ; and you may rely on it as a fact, that we 
cannot transport the provisions from the States 
in which they are assessed, to the army, because 
we cannot pay the teamsters, wlio will no 



longer work for certificates. * * In a word, 
we are at the end of our tether, and now or 
never our deliverance must come. * * * How 
easy would it be to retort the enemy's own 
game upon them ; if it could be made to com- 
port with the general plan of the war, to keep 
a superior fleet always in these seas, and France 
would put us in condition to be active, by ad- 
vancing us money. The riiin of the enemy's 
schemes would then be certain ; the bold game 
they are now playing would be the means of 
effecting it, for they would be reduced to the 
necessity of concentrating their force at capital 
points ; therebj' giving up all the advantages 
they have gained in the Southern States, or be 
vulnerable everywhere." 

"Washington's anxiety was now awakened for 
the safety of General Greene. Two thousand 
troops had sailed from New York under Gen- 
eral Phillips, probably to join with the force 
under Arnold, and proceed to reinforce Corn- 
wallis. Should they form a junction, Greene 
would be unable to withetand them. "With 
these considerations "Washington wrote to La- 
fayette, urging him, since he was already three 
hundred miles, which was half the distance, on 
the way, to push on with all possible speed to 
join the southern army, sending expresses 
ahead to inform Greene of his approach. 

The letter found Lafayette on the 8tli of 
April, at the Head of Elk, preparing to march 
back with his troops to the banks of the Hud- 
son. On his retui-n through Virginia, he had 
gone out of his way, and travelled all night for 
the purpose of seeing "Washington's mother at 
Fredericksburg, and paying a visit to Mount 
Vernon. He now stood ready to obey "Wash- 
ington's orders, and march to reinforce General 
Greene ; but his troops, who were cliiefly from 
the Eastern States, murmured at the prospect of 
a campaign in the southern climates, and deser- 
tions began to occur. Upon this he announced 
in general orders, that he was about to enter 
on an enterprise of great difficulty and danger, 
in which he trusted his soldiers would not aban- 
don him. Any, however, who were unwilling, 
should receive permits to return home. 

As he had anticipated, their pride was roused 
by this appeal. All engaged to continue for- 
ward. So great was the fear of appearing a 
laggard, or a craven, that a sergeant, too lame 
to march, hired a place in a cart to keep up 
with the army. In the zeal of the moment, 
Lafayette borrowed money on his own credit 
from the Baltimore merchants, to purchase 



590 



EXPEDITION OF GENERAL PHILLIPS— MOUNT VERNON MENACED. 



[1781. 



summer clothing for bis troops, in which he 
was aided, too, by the ladies of the city, with 
Avhom he was deservedly popular. 

Tlie detachment from New York, under Gen- 
eral Phillips, arrived at Portsmouth on the 26th 
of March. That officer immediately took com- 
mand, greatly to the satisfaction of the British 
officers, who had been acting under Arnold. 
The force now collected there amounted to 
three thousand five hundred men. The garri- 
son of New York had been greatly weakened 
in furnishing this detachment, but Oornwallis 
had urged the policy of transferring the seat 
of war to Virginia, even at the expense of 
abandoning New York ; declaring that until 
that State was subdued, the British hold upon 
the Carolinas must be difficult, if not precari- 
ous. 

The disparity in force was now so great, that 
the Baron Steuben had to withdraw his troops, 
and remove the military stores into the inte- 
rior. Many of the militia, too, their term of 
three months being expired, stacked their arms, 
and set off for their homes, and most of the 
residue had to be discharged. 

General Phillips had hitherto remained quiet 
in Portsmouth, completing the fortifications, 
but evidently making preparations for an expe- 
dition. On the 16th of April, he left one thou- 
sand men in garrison, and, embarking the rest 
in small vessels of light draught, proceeded up 
James Eiver, destroying armed vessels, public 
magazines, and a ship-yard belonging to the 
State. 

Landing at City Point, he advanced against 
Petersburg, a place of deposit of military stores 
and tobacco. He was met about a mile below 
the town by about one thousand militia, under 
General Muhlenburg, who, after disputing the 
ground inch by inch for nearly two hours, 
with considerable loss on both sides, retreated 
across the Appomattox, breaking down the 
bridge behind them. 

Phillips entered the town, set fire to the to- 
bacco warehouses, and destroyed all the ves- 
sels lying in the river. Eepairing and crossing 
the bridge over the Appomattox, he proceeded 
to Chesterfield Court-house, where he destroy- 
ed barracks and public stores ; while Arnold, 
with a detachment, laid waste the magazines 
of tobacco in the direction of Warwick. A fire 
was opened by the latter from a few field-pieces 
on the river bank, upon a squadron of small 
armed vessels, which had been intended to co- 
operate with the French fleet against Ports- 



mouth. The crews scuttled or set fire to them, 
and escaped to the north side of the river. 

This destructive course was pursued until 
they arrived at Manchester, a small place op- 
posite Richmond, where the tobacco ware- 
houses were immediately in a blaze. Rich- 
mond was a leading object of this desolating 
enterprise, for there a great part of the mili- 
tary stores of the State had been collected. 
Fortunately, Lafiiyette, with his detachment of 
two thousand men, had arrived there, by forced 
marches, the evening before, and being joined 
by about two thousand militia and sixty dra- 
goons (the latter, principally young Virginians 
of family), had posted himself strongly on the 
high banks on the north side of the river. 

There being no bridge across the river at 
that time. General Phillips did not think it 
prudent to attempt a passage in face of such a 
force so posted ; but Avas extremely irritated 
at being thus foiled by the celerity of his 
youthful opponent, who now assumed the chief 
command of the American forces in Virginia. 

Returning down the south bank of the river, 
to the place where his vessels awaited him. 
General Phillips re-embarked on the 2d of May, 
and dropped slowly down the river below the 
confluence of the Chickahominy. He was fol- 
lowed cautiously, and his movements watched 
by Lafayette, who posted himself behind the 
last-named river. 

Despatches from Cornwallis now informed 
Phillips that his lordship was advancing with 
all speed from the South to effect a junction 
with him. The general immediately made a 
rapid move to regain possession of Petersburg, 
where the junction was to take place. Lafay- 
ette attempted by foi'ced marches to get there 
before him, but was too late. Falling back, 
therefore, he recrossed James Eiver and sta- 
tioned himself some miles below Richmond, to 
be at hand for the protection of the iiublic 
stores collected there. 

During this main expedition of Phillips, some 
of his smaller vessels had carried on the plan 
of plunder and devastation in other of the riv- 
ers emptying into the Chesapeake Bay ; setting 
fire to the houses where they met with resist- 
ance. One had ascended the Potomac and 
menaced Mount Vernon. Lund Washington, 
who had charge of the estate, met the flag 
which the enemy sent on shore, and saved the 
property from ravage, by furnishing the vessel 
with provisions. Lafayette, who heard of the 
circumstance, and was sensitive for the honor 



^T. 49.] DEATH OF GENERAL PHILLIPS— INEFFICIENT STATE OF THE ARMY. 



591 



of "Wasliington, immediately wrote to him on 
the subject. " This conduct of the person who 
represents you on your estate," writes he, 
" must certainly produce a bad eifect, and con- 
trast with the courageous replies of some of 
your neighbors, whose houses in consequence 
have been burnt. You will do what you think 
proper, my dear general, but friendship makes 
it my duty to give you confidentially the 
facts." 

Washington, however, had previously re- 
ceived a letter from Lund himself, stating all 
the circumstances of the case, and had imme- 
diately written him a reply. He had no doubt 
that Lund had acted from his best judgment, 
and with a view to preserve the property and 
buildings from impending danger, but he was 
stung to the quick by the idea that his agent 
should go on board of the enemy's vessels, ear- 
ly them refreshments, and " commune with a 
parcel of plundering scoundrels," as he termed 
them. " It would have been a less painful cir- 
cumstance to me to have heard," writes he, 
" that in consequence of your noncompliance 
with their request, they had burnt my house 
and laid my plantation in ruins. You ought 
to have considered yourself as my representa- 
tive, and should have reflected on the bad ex- 
ample of communicating with the enemy and 
making a voluntary offer of refreshments to 
them, with a view to prevent a conflagration." 

In concluding his letter, he expresses his 
opinion that it was the intention of the enemy 
to prosecute the plundering plan they had be- 
gun ; and that it would end in the destruction 
of his property, but adds, that he is " prepared 
for the event." He advises his agent to de- 
posit the most valuable and least bulky articles 
in a place of safety. " Such and so many things 
as are necessary for common and present use 
must be retained, and must run their chance 
through the fiery trial of this summer." 

Such were the steadfast purposes of "Wash- 
ington's mind when war was brought home to 
his door, and threatening his earthly paradise 
of Mount Vernon. 

In the mean time the desolating career of 
General Phillips was brought to a close. He 
had been ill for some days previous to his arri- 
val at Petersburg, and by the time he readied 
there, was no longer capable of giving orders. 
He died four days afterwards ; honored and 
deeply regretted by his brothers in arms, as a 
meritorious and well-tried soldier. What made 
his death to be more sensibly felt by them at 



this moment, was, that it put the traitor, Arnold, 
once more in the general command. 

He held it, however, but for a short time, as 
Lord Cornwallis arrived at Peterst)urg on the 
20th of May, after nearly a month's weary 
marching from Wilmington. His lordship, on 
taking command, found his force augmented by 
a considerable detachment of royal artillery, 
two battalions of light infantry, the VGth and 
80th British regiments, a Hessian regiment, 
Lieutenant-Colonel Simcoe's corps of Queen's 
rangers, cavalry and infantry, one hundred ya- 
gers, Arnold's legion of royalists, and the gar- 
rison of Portsmouth. He was cheered also by 
intelligence that Lord Rawdon had obtained 
an advantage over General Greene before Cam- 
den, and that three British regiments had sailed 
from Cork for Charleston. His mind, we are 
told, was now set at ease with regard to South- 
ern affairs : his spirits, so long jaded by his 
harassing tramps about the Carolinas, were 
again lifted up by his augmented strength, and 
Tarleton assures iis, that his lordship indulged 
in " brilliant hopes of a glorious campaign in 
those parts of America where he command- 
ed." * How far these hopes were realized, we 
shall show in a future page. 



CHAPTER XXII. 

While afl:airs were approaching a crisis in 
Virginia, troubles were threatening from the 
North. There were rumors of invasion from 
Canada; of war councils and leagues among 
the savage tribes ; of a revival of the territo- 
rial feuds between New York and Vermont. 
Such, however, was the deplorable inefficiency 
of the military system, that though, according 
to the resolves of Congress, there were to have 
been thirty-seven thousand men under arms at 
the beginning of the year, Washington's whole 
force on the Hudson in the month of May did 
not amount to seven thousand men, of- whom 
little more than four thousand were effective. 

He still had his head-quarters at New Wind- 
sor, just above the Highlands, and within a few 
miles of West Point. Here he received intelli- 
gence that the enemy were in force on the op- 
posite side of the Hudson, marauding the coun- 
try on the north side of Croton River, and he 
ordered a hasty advance of Connecticut troops 
in that direction. 



* Tarleton. History of the Campaign, p.'SOl. 



592 



MARAUD OF DELANCEY— DEATH OF COLONEL GREENE. 



[ITSI. 



The Croton Eiver flows from east to west 
across Westchester County, and formed as it 
were the barrier of tlie American lines. The 
advanced posts of "Washington's army guarded 
it, and by its aid, protected the upper country 
from the incursions of those foraging parties 
and marauders wMcli had desolated the neutral 
ground below it. The incursions most to be 
guarded against were those of Colonel Delan- 
cey's loyalists, a horde of tories and refugees 
which had their stronghold in Morrisania, and 
were the terror of the neighboring country. 
There was a petty war continually going on 
between them and the American outposts, often 
of a ruthless kind. Delancey's horse and De- 
lancey's rangers scoured the country, and swept 
off forage and cattle from its fertile valleys for 
the British army at New York. Hence they 
were sometimes stigmatized by the opprobri- 
ous appellation of Cow Boys. 

The object of their present incursion was to 
surprise an outpost of the American army sta- 
tioned near a fordable part of the Croton Eiv- 
er, not far from Pine's Bridge. The post w^as 
commanded by Colonel Christopher Greene, of 
Rhode Island, the same who had successfully 
defended Fort Mercer on the Delaware, when 
assailed by Count Donop. He was a valuable 
officer, highly prized by Washington. The en- 
terprise against his post was something like 
that against the post of Young's House ; both 
had been checks to the foragers of this har- 
assed region. 

Colonel Delancey, who led this foray, was 
successor to the unfortunate Andre as Adju- 
tant-general of the British army. He con- 
ducted it secretly, and in the night, at the head 
of a hundred horse and two hundred foot. The 
Croton was forded at daybreak, just as the 
night-guard had been withdrawn, and the farm 
houses were surprised and assailed in which 
the Americans were quartered. That occu- 
pied by Colonel Greene and a brother officer. 
Major riagg, was first surrounded. The Major 
started from his bed, and discharged his pistols 
from a window, but was shot through the 
head, and afterwards despatched by cuts and 
thrusts of the sabre. 

The door of Greene's room was burst open. 
He defended himself vigorously and effectively 
with his sword, for he had great strength, but 
he was overpowered by numbers, cut down, 
^d barbarously mangled. A massacre was 
going on in other quarters. Besides these two 
officers, there were between thirty and forty 



killed and wounded, and several made prison- 
ers. 

It is said that Colonel Delancey was not 
present at the carnage, but remained on the 
south side of the Croton to secure the retreat 
of his party. It may be so ; but the present 
exploit was in the spirit of others by which he 
had contributed to harry this beautiful region, 
and made it a " bloody ground." No foes so 
ruthless had the American patriots to encoun- 
ter as their own tory countrymen in arms. 

Before the troops ordered out by Washing- 
ton arrived at the post, the marauders had 
made a precipitate retreat. They had attempt- 
ed to carry off Greene a prisoner, but he died 
within three-quarters of a mile of the house. 
His captors, as they passed by the farm houses, 
told the inhabitants that, should there be any 
inquiry after the colonel, they had left him 
dead at the edge of the woods.* 

Greene was but forty-four years of age at 
the time of his death, and was a model of 
manly strength and comeliness. A true soldier 
of the Eevolution, he had served at Lex- 
ington and Bunker's Hill ; followed Arnold 
through the Kennebec wilderness to Quebec ; 
fought under the walls of that city ; distin- 
guished himself by his defence of Fort Mercer 
on the Delaware, and by his kind treatment of 
his vanquished and wounded antagonist, Colonel 
Donop. How different the treatment experi- 
enced by him at the hands of his tory country- 
men! 

The commander-in-chief, we are told, heard 
with anguish and indignation the tragical fate 
of this his faithful friend and soldier. On the 
subsequent day, the corpse of Colonel Greene 
was brought to head-quarters, and his funeral 
solemnized with military honors and universal 
grief.t 

At this juncture Washington's attention was 
called in another direction. A frigate had ar- 
rived at Boston, bringing the Count de Barras, 
to take command of the French naval force. 
He was a veteran about sixty years of age, and 
had commanded D'Estaing's vanguard, when 
he forced the entrance of Newport harbor. 
The count brought the cheering intelligence, 
that an armament of twenty ships of the line, 
with land forces, was to sail, or had sailed, 
from France, under the Count de Grasse for the 
West Indies, and that twelve of these ships 



* Letter of Paymaster Hughes. See Bolton's "West- 
chester Co., vol. ii., p. 94. 

t Lee's Memoirs of the "War, vol. 1., p. 407. 



^T. 49.] INTERVIEW OF WASHINGTON AND DE ROCHAMBEAU— PLAN OF ATTACK. 593 



were to relieve the squadron at Newport, and 
might be expected on the coast of the United 
States in July or August. 

The Count de Kdchambeau, having received 
despatches from the court of France, now re- 
quested an interview with Washington. The 
latter appointed Weathersfield in Connecticut 
for the purpose ; and met the count there on 
the 22d of May, hoping to settle a definitive 
plan of the campaign. Both as yet were igno- 
rant of the arrival of Oornwallis in Yirginia. 
The policy of a joint expedition to relieve the 
Carolinas was discussed. As the French ships 
in Newport were stiU blockaded by a superior 
force, such an expedition would have to be 
made by land. A march to the Southern States 
was long and harassing, aijd always attended 
with a great waste of life. Such would cer- 
tainly be the case at present, wl^n it would 
have to be made in the heat of summer. The 
difficulties and expenses of land transportation, 
also, presented a formidable objection. 

On the other hand, an effective blow might 
be struck at New York, the garrison having 
been reduced one-half by detachments to the 
South. That important post and its dependen- 
cies might be wrested from the enemy, or, if 
not, they might be obliged to recall a part of 
their force from the South for their own de- 
fence. 

It was determined, therefore, that the French 
troops should march from Newport as soon 
as possible, and form a junction with the Ameri- 
can army on the Hudson, and that both should 
move down to the vicinity of New York to 
make a combined attack, in which the Count 
de Grasse should be invited to co-operate with 
his fleet and a body of land troops. 

A vessel was despatched by De Eochambeau, 
to inform the Count de Grasse of this arrange- 
ment ; and letters were addressed by Washing- 
ton to the executive authorities of New Jersey 
and the New England States, urging them to 
fiU up their battalions and furnish their quotas 
of provisions. Notwithstanding all his exer- 
tions, however, when he mustered his forces at 
Peekskill, he was mortified to find not more 
than five thousand effective men. Notwith- 
standing, too, all the resolutions passed in the 
legislatures of the various States for supplying 
the army, it would, at this critical moment, 
have, been destitute of provisions, especially 
bread, had it not been for the zeal, talents, and 
activity of Mr. Robert Morris, now a delegate 
to Congress from the State of Pennsylvania, 
38 



and recently appointed superintendent of 
finance. This patriotic and energetic man, 
when public means failed, pledged his own 
credit in transporting military stores and feeding 
the army. Throughout the Eevolution, Wash- 
ington was continually baffled in his hopes 
caused by the resolutions of legislative bod- 
ies, too often as little alimentary as the east 
wind. 

The Count de Eochambeau and the Duke de 
Lauzim being arrived with their troops in Con- 
necticut, on their way to join the American 
army, Washington prepared for spirited opera- 
tions ; quickened by the intelligence that a part 
of the garrison of New York had been detached 
to forage the Jerseys. Two objects were con- 
templated by him: one, the surprisal of the 
British works at the north end of New York 
Island ; the other, the capture or destruction 
of Delancey's corps of refugees in Morrisania. 
The attack upon the posts was to be conducted 
by General Lincoln, with a detachment from 
the main army, which he was to bring down 
by water — that on Delancey's corps by the 
Duke de Lauzun with his legion, aided by 
Sheldon's dragoons, and a body of Connecticut, 
troops. Both operations were to be carried 
into effect on the 3d of July. The duke was to 
march down from Eidgebury in Connecticut, 
for the purpose. Every thing was to be con- 
ducted with secrecy and by the way of sur- 
prisal. Should any thing occur to prevent 
Lincoln from attempting the works on New 
York Island, he was to land his men above 
Spyt den Duivel Creek, march to the high 
gi-ounds in front of King's Bridge, lie concealed 
there until the duke's attack on Delancey's 
corps should be announced by firing or other 
means ; then to dispose of his force in such 
manner as to make the enemy think it larger 
than it really was ; thereby deterring troops 
from coming over the bridge to turn Lauzun's 
right, while he prevented the escape over the 
bridge of Delancey's refugees when routed 
from Morrisania. 

Washington, at the same time, wrote a confi- 
dential letter to Governor Clinton, informing 
him of designs upon the enemy's posts, " Should 
we be happy enough to succeed," writes he, 
" and be able to hold our conquest, the advan- 
tages will be greater than can well be imagined. 
But I cannot flatter myself that the enemy wiU 
permit the latter, unless I am suddenly and 
considerably reinforced. I shall march down 
the remainder of this army, and I have hopes 



594 



ENCAMPMENTS OF THE AMERICAN AND FRENCH ARMIES. 



[1781. 



that the Frencli force will be near at hand at 
the time. But I shall, notwithstanding, direct 
the alarm-guns and beacons to be fired in case 
of success ; and I have to request that your 
Excellency will, upon such signals, communicate 
the meaning of them to the militia, and put 
yourself at the head of them, and march with 
the utmost expedition to King's Bridge, bring- 
ing with you three or four days' provision at 
least." 

It was a service which would have been ex- 
actly to the humor of George Clinton. 

In pursuance of the plan, Lincoln left the 
camp near Peekskill on the 1st, with eight 
hundred men, and artillery, and proceeded to 
Teller's Point, where they were embarked in 
boats with muffled oars, and rowed silently at 
night down the Tappan Sea, that region of 
mystery and secret enterprise. At daylight they 
kept concealed under the land. The Duke de 
Lauzun was supposed, at the same time, to be 
on the way from Connecticut. "Washington, 
at three o'clock on the morning of the 2d, left 
his tents standing at Peekskill, and commenced 
his march with his main force, without baggage; 
making a brief halt at Croton Bridge, about 
nine miles from Peekskill ; another at the Sleepy 
Hollow Church, near Tarrytown, where he 
halted until dusk, and completed the rest of 
his march in the night, to Valentine's Hill, four 
miles above King's Bridge, where he arrived 
about sunrise. There he posted himself to 
cover the detached troops, and improve any 
advantages that might be gained by them. 

Lincoln, on the morning of the 2d, had left 
his flotilla concealed under the eastern shore, 
and crossed to Fort Lee to reconnoitre Fort 
Washington from the clifts on the opposite side 
of the Hudson. To his surprise and chagrin, 
he discovered a British force encamped on the 
north end of New York Island, and a ship-of- 
war anchored in the river. In fact, the troops 
which had been detached into the Jerseys, had 
returned, and the enemy were on the alert ; 
the surprisal of the forts, therefore, was out of 
the question. 

Lincoln's thoughts now were to aid the Duke 
de Lauzun's part of the scheme, as he had been 
instructed. Before daylight of the 3d, he 
landed his troops above Spyt den Duivel Creek, 
and took possession of the high ground on the 
north of Harlem Eiver, where Fort Independ- 
ence once stood. Here he was discovered by 
a foraging party of the enemy, fifteen hundred 
strong, who had sallied out at daybreak to 



scour the country. An irregular skirmish en- 
sued. The firing was heard by the Duke de 
Lauzun, who was just arrived with his troops 
at Eastchester, fatigued by a long and forced 
march in sultry weather. Finding the country 
alarmed, and all hope of surprising Delancey's 
corps at an end, he hastened to the support of 
Lincoln, Washington also advanced with his 
troops from Valentine's Hill. The British, 
perceiving their danger, retreated to their 
boats on the east side of Harlem River, and 
crossed over to New York Island. A trifling 
loss in killed and wounded had been sustained* on 
each side, and Lincoln had made a few prisoners. 
Being disappointed in both objects, Washing- 
ton did not care to fatigue his troops any more, 
but suffered tliem to remain on their arms, and 
spent a good part of the day reconnoitring the 
enemy's wo^ks. In the afternoon he retired 
to Valentine's Hill, and the next day marched 
to Dobbs' Ferry, where he was joined by the 
Count de Eochambeau on the 6th of July. The 
two armies now encamped ; the Americans in 
two lines, resting on the Hudson at Dobbs' 
Ferry, where it was covered by batteries, and 
extending eastward toward the Neperan or 
SawmiU River ; the French in a single line on 
the hiUs further east, reaching to the Bronx 
River. The beautiful valley of the Neperan 
intervened between the encampments. It was 
a lovely country for a summer encampment ; 
breezy hills commanding wide prospects ; um- 
brageous valleys, watered by bright j)astoral 
streams, the Bronx, the Spraine, and the Nep- 
eran, and abounding with never-failing springs. 
The French encampment made a gallant display 
along the Greenburgh hills. Some of the of- 
ficers, young men of rank, to whom this was 
all a service of romance, took a pride in deco- 
rating their tents, and forming little gardens in 
their vicinity. " We have a charming position 
among rocks and under magnificent tulip 
trees ; " writes one of them, the Count Dumas. 
General Washington was an object of their 
enthusiasm. He visited the tents they had so 
gayly embellished; for, with all his gravity, 
he Avas fond of the company of young men. 
They were apprised of his coming, and set out 
on their camp-tables plans of the battle of 
Trenton ; of West Point, and other scenes con- 
nected with the war. The greatest harmony 
prevailed between the armies. The two com- 
manders had their respective headMrnarters in 
farm houses, and occasionally, on t^^Pe occa- 
sions, long tables were spread in the adjacent 



Mt. 49.] 



GRAND RECONNOITRING EXPEDITIONS. 



595 



barns, which were converted into banqueting 
halls. The young French officers gained the 
good graces of the country belles, though little 
acquainted with their language. Their en- 
campment was particularly gay, and it was the 
boast of an old lady of the neighborhood many 
years after the war, that she had danced at 
head-quarters when a girl with the celebrated 
Marshal Berthier, at that time one of the aides- 
de-camp of the Coimt de Rochambeau.* 

The two armies lay thus encamped for three 
or four weeks. In the mean time letters urged 
Washington's presence in Virginia. Eichard 
Henry Lee advised that he should come with 
two or three thousand good troops, and be 
clothed with dictatorial powers. " There is 
nothing, I think, more certain," writes Lee, 
" than that your personal call would bring into 
immediate exertion the force and the resouixes 
of this State, and the neighboring ones, which, 
directed as they would be, will effectually dis- 
appoint and baffie the deep-laid schemes of the 
enemy." 

" I am fully persuaded, and upon good mili- 
tary principles," writes "Washington in reply, 
" that the measures I have adopted will give 
more effectual and speedy relief to the State of 
Virginia, than my marching thither, with dic- 
tatorial powers, at the head of every man I 
could draw from hence, without leaving the 
important posts on the North River quite de- 
fenceless, and^hese States open to devastation 
and ruin. My present plan of operation, which 
I have been preparing with all the zeal and 
activity in my power, will, I am morally cer- 
tain, with proper- support, produce one of two 
things, either the fall of New York, or a with- 
drawal of the troops from Virginia, excepting 
a garrison at Portsmouth, at which place I have 
no doubt of the enemy's intention of establish- 
ing a permanent post." 

"Within two or three days after this letter 
was written, "Washington crossed the river at 
Dobbs' Ferry, accompanied by the Count de 
Rochambeau, General de Beville, and General 
Duportail, to reconnoitre the British posts on 
the north end of New York Island. They were 
escorted by one hundred and fifty of the New 
Jersey troops, and spent the day on the Jersey 
heights ascertaining the exact position of the 
enemy on the opposite shore. Their next 
movement was to reconnoitre the enemy's posts 
at King's Bridge and on the east side of New 

* Bolton's History of Westchester Co., vol. 1., p. 243. 



York Island, and to cut off, if possible, such of 
Delancey's corps as should be found without 
the British fines. Five thousand troops, 
French and American, led by the Count de 
Chastellux and General Lincoln, were to protect 
this reconnoissance, and menace the enemy's 
posts. Every thing was prepared in- secrecy. 
On the 21st of July, at eight o'clock in the 
evening, the troops began their march in sep- 
arate columns ; part down the Hudson River 
road, part down the SaAvmill River valley; 
part by the Eastchester road. Scammel's light 
infantry advanced through tlie fields to waylay 
the roads, stop all communication, and prevent 
intelligence getting to the enemy. Sheldon's 
cavalry with the Connecticut troops were to 
scour Throg's Neck. Sheldon's infantry and 
Lauzun's lancers were to do the same with the 
refugee region of Morrisania. 

The whole detachment arrived at King's 
Bridge about daylight, and formed on the 
height back of Fort Independence. The ene- 
my's forts on New York Island did not appear 
to have the least intelligence of what was going 
on, nor to be aware that hostile troops were 
upon the heights opposite, until the latter dis- 
played themselves in full array, their arms 
flashing in the morning sunshine, and their ban- 
ners, American and French, unfolded to the 
breeze. 

"While the enemy was thus held in check, 
"Washington and De Rochambeau, accompanied 
by engineers and by their staffs, set out under 
the escort of a troop of dragoons, to reconnoitre 
the enemy's position and works from every 
point of view. It was a wide reconnoissance, 
extending across the country outside of the 
British lines from the Hudson to the Sound. 
The whole was done slowly and scientifically, 
exact notes and diagrams being made of every 
thing that might be of importance in future 
operations. As the " cortege " moved slowly 
along, or paused to make observation, it was 
cannonaded from the distant works, or from 
the armed vessels stationed on the neighboring 
waters, but without injuring it or quickening 
its movements. 

According to De Rochambeau's account, the 
two reconnoitring generals were at one time 
in an awkward and hazardous predicament. 
They had passed, he said, to an island separated 
by an arm of the sea from the enemy's post on 
Long Island, and the engineers were employed 
in making scientific observations, regardless of 
the firinar of small vessels stationed in the 



596 



EFFECT OF THE RECONNOISSANCE-MOVEMENTS OF CORNWALLIS. 



[1781. 



Sound. During this time, the two generals, 
exhausted by fatigue and summer heat, slept 
under shelter of a hedge. De Rochambeau was 
the first to awake, and was startled at observ- 
ing the state of the tide, which during their 
slumber had been rapidly rising. Awakening 
Washington and calling his attention to it, they 
hastened to the causeway by which they had 
crossed from the mainland. It was covered 
with water. Two small boats were brought, 
in which they embarked with the saddles and 
bridles of their horses. Two American dra- 
goons then returned in the boats to the shore 
of the island, Avhere the horses remained under 
care of their comrades. Two of the horses, 
which were good swimmers, were held by the 
bridle and guided across ; the rest were driven 
into the water by the smack of the whip, and 
followed their leaders ; the boats then brought 
over the rest of the party. De Rochambeau 
admired this manoeuvre as a specimen of 
American tactics in the management of wUd 
horses ; but he thought it lucky that the enemy 
knew nothing of their embarrassment, which 
lasted nearly an hour, otherwise they might 
literally have been caught napping. 

WhUe the enemy's works had been thoroughly 
reconnoitred, hght troops and lancers had per- 
formed their duty in scouring the neighbor- 
hood. The refugee posts which had desolated 
the country were brokea up. Most of the ref- 
ugees, Washmgton says, had fled and hid them- 
selves in secret places; some got over by 
stealth to the adjacent islands, and to the ene- 
my's shipping, and a few were caught. Having 
effected the purposes of their expedition, the 
two generals set off with their troops, on the 
23d, for their encampment, where they arrived 
about midnight. 

The immediate effect of this threatening 
movement of Washington, appears in a letter 
of Sir Henry Clinton to Cornwallis, dated July 
26th, requesting him to order three regiments 
to New York from Carolina. " I shall probably 
want them as well as the troops you may be 
able to spare me from the Chesapeake for such 
offensive or defensive operations as may offer 
in this quarter," * 

And Washington writes to Lafayette a few 
days subsequently : " I think we have already 
effected one part of the plan of the campaign 
settled at Weathersfield, that is, giving a sub- 
stantial relief to the Southern States, by obhg- 



ing the enemy to recall a considerable part of 
their force from thence. Our views must now 
be turned towards endeavoring to expel them 
totally from those States, if we find ourselves 
incompetent to the siege of New York." 

We will now give the reader a view of affairs 
in Viro-inia, and show how they were ulti- 
mately\ffected by these military manoeuvres 
and demonstrations in the neighborhood of 
King's Bridge. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

The first object of Cornwallis on the junction 
of his forces at Petersburg in May, was to strike 
a blow at Lafayette. The marquis was en- 
camped on the north side of James River, be- 
tween Wilton and Richmond, with about one 
thousand regulars, two thousand militia, and 
fifty dragoons. He was waiting for reinforce- 
ments of mihtia, and for the arrival of General 
Wayne, with the Pennsylvania line. The latter 
had been ordered to the South by Washington, 
nearly three months previously ; but unavoid- 
ably delayed. Joined by these, Lafayette would 
venture to receive a blow, "that being beaten 
he might at least be beaten with decency, and 
CornwaUis pay something for his victory." 

His lordship hoped to draw him into an 
action before thus reinforced, and with that 
view, marched, on the 24th of May, from Peters- 
bur- to James River, which he crossed at 
Westover, about thirty mUes below Richmond. 
Here he was joined on the 26th by a reinforce- 
ment just arrived from New York, part of 
which he sent under General Leslie to strength- 
en the garrison at Portsmouth. He was re- 
lieved also from military companionship with 
the infamous Arnold, who obtained leave of 
absence to return to New York, where busi- 
ness of importance was said to demand his at- 
tention. While he was in command of the 
British army m Virginia, Lafayette had refused 
to hold any correspondence, or reciprocate any 
of the civilities of war with him; for which 
he was highly applauded by Washington. 

Being now strongly reinforced, Cornwallis 
moved to dislodge Lafayette from Richmond. 
The latter, conscious of the inferiority of his 
forces, decamped as soon as he heard his 
lordship had crossed James River. 1 am 



Correspondence relative to operations in Virginia, 
153. 



♦ Letter to Hamilton, May 23d. 



J^- 



Mt. 49.] MARAUDS OF TARLETON— ATTEMPT TO SURPRISE GOVERNOR JEFFERSON. 597 



resolved," said he, " on a war of skirmishes, 
■without engaging too far, and above all, to be 
on my guard against that numerous and excel- 
lent cavalry, which the militia dread, as if they 
were so many savage beasts." He now directed 
his march toward the upper country, inclining 
to the north, to favor a junction with "Wayne. 
Cornwallis followed him as far as the upper 
part of Hanover County, destroying public 
stores wherever found. He appears to have 
undervalued Lafayette on account of his youth. 
" The boy cannot escape me," said he in a let- 
ter which was intercepted. The youth of the 
marquis, however, aided the celerity of his 
movements ; and now that he had the respon- 
sibility of an independent command, he re- 
strained his youthful fire, and love of enter- 
prise. Independence had rendered him cautious. 
" I am afraid of myself," said he, " as much as 
of the enemy." * 

Cornwallis soon found it impossible either to 
overtake Lafayette, or prevent his junction 
with Wayne ; he turned his attention, there- 
fore, to other objects. 

Greene, in his passage through Virginia, had 
urged the importance of removing horses out 
of the way of the enemy ; his caution had been 
neglected ; the consequences were now felt. 
The great number of fine horses in the stables 
of Virginia gentlemen, who are noted for their 
love of the noble animal, had enabled Corn- 
wallis to mount many of his troops in first-rate 
style. These he employed in scouring the 
country, and destroying public stores. Tarle- 
ton and his legion, it is said, were moimted on 
race-horses. " Under this cloud of light troops," 
said Lafayette, "it is difficult to counteract any 
rapid movements they may choose to take ! " 

The State Legislature had been removed for 
safety to Charlottesville, where it was assem- 
bled for the purpose of levying taxes, and draft- 
ing militia. Tarleton, with one hundred and 
eighty cavalry and seventy mounted infantry, 
was ordered by Cornwallis to make a dash 
there, break, up the legislature, and carry off 
members. On his way thither, on the 4th of 
June, he captured and destroyed a convoy of 
arms and clothing destined for Greene's army 
in North Carolina. At another place he sur- 
prised several persons of note at the house of a 
Dr. Walker, but lingered so long breakfasting, 
that a person mounted on a fleet horse had 
time to reach Charlottesville before him, and 



* Letter to Col. Alexander Hamilton, May 23, 1780. 



spread the alarm. Tarleton crossed the Ri- 
vanna, which washes the hill on which Char- 
lottesville is situated ; dispersed a small force 
collected on the bank, and galloped into the 
town thinking to capture the whole assembly. 
Seven alone fell into his hands ; the rest had 
made their escape. No better success attended 
a party of horse under Captain McLeod, de- 
tached to surprise the Governor (Thomas Jeffer- 
son), at his residence in Monticello, about three 
miles from Charlottesville, where several mem- 
bers of the legislature were his guests. The 
dragoons were espied winding up the mountain ; 
the guests dispersed ; the family was hurried 
off to the residence of Colonel Carter, six miles 
distant, while the governor himself made a rapid 
retreat on horseback to Carter's Mountain. 

Having set fire to all the public stores at 
Charlottesville, Tarleton pushed for the point 
of Fork at the confluence of the Rivanna and 
Fluvanna ; to aid, if necessary, a detachment 
of yagers, infantry, and hussars, sent under Colo- 
nel Siracoe to destroy a great quantity of mili- 
tary stores collected at that post. The Baron 
Steuben, who was stationed there with five 
hundred Virginia regulars and a few militia, 
and had heard of the march of Tarleton, had 
succeeded in transporting the greater part of 
the stores, as well as his troops, across the river, 
and as the water was deep and the boats were 
all on his side, he might have felt himself secure. 
The unexpected appearance of Simcoe's infan- 
try, however, designedly spread out on the 
opposite heights, deceived him into the idea 
that it was the van of the British army. In 
his alarm he made a night retreat of thirty 
miles, leaving the greater part of the stores 
scattered along the river bank; which were 
destroyed the next morning by a small detach- 
ment of the enemy sent across in canoes. 

On the 10th of June, Lafayette was at length 
gladdened by the arrival of Wayne with about 
nine hundred of 1;he Pennsylvania line. Thus 
reinforced he changed his whole plan, and ven- 
tured on the aggressive. Cornwallis had gotten 
between him and a large deposit of military 
stores at Albemarle Old Court House. 

The marquis, by a rapid march at night, 
through a road long disused, threw himself* 
between the British army and the stores, and, 
being joined by a numerous body of mountain 
militia, took a strong position to dispute the 
advance of the enemy. 

Cornwallis did not think it advisable to pur- 
sue this enterprise, especially as he heard 



508 SKIRMISH WITH SIMCOE— CORNWALLIS PURSUED TO JAMESTOWN ISLxiND. [llSl. 



Lafayette would soon be joined by forces under 
Baron Steuben. Yielding easy credence, there- 
fore, to a report that the stores had been 
removed from Albemarle Court House, he 
turned -his face toward the lower part of Vir- 
ginia, and made a retrograde march, first to 
Richmond, and afterwards to "Williamsburg. 

Lafayette, being joined by Steuben and his 
forces, had about four thousand men under him, 
one-half of whom were regulars. He now 
followed the British army at the distance of 
eighteen or twenty miles, throwing forward his 
light troops to harass their rear, which was 
covered by Tarleton and Simcoe with their 
cavalry and infantry. 

Cornwallis arrived at "Williamsburg on the 
25th, and sent out Simcoe with his rangers and 
a company of yagers to destroy some boats and 
stores on the Ohikahominy River, and to sweep 
off the cattle of the neighborhood. Lafayette 
heard of the ravage, and detached Lieutenant- 
Colonel Butler, of the Pennsylvania line, Avith 
a corps of light troops and a body of horse 
under Major McPherson, to intercept the ma- 
rauders. As the infantry could not push on 
fast enough for the emergency, McPherson took 
up fifty of them behind fifty of his dragoons, 
and dashed on. He overtook a company of 
Simcoe's rangers under Captain Shank, about 
six miles from "Williamsburg, foraging at a farm ; 
a sharp encounter took place ; McPherson at 
the outset was unhorsed and severely hurt. 
The action continued. Simcoe with his in- 
fantry, who had been in the advance convoying 
a drove of cattle, now engaged in the fight. 
Butler's riflemen began to arrive, and supported 
the dragoons. It was a desperate melee ; much 
execution was done on both sides. Neither 
knew the strength of the force they were con- 
tending with ; but supposed it the advance 
guard of the opposite army. An alarm gun 
was fired by the British on a neighboring hill. 
It was answei'ed by alarm guns at "Williamsburg. 
The Americans supposed the whole British 
force coming out to assail them, and began to 
retire. Simcoe, imagining Lafayette to be at 
hand, likewise drew ofi", and pursued his march 
to "Williamsburg. Both parties foiight well ; 
both had been severely handled ; both claimed 
a victory, though neither gained one. The loss 
in killed and wounded on both sides was severe 
for the number engaged ; but the statements 
vary, and were never reconciled. It is certain 
the result gave great satisfaction to the Ameri- 
cans, and inspired them with redoubled ardor. 



An express was received by CornwaUis at 
"Williamsburg which obliged him to change his 
plans. The movements of Washington in the 
neighborhood of New York, menacing an at- 
tack, had produced the desired effect. Sir Hen- 
ry Clinton, alarmed for the safety of the place, 
had written to Cornwallis requiring a part of 
his troops for its i)rotection. His lordship 
prepared to comply with this requisition, but 
as it would leave him too weak to continue at 
"Williamsburg, he set out on the 4th of July 
for Portsmouth. 

Lafayette followed him on the ensuing day, 
and took post within nine miles of his camp ; 
intending, when the main body of the enemy 
should have crossed the ford to the island of 
Jamestown, to fall upon the rear guard. Corn- 
wallis suspected his design, and prepared to 
take advantage of it. The wheel carriages, bat 
horses, and baggage, were passed over to the 
island under the escort of the Queen's rangers ; 
making a great display, as if the main body had 
crossed ; his lordshij), however, with the great- 
er part of his forces, remained on the main 
land, his right covered by ponds, the centre 
and left by morasses, over which a few narrow 
causeways of logs connected his position with 
the country, and James Island lay in the rear. 
His camp was concealed by a skirt of woods, 
and covered by an outpost. 

In the morning of the 6th, as the Americans 
were advancing, a negro and a dragoon, em- 
ployed by Tarleton, threw themselves in their 
way, pretending to be deserters, and informed 
them that the body of the king's troops had 
passed James River in the night, leaving nothing 
behind but the rear guard, composed of the 
British legion and a detachment of infantry. 
Persuaded of the fact, Lafayette with his 
troops crossed the morass on the left of the 
enemy by a narrow causeway of logs, and halt- 
ed beyond about sunset. Wayne was detached 
with a body of riflemen, dragoons, and Conti- 
nental infantry, to make the attack, while the 
marquis with nine hundred Continentals and 
some militia stood ready to support him. 

"Wayne easily routed a patrol of cavalry and 
drove in the pickets who had been ordered to 
give way readily. The outpost which covered 
the camp defended itself more obstinately ; 
though exceedingly galled by the riflemen. 
"Wayne pushed forward with the Pennsylvania 
line, eight hundred strong, and three field-pieces, 
to attack it ; at the first discharge of a cannon 
more than two thousand of the enemy emerged 



^T. 49.] 



VALOR OF WAYNE— AFFAIR AT HOBKIRK'S HILL. 



599 



from their concealment, and he found too late 
that the whole British line was in battle ar- 
ray before him. To retreat was more danger- 
ous than to go on. So thinking, with that im- 
petuous valor which had gained him the name 
of Mad Anthony, he ordered a charge to be 
sounded, and threw himself liorse and foot Avith 
shouts upon the enemy. It was a sanguinary 
conflict and a desperate one, for the enemy were 
outflanking him right and left. Fortunately, 
the heaviness of the fire had awakened the 
suspicions of Lafayette : — it was too strong for 
the outpost of a rear-guard. Spurring to a 
point of land which commanded a view of the 
British camp, he discovered the actual force of 
the enemy, and the peril of Wayne. Galloping 
back, he sent word to Wayne to fall back to 
General Muhlenberg's brigade, wliich had just 
arrived, and was forming within half a mile of 
the scene of conflict. Wayne did so in good or- 
der, leaving behind him his three cannon ; the 
horses which drew them having been killed. 

The whole army then retired across the mo- 
rass. The enemy's cavalry would have pursued 
them, but Corjiwallis forbade it. The night 
was falling. The hardihood of Wayne's attack, 
and his sudden retreat,' it is said, deceived and 
perplexed his lordship. He thought the Amer- 
icans more strong than they realTy were, and 
the retreat a mere feint to draw him into an am- 
buscade. That retreat, if followed close, might 
have been converted into a disastrous flight. 

The loss of the Americans in this brief but 
severe conflict, is stated by Lafayette to have 
been one hundred and eighteen killed, wounded, 
and prisoners, including ten officers. The Brit- 
ish loss was said to be five officers wounded, 
and seventy-five privates killed and wounded. 
" Our field ofllcers," said Wayne, " were gen- 
erally dismounted by having their horses either 
killed or wounded under them. I will not con- 
dole with the marquis for the loss of two of 
his, as he was frequently requested to keep at a 
greater distance. His natural bravery rendered 
him deaf to admonition." 

Lafayette retreated to Green Springs, where 
he rallied and reposed his troops. Cornwallis 
crossed over to Jamestown Island after dark, 
and three days afterwards, passing James Eiver 
with his main force, proceeded to Portsmouth. 
His object was, in conformity to his instruc- 
tions from the ministry, to establish there or 
elsewhere on the Chesapeake, a permanent 
post, to serve as a central point for naval and 
military operations. 



In his letter to Washington giving an account 
of these events, Lafayette says : " I am anxious 
to know your opinion of the Virginia campaign. 
The subjugation of this State was incontestably 
the principal object of the ministry. I think 
your diversion has been of more use than any 
of my manoeuvres ; but the latter have been 
above all directed by political views. As long 
as his lordship desired an action, not a musket 
has been fired ; the moment he would avoid a 
combat, we began a war of skirmishes ; but I 
had always care not to compromise the army. 
The naval superiority of the enemy, his superi- 
ority in cavalry, in regular troops, and his thou- 
sand other advantages, make me consider.myself 
lucky to have come oft" safe and sound. I had 
my eye fixed on negotiations in Europe, and I 
made it my aim to give his lordship the disgrace 
of a retreat." * 

We will now turn to resume the course of 
General Greene's campaignings in the Caro- 
linas. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

It will be recollected that Greene, on the 5th 
of April, set out from Deep River on a retro- 
grade march to carry the war again into South 
Carolina, beginning by an attack on Lord Raw- 
don's post at Camden. Sumter and Marion had 
been keeping alive the revolutionary fire in 
that State ; the former on the north-east fron- 
tier, the latter in his favorite fighting ground 
between the Pedee and Santee Rivers. On the 
re-appearance of Greene, they stood ready to 
aid with heart and hand. 

On his way to Camden, Greene detached Lee 
to join Marion with his legion, and make an 
attack upon Fort Watson by way of diversion. 
For himself, he appeared before Camden, but 
finding it too strong and too well garrisoned, 
fell back about two miles, and took post at 
Ilobkirk's Hill, hoping to draw his lordship out. 
He succeeded but too well. His lordship at- 
tacked him on the 25th of April, coming upon 
him partly by surprise. There was a hard- 
fought battle, but through some false move 
among part of his troops, Greene was obhged 
to retreat. His lordship did not pursue, but 
shut himself up in Camden, waiting to be re- 
joined by part of liis garrison which was ab- 
sent. 



Memoires do Lafayette, t. i., p. 440. 



600 



RAWDON ABANDONS CAMDEN— RAPID SUCCESSES OF THE AMERICANS. [1781. 



Greene posted himself near Camden ferry on 
the Wateree, to intercept these reinforcements. 
Lee and Marion, who had succeeded in captur- 
ing Fort Watson, also took a position on the 
high hills of Santee for the same purpose. 
Their efforts were unavaiHng. Lord Eawdon 
was rejoined hy the other part of his troops. 
His superior force now threatened to give him 
the mastery. Greene felt the liazardous nature 
of his situation. His troops were fatigued by 
their long marchings ; he w^as disappointed of 
promised aid and reinforcements from Virginia; 
still he was undismayed, and prepared for 
another of his long and stubborn retreats. 
" We must always operate," said he, " on the 
maxim that your enemy will do what he ought 
to do. Lord Eawdon will push us back to the 
mountains, but we will dispute every inch of 
ground in the best manner we can." Such 
were his words to General Davie on the evening 
of the 9th of May, as he sat in his tent with a 
map before him studying the roads and fast- 
nesses of the country. An express was to set 
off for Philadelphia the next morning, and he 
requested General Davie' who was of that city, 
• to write to the members of Congress with 
whom he was acquainted, painting in the 
strongest colors their situation and gloomy 
prospects. 

The very next morning there was a joyful 
reverse. Greene sent for General Davie. "Eaw- 
don," cried he, exultingly, " is preparing to 
evacuate Camden ; that place was the key of 
the enemy's line of posts, they will now all fall 
or be evacuated : all will now go well. Burn 
your letters. I shall march immediately to the 
Congaree." 

His lordship had heard of the march of Corn- 
wallis into Virginia, and that all hope of aid 
from him was at an end. His garrison was out 
of provisions. All supplies were cut off by the 
Americans ; he had no choice but to evacuate. 
He left Camden in flames. Immense quantities 
of stores and baggage were consumed, together 
with the court-house, the gaol, and many pri- 
vate houses. 

Eapid successes now attended the American 
arms. Fort Motte, the middle post between 
Camden and Ninety-Six, was taken by Marion 
and Lee. Lee next captured Granby, and 
marched to aid Pickens in the siege of Augus- 
ta ; while Greene, having acquired a supply of 
arms, ammunition, and provisions, from the 
captured forts, sat down before the fortress of 
Ninety-Six, on the 22d of May. It was a great 



mart and stronghold of the royalists, and was 
principally garrisoned by royalists from New 
Jersey and New York, commanded by Colonel 
Cruger, a native of New York. The siege lasted 
for nearly a month. The place was valiantly 
defended. Lee arrived with his legion, having 
failed before Augusta, and invested a stockaded 
fort which formed part of the works. 

Word was brought that Lord Eawdon was 
pressing forward with reinforcements, and but 
a few miles distant on the Saluda. Greene en- 
deavored to get up Sumter, Marion, and Pickens, 
to his assistance, but they were too far on the 
right of Lord Eawdon to form a junction. The 
troops were eager to storm the works before 
his lordship should arrive. A partial assault 
was made on the 18th of June. It was a 
bloody contest. The stockaded fort was taken, 
but the troops were repulsed from the main 
works. 

Greene retreated across the Saluda, and halted 
at Bush Eiver, at twenty rniles distance, to ob- 
serve the motion of the enemy. In a letter thence 
to Washington, he writes : " My fears are princi- 
pally from the enemy's superior cavalry. To 
the northward, cavalry is nothing, from the 
numerous fences ; but to the southward, a dis- 
order, by a superior cavalry, may be improved 
into a defeat, and a defeat into a route. Vir- 
ginia and North Carolina could not be brought 
to consider cavalry of such great importance as 
they are to the security of the army and the 
safety of a country." 

Lord Eawdon entered Ninety-Six on the 21st, 
but sallied forth again on tlie 24th, taking with 
him all the troops capable of fatigue, two thou- 
sand in number, without wheel carriage of any 
kind, or even knapsacks, hoping by a rapid 
move to overtake Greene. Want of provisions 
soon obliged him to give up the i:)ursuit, and 
return to Ninety-Six. Leaving about one-half 
of his force there, under Colonel Cruger, he 
sallied a second time from Ninety-Six, at the 
head of eleven hundred infantry, with cavalry, 
artillery, and field-pieces, marching by the 
south side of the Saluda for the Congaree. 

He was now pursued in his turn by Greene 
and Lee. In this march more than fifty of his 
lordship's soldiers fell dead from heat, fatigue, 
and privation. At Orangeburg, where he ar- 
rived on the 8th of July, his lordship was joined 
by a large detachment under Colonel Stuart. 

Greene had followed him closely, and having 
collected all his detachments, and being joined 
by Sumter, appeared within four miles of 



^T. 49.] SUMTER TO ATTACK BRITISH POSTS— EXPLOITS OF LEE AND HAMPTOX. 601 



Orangeburg on the 10th of July and offered 
battle. The offer was not accepted, and the 
position of Lord Rawdon was too strong to be 
attacked. Greene remained there two or three 
days ; when learning that Colonel Cruger was 
advancing with the residue of the forces from 
Ninety-Six, which would again give his lordship 
a superiority of force, he moved oft" with his 
infantry on the night of the 13th of July, 
crossed the Saluda, and posted himself on the 
east side of the Wateree, at the high hills of 
Santee. In this salubi'ious and delightful re- 
gion, where the air was pure and breezy, and 
the water delicate, he allowed his weary sol- 
diers to repose and refresh themselves, awaiting 
the arrival of some Continental troops and mi- 
litia from North Carolina, when he intended to 
resume his enterprise of driving the enemy 
from the interior of the country. 

At the time when he moved from the neigh- 
borhood of Orangeburg (July 13tli), he detached 
Sumter with about a thousand light troops to 
scour the lower country, and attack the British 
posts in the vicinity of Charleston, now left 
uncovered by the concentration of their forces 
at Orangeburg. Under Sumter acted Marion, 
Lee, the Hamptons, and other enterprising par- 
tisans. They were to act separately in break- 
ing up the minor posts at and about Dorchester, 
but to unite at Monk's Corner, where Lieuten- 
ant-Colonel Coates was stationed with the ninth 
regiment. This post carried, they were to re- 
unite with Greene's army on the high hills of 
Santee. 

Scarce was Sumter on his march, when he 
received a letter from Greene, dated July 14th, 
stating that Cruger had formed a junction with 
Lord Rawdon the preceding night ; no time, 
thei'efore, was to be lost, " Push your opera- 
tions night and day ; station a party to watch 
the enemy's motions at Orangeburg. Keep 
Colonel Lee and General Marion advised of all 
matters from above, and tell Colonel Lee to 
thunder even at the gates of Charleston." 

Conformably to these orders, Colonel Henry 
Hampton with a party was posted to keep an 
eye on Orangeburg. Lee witli his legion, ac- 
companied by Lieutenant-Colonel Wade Hamp- 
ton, and a detachment of cavalry, was sent to 
carry Dorchester, and then press forward to 
the gates of Charleston ; while Sumter with 
the main body, took up his line of march along 
the road on the south side of the Congaree, tow- 
ards Monk's Corner. 
As Lee approached Dorchester, Colonel Wade 



Hampton, with his cavalry, passed to the east 
of that iilace, to a bridge on Goose Creek, to 
cut oft' all communication between the garrison 
and Monk's Corner. His sudden appearance 
gave the alarm, the garrison abandoned its post, 
and when Lee arrived there he found it de- 
serted. He proceeded to secure a number of 
horses and waggons, and some fixed ammuni- 
tion, which the garrison had left behind, and 
to send them off to Hampton. Hampton, kept 
in suspense by this delay, lost patience. He 
feared that the alarm would spread through 
the country, and the dash into the vicinity of 
Charleston be prevented — or, perhaps, that Lee 
might intend to make it by himself. Abandon- 
ing the bridge at Goose Creek, therefore, he 
set off with his cavalry, clattered down to the 
neighborhood of the lines, and threw the city 
into confusion. The bells rang, alarm guns 
were fired, the citizens turned out under arms. 
Hampton captured a patrol of dragoons and a 
guard, at the Quarter House ; completed his 
bravado by parading his cavalry in sight of the 
sentinels on the advanced works, and then re- 
tired, carrying off fifty prisoners, several of 
them ofticers. 

Lee arrived in the neighborhood on the fol- 
lowing day, but too late to win any laurels. 
Hampton had been beforehand with him, made 
the dash, and "thundered at the gate." Both 
now hastened to rejoin Sumter on the evening 
of the 16th, who was only waiting to collect 
his detachments, before he made an attack on 
Colonel Coates at Monk's Corner. The assault 
was to be made on the following morning. 
During the night Coates decamped in silence ; 
the first signal of his departure was the burst- 
ing of flames through the roof of a brick church, 
which he had used as a magazine, and which 
contained stores that could not be carried away. 
A pursuit was commenced ; Lee with his le- 
gion, and Hampton with the State cavalry, 
took the lead. Sumter followed with the in- 
fantry. The rear-guard of the British, about 
one hundred strong,- was overtaken with the 
baggage, at the distance of eighteen miles. 
They were new troops, recently arrived from 
Ireland, and had not seen service. On being 
charged by the cavalry sword in hand, they 
threw down their arms without firing a shot, 
and cried for quarter, which was granted. 
While Lee was securing them, Captain Arm- 
strong with the first section of cavalry pushed 
on in pursuit of Coates and the main body. 
That oflicer had crossed a wooden bridge ovet 



602 



EXPLOIT OF CAPTAIN ARMSTRONG— BOLD STAND OF COLONEL COATES. [lYSl. 



Quimby Creek, looseued the planks, and was 
only waiting to be rejoined by his rear-guard, 
to throw them off, and cut off all pursuit. His 
troops were partly on a causeway beyond the 
bridge, partly crowded in a lane. He had 
heard no alarm guns, and knew nothing of an 
enemy being at hand, until he saw Armstrong 
spurring up with his section. Coates gave or- 
ders for his troops to halt, form, and march 
up ; a howitzer was brought to bear upon the 
bridge, and a fatigue party rushed forward to 
throw off the planks. Armstrong saw the dan- 
ger, daslied across the bridge with his section, 
drove off the artillerists, and captured the how- 
itzer before it could be discharged. The fa- 
tigue men, who had been at work on the 
bridge, snatched up their guns, gave a volley, 
and fled. Two dragoons fell dead by the how- 
itzer; others were severely wounded. Arm- 
strong's party, in crossing the bridge, had dis- 
placed some of the jjlauks, and formed a chasm. 
Lieutenant Carrington with the second section 
of dragoons leaped over it; the chasm being 
thus enlarged, the horses of the third section 
refused. A pell-mell fight took place between 
the handful of dragoons who had crossed, and 
some of the enemy. Armstrpng and Carring- 
ton were engaged hand to hand with Colonel 
Coates and his officers, who defended them- 
selves from behind a waggon. The troops 
were thronging to their aid from lane and 
causeway. Armstrong, seeing the foe too 
strong in front, and no reinforcement coming 
on in rear, wheeled off with some of his men 
to the left, galloped into the woods, and pushed 
up along the stream to ford it, and seek the 
main body. 

During the melee, Lee had come up and en- 
deavored with the dragoons of the third sec- 
tion to replace the planks of the bridge. Their 
efforts were vain ; the water was deep, the 
mud deeper ; there was no foothold, nor was 
there any firm spot where to swim the horses 
across. 

"While they were thus occupied, Colonel 
Coates, with his men, opened a fire upon them 
from the other end of the bridge ; having no 
fire-arms to reply with, they were obliged to 
retire. The remainder of the planks were then 
thrown off from the bridge, after which Colo- 
nel Coates took post on an adjacent plantation, 
made the dwelling-house, which stood on a ris- 
ing ground, his citadel, placed the howitzer be- 
fore it, and distributed part of his men in out- 
houses and within fences, and garden pickets, 



which sheltered them from the attack of cav- 
alry. Here he awaited the arrival of Sumter 
with the main body, determined to make a 
desperate defence. 

It was not until three o'clock in the after- 
noon, that Sumter with his forces appeared 
upon the ground, having had to make a consid- 
erable circuit on accoimt of the destruction of 
the bridge. 

By four o'clock the attack commenced. Sum- 
ter, with part of the troops, advanced in front, 
under cover of a line of negro huts, which he 
wished to secure. Marion, with his brigade, 
much reduced in number, approached on the 
right of the enemy, where there was no shelter 
but fences ; the cavalry, not being able to act, 
remained at a distance as a reserve, and, if 
necessary, to cover a retreat. 

Sumter's brigade soon got possession of the 
huts, where they used their rifles with sure 
effect. Marion and his men rushed up through 
a galling fire to the fences on the right. The 
enemy retired within the house and garden, 
and kept up a sharp fire from doors and win- 
dows and picketed fence. Unfortunately, the 
Americans had neglected to bring on their ar- 
tillery ; their rifles and muskets were not suffi- 
cient to force the enemy from his stronghold. 
Having repaired the bridge, they sent off for 
the artillery and a supply of powder, which ac- 
companied it. T^e evening was at hand ; their 
ammunition was exhausted, and they retired iu 
good order, intending to renew the combat 
with artillery in the morning. Leaving the 
cavalry to watch and control the movements 
of the enemy, they drew off across Quimby 
bridge, and encamped at the distance of three 
miles. 

Here, when they came to compare notes, it 
was found that the loss in killed and wounded 
had chiefly fallen on Marion's corps. His men, 
from their exposed situation, had borne the 
brunt of the battle ; while Sumter's had suf- 
fered but little, being mostly sheltered in the 
huts. Jealousy and distrust were awakened, 
and discord reigned in the camp. Partisan and 
volunteer troops readily fall asunder under such 
circumstances. Many moved off in the night. 
Lee, accustomed to act independently, and un- 
willing perhaps to acknowledge Sumter as his 
superior officer, took up his line of march for 
head-quarters without consulting him. Sumter 
still had force enough, now that he was joined 
by the artillery, to have held the enemy in a 
state of siege ; but he was short of ammuni- 



^T. 49.] 



END OF THi: CAMPAIGN— EMBARRASSMENTS OF WASHINGTON. 



603 



tion, only twenty miles from Charleston, ^t a 
place accessible by tide water, and he appre- 
hended the approach of Lord Eawdon, who, it 
was said, was moving down from Orangeburg. 
He therefore retired across the Santee, and re- 
joined Greene at his encampment. 

So ended this foray, which fell far short of 
the expectations formed from the spirit and 
activity of the leaders and their men. Various 
errors have been pointed out in their 'opera- 
tions, but concerted schemes are rarely carried 
out in all their parts by partisan troops. One 
of the best effects of the incursion, was the 
drawing down Lord Eawdon from Orangeburg, 
with five hundred of his troops. He returned 
no more to the upper country, but sailed not 
long after from Charleston for Europe. 

Colonel Stuart, who was left in command at 
Orangeburg, moved forward from that place, 
and encamped on the south side of the Conga- 
ree Kiver, near its junction with the Wateree, 
and within sixteen miles of Greene's position 
on the high hills of Santee. The two armies 
lay in sight of each other's fires, but two large 
rivers intervened, to secure each party from sud- 
den attack. Both armies,however, needed repose, 
and military operations were suspended, as if by 
mutual consent, during the sultry summer heat. 

The campaign had been a severe and try- 
ing one, and checkered with vicissitudes ; but 
Greene had succeeded in regaining the greater 
part of Georgia and the two Carolinas, and, as 
he said, only wanted a little assistance from the 
North to complete their recovery. He was 
soon rejoiced by a letter from Washington, in- 
forming him that a detachment from the army 
of Lafayette might be expected to bring him 
the required assistance ; but he was made still 
more happy by the following cordial passage in 
the letter : " It is with the warmest pleasure I 
express my full approbation of the various 
movements and operations which your military 
conduct has lately exhibited, while I confess to 
you that I am unable to conceive what more 
could have been done under your circumstances, 
than has been displayed by your little, perse- 
vering, and determined army." 



CHAPTER XXV. 

After the grand reconnoissance of the posts 
on New York Island, related in a former page, 
the confederate armies remained encamped 
about Dobbs' Ferry and the Greenburg hills, 



awaiting an augmentation of force for their 
meditated attack. To "Washington's great dis- 
appointment, his army was but tardily and 
scantily recruited, while the garrison of New 
York was augmented by the arrival of three 
thousand Hessian troops from Europe. In this 
predicament he despatched a circular letter to 
the governments of the Eastern States, repre- 
senting his delicate and embarrassed situation. 
" Unable to advance with prudence beyond my 
present position," writes he, " while, perhaps, 
in the general opinion, my force is equal to the 
commencement of operations against New York, 
my conduct must appear, if not blamable, highly 
mysterious at least. Our allies, who were made 
to expect a very considerable augmentation of 
force by this time, instead of seeing a prospect 
of advancing, must conjecture, upon good 
grounds, that the campaign will waste fruit- 
lessly away. It will be no small degree of tri- 
umph to our enemies, and will have a per- 
nicious influence upon our friends in Europe, 
should they find such a failure of resource, or 
such a want of energy to draw it out, that our 
boasted and extensive preparations end only in 
idle parade. * * The fulfilment of my en- 
gagements must depend upon the degree of 
vigor Avith which the executives of the several 
States exercise the powers with which they 
have been vested, and enforce the laws lately 
passed for filling up and supplying the army. 
In full confidence that the means which have 
been voted will be obtained, I shall continue 
my operations." 

Until we study Washington's full, perspicu- 
ous letters, we know little of the difliculties 
he had to struggle with in conducting his cam- 
paigns; how often the sounding resolves of 
legislative bodies disappointed him ; how often 
he had to, maintain a bold front when his 
coimtry failed to back him ; how often, as in 
the siege of Boston, he had to carry on the 
war without powder ! 

In a few days came letters from Lafayette, 
dated 26th and 30th of July, speaking of the 
embarkation of the greatest partof Cornwallis's 
army at Portsmouth. " There are in Hampton 
Eoads thirty transport ships full of troops, most 
of them red coats, and eight or ten brigs with 
cavalry on board." He siipposed their destina- 
tion to be New York, yet, though wind and 
weather were favorable, they did not sail. 
" Should a French fleet now come into Hamp- 
ton Roads," adds the sanguine marquis, " the 
British army would, I think, be ours." 



604 CHANGE OF THE GAME— MARCH OF THE ARMIES TO THE CHESAPEAKE. [1781. 



At this jnncture arrived the French frigate 
Concorde at Newport, bringing despatches from 
Admiral the Count de Grasse. He was to leave 
St. Domingo on the 3d of August, with be- 
tween twenty-five and thirty ships of the line, 
and a considerable body of land forces, and to 
steer immediately for the Chesapeake, 

This changed the face of affairs, and called 
for a change in the game. All attempt upon 
New York was postponed ; the whole of the 
French army, and as large a part of the Amer- 
icans as could be spared, were to move to Vir- 
ginia, and co-operate with the Count de Grasse 
for the redemption of the Southern States. 
Washington apprised the count by letter of 
this intention. He wn-ote also to Lafayette on 
the 15th of August : " By the time this reaches 
you, the Count de Grasse will be in the Chesa- 
peake, or may be looked for every moment. 
Under these circumstances, whether the enemy 
remain in full force, or whether they have only 
a detachment left, you will immediately take 
such a position as will best enable you to pre- 
vent their sudden retreat through North Caro- 
lina, which I presume they will attempt the 
instant they perceive so formidable an arma- 
ment." 

Should General Wayne, with the troops des- 
tined for South Carolina, still remain in the 
neighborhood of James E'lver, and the enemy 
have made no detachment to the southward, 
the marquis was to detain these troops until 
he heard again from Washington, and was to 
inform General Greene of the cause of their 
detention. 

" You shall hear further from me," concludes 
the letter, " as soon as I have concerted plans 
and formed dispositions for sending a reinforce- 
ment from hence. In the mean time, I have 
only to recommend a continuance of that pru- 
dence and good conduct which you have mani- 
fested through the whole of your campaign. 
You will be particularly careful to conceal the 
expected arrival of the count ; because, if the 
enemy are not apprised of it, they will stay on 
board their transports in the bay, which will 
be the luckiest circumstance in the world." 

Washington's " soul was now in arms." At 
length, after being baffled and disappointed so 
often by the incompetency of his means, and 
above all, thwarted by the enemy's naval po- 
tency, he had the possibility of coping with 
them both on land and sea. The contemplated 
expedition was likely to consummate his plans, 
and wind up the fortunes of the war, and he 



determined to lead it in person. He would take 
with him something more than two thousand 
of the American army ; the rest, chiefly North- 
ern troops, were to remain with General Heath, 
who was to hold command of West Point, and 
the other posts of the Hudson. 

Perfect silence was maintained as to this 
change of plan. Preparations were still carried 
on, as if for an attack upon New York. An ex- 
tensive encampment was marked out in the 
Jerseys, and ovens erected, and fuel provided 
for the baking of bread ; as if a part of the be- 
sieging force was to be stationed there, thence 
to make a descent upon the enemy's garrison 
on Staten Island, in aid of the operations 
against the city. The American troops, them- 
selves, were kept in ignorance of their destina- 
tion. General Washington, observes one of 
the shrewdest of them, matures his great plans 
and designs under an impenetrable veil of se- 
crecy, and while we repose the fullest confi- 
dence in our chief, our opinions (as to his in- 
tentions) must be founded only on doubtful 
conjecture.* 

Previous to his decampment, Washmgton 
sent forward a party of pioneers to clear the 
roads towards King's Bridge, as if the posts 
recently reconnoitred were about to be at- 
tempted. On the 19th of August his troops 
were paraded with their faces in that direction. 
When all were ready, however, they were or- 
dered to face about, and were marched up along 
the Hudson Paver, towards King's Ferry. 

De Eochambeau, in like manner, broke up 
his encampment, and took the road by White- 
Plains, North Castle, Pine's Bridge, and Crom- 
pond, toward the same point. All Westchester 
County was again alive with the tramp of troops, 
the gleam of arms, and the lumbering of artil- 
lery and baggage waggons along its roads 

On the 20th, Washington arrived at King's 
Ferry, and his troops began to cross the Hud- 
son with their baggage, stores, and cannon, and 
encamp at Haverstraw. He himself crossed in 
the evening, and took up his quarters at Colo- 
nel Hay's, at the White House. Thence he 
wrote confidentially to Lafayette, on the 21st, 
now first apprising him of his being on the 
march with the expedition, and repeating his 
injunctions that the land and naval forces, al- 
ready at the scene of action, should so combine 
their operations, that the English, on the ar- 
rival of the French fleet, might not be able to 



^ See Thaeher's Military Journal, p. 322. 



^T. 49.] STRATAGEMS TO DECEIVE THE ENEMY— EXPEDITION TO CONNECTICUT. 605 



escape. He wrote also to the Count de Grasse 
(presuming that the letter would find hun in 
the Chesapeake), urging him to send up all his 
frigates and transports to the Head of Elk, by 
the 8th of September, for the transportation of 
the combined army, which would be there by 
that time. He informed him also, that the 
Count de Barras had resolved to join him in 
the Chesapeake with his squadron. One is re- 
minded of the tissue of movements planned 
fi'om a distance, which ended in the capture of 
Burgoyne. 

On the 22d, the French troops arrived by 
their circuitous route, and began to cross to 
Stony Point, with their artillery, baggage, and 
stores. The operation occupied between two 
and three days ; during which time "Washing- 
ton took the Count de Eochambeau on a visit 
to West Point, to show him the citadel of the 
Highlands, an object of intense interest, in con- 
sequence of having been the scene of Arnold's 
treason. 

The two armies having safely crossed the 
Tludson, commenced, on the 25th, their several 
lines of march towards the Jerseys ; the Amer- 
icans for Springfield on the Eahway, the French 
for Whippany towards Trenton. Both armies 
were still kept in the dark, as to the ultimate 
object of their movement. An intelligent ob- 
server, already quoted, who accompanied the 
army, writes : " Our situation reminds me of 
some theatrical exhibition, where the interest 
and expectations of the spectators are continu- 
ally increasing, and where curiosity is wrought 
to the highest point. Our destination has been 
for some time matter of perplexing doul^t and 
uncertainty ; bets have run high on one side, 
that we were to occupy the ground marked, 
out on the Jersey shore to aid in the siege of 
New York ; and on the other, that we are steal- 
ing a march on the enemy, and are actually 
destined to Virginia, in pursuit of the army 
under Cornwallis. * * * * ^ number of 
bateaux mounted on carriages have followed in 
our train ; supposed for the purpose of convey- 
ing the troops over to Staten Island." * 

The mystery was at length solved. "We 
have now passed all the enemy's posts," con- 
tinues the foregoing writer, " and are pursuing 
our route with increased rapidity, toward Phil- 
adelphia. "Waggons have been prepared to 
carry the soldiers' packs, that they may press 
forward with greater facility. Our destination 



Thacher'8 Military Journal, p. 323. 



can no longer be a secret. Cornwallis is un- 
questionably the object of our present expedi- 
tion. ***** His Excellency, General 
Washington, having succeeded in a masterly 
piece of generalshi]), has now the satisfaction 
of leaving his adversary to ruminate on his 
own mortifying situation, and to anticipate the 
perilous fate which awaits his friend, Lord 
Cornwallis, in a different quarter." * 

Washington had in fact reached the Dela- 
ware with his troops, before Sir Henry Clinton 
was aware of their destination. It was too 
late to oppose their march, even had his forces 
been adequate. As a kind of counterj^lof, 
therefore, and in the hope of distracting the 
attention of the American commander, and 
drawing off a part of his troops, he hurried off 
an expedition to the eastward, to insult the 
State of Connecticut and attack her seaport of 
New London. 

The command of this expedition, which was 
to be one of ravage and destruction, was given 
to Arnold, as if it was necessary to complete 
the measure of his infamy, that he should carry 
fire and sword into his native State, and dese- 
crate the very cradle of his infancy. 

On the 6th of September he appeared off the 
hai'bor of New London with a fleet of ships and 
transports and a force of two thousand infantry 
and three hundred cavalry ; partly British 
troops, but a great part made up of American 
royalists and refugees, and Hessian Yagers. 

New London stands on the west bank of the 
river Thames. The approach to it was defend- 
ed by two forts on the opposite sides of the riv- 
er, and about a mile below the town; Fort 
Trumbull on the west and Fort Griswold on 
the east side, on a heiglit called Groton Hill. 
The troops landed in two divisions of about 
«ight hundred men each ; one under Lieuten- 
ant-Colonel Eyre on the east side, the other 
under Arnold on the west, on the same side 
with New London, and about three miles below 
it. Arnold met with but little opposition. The 
few militia which manned an advance battery 
and Fort Trumbull, abandoned their posts, and 



* "Washington several years afterwards, speaking of 
this important inarch in a letter to Noah Webster, writes : 
"That much trouble was taken, and finesse used, to mis- 
guide and bewilder Sir Henry Clinton in regard to the real 
object, by fictitious comniunicutions, as well as by making 
a deceptive provision of ovens, forage, and boats in his 
neighborhood, is certain, nor were less pains taken to de- 
ceive our own army, for I had always conceived where the 
imposition does not completely take place at home, it 
would never sufficiently succeed abroad."— Sparks, ix. 404. 



606 



ARNOLD RAVAGES NEW LONDON— WASHINGTON AT PHILADELPHIA. [1781. 



crossed the river to Fort Griswold. He pushed 
on, and took possession of the town. 

Colonel Eyre had a harder task. The militia, 
ahout one hundred and fifty-seven strong, had 
collected in Fort Griswold, hastily and imper- 
fectly armed it is true, some of them merely 
with spears ; hut they were brave men, and had 
a brave commander, Colonel William Ledyard, 
brother of the celebrated traveller. The fort 
was square and regularly built. Arnold, una- 
ware of its strength, had ordered Colonel Eyre 
to take it by a coup-de-main. He discovered 
his mistake, and sent counter orders, but too 
late. 

Colonel Eyre forced the pickets; made his 
way into the fosse, and attacked the fort on 
three sides ; it was bravely defended ; the ene- 
my were repeatedly repulsed ; they returned 
to the assault, scrambled up on each other's 
shoulders, effected a lodgment on the fraise, 
and made their way with fixed bayonets through 
the embrasures. Colonel Eyre received a mor- 
tal wound near the works ; Major Montgomery 
took his place ; a negro thrust him through 
with a spear as he mounted the parapet ; Major 
Bromfield succeeded to the command, and car- 
ried the fort at the point of the bayonet. In 
fact, after the enemy were within the walls, 
the fighting was at an end and the slaughter 
commenced. Colonel Ledyai'd had ordered his 
men to lay down their arms ; but the enemy, 
exasperated by the resistance they had experi- 
enced, and by the death of their officers, con- 
tinued the deadly work of the musket and bay- 
onet. Colonel Ledyard, it is said, was thrust 
through with his own sword after yielding it. 
up to Major Bromfield. Seventy of the garri- 
son were slain, and thirty-five desperately 
wounded ; and most of them after the fort had 
been taken. The massacre was chiefly perpe- 
trated by the tories, refugees, and Hessians. 
Major Bromfield himself was a New Jersey loy- 
alist. The rancor of such men against their 
patriot countrymen was always deadly. The 
loss of the enemy was two officers and forty-six 
soldiers killed, and eight officers and one hun- 
dred and thirty-five soldiers wounded. 

Arnold, in the mean time, had carried on 
the work of destruction at New London. Some 
of the American shipping had effected their es- 
cape up the river, but a number were burnt. 
Fire, too, was set to the public stores ; it com- 
municated to the dwelling-houses, and, in a lit- 
tle while, the whole place was wrapped in 
flames. The destruction was immense, not only 



of public but private property : many families 
once living in affluence were ruined and ren- 
dered homeless. 

Having completed his ravage, Arnold retreat- 
ed to his boats, leaving the town still burning. 
Alarm guns had roused the country ; the trai- 
tor was pursued by the exasperated yeomanry ; 
he escaped their well-merited vengeance, but 
several of his men were killed and wounded. 
So ended his career of infamy in his native 
land ; a land which had once dehghted to hon- 
or him, but in which his name was never 
thenceforth to be pronounced without a male- 
diction. 

The expedition, while it added one more 
hateful and disgraceful incident to this unnatu- 
ral war, failed of its main object. It had not 
diverted Washington from the grand object on 
which he had fixed his mind. On the 30th of 
August, he, with his suite, had arrived at Phil- 
adelphia about noon, and alighted at the city 
tavern amidst enthusiastic crowds, who wel- 
comed him with acclamations, but wondered 
at the object of this visit. During his sojourn* 
in the city he was hospitably entertained at 
the house of Mr. Morris, the patriotic financier. 
The greatest difficulty with which he had to 
contend in his present enterprise, was the want 
of funds, part of his troops not having received 
any pay for a long time, and having occasionally 
given evidence of great discontent. The service 
upon which they were going was disagreeable 
to the northern regiments, and the douceur of 
a little hard money would have the effect, 
Washington thought, to put them into a proper 
temper. In this emergency he was accommo- 
dated by the Count de Rochambeau, with a loan 
of twenty thousand hard dollars, which Mr. 
Eobert Morris engaged to repay by the first of 
October. This pecuniary pressure was relieved 
by the arrival in Boston, on the 25th of August, 
of Colonel John Laurens from his mission to 
France, bringing with him two and a half mil- 
lions of livres in cash, being part of a subsidy 
of six millions of livres granted by the French 
king. 

On the 2d of September the American troops 
passed through Philadelphia. Theil* line of 
march, including appendages and attendants, ex- 
tended nearly two miles. The general officers 
and their staff's were well dressed and well 
mounted, and followed by servants and baggage. 
In the rear of every brigade were several field- 
pieces with ammunition waggons. The soldiers 
kept step to the sound of the drum and fife. In 



^T. 49.3 MARCH THROUGH PHILADELPHIA— CORNWALLIS AT YORKTOWN. 



607 



the rear followed a great number of waggons 
laden with tents, provisions, and baggage, be- 
sides a few soldiers' wives and children. The 
weather was warm and dry. The troops as 
they marched raised a cloud of dust " like a 
Bmothering snow-storm," which almost blinded 
them. The begriming effect was especially 
mortifying to the campaigner whom we quote, 
" as ladies were viewing them from the win- 
dows of every house as they passed." Notwith- 
standing the dusty and somewhat ragged plight 
of the soldiery, however, they were cheered 
with enthusiasm by the populace, who hailed 
them as the war-worn defenders of the coun- 
try. 

The French troops entered on the following 
day, but in different style. Halting within a 
mile of the city, they arranged their arms and 
accoutrements ; brushed the dust off of their 
gay white uniforms faced with green, and then 
marched in with buoyant step and brilliant ar- 
ray to the swelling music of a military band. 
The streets were again thronged by the shout- 
ing populace. The windows were crowded 
with ladies ; among whom probably were some 
of the beauties who had crowned the British 
knights in the chivalrous mime of the Mischi- 
anza, now ready to bestow smiles and wreaths 
on their Gallic rivals. 

At Philadelphia Washington received de- 
spatches from Lafayette, dated the 21st and 
24th of August, from his camp at the Forks of 
York River in Yirginia. The embarkation at 
Portsmouth, which the marquis had supposed 
might be intended for New York, was merely 
for Yorktown, where Cornwallis had determin- 
ed to establish the permanent post ordered in 
his instructions, 

Yorktown was a small place situated on a 
projecting bank on the south side of York Riv- 
er, opposite a promontory called Gloucester 
Point. The river between was not more than 
a mile wide, but deep enough to adnyt ships of 
a large size and burthen. Here concentrating 
his forces, he had proceeded to fortify the op- 
posite points, calculating to have the works 
finished by the beginning of October ; at which 
time Sir Hemy Clinton intended to recommence 
operations on the Chesapeake. Believing that 
he had no present enemy but Lafayette to guard 
against, Cornwallis felt so secure in his position, 
that he wrote to Sir Henry on the 22d of Au- 
gust, offering to detach a thousand or twelve 
hundred men to strengthen New York against 
the apprehended attack of the combined armies. 



While Cornwallis, undervaluing his youthful 
adversary, felt thus secure, Lafayette, in con- 
formity to the instructions of Washington, was 
taking measures to cut off any retreat by land 
which his lordship might attempt on the ar- 
rival of De Grasse. With this view he called 
upon General Thomas Nelson, the Governor of 
Virginia, for six hundred of the militia to be 
collected upon Blackwater ; detached troops to 
the south of James River, under pretext of a 
design to dislodge the British from Portsmouth, 
and requested General Wayne to move south- 
ward, to be ready to cross James River at 
Westover. 

As to himself, Lafayette was prepared, as 
soon as he should hear of the arrival of De 
Grasse, to march at once to Williamsburg and 
form a junction with the troops which were to 
be landed from the fleet. Thus a net was qui- 
etly drawn round Cornwallis by the youthful 
general, while the veteran felt himself so secure 
that he was talking of detaching troops to New 
York. 

Lafayette, at the time of writing his de- 
spatches, was ignorant that Washington had 
taken command of tlie expedition coming to his 
aid, and expressed an affectionate solicitude on 
the subject. " In the present state of affairs, 
my dear General," writes he, " I hope you will 
come yourself to Virginia, and that, if the 
French army moves this way, I wiU have at 
least the satisfaction of beholding you, myself, 
at the head of the combined armies." In con- 
cluding liis letter, he writes : " Adieu, my dear 
General. I heartily thank you for having or- 
dered me to remain in Virginia ; and to your 
goodness to me I am owing the most beautiful 
prospect I may ever behold." 

The letter of Lafayette gave no account of the 
Count de Grasse, and Washington expressed 
himself distressed beyond measure to know what 
had become of that commander. He had heard 
of an English fleet at sea steering for the Ches- 
apeake, and feared it might arrive and frustrate 
all the flattering prospects in that quarter. 
Still, as usual, he looked to the bright side. 
" Of many contingencies," writes he, " we will 
hope for the most ])ropitious events. Should 
the retreat of Lord Cornwallis by water be cut 
off by the arrival of either of the French fleets, 
I am persuaded you will do all in your power 
to prevent his escape by land. May that great 
felicity be reserved for you." 

Washington left Philadelphia on the 5th of 
September, on his way to the Head of Elk. 



608 



LETTER OF WASHINGTON— VISIT TO MOUNT VERNON. 



[1181. 



About three miles below Chester, he was met 
by an express bearing tidings of the arrival of 
the Count de Grasse in the Chesapeake with 
twenty-eight ships of the line. "Washington in- 
stantly rode back to Chester to rejoice with the 
Count de Kochambeau, who was coming down 
to that place from Philadelphia by water. They 
had a joyous dinner together, after which 
"Washington proceeded in the evening on his 
destination. 

The express meantime reached Philadelphia 
most opportunely. There had been a grand 
review of the French troops, at which the 
President of Congress and all the fashion of the 
city were present. It was followed by a ban- 
quet given to the officers by the French Minis- 
ter, the. Chevalier de Luzerne. Scarce were 
the company seated at table, when despatches 
came announcing the arrival of De Grasse and 
the landing of three thousand troops under the 
Marquis St. Simon, who, it was added, had 
opened a communication with Lafayette. 

All now was mutual gratulation at the ban- 
quet. The news soon went forth and spread 
throughout the city. Acclamations were to be 
heard on all sides, and crowds assembling be- 
fore the house of the French Minister rent the 
air with hearty huzzas for Louis the Sixteenth. 

Washington reached the Head of Elk on 
the 6th. The troops and a great part of the 
stores were already arrived, and beginning to 
embark. Thence he wrote to the Count de 
Grasse, felicitating him on his arrival ; and in- 
forming him that the van of the two armies 
were about to embark and fall down the Ches- 
apeake, form a junction with the troops under 
the Count de St. Simon and the Marquis de La- 
fayette, and co-operate in blocking up Cornwal- 
lis in York Kiver, so as to prevent his retreat 
by land or his getting any supplies from the 
country. " As it will be of the greatest im- 
portance," writes he, " to prevent the escape 
of his lordship from his present position, I am 
persuaded that every measure which prudence 
can dictate will be adopted for that purpose, 
until the arrival of our complete force, when I 
hope his lordship will be compelled to yield his 
ground to the superior power of our combined 
forces." 

Every thing had thus far gone on well, but 
there were not vessels enough at the Head of 
Elk for the immediate transportation of all the 
troops, ordnance, and stores ; a part of the 
troops would have to proceed to Baltimore by 
land. Leaving General Heath to bruig on the 



American forces, aud the Baron de Viomenil 
the French, "Washington, accompanied by De 
Rochambeau, crossed the Susquehanna early on 
the 8th, and pushed forward for Baltimore. 
He was met by a deputation of the citizens, 
who made him a public address, to which he 
replied, and his arrival was celebrated in the 
evening with illuminations. 

On the 9th he left Baltimore a little after 
daybreak, accompanied only by Colonel Hum- 
phreys ; the rest of his suite were to follow at 
their ease ; for himself, he was determined to 
reach Mount Vernon that evening. Six years 
had elapsed since last he was under its roof; six 
wearing years of toil, of danger, and of constant 
anxiety. During all that time, and amid all 
his military cares, he had kept up a regular 
weekly correspondence with his steward or 
agent, regulating all the affairs of his rural es- 
tablishment with as much exactness as he did 
those of the army. 

It was at a late hour when he arrived at Mount 
"Vernon; where he was joined by his suite at 
dinner time on the following day, and by the 
Count de Eochambeau in the evening. Gene- 
ral Chastellux and his aides-de-camp arrived 
there on the 11th, and Mount Vernon was now 
crowded with guests, who were all entertained 
in the ample style of old Virginian hospitality. 
On the 12th, tearing himself away once more 
from the home of his heart, "Washington with 
his military associates continued onward to join 
Lafayette at "Williamsburg. 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

Lord Cornwallis had been completely rous- 
ed from his dream of security by the appear- 
ance, on the 28th of August, of the fleet of 
Count de Grasse within the capes of the Dela- 
ware. Three French ships of the line and a 
frigate soon anchored at the mouth of York 
River. The boats of the fleet were immediately 
busy conveying three thousand three hundred 
land forces, under the Marquis de St. Simon, 
up James River to form the preconcerted junc- 
tion with those under Lafayette. 

Awakened to his danger, Cornwallis, as 
"Washington had foreseen, meditated a retreat 
to the Carolinas. It was too late. York River 
was blocked up by French ships ; James River 
was filled with armed vessels covering the 
transportation of the troops. His lordship re- 



Ml. 49.] 



ACTION BETWEEN THE FRENCH AND ENGLISH FLEETS. 



609 



connoitred Williamsburg ; it was too strong to 
be forced, and Wayne had crossed James Eiver 
to join his troops to those under the marquis. 
Seeing his retreat cut off in every direction, 
Cornwallis proceeded to strengthen his works ; 
sending off repeated expresses to apprise Sir 
Henry Clinton of his perilous situation. 

The Count de Grasse, eager to return to the 
West Indies, urged Lafayette to make an imme- 
diate attack upon the British army, with the 
American and French troops under his com- 
mand, without waiting for the combined force 
under Washington and Rochambeau, offering to 
aid him with marines and sailors from the ships. 
The admiral was seconded by the Marquis de 
St. Simon. They represented that the works 
at Yorktown were yet incomplete ; and that 
that place and Gloucester, immediately oppo- 
site, might be carried by storm by their superior 
force. It was a brilliant achievement which 
they held out to tempt the youthful command- 
er, but he remained undazzled. He would not, 
for the sake of personal distinction, lavish the 
lives of the brave men confided to him ; but 
would await the arrival of the combined forces, 
when success might be attained with little loss, 
and would leave to Washington the couj) de 
grace ; in all probability the closing triumph of 
the Avar. 

The Count de Grasse had been but a few 
days anchored within the Chesapeake, and fif- 
teen hundred of his seamen were absent, con- 
veying the troops up James River, when Admi- 
ral Graves, who then connnanded the British 
naval force on the American coast, appeared 
with twenty sail off the capes of Virginia. De 
Grasse, anxious to protect the squadron of the 
Count de Barras, which was expected from 
Rhode Island, and which it was the object of 
Graves to intercept, immediately slipped his 
cables and put to sea with twenty-four ships, 
leaving the rest to blockade York and James 
Rivers. 

Washington received information of the sail- 
ing of the fleet from the capes, shortly after his 
departure from •Mount Vernon, and instantly 
despatched missives, ordering the troops who 
were embarked at the Head of Elk to stop 
until the receipt of further intelligence, fearing 
that the navigation in Chesapeake Bay might 
not be secure. For two days he remained in 
anxious uncertainty, until, at Bowling Green, 
he was relieved by favorable rumors concerning 
the fleet, which were confirmed on his arriving 
at Williamsburg on the evening of the 14th. 
39 



Admiral Graves, it appeared, on the sallying 
forth of the French fleet, immediately prepared 
for action, although he had five ships less than 
De Grasse. The latter, however, was not dis- 
posed to accept the challenge, his force being 
weakened by the absence of so many of his 
seamen, employed in transporting troops. His 
plan was to occupy the enemy by partial ac- 
tions and skilful manoeuvres, so as to retain his 
possession of the Chesapeake, and cover the 
arrival of De Barras. 

The vans of the two fleets, and some ships 
of the centre, engaged about four o'clock in the 
afternoon of the 7th of September. The con- 
flict soon became animated. Several ships 
were damaged, and many men killed and 
wounded on both sides. 

De Grasse, who had the advantage of the 
wind, drew off after sunset ; satisfied with the 
damage done and sustained, and not disposed for 
a general action ; nor was the British admiral 
inclined to push the engagement so near night, 
and on a hostile coast. Among his ships that 
had suffered, one had been so severely handled, 
that she was no longer seaworthy, and had to 
be burnt. For four days the fleets remained 
in sight of each other, repairing damages and 
mano3uvring ; but the French having still the 
advantage of the wind, maintained their pru- 
dent policy of avoiding a general engagement. 
At length De Grasse, learning that De Barras 
was arrived within the capes, formed a junction 
with him, and returned with him to his former 
anchoring ground, with two English frigates 
which he had captured. Admiral Graves, dis- 
appointed in his hope of intercepting De Barras, 
and finding the Chesapeake guarded by a supe- 
rior force with which he could not prudently 
contend ; having, moreover, to encounter the 
autumnal gales in the battered state of several 
of his ships, left the coast and bore away for 
New York. Under convoy of the squadron of 
De Barras came a fleet of transports, conveying 
land forces under M. de Choisy, with siege 
artillery and military stores. It should be 
mentioned to the credit of .De Barras, that, in 
his orders from the French minister of marine 
to come to America, he was left at liberty to 
make a cruise on the banks of JSTewfoundland ; 
so as not to be obliged to serve under De 
Grasse, who was his inferior in rank, but whom 
the minister wished to continue in the com- 
mand. "But De Barras," writes Lafayette, 
" nobly took the part of conducting, himself, 
the artillery from Rhode Island, and of coming 



610 



WASHINGTON AND DE ROCHAMBEAU VISIT THE FRENCH FLEET. 



[1781. 



with all his vessels and placing himself under 
tlie orders of an admiral his junior in ser- 
vice." * 

From Williamsburg, Washington sent for- 
■\vai"d Count Fersen, one of the aidcK-de-camp 
of De Eochambeau, to hurry on the French 
troops with all possible despatch. He wrote to 
the same purport to General Lincoln : " Every 
day we now lose," said he, " is comparatively 
an age ; as soon as it is in our power with 
safety, we ought to take our position near the 
enemy. Hurry on, then, my dear sir, with 
your troops, on the wings of speed. The want 
of our men and stores is now all that retards 
our immediate operations. Lord Cornwallis is 
improving every moment to the best advantage ; 
and every day that is given him to make his 
preparations may cost us many lives to en- 
counter them." 

It was with great satisfaction Washington 
learned that Admiral de Barras had anticipated 
his wishes, in sending transports and prize 
vessels up the bay to assist in bringing on the 
French troops. In the mean time he with 
Count de Eochambeau was desirous of having 
an interview with the admiral on board of his 
ship, provided he could send some fast-sailing 
cutter to receive them. A small ship, the 
Queen Charlotte, was furnished by the admiral 
for the purpose. It bad been captured on its 
voyage from Charleston to New York, having 
Lord Eawdon on board, and had been commo- 
diously fitted up for his lordship's reception. 

On board of this vessel Washington and De 
Eochambeau, with the Chevalier de Chastellux 
and Generals Knox and Duportail, embarked 
on the 18th, and proceeding down James Eiver, 
came the next morning in sight of the French 
fleet riding at anchor in Lynn Haven Bay, just 
under the point of Cape Henry. About noon 
they got along side of the admiral's ship, the 
Ville de Paris, and were received on board 
with great ceremony, and naval and military 
parade. Admiral de Grasse was a tall, fine- 
looking man, plain in his address and prompt 
in the discharge of business. A plan of co- 
operation was soon arranged, to be carried into 
effect on the arrival of the American and French 
armies frorii the North, which were actually 
on their way down the Chesapeake from the 
Head of Elk. Business being despatched, din- 
ner was served, after which they were con- 
ducted throughout the ship, and received the 



* Memoirs of Lafayette, t. i., ji. 467. 



visits of the oflBcers of the fleet, almost all of 
whom came on board. 

About sunset Washington and his com- 
panions took their leave of the admiral, and 
returned on board of their own little ship ; 
when the yards of all the ships of the fleet 
were manned, and a parting salute was tliun- 
dered from the Ville de Paris. Owing to 
storms and contrary winds, and other adverse 
circumstances, the party did not reach Williams- 
burg until the 22d, when intelligence was re- 
ceived that threatened to disconcert all the 
plans formed in the recent council on board 
ship. Admiral Digby, it appeared, had arrived 
in New York with six ships of the line, and 
a reinforcement of troops. This intelligence 
Washington instantly transmitted to the Count 
de Grasse by one of the Count de Eochambeau's 
aides-de-camp. De Grasse in reply expressed 
great concern, observing that the position of 
affairs was changed by the arrival of Digby. 
" The enemy," writes lie, " is now nearly equal 
to us in strength, and it would be imprudent in 
me to place myself in a situation that would 
prevent my attacking them should they attempt 
to afford succor." He proposed, therefore, to 
leave two vessels at the mouth of York Eiver, 
and the corvettes and frigates in James Eiver, 
which, with the French troops on shore, would 
be suflScient assistance ; and to put to sea with 
the rest, either to intercept the enemy and 
fight them where there was good sea room, or 
to blockade them in New York should tliey not 
have sailed. 

On reading this letter, Washington dreaded 
that the present plan of co-operation might 
likewise fall through, and the fruits of all his 
schemes and combinations be lost when within 
his reach. With the assistance of the fleet, the 
reduction of Yorktown was demonstrably cer- 
tain, and the surrender of the garrison must go 
far to terminate the war ; whereas the depar- 
ture of the ships, by leaving an opening for 
succor to the enemy, might frustrate these 
brilliant prospects, and involve the whole enter- 
prise in ruin and disgrace. Even a momentary 
absence of the French fleet might enable Corn- 
wallis to evacuate Yorktown and effect a re- 
treat, with the loss merely of his baggage and 
artillery, and perhaps a few soldiers. These 
and other considerations were urged in a letter 
to the count, remonstrating against his putting 
to sea. Lafayette was the bearer of the letter, 
and seconded it with so many particulars re- 
specting the situation of the armies, and argued 



^T. 49.] 



THE ALLIED ARMIES NEAR WILLIAMSBURG. 



Gil 



the case so earnestly and eloquently, that the 
count consented to remahi. It was, further- 
more, determined in a council of war of his 
ofEcers, that a large part of the fleet should 
anchor in York Eiver ; four or five vessels be 
stationed so as to pass up and down James 
River, and a battery for cannon and mortars 
be erected with the aid of the allied troops on 
Point Comfort. 

By the 25th the American and French troops 
were mostly arrived and encamped near "Wil- 
liamsburg, and preparations were made for the 
decisive blow. 

Yorktown, as has already been noted, is situ- 
ated on the south side of York Eivei-, imme- 
diately opposite Gloucester Point. Cornwallis 
had fortified the town by seven redoubts and 
six batteriss on the land side, connected by 
intrenchments ; and there was aline of batteries 
along the river. The town was flanked on each 
side by deep ravines and creeks emptying into 
York River ; their heads, in front of the town, 
being not more than half a mile apart. The 
enemy had availed themselves of these natural 
defences in the arrangements of extensive out- 
works, with redoubts strengthened by abatis ; 
field-works mounted with cannon, and trees 
cut down and left with the branches pointed 
outward. 

Gloucester Point had likewise been fortified ; 
its batteries, with those of YorktOAvn, com- 
manding the intervening river. Ships of war 
were likewise stationed on it, protected by the 
guns of the forts, and the channel was ob- 
structed by sunken vessels. 

The defence of Gloucester Point was con- 
fided to Lieutenant-Colonel Dundas, with six 
or seven hundred men. The enemy's main 
army was encamped about Yorktown, within 
the range of the outer redoiibts and field-works. 

"Washington and his staif bivouacked that 
night on the ground in the open air. He slept 
under a mulberry tree, the root serving for his 
pillow. On the following morning the two 
armies drew out on each side of Beaver Dam 
Creek. The Americans, forming the right 
"wing, took station on the east side of the 
creek ; the French, forming the left wing, on 
the west. 

That evening Cornwallis received despatches 
from Sir Henry Clinton, informing him of the 
arrival of Admiral Digby, and that a fleet of 
twenty-three ships of the line, with about five 
thousand troops, would sail to his assistance, 
probably on the 5th of October. A heavy fir- 



ing Avould be made by them on arriving at the 
entrance of the Chesapeake. On hearing it, if 
all went well at Yorktown, his lordship was to 
make three separate columns of smoke ; and 
four, should he still possess the post at Glou- 
cester Point. 

Cornwallis immediately wrote in reply : " I 
have ventured these last two days to look 
General "Washington's whole force in the face 
in the position on the outside of my works, and 
have the pleasure to assure your Excellency, 
that there is but one wish throughout the army, 
which is that the enemy would advance. * * 
"* * I shall retire this night within the works, 
and have n6 doubt, if relief arrives in any 
reasonable time, York and Gloucester will be 
both in the possession of His Majesty's troops. 
I believe your Excellency must depend more 
on tlio sound of our cannon than the signal of 
smokes for information ; however, I will at- 
tempt it on the Gloucester side." * 

Tliat night his lordship accordingly aban- 
doned his outworks, and drew his troops within 
the town ; a measure strongly censured by 
Tarleton in his Commentaries as premature ; as 
cooping up the troops in narrow quarters, and 
giving up a means of disputing, inch by inch, 
the approaches of the besiegers, and thus gain- 
ing time to complete the fortifications of the 
town. 

The outworks thus abandoned were seized 
upon the next morning by detachments of 
American light-infantry and French troops, 
and served to cover the troops employed in 
throwing up breastworks. Colonel Alexander 
Scammel, officer of the day, while reconnoitring 
the ground abandoned by the enemy, was set 
upon by a party of Hessian troopers. He at- 
tempted to escape, but was wounded, captured, 
and carried off to Yorktown. "Washington, to 
whom he had formerly acted as aide-de-camp, 
interested himself in his favor, and at his re- 
quest Cornwallis permitted him to be removed 
to "Williamsburg, where he died in the course 
of a few days. He was an officer of much 
merit, and his death was deeply regretted by 
"Washington and the army. 

The combined Frencli and American forces 
were now twelve thousand strong, exclusive 
of the Virginia militia which Governor Nelson 
had brought into the field. An instance of 
patriotic self-devotion on tl^e part of this func- 
tionary is worthy of special record. The treas- 



* CorreBpondence relative to defence of York, p. 199. 



612 



OrERATIONS BEFORE YORKTOWN— LAST SKIRMISH OF TARLETOK 



[nsi. 



nry of Virginia was empty ; the governor, fear- 
ful that the militia would disband for want of 
pay, had endeavored to procure a loan from a 
wealthy individual on the credit of the State. 
In the precarious situation of affairs, the guar- 
antee was not deemed sufficient. The gov- 
ernor pledged his own property, and obtained 
the loan at his individual risk. 

On the morning of the 28th of September, 
the corahined armies marched from Williams- 
burg toward Yorktown, about twelve miles 
distant, and encamped at night within two 
miles of it, driving in the pickets and some 
patrols of cavalry. General de Choisy was sent 
across Y^rk Kiver, with Lauzun's legion and 
General Weedon's brigade of militia, to watch 
the enemy on the side of Gloucester Point. 

By the first of October the line of the be- 
siegers, nearly two miles from the works, 
formed a semicircle, each end resting on the 
river, so that the investment by laud was com- 
plete ; while the Count de Grasse, with the 
main fleet, remained in Lynn Haven Bay, to 
^keep off" assistance by sea. 

About this time the Americans threw up two 
redoubts in the night, which, on being discover- 
ed in the morning, were severely cannonaded. 
Three of the men were killed and several 
severely wounded. While Washington was 
superintending the works, a shot struck the 
ground close by him, throwing up a cloud of 
dust. The Rev. Mr. Evans, chaplain in the 
army, who was standing by him, Avas greatly 
agitated. Taking off his hat and showing it 
covered with sand, " See here. General," ex- 
claimed he. "Mr. Evans," said Washington 
with grave pleasantry, " you had better carry 
that home, and show it to your wife and chil- 
dren." * 

The besieged army began now to be greatly 
distressed for want of forage, and had to kill 
many of their horses, the carcasses of which 
were continually floating down the river. In 
the evening of the 2d of October, Tarleton with 
his legion and the mounted infantry were 
passed over the river to Gloucester Point, to 
assist in foraging. At daybreak Lieutenant- 
Colonel Dundas led out part of his garrison to 
forage the neighboring country. About ten 
o'clock the waggons and bat horses laden with 
Indian corn were returniiig, covered by a party 
of infantry, with Tarleton and his dragoons as 
a rear-guard. The waggons and infantry had 

* Thacher'8 Military Journal, p. 336. 



nearly reached York River, when word was 
brought that an enemy was advancing in force. 
The report was confirmed by a cloud of dust 
from which emerged Lauzun and the French 
hussars and lancers. 

Tarleton, with part of his legion, advanced 
to meet them ; the rest, Avith Simcoe's dra- 
goons, remained as a rear-guard in a skirt of 
woods. A skirmish ensued, gallantly sustained 
on each side, but the superiority of Tarleton's 
horses gave him the advantage. General 
Choisy hastened up with a corps of cavalry and 
infantry to support the hussars. In the medley 
fight, a dragoon's horse, wounded by a lance, 
plunged, and overthrew both Tarleton and his 
steed. The rear-guard rushed from their covert 
to rescue their commander. They came gallop- 
ing up in such disorder, that they were roughly 
received by Lauzun's hussars, Avho were drawn 
up on the plain. In the mean time Tarleton 
scrambled out of tlie melee, mounted another 
horse, and ordered a retreat, to enable his men 
to recover from their confusion. Dismounting 
forty infantry, he placed them in a thicket. 
Their fire checked the hussars in their pursuit. 
The British dragoons rallied, and were about 
to charge ; when the hussars retired behind 
their infantry ; and a fire was opened upon the 
British by some militia from behind a fence. 
Tarleton again ordered a retreat to be sounded, 
and the conflict came to an end. The loss of 
the British in killed and wounded was one 
officer and eleven men ; that of the French two 
officers and fourteen hussars. This was the 
last affair of Tarleton and his legion in the 
revolutionary war. 

The next day General Choisy, being rein- 
forced by a detachment of marines from the 
fleet of De Grasse, cut off all communication 
by land between Gloucester and the country. 

At this momentous time, when the first 
parallel before the besieged city was about to 
be opened, Washington received despatches 
from his faithful coadjutor, General Greene, 
giving him important intelligence of his co- 
operations in the South ; to consider which we 
will suspend for a moment our narrative of 
affairs before Yorktown. 



CHAPTER XXVII. 

Foe some weeks in the months of July and 
August, General Greene had remained en- 
camped with his main force on the high hills J 



Mt. 49.] GREENE ON THE HIGH HILLS OF SANTEE— HE MARCHES AGAINST STUART. 613 



of Santee, refreshing and disciplining his men, 
and awaiting, the arrival of promised reinforce- 
ments. He was constantly looking to "Washing- 
ton as his polar star by which to steer, and 
feared despatches from him had been inter- 
cepted. " I wait with impatience for intelli- 
gence," said he, " by which I mean to govern 
my own operations. If things are flattering in 
the North, I will hazard less in the South ; 
but, if otherwise there, we must risk more 
here." In the mean time, Marion with his 
light troops, aided by Colonel Washington with 
bis dragoons, hold control over the lower San- 
tee. Lee was detached to operate with Sum- 
ter's brigade on the Congaree, and Colonel 
Harden with his mounted militia was scouring 
the country about the Edisto. The enemy was 
thus harassed in every quarter ; their convoys 
and foraging parties waylaid ; and Stuart was 
obliged to obtain all his supplies from below. 

Greene was disappointed as to reinforce- 
ments. All that he received were two hundred 
North Carolina levies and five hundred South 
Carolina militia ; still he prepared for a bold 
efl:brt to drive the enemy from their remaining 
posts. For that purpose, on the 22d of August 
he broke up his encampment on the " benign 
hills of Santee," to march against Colonel 
Stuart. The latter still lay eneami)ed about 
sixteen miles distant in a straight line ; but the 
Congaree and "Wateree lay between, bordered 
by swamps overflowed by recent rains ; to 
cross them and reach the h(jstile camp, it was 
necessary to make a circuit of seventy miles. 
While Greene was making it, Stuart abandoned 
his position, and moved down forty miles to the 
vicinity of Eutaw Springs, where he was re- 
inforced by a detachment from Charleston with 
provisions. 

Greene followed on by easy marches. He 
had been joined by General Pickens with a 
party of the Ninety-Six militia, and by the 
State troops under Lieutenant-Colonel Hender- 
son ; and now moved slowly to give time for 
Marion, who was scouring the country about 
the Edisto, to rejoin him. This Avas done on 
the 5th of September at Laurens' Place, within 
seventeen miles of Stuart's camp. Here bag- 
gage, tents, every thing that could imptnie mo- 
tion, was left behind, and on the afternoon of 
the seventh, the army was pushed on within 
seven miles of the Eutaws, where it bivouacked 
for the night, Greene lying on the gi'ound wrap- 
ped in his cloak, with the root of a tree for a 
pillow. 



At four o'clock in the morning his little 
army was in motion. His whole force at that 
time did not exceed two thousand men ; that 
of the enemy he was seeking, about twenty- 
three hundred. The Americans, however, were 
superior in cavalry. Owing to the difficulty 
of receiving information, and the country being 
covered with forests, the enemy were not aware 
of Greene's approach, until he was close upon 
them. 

His army advanced in two columns, which 
were to form the two lines of battle. The first 
column, commanded by General Marion, was 
composed of two battalions of North and two 
of South Carolina militia. The second column 
of three brigades ; one of North Carolina, one 
of Virginia, and one of Maryland Continental 
troops. Colonel Lee with his legion covered 
the right flank, Colonel Henderson the left. 
Colonel Washington, with his dragoons and the 
Delaware troops, formed the reserve. Each 
column had two field-pieces. 

Within four miles of Eutaw they met with a 
British detachment of one hundred and fifty 
infantry and fifty cavalry under Major Coffin, 
sent forward to reconnoitre; it was put to 
flight after a severe skirmisli, in which a num- 
ber were killed and wounded, and several 
taken prisoners. Supposing this to be the van 
of the enemy, Greene halted his columns and 
formed. The South Carolinians in equal divi- 
sions formed the right and left of the first line, 
the North Carolinians the centre. General 
Marion commanded the right ; General Pick- 
ens, the left; Colonel Malmedy, the centre. 
Colonel Henderson with the State troops cov- 
ered the left of the line ; Colonel Lee with his 
leijion the right. 

Of the second line, composed of regulars, the 
North Carolinians, under General Sumner, 
were on the right; the Marylanders, under 
Colonel Williams, on the left ; the Virginians, 
under Colonel Campbell, in the centre. 

Colonel Washington with his cavalry fol- 
lowed in the rear as a corps de reserve. 

Two three-pounders moved on the road in 
the centre of the first liue. Two six-pounders 
in a like position in the second line. 

In this order the troops moved forward, 
keeping their lines as well as they could 
through open woods, which covered the coun- 
try on each side of the road. 

Within a mile of the camp they encountered 
a body of infantry thrown forward by Colonel 
Stuart, to check their advance while he had 



614 



BATTLE OF EUTAW SPRINGS. 



[1781. 



time to form his troops in order of battle. 
These were drawn up in line in a wood two 
hundred yards west of Eutaw Springs. The 
right rested on Eutaw Creek (or brook), and 
was covered by a battalion of grenadiers and 
infantry under Major Majoribanks, partly con- 
cealed among thickets on the margin of the 
stream. The left of the line extended across 
the Charleston road, with a reserve corps in 
a commanding situation covering the road. 
About fifty yards in the rear of the British line 
was a cleared field in which was their encamp- 
ment, with the tents all standing. Adjoining 
it was a brick house with a palisadoed garden, 
which Colonel Stnart intended as a protection, 
if too much pressed by cavalry. 

The advanced party of infantry, which had 
retired firing before the Americans, formed on 
the Hanks of Colonel Stuart's line. The Caro- 
linian militia had pressed after them. About 
nine o'clock the action was commenced by the 
left of the American line, and soon became 
general. The militia fought for a time with 
the spirit and firmness of regulars. Their two 
field-pieces were dismounted ; so was one of 
the enemy's ; and there was great carnage on 
both sides. The militia fought until they had 
expended seventeen rounds, when 'they gave 
way, covered by Lee and Henderson, who 
fought bravely on the flanks of the line. 

Sumner, with the regulars who formed the 
second line, advanced in fine style to take the 
place of the first. The enemy likewise brought 
tlieir reserve into action ; the conflict con- 
tinued to bo bloody and severe. Colonel Hen- 
derson, who commanded the State troops in 
the second line, was severely wounded ; this 
caused some confusion. Sumner's brigade, 
formed partly of recruits, gave way under 
tlie superior fire of the enemy. The British 
rushed forward to secure their fancied victory. 
Greene, seeing their line disordered, instantly 
ordered "Williams with his Marylanders to 
'' sweep the field with the bayonet." "Williams 
was seconded by Colonel Campbell with the 
Virginians. The order was gallantly obeyed. 
They delivered a deadly volley at forty yards' 
distance, and then advanced at a brisk rate, 
with loud shouts and trailed arms, prepared to 
make the deadly thrust. The British recoiled. 
"While the Marylanders and Virginians attacked 
them in front, Lee with his legion turned their 
left flank and charged them in rear. Colonel 
Hampton with the State cavalry made a great 
number of prisoners, and Colonel "Washington, 



coming up with his reserve of horse and foot, 
completed their defeat. They were driven 
back through their camp ; many were cap- 
tured ; many fled along the Charleston road, 
and others threw themselves into the brick 
house. 

Major Majoribanks and his troops could still 
enfilade the left flank of the Americans from 
their covert among the thickets on the border 
of the stream. Greene ordered Colonel "Wash- 
ington with his dragoons and Kirkwood's Dela- 
ware infantry to dislodge them, and Colonel 
Wade Hampton to assist with the State troops. 
Colonel "Washington, without waiting for the 
infantry, dashed forward with his dragoons. 
It was a rash move. The thickets were im- 
pervious to cavalry. The dragoons separated 
into small squads and endeavored to force their 
way in. Horses and riders were shot down or 
bayoneted ; most of the officers were either 
killed or wounded. Colonel "Washington had 
his horse shot under him ; he himself Avas 
bayoneted, and would have been slain, had not 
a British officer interposed, who took him pris- 
oner. 

By the time Hampton and Kirkwood came 
up, the cavalry were routed : the ground was 
strewed with the dead and the wounded ; 
horses were x>lunging and struggling in the 
agonies of death ; others galloping about with- 
out their riders. "While Hampton rallied the 
scattered cavalry, Kirkwood with his Dela- 
wares charged with bayonet upon the enemy 
in the thickets. Majoribanks fell back with 
his troops, and made a stand in the palisadoed 
garden of the brick house. 

Victory now seemed certain on the side of 
the Americans. They had driven the British 
from the field, and had taken possession of their 
camp ; unfortunately, the soldiers, thinking the 
day their own, fell to plundering the tents, de- 
vouring the food, and carousing on the liquors 
found there. Many of them became intoxi- 
cated and unmanageable — the officers inter- 
fered in vain ; all was riot and disorder. 

The enemy in the mean time recovered from 
their confusion, and opened a fire from every 
window of the house and from the palisadoed 
garden. There was a scattering fire also from 
the woods and thickets on the right and left. 

Four cannon, one of which had been cap- 
tured from the enemy, were now advanced by 
the Americans to batter the house. The fire 
from the windows was so severe, that most of 
the officers and men who served the cannou 



^T. 49.] 



BATTLE OF EUTAW SPRINGS. 



615 



were either killed or wounded, Greene ordered 
the survivors to retire; they did so, leaving 
the cannon behind. 

Colonel Stuart was by this time rallying his 
left wing, and advancing to support the right ; 
when Greene, finding his ammunition nearly 
exhausted, determined to give up the attempt 
to dislodge the enemy from their places of ref- 
uge, since he could not do it without severe 
loss ; whereas the enemy could maintain their 
posts but a few hours, and he sliould have a 
better opportunity of attacking them on their 
retreat. 

He remained on the ground long enough to 
collect his wounded, excepting those who were 
too much under the fire of the house, and then, 
leaving Colonel Hampton with a strong picket 
on the field, he returned to the position seven 
miles off, \vhich he had left in the morning ; 
not finding water anywhere nearer. 

The enemy decamped in the night after de- 
stroying a large quantity of provisions, staving 
many barrels of rum, and breaking upwards of 
a thousand stand of arms which they threw 
into the springs of the Eutaw ; they left behind 
seventy of their wounded, who might have im- 
peded the celerity of their retreat. Their loss 
in killed, wounded, and captured, in this action, 
Avas six hundred and tliirty-three, of whom 
five hundred were prisoners in tlie hands of the 
Americans ; the loss sustained by the latter in 
killed, wounded, and missing, was five hundred 
and thirty-five. One of the slain most deplored 
was Colonel Campbell, who had so bravely led 
on the Yirginiaus. He fell in the shock of the 
charge with the bayonet. It was a glorious 
close of a gallant career. In his dying mo- 
ments he was told of the defeat of the enemy, 
and is said to have uttered the celebrated ejacu- 
lation of General Wolfe, " I die contented." 

In the morning. General Greene, who knew 
not that the enemy had decamped, detached 
Lee and Marion to scour the country between 
Eutaw Springs and Charleston, to intercept any 
reinforcements which might be coming to Colo- 
nel Stuart, and to retard the march of the lat- 
ter should he be retreating. Stuart, however, 
had met with reinforcements about fourteen 
miles from Eutaw, but continued his retreat to 
Monk's Corner, within .twenty-five miles of 
Charleston. 

Greene, when informed of the retreat, had 
followed with his main force almost to Monk's 
Corner ; finding the number and position of the 
enemy tfto strong to be attacked with prudence. 



he fell back to Eutaw, where he remained 
a day or two to rest his troops, and then re- 
turned by easy marches to his old position near 
the heights of Santee. 

Thence, as usual, he despatched an account 
of affairs to Washington. " Since I wrote to 
you before, we have had a most bloody battle. 
It was by far the most obstiuate fight I ever 
saw. Victory was ours ; and had it not been 
for one of those little incidents which frequently 
happen in the progress of war, we should have 
taken the whole British army. * * * j ^m 
trying to collect a body of militia to oppose 
Lord Cornwallis shoidd he attempt to escape 
through Forth Carolina to Charleston. Charles- 
ton itself may be reduced, if you will bend your 
forces this way, and it will give ma great pleas- 
ure to join your Excellency in the attempt ; 
for I shall be equally happy, whether as a prin- 
cipal or subordinate, so that the public good 
is promoted." 

Such was the purport of the intelligence re- 
ceived from Greene. Washington considered 
the affair at Eutaw Springs a victory, and sent 
Greejie his congratulations. " Fortune," writes 
he, " must have been coy indeed, had she not 
yielded at last to so persevering a pursuer as 
you have been." 

" I can say with sincerity, that I feel with 
the highest degree of pleasure the good effects 
which you mention as resulting from the per- 
fect good understanding between you, the mar- 
quis, and myself. I hope it will never be inter- 
rupted, and I am sure it never can be while 
we are all influenced by the same pui-e motive, 
that of love to our country and interest in the 
cause in which we are embarked." 

We Avill now resume our narrative of the 
siege of Yorktown, 



CHAPTER XXA^III. 

General Lincoln had the honor, on the 
night of the 6th of October, of opening the 
first parallel before Yorktown. It was within 
six hundred yards of the enemy ; nearly two 
miles in extent, and the foundations were laid 
for two redoubts. He had under him a large 
detachment of French and American troops, 
and the work was conducted with such silence 
and secrecy in a night of extreme darkness, 
that the enemy were not aware of it until day- 
light. A severe cannonade was then opened 



616 



THE ALLIED ARMIES ATTACK YORKTOWN. 



[1781. 



from the fortifications ; but the men were im- 
der cover and continued M'orking ; the great- 
est emulation and good will prevailing between 
the officers and soldiers of the allied armies 
thus engaged. 

By the afternoon of the 9th the parallel was 
completed, and two or three batteries were 
ready to fire upon the town. " General Wash- 
ington put the match to the first gun," says an 
observer who was present ; " a furious dis- 
cliarge of cannon and mortars immediately fol- 
lowed, and Earl Cornwallis received his first 
salutation." * 

Governor Nelson, who had so nobly pledged 
his own property to raise funds for the public 
service, gave another proof of his self-sacrific- 
ing patriotism on this occasion. He was asked 
which part of the town could be most eflective- 
ly cannonaded. He pointed to a large hand- 
some house on a rising ground as the probable 
head-quarters of the enemy. It proved to be 
his own.t 

The governor had an uncle in the town, very 
old, and afflicted with the gout. He had been 
for thirty years secretary under the royal%3plo- 
nial government, and was still called Mr. Secre- 
tary Nelson. He had taken no part in the 
Revolution, unfitted, perhaps, for the struggle, 
by his advanced age and his infirmities ; and 
had remained in Yorktown when taken posses- 
sion of by the English, not having any personal 
enmity to apprehend from them. He had two 
sons in Washington's army, who now were in 
the utmost alarm for his safety. At their re- 
quest Washington sent in a flag, desiring that 
their father might be permitted to leave the 
place. " I was a witness," writes the Count de 
Chastellux in his Memoirs, " of the cruel anx- 
iety of one of those young men, as he kept 
his eyes fixed upon the gate of the town by 
which the flag Avould come out. It seemed as 
if he were awaiting his own sentence in the 
reply that was to be received. Lord Cornwal- 
lis had not the inhumanity to refuse so just a 
request." 

The appearance of the venerable seci-etary, 
his stately person, noble countenance, and gray 
hairs, commanded respect and veneration. " I 
can never recall without emotion," writes the 
susceptible count, " his arrival at the head- 
quarters of General Washington. He was 
seated, his attack of the gout still continuing, 
and while we stood around him, he related 



with a serene visage what had been the effect 
of our batteries." * 

His house had received some of the first 
shots ; one of his negroes had been killed, and 
the head-quarters of Lord Cornwallis had been 
so battered, that he had been driven out of 
them. 

The cannonade was kept up almost inces- 
santly for three or four days from tlic batteries 
above mentioned, and from three others man- 
aged by the French. " Being in the trenches 
every other night and day," writes an observer 
already quoted,t " I have a fine opportunity of 
witnessing the sublime and stupendous scene 
which is continually exhibiting. The bomb- 
shells from the besiegers and the besieged are 
incessantly crossing each other's path in the 
air. They are clearly visible in the form of a 
black ball in the day, but in the night they ap- 
pear like a fiery meteor with a blazing tail, 
most beautifully brilliant, ascending majesti- 
cally from the mortar to a certain altitude, and 
gradually descending to the spot where they are 
destined to execute their work of destruction. 
When a shell falls, it whirls round, burrows 
and excavates the earth to a considerable ex- 
tent, and, bursting, makes dreadful havoc 
around." "Some of our shells, overreaching 
the town, are seen to fall into the river, and, 
bursting, throw up columns of water like the 
spouting monsters of the deep." 

The half-finished works of the enemy suf- 
fered severely, the guns were dismounted or si- 
lenced, and many men killed. The red-hot 
shot from the French batteries north-west of 
the town reached the English shipping. The 
Charon, a forty-four gun ship, and three large 
transports, were set on fire by them. The 
flames ran up the rigging to the tops of the 
masts. The conflagration, seen in the darkness 
of the night, with the accompanying flash and 
thundering of cannon, and soaring and bursting 
of shells ; and the tremendous explosions of 
the ships, all presented a scene of mingled 
magnificence and horror. 

On the night of the 11th the second parallel 
was opened by the Baron Steuben's division, 
within tliree hundred yards of the works. The 
British now made new embrasures, and for two 
or three days kept up a galling fire upon those 
at work. The latter were still more annoyed 
by the flanking fire of two redoubts three hun- 
dred yards in front of the British works. As 



* Thacher's Military Journal. 

t Giveu on the authority of Lafayette. Sparks, viii. 201. 



Chastellux, vol. ii., pp. 19-23. 



t Thacher. 



^T. 49.] 



ATTACK OxV THE EEDOUBTS. 



they enfiladed the intrenchments. and were 
supposed also to command the communication 
between Yorktown and Gloucester, it was re- 
solved to storm them both, on the night of the 
14th; the one nearest the river by a detachment 
of Americans commanded by Lafayette; the 
other by a French detachment led by the Baron 
de Viomenil. The grenadiers of the regiment 
of Gatinais were to be at the head of the French 
detachment. This regiment had been formed 
out of that of Auvergne^ of which De Eocham- 
beau had been colonel, and which, by its brave 
and honorable conduct, had won the appellation 
of the regiment D'Auvergne sans tache (Au- 
vergne without a stain). When De Rochambeau 
.assigned the Gatinais grenadiers their post in 
the attack, he addressed to them a few soldier- 
like words. " My lads, I have need of you this 
night, and hope you will not forget that we 
have served together in that brave regiment of 
Auvergne sans tache." They instantly replied, 
that if he would promise to get their old name 
restored to them, they would sacrifice them- 
selves to the last man. The promise was 
given. 

In the arrangements for the American assault, 
Lafayette had given the honor of leading the 
advance to his own aide-de-camp, Lieutenant- 
Colonel Gimat. This instantly touched the 
military pride of Hamilton, who exclaimed 
against it as an unjust preference, it being liis 
tour of duty. The marquis excused himself by 
alleging that the arrangement had been sanc- 
tioned by the commander-in-chief, and could 
not be changed by him. Hamilton forthwith 
made a spirited appeal by letter to Washington. 
The latter, who was ignorant of the circum- 
stances of the case, sent for the marquis, and, 
finding that it reaUy was Hamilton's tour of 
duty, directed that he should be reinstated in 
It, which was done.* It was therefore arranged 
that Colonel Gimat's battalion should lead the 
van, and be followed by that of Hamilton, and 
that the latter should command the whole ad- 
vanced corps.f 

About eight o'clock in the evening rockets 
were sent up as signals for the simultaneous 
attack. Hamilton, to his great joy, led the ad- 
vance of the Americans. The men, without 
waiting for the sappers to demolish the abatis 
in regular style, pushed them aside or pulled 
them down with their hands, and scrambled 



617 



ove,-^ hke rough bush-fighters. Hamilton was 
the first to mount the parapet, placing one foot 
on the shoulder of a soldier, who knelt on cue 
knee for the purpose.* The men mounted after 
inm. Not a musket was fired. The redoubt 
was carried at the point of the bayonet The 
loss of the Americans was one sergeant and 
eight privates killed, seven ofiicers and twenty- 
five non-commissioned ofi5cers and privates 
wounded. The loss of the enemy was eight 
killed and seventeen taken prisoners. Among 
the latter was Major CampbeU, who had com- 
manded the redoubt. A New Hampshire cap- 
tain of artillery would have taken his life in 
revenge of the death of Ins favorite Colonel 
Scammel,* but Colonel namih<)n prevented 
him. Not a man was killed after he ceased to 
resist.t 

The French stormed the other redoubt, which 
was more strongly garrisoned, with equal gal- 
lantry, but less precipitation. They proceeded 
according to rule. The soldiers paused while 
the sappers removed the abatis, during which 
time they were exposed to a destructive fire, 
and lost more men than did the Americans in 
their headlong attack. As the Baron de Vio- 
menil, who led the party, was thus waiting. 
Major Barbour, Lafayette's aide-de camp, came 
through the tremendous fire of the enemy, with 
a message from the marquis, letting him know 
that he was in his redoubt, and wished to know 
where the baron was. "Tell the marquis," 
replied the latter, " that I am not in mine, but 
will be in it in five minutes." 

The abatis being removed, the troops rushed 
to the assault. The Chevalier de Lameth, 
Lafayette's adjutant-general, was the first to 
mount the parapet of the redoubt, and received 
a volley at arms' length from the Hessians who 
manned it. Shot through both knees, he fell 
back into the ditch, and was conveyed away 
under care of his friend, the Count de Dumas. 
The Count de Deuxponts, leading on the royal 
grenadiers of the same name, was likewise 
wounded. 
The grenadiers of the Gatinais regiment re- 



* Lee's Memoirs of the "War, li. 342. 
t Lafayette to Washington. Correspondence of the 
Revolution, iii. 426. 



* Leake's Life of John Lamb, p. 259. 

t Thacher, p. 341. 

N. B.— Gordon, in his history of the war, asserts that 
Lafayette, with the consent of Washington, ordered that, 
in captnring the redoubt, no quarter should be shown ; in 
retaliation of a massacre perpetrated at Fort Griswold. 
It is needless to contradict a statement so opposed to the 
characters of both. It has been denied by both Lafayette 
and Hamilton. Not one of the enemy was killed unless 
in action. 



618 



DESPERATE SITUATION OF CORNWALLIS. 



[1181. 



membei'ed the promise of De Rochambeau, and 
fonglit w'lili true Gallic fire. One-tliird of tliem 
were slain, and among tliem Captain de Sireuil, 
a valiant officer of chasseurs ; hut the regiment 
by its bravery on this occasion regained from 
the king its proud name of the Royal Au- 
vergne. 

Washington was an intensely excited specta- 
tor of these assaults, on the result of which so 
much depended. He had dismounted, given 
liis horse to a servant, and taken his stand in 
the grand battery with Generals Knox and Lin- 
coln and their staffs. The risk he ran of a 
chance shot, while watching the attack through 
an embrasure, made those about him imeasy. 
One of his aides-de-camp ventured to observe 
that the situation was very much exposed. " If 
you think so," replied he gravely, " yon are at 
liberty to step back." 

Shortly afterwards a musket ball struck the 
cannon in the embrasure, rolled along it, and 
fell at his feet. General Knox grasped his arm. 
" My dear general," exclaimed he, " we catft 
spare you yet." " It is a spent ball," replied 
Washington quietly ; " no harm is done." 

When all 'w'as over and the redoubts were 
taken, he drew a long breath, and turning to 
Knox, observed, " The work is done, and well 
done ! " Then called to his servant, " William, 
bring me my horse." 

In his despatches he declared that in these 
assaults nothing could exceed the firmness and 
bravery of tlie troops. Lafayette also testified 
to the conduct of Colonel Hamilton, " whose 
well-known talents and gallantry," writes he, 
" were on this occasion most conspicuous and 
serviceable." * 

The redoubts thus taken were included the 
same night in the second parallel, and howitzers 
were mounted upon them tlie following day. 
The capture of them reduced Lord Cornwallis 
almost to despair. Writing that same day to 
Sir Henry Clinton, he observes, " My situation 
now becomes very critical ; we dare not show 
a gun to their old batteries, and I expect that 
their new ones will open to-morrow morning. 
* * * The safety of the place is, therefore, 
so precarious, that I cannot recommend that 
the fleet and army should run great risk in en- 
deavoring to save us," — a generous abnegation 
of self on the part of the beleaguered com- 
mander. Had the fleet and army sailed, as he 
had been given to expect, about the 5tli of Oc- 



* Lafayette to Washington. Correspondence of the 
Revolution, iii. 426. 



tober, they might have arrived in time to save 
his lordship ; but at the date of the above letter 
they were still lingering in port. Delay of naval 
succor was fatal to British operations in this 
war. 

The second parallel was now nearly ready to 
open. Cornwallis dreaded the effect of its bat- 
teries on his almost dismantled works. To re- 
tard the danger as much as possible, he ordered 
an attack on two of the batteries that were in 
the greatest state of forwardness, their guns 
to be spiked. It was made a little before day- 
break of the 16th by about three hundred and 
fifty men, under the direction of Lieutenant- 
Colonel Abercrombie. He divided his forces ; 
a detachment of guai'ds and a company of gren- 
adiers attacked one battery, and a corps of 
light-infantry the other. 

The redoubts which covered the batteries 
were forced in gallant style, and several pieces 
of artillery hastily spiked. By this time the 
supporting troops from the trenches came up, 
and the enemy Avere obliged to retreat, leaving 
behind them seven or eight dead and six pris- 
oners. The French, who had guard of this part 
of the trenches, had four officers and twelve 
privates killed or wounded, and the Americans 
lost one sergeant. The mischief had been done 
too hastily. The spikes were easily extracted, 
and before evening all the batteries and the 
parallel were nearly complete. 

At this time the garrison could not show a 
gun on the side of the works exposed to attack, 
and the shells were nearly expended ; the place 
was no longer tenable. Rather than surrender, 
Cornwallis determined t6 attempt an escape. 
His plan was to leave his sick and wounded and 
his baggage behind, cross over in the night to 
Gloucester Point, attack Choisy's camp before 
daybreak, mount his infantry on the captured 
cavalry horses, and on such other as could be 
collected on the road, push for the upper coun- 
try by rapid marches until opposite the fords of 
the great rivers, then turn suddenly northward, 
force his way through Maryland, Pennsylvania, 
and the Jerseys, and join Sir Henry Clinton in 
New York. 

It was a wild and daring scheme, but his 
situation was desperate, and the idea of sur- 
render intolerable. 

In pursuance of this design, sixteen large 
boats were secretly prepared; a detachment was 
appointed to remain and capitulate for the 
town's people, the sick and the wounded ; a 
large part of the troops were transported to the 



^T. 49.] 



CORXWALLIS CAPITULATES— TERMS OF CAPITULATION. 



619 



Gloucester side of the river before midnight, 
and the second division had actually embarked, 
■vt'hen a violent storm of wind and rain scattered 
the boats, and drove them a considerable dis- 
tance down the river. They Avere collected 
with difficulty. It was now too late to effect 
tlie passage of the second division befoi'e day- 
break, and an effort was made to get back the 
division which had already crossed. It was 
not done until the morning was far advanced, 
and the troops in recrossing were exposed to 
the fire o^ the American batteries. 

The hopes of Lord Cornwallis were now at 
an end. His works were tumbling in ruins 
about him, under an incessant cannonade ; his 
garrison was reduced in numbers by sickness 
and death, and exhausted by constant watching 
and severe duty. Unwilling to expose the resi- 
due of the brave troops which had stood by 
him so faithfully, to the dangers and horrors of 
an assault which could not fail to be successful, 
he ordered a parley to be beaten about ten 
o'clock on the morning of the 17th, and de- 
spatched a flag with a letter to "Washington pro- 
posing a cessation of hostilities for twenty -four 
hours, and that two officers might be appointed 
by each side to meet and settle terms for the 
surrender of the posts of York and Gloucester. 

Washington felt unwilling to grant such de- 
lay, when reinforcements might be on the w^ay 
for Cornwallis from New York. In reply, 
therefore, he requested, that previous to the 
meeting of commissioners, his lordship's propo- 
sals might be sent in writing to the American 
lines, for which purpose a suspension of hostil- 
ities during two hours for the delivery of the 
letter, would be granted. This was complied 
with ; l>ut as the proposals offered by Cornwal- 
lis were not all admissible, Washington drew 
up a schedule of such terms as he would grant, 
and transmitted it to his lordship. 

The armistice was prolonged. Commis- 
sioners met, the Viscount de Noailles and Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel Laurens on the part of the 
allies; Colonel Dundas and Major Eoss on the 
part of the British. After much discussion, a 
rough draft was made of the terms of capitula- 
tion to be submitted to the Britisli general. 
These Washington caused to be promptly tran- 
scribed, and sent to Lord Cornwallis early in the 
morning of the 19th, with a note expressing his 
expectation that they would be signed by eleven 
o'clock, and that the garrison would be ready 
to march out by two o'clock in the afternoon. 
Lord Cornwallis was fain to comply, and, ac- 



cordingly, on the same day, the posts of York- 
town and Gloucester were surrendered to 
General Washington as commander-in-chief of 
the combined army; and the ships of war, 
transports, and other vessels, to the Count de 
Grasse, as commander of the French fleet. The 
garrison of Yorktown and Gloucester, including 
the officers of the navy and seamen of every 
denomination, were to surrender as prisoners of 
war to the combined army ; the land force to 
remain prisoners to the United States, the sea- 
men to the King of France. 

The garrison was to be allowed the same 
honors granted to the garrison of Charleston 
when it surrendei-ed to Sir Henry Clinton. The 
officers were to retain their side arms ; both 
officers and soldiers their private property, and 
no part of their baggage or papers was to be 
subject to search or inspection. The soldiers 
were to be kept in Virginia, Maryland, or Penn- 
sylvania, as much by regiments as possible, 
and supplied with the same rations of proAa- 
sions as the American soldiers. The officers 
were to be permitted to proceed, upon parole, 
to Europe or to any maritime port on the 
continent of America, in possession of Brit- 
ish troops. The Bonetta sloop-of-war was to 
be at the disposal of Lord Cornwallis ; to con- 
vey an aide-de-camp, with despatches to Sir 
Henry Clinton, with such soldiers as he might 
think proper to send to Few York, and was to 
sail without examination. • (We will here ob- 
serve that in this vessel, thus protected from 
scrutiny, a number of royalists, whose conduct 
had rendered them peculiarly odious to their 
countrymen, privately took their departure.) 

It was arranged in the allied camp that Gen- 
eral Lincoln should receive the submission of 
the royal army, precisely in the manner in 
which the submission of his own army had 
been received on the surrender of Charleston. 
An eye-witness has given us a graphic descrip- 
tion of the ceremony. 

NOTE. 

The number of prisoners made by the above capit- 
ulation amounted to 7,073, of whom 5,950 were rank 
and file; six commissioned, and twenty -eight non- 
commissioned officers, and privates, bad previously 
been captured in the two redoubts, or in the sortie of 
the garrison. The loss sustained by the garrison 
during the siege, in killed, wounded, and missing, 
amounted to 552. That of the combined army in 
killed was about 300. The combined army to which 
Cornwallis surrendered, was estimated at 1G,000, of 
whom 7,000 were French, 5,500 Continentals, and 
3,500 militia. — Holmes's Annals, vol. ii., p. 333. 



620 



SURRENDER OF THE ROYAL ARMY— NATIONAL REJOICINGS. 



[1781. 



" At about 12 o'clock the combined army 
was drawn up in two lines more than a mile in 
length, the Americans on the right side of the 
road, the French on the left. Washington, 
mounted on a noble steed, and attended by his 
staff, was in front of the former ; the Count de 
Rochambeau and his suite, of the latter. The 
French troops, in complete uniform, and well 
equipped, made a brilliant appearance, and 
had marched to the ground with a band of mu- 
sic playing, Avhich was a novelty in the Amer- 
ican service. The American troops, but part 
in uniform, and all in garments much the worse 
for wear, yet had a spirited, soldiei"-like air, 
and were not the worse in the ej'es of their 
countrymen for bearing the marks of hard ser- 
vice and great privations. The concourse of 
spectators from the country seemed equal in 
number to the military, yet silence and order 
prevailed. 

" Al)0ut two o'clock the garrison sallied forth, 
and passed through with sJiouldered arms, 
slow and solemn steps, colors cased, and drums 
beating a British march. They were all well 
clad, having been furnished with new suits prior 
to the capitulation. They were led by General 
O'llara on horseback, who, riding up to Gene- 
ral Washington, took off his hat and apologized 
for the non-appearance of Lord Cornwallis, on 
account of indisposition. Washington received 
him with dignified courtesy, but pointed to 
Major-General Lincoln as the officer who was 
to receive the submission of the garrison. By 
him they were conducted into a field where 
they were to ground their arms. In passing 
through the line formed by the allied army, 
their march was careless and irregular, and 
their aspect sullen, the order to " ground arms " 
was given by their platoon officers with a tone 
of deep chagrin, and many of the soldiers threw 
down their muskets with a violence sufficient 
to break them. This irregularity was checked 
by General Lincoln ; yet it was excusable in 
brave men in their unfortunate predicament. 
This ceremony over, they were conducted back 
to Yorktown, to remain under guard until re- 
moved to their places of destination." * 

On the following morning, Washington in 
general orders congratulated the allied armies 
on the recent victory, awarding high praise to 
the officers and troops botli French and Amer- 
ican, for their conduct during the siege, and 
specifying by name several of the generals and 

* Thacher, p. 346. 



Other officers who had especially distinguished 
themselves. All those of his army who were 
under arrest, were pardoned and set at liberty. 
" Divine service," it was added^ " is to be per- 
formed to-morrow in the several brigades and 
divisions. The commander-in-chief earnestly 
recommends that the troops, not on duty, 
should universally attend, with tliat seriousness 
of deportment and gratitude of heart wliich the 
recognition of such reiterated and astonishing 
interpositions of Providence demand of us." 

Cornwallis felt deeply the humiliation of this 
close to all his wide and wild campaigning, and 
was made the more sensitive on the subject by 
circumstances of which he soon became appris- 
ed. On the very day that he had been com- 
pelled to lay down his arms before Yorktown, 
the lingering armament intended for his relief 
sailed from New York. It consisted of twenty- 
five ships of the line, two fifty gun ships, and 
eight frigates ; with Sir Henry Clinton and 
seven thousand of his best troops. Sir Henry 
arrived off the capes of Virginia on the 24th, 
and gathered information which led him to ap- 
prehend that Lord Cornwallis had capitulated. 
He hovered off the mouth of the Chesapeake 
until the 29th, when, having fully ascertained 
that he had come too late, he turned his tardy 
prows toward New York. 

Cornwallis, in a letter written subsequently, 
renders the following testimony to the conduct 
of his captors : " The treatment, in general, 
that we have received from the enemy since 
our surrender, has been perfectly good and 
proper ; but the kindness and attention that 
has been shown to us by the French officers in 
particular, their delicate sensibility of our situ- 
ation, their generous and pressing offer of mo- 
ney, both public and private, to any amount, 
lias really gone beyond what I can possibly de- 
scribe, and will, I hope, make an impression in 
the breast of every officer, whenever the for- 
tune of war shall put any of them into our 
power." 

In the mean time, the rejoicings which Wash- 
ington had commenced with appropriate so- 
lemnities in the victorious camp, had spread 
throughout the Union. " Cornwallis is taken ! " 
was the universal acclaim. It was considered a 
death-blow to the war. 

Congress gave way to transports of joy. 
Thanks were voted to the connnander-in-chief, 
to the Counts de Piochambeau and De Grasse, 
to the officers of the allied arimes generally, 
and to the corps of artillery and engineers es- 



^T. 49.] DISSOLUTION OF THE COMBINED ARMIES— DEATH OF JOHN PARKE CUSTIS. 621 



pecially. Two stands of colors, trophies of the 
capitulation, were voted to Washington, two 
pieces of field ordnance to De Rochambeau and 
De Grasse ; and it was decreed that a marble 
column, commemorative of the alliance between 
France and the United States, and of the vic- 
tory achieved by their associated arms, should 
be erected in Yorktown. Finally, Congress is- 
sued a proclamation, appointing a day for gen- 
eral thanksgiving and prayer, in acknoAvledg- 
ment of this signal interposition of Divine 
Providence. 

Far different was the feeling of the British 
ministry when news of the event reached the 
other side of the Atlantic. Lord George Ger- 
main was the first to announce it to Lord North 
at his office in Downing Street. " And how 
did he take it ? " was the inquiry. " As he 
would have taken a ball in the breast,'' replied 
Lord George, " for he opened his arms, ex- 
claiming wildly as he paced up and down the 
apartment, ' Oh God ! it is all over ! ' " * 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

Washington would have followed up the re- 
duction of Yorktown by a combined operation 
against Charleston, and addressed a letter to 
the Count de Grasse on the subject, but the 
count alleged in reply that the orders of his 
court, ulterior projects, and his engagements 
with the Spaniards, rendered it impossible to 
remain the necessary time for the operation. 

The prosecution of the Southern war, there- 
fore, upon the broad scale which Washington 
had contemplated, liad to be relinquished ; for, 
without shipping and a convoy, the troops and 
every thing necessary for a siege would have 
to be transported by land with immense trou- 
ble, expense, and delay ; while the enemy, by 
means of their fleets, could reinforce or with- 
draw the garrison at pleasure. 

Under these circumstances, Washington had 
to content himself, for the present, with detach- 
ing two thousand Pennsylvania, Maryland, and 
Virginia Continental troops, under General St. 
Clair, for the support of General Greene, trust- 
ing that, with this aid, he would be able to 
command the interior of South Carolina, and 
confine the enemy to the town of Charleston. 

A dissolution of the combined forces now 
took place. The Marquis St. Simon embarked 



* Wraxall's Historical Memoirs, vol. ii., p. 99. 



his troops on the last of October, and the 
Count de Grasse made sail on the 4th of No- 
vember, taking with him two beautiful horses 
which Washington had presented to him in to- 
ken of cordial regard. 

Lafayette, seeing there was no probability of 
further active service in the present year, re- 
solved to return to France on a visit to his 
family, and, with Washington's approbation, 
set out for Philadelphia to obtain leave of ab- 
sence from Congress. 

The British prisoners were marched to Win- 
chester in Virginia and Frederickstown in Ma- 
ryland, and Lord Cornwallis and his principal 
officers sailed for New York on parole. 

The main part of the American array em- 
barked for the Head of Elk, and returned north- 
ward under the command of General Lincoln, 
to be cantoned for the winter in the Jerseys 
and on the Hudson, so as to be ready for ope- 
rations against New York, or elsewhere, in the 
next year's campaign. 

The French army were to remain for the 
winter, in Virginia, and the Count de Rocham- 
beau established his head-quarters at Williams- 
burg. 

Having attended in person to the distribution 
of ordnance and stores, the departure of prison- 
ers, and the embarkation of the troops under 
Lincoln, Washington left Yorktown on the 5th 
of November, and arrived the same day at El- 
tham, the seat of his friend Colonel Bassett. He 
arrived just in time to receive the last breath 
of John Parke Custis, the son of Mrs. Washing- 
ton, as he had, several years previously, ren- 
dered tender and pious offices at the death-bed 
of his sister, Miss Custis. The deceased had 
been an object of Washington's care from child- 
hood, and been cherished by him with paternal 
aftection. Formed under his guidance and 
instructions, he had been fitted to take a 
part in the public concerns of his country, and 
had acquitted himself with credit as a member 
of the Virginia Legislature. He was but ^ 
twenty-eight years old at the time of his deatli;^ 
and left a widow and four young children. It' 
was an unexpected event, and the dying scene 
was rendered peculiarly affecting from the pres- 
ence of the mother and wife of the deceased. 
Washington remained several days at Eltham 
to comfort them in their afflictions. As a con- 
solation to Mrs. Washington in her bereave- 
ment, he adopted the two youngest children of 
the deceased, a boy and girl, who thenceforth 
formed a part of his immediate family. 



622 



WASHINGTON AT MOUNT VERNON— LAFAYETTE SAILS FOR FRANCE. 



[1782. 



From Eltham, Washington proceeded to 
Mount Vernon ; but public cai'es gave him little 
leisure to attend to his private concerns. We 
have seen how repeatedly his steady mind had 
been exercised in the darkest times of the rev- 
olutionary struggle, in buoying up the public 
heart Avhen sinking in despondency. He had 
now an opposite task to perform, to guard 
against an overweening confidence inspired by 
the recent triumph. In a letter to General 
Greene, ho writes : " I shall remain but a few 
days here, and shall proceed to Philadelphia, 
when I shall attempt to stimulate Congress to 
the best improvement of our late success, by 
taking the most vigorous and effectual measures 
to be ready for an early and decisive campaign 
the next year. My greatest fear is, that Con-' 
gress, viewing this stroke in too important a 
point of light, may think our work too nearly 
closed, and will fall into a state of languor and 
relaxation. To prevent this error, I shall em- 
ploy every means in my power, and if, unhap- 
pily, we sink into that fatal mistake, no part of 
the blame shall be mine." 

In a letter written at the same time to La- 
fayette, who, having obtained from Congress 
an indefinite leave of absence, was about to sail, 
he says : " I owe it to your friendship, and to 
my aifectionate regard for you, my dear mar- 
quis, not to let you leave this country, without 
carrying Avith you fresh marks of my attach- 
ment to you, and new expressions of the high 
sense I entertain of your military conduct, and 
other important services in the course of the 
last campaign." In reply to inquiries which 
the marquis had made respecting the operations 
of the coming year, he declares that every thing 
must depend absolutely for success upon the 
naval force to be employed in these seas and 
the time of its appearance. " l^o land force," 
writes he, " can act decisively unless it is ac- 
companied by a maritime superiority ; nor can 
more than negative advantages be expected 
without it. For proof of this we have only to 
recur to instances of tlie ease and facility with 
which the British shif 'I their ground, as ad- 
vantages were to be obtained at either extrem- 
ity of the continent, and to their late heavy 
loss the moment they failed in their naval su- 
periority. * * * * j\ doubt did not exist, 
nor does it at this moment, in any man's mind, 
of the total extirpation of the British force in 
the Carolinas and Georgia, if the Count de 
Grasse could have extended his co-opei*ation 
two mouths longer." 



We may add here that Congress, after reso- 
lutions highly complimentary to the marquis, 
had, through the secretary of foreign affairs, 
recommended to the ministers plenipotentiary 
of the United States, resident in Europe, to con- 
fer with the marquis, and avail themselves of 
his information relative to the situation of na- 
tional affairs, which information the various 
heads of departmen*s were instructed to furnish 
him ; and he was furthermore made the bearer 
of a letter to his sovereign, recommending him 
in the strongest terms to the royal considera- 
tion. Much was anticipated from the generous 
zeal of Lafayette, and the influence he would be 
able to exercise in France in favor of the Amer- 
ican cause. 

■ ^Towards the end of November, Washington 
was in Philadelphia, Avhere Congress received 
him with distinguished honors. He lost no 
time in enforcing the policy respecting the en- 
suing campaign, which he had set forth in his 
letters to General Greene and the marquis. His 
views were met by the military committee of 
Congress, with wliich he was in frequent con- 
sultation, and by the secretaries of war, finance, 
and public affairs, who attended their confer- 
ences. Under his impulse and personal super- 
vision, the military arrangements for 1782 were 
made with unusual despatch. On the 10th of 
December resolutions were passed in Congress 
for requisitions of men and money from the 
several States ; and Washington backed those 
requisitions by letters to the respective govern- 
ors, urging prompt compliance. Strenuous ex- 
ertions, too, were made by Dr. Franklin, then 
minister in France, to secure a continuance of 
efiicieut aid from that power ; and a loan of six 
millions had been promised by the king after 
hearing of the capitulation of Yorktown. 

The persuasion that peace was at hand was, 
however, too prevalent for the public to be 
roused to new sacrifices and toils to maintain 
what was considered the mere shadow of a war. 
The States were slow in furnishing a small part of 
their respective quotas of troops, and still slower 
in answering to the requisitions for money. 

After remaining four months in Philadelphia, 
Washington set out in March to rejoin the army 
at Newburg on tlie Hudson. He was at Mor- 
ristown in the Jerseys on the 28th, when a bold 
project was submitted to him by Colonel Mat- 
thias Ogden, of the Jersey line. Prince William 
Henry,* son of the king of England, who was 



* Afterwards William IV. 



^T. 50.] PROJECT TO CAPTURE PRINCE WILLIAM HENRY— RETALIATORY MEASURES. 623 



serving as a midsliipman in the fleet of Admiral 
Digby, was at that time in New York with tlie 
admiral, an object of great attention to the 
array, and the tory part of the inhabitants. 
The project of Colonel Ogden was to surprise 
the prince and the admiral at their quarters in 
the city, and bring them off prisoners. He was 
to be aided in the enterprise by a captain, a 
subaltern, three sergeants, and thirty-sis men. 
They were to embark from the Jersey shore on 
a rainy night in four whaleboats, well manned, 
and rowed with muflBed oars, and were to land 
in New York at half-past nine, at a wharf not 
far from tlie quarters of the prince and admiral, 
which were in Ilnnover Square. Part of the 
men were to guard the boats, while Colonel 
Ogden with a strong party was to proceed to 
the house, force the doors if necessary, and 
capture the prince and admiral. In returning 
to the boats, part of the men, armed with 
gims and bayonets, were to precede the prison- 
ers, and part to follow at half a gunshot dis- 
tance, to give front to the enemy until all were 
embarked. 

The plan Avas approved by "Washington, but 
Colonel Ogden was charged to be careful that 
no insult or indignity be offered to the prince 
or admiral, should they be captured. They 
Avere, on the contrary, to be treated Avith all 
possible respect, and conveyed Avithout delay 
to Congress. 

HoAV far an attempt was mfwle to carry this 
plan into operation, is not known. An exag- 
gerated alarm seems to have been awakened by 
extravagant reports circulated in New York, 
as appears by the following citation from a pa- 
per or letter dated April 23d, and transmitted 
by Washington to Ogden : 

" Great seem to be their apprehensions here. 
About a fortnight ago a number of flat-boats 
were discovered by a sentinel from the bank 
of the river (Hudson), which are said to have 
been intended to fire the suburbs, and in the 
height of the conflagration to make a descent 
on the lower part of the cify, and wrest from 
our embraces his Excellency Sir Henry Clinton, 
Prince William Henry, and several other illus- 
trious personages — since which great precau- 
tions have been taken for the security of those 
gentlemen, by augmenting the guards, and to 
render their persons as little exposed as pos- 
sible." 

These precautions very probably disconcerted 
the project of Colonel Ogden, of which we find 
no other traces. 



In a recent letter to General Greene, Wash- 
ington had expressed himself strongly on the 
subject of retaliation. " Of all laws it is the 
most difficult to execute, where you have not 
the transgressor liimself in your possession. 
Humanity Avill ever interfere, and plead strong- 
ly against the sacrifice of an innocent person for 
the guilt of another." 

It was but three or four months after this 
writing, that his judgment and feelings Avere 
put to the proof in this respect. We have had 
occasion to notice the marauds of the New 
Y'"ork refugees in the Jerseys. One of their 
number by the name of Philip White had been 
captured by the Jersey people, and killed in at- 
tempting to escape from those Avho were con- 
ducting him to Monmouth jail. His partisans 
in New York determined on a signal revenge. 
Captain Joseph Iluddy, an ardent Avhig, Avho 
had been captured Avhen bravely defending a 
block-house in Monmouth County, and carried 
captiA^e to Ncav Y^'ork, was noAv drawn forth 
from prison, conducted into the Jerseys by a. 
part}- of refugees, headed by a Captain Lippen- 
cott, and hanged on the heights of Middletown 
with a label affixed to his breast, bearing the 
inscription, " Up goes Iluddy for Philip White." 

The neighboring country cried out for retali- 
ation. Washington submitted the matter, Avith 
all the evidence furnished, to a board of gen- 
eral and field-officers. It Avas unanimously de- 
termined that the offender should be demand- 
ed for execution, and, if not given up, that re- 
taliation should be exercised on a British pris- 
oner of equal rank. Wasliington accordingly 
sent proofs to Sir Henry Clinton of Avbat he 
stigmatized as a murder, and demanded that 
Captain Lippencott, or the officer who com- 
manded the execution of Captain Iluddy, should 
be given up ; or if that officer should be inferior 
in rank, so many of the perpetrators as would, 
according to the tariff of exchange, be an equiv- 
alent. " To do this," said he, " will mark the 
justice of your Excellency's character. In fail- 
ure of it, I shall hold myself justifiable in the 
eyes of God and man, for the measure to which 
I will resort." 

Sir Henry declined a compliance, but stated 
that he had ordered a strict inquiry into the 
circumstances of Captain Iluddy's deatli, and 
would bring the perpetratprs of it to immediate 
trial. 

Washington about the same time received 
the copy of a resolution of Congress approving 
of his firm and judicious conduct, in liis appli- 



624 



CASE OF CAPTAIN ASGILL— CASE OF COLONEL WEBB. 



[1T82. 



cation to the British general at New York, and 
promising to supj^ort him " in his fixed purpose 
of exemplary retaliation." 

He accordingly ordered a selection to he 
made hy lot, for the above purpose, from among 
the British officers, prisoners at Lancaster in 
Pennsylvania. To enhance the painful nature 
of the case, the lot fell upon Captain Charles 
Asgill of the guards, a youth only nineteen 
years of age, of an amiable character and high 
hoi>es and expectations, being only son and heir 
of Sir Charles Asgill, a wealtliy baronet. 

The youth bore his lot with firmness, but his 
fellow prisoners were incensed at Sir Henry 
Clinton for exposing him to such a fate by re- 
fusing to deliver up the culprit. One of their 
number, a son of the Earl of Ludlow, solicited 
permission from "Washington to proceed to New 
York and lay the case before Sir Guy Carleton, 
who had succeeded in command to Sir Henry 
Clinton. In granting it, Washington intimated 
that, though deeply aftected by the unhappy 
fate to which Captain Asgill was subjected, and 
devoutly wishing that his life might be spared, 
there was but one alternative that could save 
him, of which the British commander must be 
aware. 

The matter remained for some time in sus- 
pense. Washington had ordered that Captain 
Asgill should be treated " with every tender 
attention and politeness (consistent with his 
present situation), which his rank, fortune, and 
connections, together with his unfortunate state, 
demanded," and the captain himself acknowl- 
edged in writing the feeling and attentive man- 
ner in which tliose connnands were executed. 
But on tlie question of retaliation Washington 
remained firm. 

Lippencott was at length tried.by a court- 
martial, but, after a long sitting, acquitted, it 
appearing tliat he had acted under the verbal 
orders of Governor Franklin, president, of tlie 
board of associated loyalists. The British com- 
mander reprobated the death of Captain Huddy, 
and broke up the board. 

Tliese circumstances changed in some degree 
the ground upon wliich Washington was pro- 
ceeding. He laid tlie whole matter before 
Congress, admitted Captain Asgill on parole at 
Morristown, and subsequently intimated to the 
secretary of war his private opinion in favor 
of his release, with permission to go to his 
friends in Europe. 

In the mean time Lady Asgill, the mother of 
the youth, had written a pathetic letter to the 



Count de Vergennes, the French minister of 
state, imploring his intercession in belialf of her 
son. The letter was shown to the king and 
queen, and by their direction the count wrote 
to Washington soliciting the liberation of As- 
gill. Washington, as has been shown, had al- 
ready suggested his release, and was annoyed 
at the delay of Congress in the matter. He 
now referred to that body the communication 
from the count, and urged a favorable decision. 
To his great relief, he received their directions 
to set Captain Asgill at liberty. 

This, like the case of the unfortunate Andre, 
was one of the painful and trying predicaments 
in which a strict sense of public duty obliged 
Washington to do violence to his natural im- 
pulses, and he declares in one of his let- 
ters, that the situation of Captain Asgill often 
filled him with the keenest anguish. "I felt 
for him on many accounts ; and not the least 
when, viewing him as a man of honor and sen- 
timent, I considered how unfortunate it was 
for him that a wretch who possessed neither, 
should be the means of causing him a single 
pang or a disagreeable sensation." 

NOTE. 

While these pages are going through the press, we 
have before us an instance of that conscientious regard 
for justice which governed Washington's conduct. 

A favorite aide-de-camp, Colonel Samuel B. Webb, 
who had been wounded in the battles of Bunker's Hill 
and White Plains, was captured in December, 1777, 
when commanding a Connecticut regiment, and ac- 
companying General Parsons in a descent'upon Long 
Island. He was then but twenty-four j-ears of age, 
and the youngest colonel in the army. Presuming 
upon the favor of General Washington, who had pro- 
nounced him one of the most accomplished gentlemen 
in the service, he wrote to him, reporting his capture, 
and begging most strenuously for an immediate ex- 
change. He received a prompt, but disappointing 
reply. Washington lamented his unfortunate condi- 
tion. " It •ivould give me pleasure," said he, " to ' 
render you any services in my power, but it is impos- 
sible for me to comply with your request, without 
violating the principles of justice, and mcurring a 
charge of partiality.'' 

In fact, several officers of Colonel Webb's rauk had 
been a long time in durance, and it was a rule with \ 
Washington that those first captured should be first 
released. To this rule he inflexibly adhered, however , 
his feelings might plead for its infringement. Colonel 
Webb, in consequence, was not exchanged until the 
present year; when Washington, still on principles of ' 
justice, gave him the brevet rank of Brigadier-general 
and the command of tba light-infantry. 






Ml. 50.] DISCONTENTS OF THE ARMY— EXTRAORDINARY LETTER FROM COL. NICOLA. 625 



CHAPTER XXX. 

In disposing of the case of Captain Asgill, we 
liave anticipated dates, and must revert to the 
time when Washington again estabhshed his 
head-quarters at Fewburg on the Hudson. The 
solicitude felt by him on account of the univer- 
sal relaxation of the sinews of war, was not 
allayed by reports of pacific speeches, and mo- 
tions made in the British parhament, which 
might be delusive. " Even if the nation and 
parliament," said he, " are really in earnest to 
obtain peace with America, it will, undoubt- 
edly, be wisdom in us to meet them with great 
caution and circumspection, and by all means 
to keep our arms firm in our hands ; and in- 
stead of relaxing one iota in our exertions, 
rather to spring forward with redoubled vigor, 
that we may take the advantage of every fa- 
vorable opportunity, until our wishes are fully 
obtained. No nation ever yet sufl:ered in treaty 
by preparing, even in the moment of negotia- 
tion, most vigorously for the field." 

Sir Guy Carleton arrived in New York early 
in May to take the place of Sir Henry Clinton, 
who had solicited his recall. In a letter dated 
May 7th, Sir Guy informed Washington of his 
being joined with Admiral Digby in the com- 
mission of peace ; he transmitted at the same 
time printed copies of the proceedings in the 
House of Commons on the 4th of March, re- 
specting an address to the king in favor of 
peace ; and of a bill reported in consequence 
thereof, authorizing the king to conclude a 
peace or truce with the revolted provinces of 
North America. As this bill, however, had 
not passed into a law when Sir Guy left Eng- 
land, it presented no basis for a negotiation ; 
and was only cited by him to show the pacific 
disposition of the British nation, with which 
he professed the most zealous concurrence. 
Still, though multiplied circumstances gradu- 
ally persuaded Washington of a real disposition 
on the part of Great Britain to terminate the 
war, he did not think fit to relax his prepara- 
tions for hostilities. 

Great discontents prevailed at this time in 
the array, both among ofiicers and men. The 
neglect of the States to furnish their propor- 
tions of the sum voted by Congress for the 
prosecution of the war, had left the army al- 
most destitute. There was scarce money suf- 
ficient to feed the troops from day to day; 
indeed, there were days when they were abso- 
40 



lutely in want of provisions. The pay of the 
ofiicers, too, was greatly in arrear; many of 
them doubted whether they would ever receive 
the half pay decreed to them by Congress for 
a term of years after the conclusion of tlie war, 
and fears began to be expressed that, in the 
event of peace, they would all be disbanded 
with their claims unliquidated, and themselves 
cast upon the community penniless, and unfit- 
ted, by long military habitudes, for the gainful 
piu'suits of peace. 

At this juncture, Washington received an ex- 
traordinary letter from Colonel Lewis Nicola, a 
veteran officer, once commandant of Fort Mif- 
flin, who had been in habits of intimacy with 
him, and had warmly interceded in behalf of 
tlie suffferiug army. In this letter he attributed 
all the ills experienced and anticipated by the 
army and the public at large to the existing 
form of government. He condemned a repub- 
lican form as incompatible with national pros- 
perity, and advised a mixed government like 
that of England ; which, he had no doubt, on 
its benefits being properly pointed out, would 
be readily adopted. " In that case," he adds, 
" it will, I believe, be uncontroverted, that the 
same abilities which have led us through diffi- 
culties apparently insurmountable by human 
power, to victory and glory ; those qualities 
that have merited and obtained the universal 
esteem and veneration of an army, would be 
most likely to conduct and direct us in the 
smoother paths of peace. Some people have 
so connected the idea of tyranny and mon- 
archy, as to find it very difficult to separate 
them. It may, therefore, be requisite to give 
the head of such a constitution as I propose, 
some title apparently more moderate ; but, if 
all other things were once adjusted, I believe 
strong arguments might be produced for ad- 
mitting the title of King, which, I conceive, 
would be attended with some material advan- 
tages." 

Washington saw at once that Nicola was but 
the organ of a military faction, disposed to 
make the army the basis of an energetic gov- 
ernment, and to place him at the head. The 
suggestion, backed by the opportunity, might 
have tempted a man of meaner ambition : from 
him it drew the following indignant letter : 

" With a mixture of great surprise and as- 
tonishment, I have read with attention the sen- 
timents you have submitted to my perusal. Be 
assured, sir, no occurrence in the course of the 
war has given me more painful sensations, than 



626 JUNCTION OF THE ALLIED ARMIES— PROPOSED REDUCTION OF THE ARMY. [1782. 



your information of there being such ideas ex- 
isting in the army, as you have expressed, and 
I must view with abhorrence, and repreliend 
with severity. For tlie present, tlie communi- 
cation of them will rest in my own bosom, un- 
less some further agitation of the matter sliall 
make a disclosure necessary. 

" T am much at a loss to conceive what part 
of my conduct could have given encouragement 
to an address, which to me seems big with the 
greatest mischiefs that can befall my country. 
It I am not deceived in the knowledge of my- 
self, you could not have found a person to whom 
your schemes are more disagreeable. At the 
same time, in justice to my own feelings, I 
must add, that no man possesses a more sincere 
wish to see ample justice done to the army than 
I do ; and as far as my powers and influence, 
in a constitutional way, extend, they shall be 
employed to the utmost of my abilities to 
effect it, should there he any occasion. Let 
me conjure you, then, if you have any regard 
for your country, concern for yourself, or 
posterity, or respect for me, to banish these 
thoughts from your mind, and never communi- 
cate, as from yourself or any one else, a senti- 
ment of the like nature.'' 

On the 2d of August, Sir Guy Carleton and 
Admiral Digby wrote a joint letter to "Washing- 
ton, informing him that they wei'e acquainted, 
by authority, that negotiations for a general 
peace had already been commenced at Paris, 
and that the independence of the United States 
would be proposed in the first instance by the 
British commissioner, instead of being made a 
condition of a general treaty." 

Even yet, Washington was wary. " From 
the former infatuation, du])licity, and perverse 
system of British policy," said he, " I confess I 
am induced to doubt every thing ; to suspect 
every thing." * * * u "\yiijxtgygi. tjjg ^q^i 
intention of the enemy may be, I think the 
strictest attention and exertion, which have 
ever been exercised on our part, instead of be- 
ing diminished, ought to be increased. Jeal- 
ousy and precaution at least can do no harm. 
Too much confidence and supineness may be 
pernicious in the exteme." 

What gave force to this policy was, that as yet 
no offers had been made on the part of Great 
Britain, for a general cessation of hostilities, and, 
although the British commanders were in a man- 
ner tied down by the resolves of the House of 
Commons, to a defensive war, only in the United 
States, they might be at liberty to transport 



part of their force to the West Indies to act 
against the French possessions in that quarter. 
With these considerations he wrote to the 
Count de Eochambeau, then at Baltimore, ad- 
vising him, for the good of the common cause, 
to march his troops to the banks of the Hud- 
son, and form a junction with the American 
army. 

The junction took place about the middle of 
September. The French army crossed the 
Hudson at King's Ferry to Verplanck's Point, 
where the American forces were paraded un- 
der arms to welcome them. The clothing and 
arms recently received from France or captured 
at Yorktown, enabled them to make an unusu- 
ally respectable appearance. Two lines wei-e 
formed from the landing-place to head-quarters, 
between which Count Eochambeau passed, es- 
corted by a troop of cavalry ; after which he 
took his station beside General Washington : 
the music struck up a French march, and the 
whole army passed in review before them. 

The French army encamped on the left of the 
American, near Crompond, about ten miles from 
Verplanck's Point. The greatest good wiU con- 
tinued to prevail between the allied forces, 
though the Americans had but little means of 
showmg hospitality to their gay Gallic friends. 

" Only conceive the mortification they must 
suffer, even the general officers," says Wash- 
ington in a letter to the secretary of war, 
" when they cannot invite a French officer, a 
visiting friend, or a travelling acquaintance, to 
a better repast than whiskey hot from the still, 
and not always that, and a bit of beef without 
vegetables will afford them." 

Speaking of a contemplated reduction of the 
army to take place on the 1st of January : 
" While I premise," said he, " that no one I 
have seen or heard of appears opposed to the 
principle of reducing the army as circumstances 
may require ; yet I cannot help fearing the 
result of the measure in contemplation, under 
present circumstances, when I see such a num- 
ber of men, goaded by a thousand stings of re- 
flection on the past, and of anticipation on the 
future, about to be turned into the world, 
soured by penury, and what they caU the in- 
gratitude of the public, involved in debts, with- 
out one forthing of money to carry them home, 
after having spent the flower of their days, and 
many of them their patrimonies, in establishing 
the freedom and independence of their country, 
and suffered every thing that human nature is 
capable of enduring on this side of death : — I 






^T. 51.] DISCONTENTS OF THE ARMY AT NEWBURG-ANONYMOUS PAPERS 



627 



repeat it, that when I consider these irritating 
circumstances, without one thing to soothe their 
feelings or dispel the gloomy prospects, I can- 
not avoid apprehending that a train of evils 
will follow, of a every serious and distressing 
nature. * * * * 

" I wish not to heighten' the shades of the 
picture so far as the reality would justify me 
in doing it. I could give anecdotes of patriot- 
ism and distress, which have scarcely ever been 
paralleled, never surpassed in the history of 
mankind. But you may rely upon it, the pa- 
tience and long-suffering of this army are al- 
most exhausted, and that there never was so 
great a spirit of discontent as at this instant. 
While in the field, I think it may be kept from 
breaking out into acts of outrage ; but when we 
retire into winter-quarters, unless the storm is 
previously dissipated, I cannot be at ease re- 
specting the consequences. It is high time for 
a peace." 



CHAPTER XXXI. 

The anxious fears of "Washington in regard 
to what might take place on the approaching 
reduction of the army, were in some degree 
realized. After the meeting with the French 
army at Verplanck's Point, he had drawn up 
his forces to his former encampment at New- 
burg, where he established his head-quarters 
for the winter. In the leisure and idleness of 
a winter camp, the discontents of the army 
had time to ferment. The arrearages of pay 
became a topic of constant and angry comment 
as well as the question, whether the resolution 
of Congress, granting half pay to officers who 
should serve to the end of the war, would be 
carried into effect. Whence were the funds 
to arise for such half pay ? The national treas- 
ury was empty ; the States were slow to tax 
themselves ; the resources of foreign loans was 
nearly exhausted. The articles of confedera- 
tion required the concurrence of nine States to 
any act appropriating public money. There 
had never been nine States in favor of the half 
pay establishment ; was it probable that as i 
many would concur in applying any scanty 
funds that might accrue, and which would be 
imperiously demanded for many other pur- 
poses, to the payment of claims known to be 
, unpopular, and to the support of men, who, the 
necessity for their services being at an end, 
might be regarded as drones in the community ? 



The result of these boding conferences was 
a memorial to Congress in December, from the 
officers in camp, on behalf of the army, repre- 
senting the hardships of the case, and proposing 
that a specific sum should be granted them for 
the money actually due, and as a commutation 
for half pay. Three officers were deputed to 
present the memorial to Congress, and watch 
over and promote its success. 

The memorial gave rise to animated and 
long discussions in Congress. Some members 
were for admitting the claims as founded on 
engagements entered into by the nation ; others 
were for referring them to the respective States 
of the claimants. The winter passed away with- 
out any definite measures on the subject. 

On the 10 th of March, 1783, an anonymous 
paper was circulated through the camp, calling 
a meeting at eleven o'clock the next day, of the 
general and field-officers, of an officer from each 
company, and a delegate from the medical stafi; 
to consider a letter just received from their 
representatives in Philadelphia, and what meas- 
ures, if any, should be adopted to obtain that 
redress of grievances which they seemed to 
have solicited in vain. 

On the following morning an anonymous ad- 
dress to the officers of the army was privately 
put in circulation. It professed to be from a 
fellow-soldier, who had shared in their toils 
and mingled in their dangers, and who till very 
lately had believed in the justice of his country. 
"After a pursuit of seven long years," ob- 
served he, " the object for which we set out is 
at length brought within our reach. Yes, my 
friends, that suff'ering courage of yours was 
active once ; it has conducted the United States 
of America through a doubtful and bloody 
war ; it has placed her in the chair of inde- 
pendency, and peace returns to bless — whom ? 
a country willing to redress your wrongs, cher- 
ish your worth, and reward jonr services? a 
country courting your return to private life, 
with tears of gratitude and smiles of admira- 
tion, longing to divide with you that independ- 
ency v/hich your gallantry has given, and those 
riches which your wounds have preserved ? Is 
this the case ? or is it rather a country that 
tramples upon your rights, disdains your cries, 
and insults your distresses? Have you not 
more than once suggested your wishes, and 
made known your wants to Congress — wants 
and wishes, which gratitude and policy should 
have anticipated, rather than evaded? And 
have you not lately, in the meek language of 



628 



ANONYMOUS PAPERS— MEETING OF OFFICERS CALLED. 



[1783. 



entreating memorials, begged from tlieir justice 
what you could no longer expect from their 
favor? How have you been answered? Let 
the letter, which you are called to consider to- 
morrow, make rej^ly ! 

" If this, then, be your treatment, while the 
swords you wear are necessary for the defence 
of America, what have you to expect from 
peace, when your voice shall sink, and your 
strength dissipate by division ; when those 
very swords, the instruments and companions 
of your glory, shall be taken from your sides, 
and no remaining mark of military distinction 
left but your wants, infirmities, and scars? 
Can you then consent to be the only sufferers 
by this Eevolution, and, retiring from the field, 
grow old in poverty, wretchedness, and con- 
tempt? Can yon consent to wade through the 
vile mire of dependency, and owe the miserable 
remnant of that life to charity, which has hith- 
erto been spent in honor ? If you can, go, and 
carry with you the jest of Tories, and the scorn 
of Whigs ; the ridicule, and what is worse, the 
pity of the world ! Go, starve and be forgot- 
ten ! But if your spirits should revolt at this ; 
if you have sense enough to discover, and spirit 
sufficient to oppose tyranny, under whatever 
garb it may assume, whether it be the plain 
coat of republicanism, or the splendid robe 
of royalty ; if you have yet learned to dis- 
criminate between a people and a cause, be- 
tween men and principles ; awake, attend to 
your situation, and redress yourselves ! If the 
present moment be lost, every future effort is 
in vain ; and your threats then will be as empty 
as your entreaties now. 

" I would advise you, therefore, to come to 
some final opinion upon what you can bear, 
and what you will suffer. If your determina- 
tion be in any proportion to your wrongs, carry 
your appeal from the justice to the fears of 
government. Change the milk-and-water style 
of your last memorial. Assume a bolder tone, 
decent, but lively, spirited, and determined ; 
and suspect the man who would advise to 
more moderation and longer forbearance. Let 
two or three men, who can feel as well as 
write, be appointed to draw up your last re- 
monstrance, for I would no longer give it the 
suing, soft, unsuccessful epithet of memorial. 
Let it represent in language, that will neither 
dishonor you by its rudeness, nor betray you 
by its fears, what has been promised by Con- 
gress, and what has been performed ; how long 
and how patiently you have suffered ; how little 



you have asked, and how much of that little 
has been denied. Tell them, that, though you 
were the first, and would wish to be the last, 
to encounter danger, though despair itself can 
never drive you into dishonor, it may drive 
you from the field ; that the wound, often ir- 
ritated and never healed, may at length be- 
come incurable ; and that the slightest mark 
of indignity from Congress now, must operate 
like the grave, and part you forever ; that, in 
any political event, the army has its alternative. 
If peace, that nothing shall separate you from 
your arms but death ; if war, that courting the 
auspices, and inviting the direction of your il- 
lustrious leader, you will retire to some unset- 
tled country, smile in your turn, and ' mock 
when their fear cometh on.' But let it repre- 
sent, also, that should they comply with the 
request of your late memorial, it would make 
you more happy and them more respectable ; 
that, while war should continue, you would 
follow their standard into the field ; and when 
it came to an end, you would withdraw into 
the shade of private life, and give the world 
another subject of wonder and applause ; an 
army victorious over its enemies, victorious 
over itself." 

This bold and eloquent, but dangerous ap- 
peal, founded as it was upon the wrongs and 
sufferiugs of a gallant army and the shameful 
want of sympathy in tardy legislators, called 
for the full exercise of "Washington's character- 
istic firmness, caution, and discrimination. In 
general orders he noticed the anonymous paper, 
but expressed his confidence that the good sense 
of oflBcers would prevent thenl from paying at- 
tention to such an irregular invitation ; which 
he reprobated as disorderly. With a view to 
counteract its effects, he requested a like meet- 
ing of ofiicers on the 15th instant, to hear the 
report of the committee deputed to Congress. 
" After mature deliberation," added he, " they 
wiU devise what further measures ought to be 
adopted as most rational and best calculated to 
obtain the just and important object in view." 

On the following day another anonymous 
address was circulated, written in a more mod- 
erate tone, but to the same purport with the 
fii'st, and affecting to construe the general or- 
ders into an approbation of the object sought ; ' 
only changing the day appointed for the meet-> 
ing. " Tin now," it observed, " the command-! 
er-in-chief has regarded the steps you have 
taken for redress with good wishes alone ; his 
ostensible silence has authorized your meet-i 



Mr. 51.] 



WASHINGTON ADDRESSES THE AEMY. 



629 



ings, and his private opinion sanctified your 
claims. Had he disliked the object in view, 
■would not the same sense of duty which for- 
bade you from meeting on the third day of the 
week, have forbidden you from meeting on the 
seventh ? Is not the same subject held up to 
your view ? and has it not passed the seal of 
ofiice, and taken all the solemnity of an order ? 
This will give system to your proceedings, and 
stability to your resolves." &c., &c. 

On Saturday, the 15th of March, the meet- 
ing took place. Washington had previously 
sent for the oflBcers, one by one, in private, 
and enlarged on the loss of character to the 
whole army, that woidd result from intemper- 
ate resolutions. At the meeting, General Gates 
was called to the chair. Washington rose and 
apologized for appearing there, which he had 
not intended to do when he issued the order 
directing the assemblage. The diligence, how- 
ever, which had been used in circulating anony- 
mous writings, rendered it necessary he should 
give his sentiments to the army, on the nature 
and tendency of them. He had taken this 
opportunity to do so, and had committed his 
thoughts to writing, which, with the indul- 
gence of his brother ofiicers, he would take the 
liberty of reading to them. 

He then proceeded to read a forcible and 
feeling address, pointing out the irregularity 
and impropriety of the recent anonymous sum- 
mons, and the dangerous nature of the anony- 
mous address ; a production, as he observed, 
addressed more to the feelings and passions 
than to the judgment ; drawn with great art, 
calculated to impress the mind with an idea 
of premeditated injustice in the sovereign pow- 
er of the United States, and to rouse all those 
resentments which must unavoidably flow from 
such a belief. 

On these principles he had opposed the ir- 
regular and hasty meeting appointed in the 
anonymous summons, not from a disinclination 
to afford officers every opportunity, consistent 
with their own honor and the dignity of the 
army, to make known their grievances. " If 
my conduct heretofore," said he, " has not 
evinced to you, that I have been a faithful 
friend to the army, my declaration of it at this 
time would be equally ufiavailing and improp- 
er. But as I was among the first who em- 
barked in the cause of our common country ; 
as I have never left your side one moment, but 
when called from you on public duty ; as I 
have been the constant companion and witness 



of your distresses, and not among the last to 
feel and acknowledge your merits ; as I have 
ever considered my own mihtary reputation f,s 
inseparably connected with that of the army ; 
as my heart has ever expanded with joy when 
I have heard its praises, and my indignation 
has arisen when the mouth of detraction has 
been opened against it ; it can scarcely be sup- 
posed at this last stage of the war that I am 
iudifl:erent to its interests." ***** ^: 

"For myself," observes he, in another part 
of his address, " a recollection of the cheerful 
assistance and prompt obedience I have experi- 
enced from you under every vicissitude of for- 
tune, and the sincere aifection I feel for an 
army I have so long had the honor to com- 
mand, will oblige me to declare in this public 
and solemn manner, that for the attainment of 
complete justice for all your toils and dangers, 
and the gratification of every wish, so far as 
may be done consistently with the great duty 
I owe my countiy and those powers we are 
bound to respect, you may fully command my 
services to the utmost extent of my abilities. 

" While I give you these assurances, and 
pledge myself in the most unequivocal manner 
to exert whatever abilities I am possessed of in 
your favor, let me entreat you, gentlemen, on 
your part, not to take any measures which, 
viewed in the calm light of reason, will lessen 
the dignity and sully the glory you have 
hitherto maintained ; — let me request you to 
rely on the plighted faith of your country, and 
place a full confidence in the purity of the in- 
tentions of Congress; that, previous to your 
dissolution as an army, they will cause all your 
accounts to be fairly liqiiidated, as directed in 
the resolutions which were published to you 
two days ago ; and that they will adopt the 
most eflPectual measures in their power to ren- 
der ample justice to you for your faithful and 
meritorious services. And let me conjure yon, 
in the name of our common country, as you 
value your own sacred honor, as you respect 
the rights of humanity, and as you regard the 
military and national character of America, to 
express your utmost horror and detestation of 
the man who wishes, under any specious pre- 
tences, to overturn the liberties of our conn-- 
try ; and who wickedly attempts to open the 
flood-gates of civil discord, and deluge our ris- 
ing empire in blood. By thus determining and 
thus acting, you will pursue the plain and di- 
rect road to the attainment of your wishes ; 
you will defeat the insidious designs of our 



630 THE EFFECT OF WASHINGTON'S ADDRESS— LETTER IN BEHALF OF THE ARMY. [llSd. 



enemies, who are compelled to resort from 
open force to secret artifice ; you will give one 
more distinguished proof of unexampled pa- 
triotism and patient virtue, rising superior to 
the pressure of the most complicated suffer- 
ings ; and you will, by the dignity of your con- 
duct, afford occasion for posterity to say, when 
speaking of the glorious example you have 
exhibited to mankind : — ' Had this day been 
wanting, the Avorld had never seen the last 
stage of perfection to which human nature is 
capable of attaining.' " 

After he had concluded the address, he ob- 
served, that iis a corroborating testimony of 
the good disposition in Congress toward the 
army, he would communicate to them a letter 
received from a worthy member of that body, 
who on all occasions had approved himself 
their fast friend. He produced an able letter 
from the Hon. Joseph Jones, which, while it 
pointed out the difficulties and embarrassments 
of Congress, held up very forcibly the idea that 
the army would, at all events, be generously 
dealt with. 

Major Shaw, who was present, and from 
whose memoir we note this scene, relates that 
"Washington, after reading the first paragraph 
of the letter, made a short pause, took out his 
spectacles, and begged the indulgence of his 
audience while he put them on, observing at 
the same time that he had grown gray in their 
service, and now found himself growing Mind. 
" There was something," adds Shaw, " so natu- 
ral, so unaffected, in this appeal, as rendered it 
superior to the most studied oratory ; it forced 
its way to the heart, and you might see sensi- 
bility moisten every eye." 

" Happy for America," continues Major Shaw, 
" that she has a patriot army, and equally so 
that Washington is its leader. I rejoice in the 
opportunity I have had of seeing this great 
man in a variety of situations ; — calm and in- 
trepid when the battle raged ; patient and per- 
severing under the px-essure of misfortune, mod- 
erate and possessing himself in the full career 
of victory. Great as these qualifications deserv- 
edly render him, he never appeared to me 
more truly so than at the assembly we have 
been speaking of. On other occasions he has 
been supported by the exertions of an army 
and the countenance of his friends ; but on 
this he stood single and alone. There was no 
saying where the passions of an army which 
were not a little inflamed, might lead ; but it 
was generally allowed that further forbearance 



was dangerous, and moderation had ceased to 
be a virtue. Under these circumstances he ap- 
peared, not at the head of his troops, but, as it 
were, in opposition to them ; and for a dread- 
ful moment the interests of the army and its 
general seemed to be in competition ! He 
spoke,— »every doubt was dispelled, and the 
tide of patriotism rolled again in its wonted 
course. Illustrious man ! What he says of the 
army may with equal justice be applied to his 
own character : — ' Had this day been wanting, 
the world had never seen the last stage of per- 
fection to which human nature is capable of 
attaining.' " * 

The mement Washington retired from the as- 
semblage, a resolution was moved by the warm- 
hearted Knox, seconded by General Putnam, 
and passed unanimously, assuring him that the 
officers reciprocated his affectionate expressions 
with the greatest sincerity of Avhich the human 
heart is capable. Then followed resolutions, 
declaring that no circumstances of distress or 
danger should induce a conduct calculated to 
sully the reputation and glory acquired at the 
price of their blood and eight years' faithful 
services ; that they continued to have an un- 
shaken confidence in the justice of Congress 
and their country ; and that the commander- 
in-chief should be requested to write to the 
President of Congress, earnestly entreating a 
speedy decision on the late address forwai-ded 
by a committee of the army. 

A letter was accordingly written by Wash- 
ington, breathing that generous, yet well-tem- 
pered spirit, with which he ever pleaded the 
cause of the army. 

" The result of the proceedings of the grand 
convention of ofl3cers," said he, " which I have 
the honor of enclosing to your Excellency for 
the inspection of Congress, will, I flatter myself, 
be considered as the last glorious proof of 
patriotism which could have been given by men 
who aspired to the distinction of a patriot army, 
and will not only confirm their claim to the 
justice, but will increase their title to the 
gratitude, of their country. 

" Having seen the proceedings on the part 
of the army terminate with perfect unanimity, 
and in a manner entirely consonant to my 
wishes ; being impressed with the liveliest 
sentiments of affection for those who have so 
long, so patiently, and so cheerfully suffered 
and fought under my immediate direction; 



Quincy'6 Memoir of Major Shaw, p. 104. 



Mt. 51.] NEWS OF PEACE— PROCLAMATIONS FOR A CESSATION OF HOSTILITIES. 631 



having, from motives of justice, duty, and 
gratitude, spontaneously offered myself as an 
advocate for their rights ; and having heen 
requested to write to your Excellency, earnestly 
entreating the most speedy decision of Congress 
upon the subjects of the late address from the 
army to that honorable body ; it only remains 
for me to perform the task I have assumed, and 
to intercede on their behalf, as I now do, that 
the sovereign power will be pleased to verify 
the predictions I have pronounced, and the 
confidence the army have reposed in the justice 
of their country," 

After referring to former representations 
made by him to Congress, on the subject of a 
half pay to be granted to officers for life, he 
adds : " If, besides the simple payment of their 
wages, a further compensation is not due to the 
sufferings and sacrifices of the oflacers, then 
have I been mistaken indeed. If the whole 
army have not merited whatever a grateful 
people can bestow, then have I been beguiled 
by prejudice and built opinion on the basis of 
error. If this country should not, in the event, 
perform every thing which has been requested 
in the late memorial to Congress, then will my 
belief become vain, and the hope that has been 
excited, void of foundation. And if, as has 
been suggested for the purpose of inflaming 
their passions, ' the officers of the army are to 
be the only sufferers by the Revolution ; if, re- 
tiring from the field, they are to grow old in 
poverty, wretchedness, and contempt ; if they 
are to wade through the vile mire of depend- 
ency, and owe the miserable remnant of that 
life to charity, which has hitherto been spent 
in honor ; ' then shall I have learned what in- 
gratitude is, then shall I have realized a tale 
which will imbitter every moment of my future 
life. But I am under no such apprehensions, 
A country, rescued by their arms from impend- 
ing ruin, will never leave unpaid the debt of 
gratitude." 

This letter to the President was accompanied 
by other letters to members of Congress ; all 
making similar direct and eloquent appeals. 
The subject was again taken up in Congress, 
nine States concurred in a resolution commuting 
the half pay into a sum equal to five years' 
whole pay ; and the whole matter, at one mo- 
ment so fraught with danger to the republic, 
through the temperate wisdom of \Yashington, 
was happily adjusted. 

The anonymous addresses to the army, which 
were considered at the time so insidious and 



inflammatory, and which certainly were ill- 
judged and dangerous, have since been avowed 
by General John Armstrong, a man who had 
sustained with great credit to himself various 
eminent posts under our government. At the 
time of writing them he was a young man, 
aide-de-camp to General Gates, and he did it at 
the request of a number of his fellow-officers, 
indignant at the neglect of their just claims by 
Congress, and in the belief that the tardy 
movements of that body required the spur and 
the lash, "Washington, in a letter dated 23d 
January, 1797, says, " I have since had sufficient 
reason for believing that the object of the author 
was just, honorable, and friendly to the coun- 
try, though the means suggested by him were 
certainly liable to much misunderstanding and 
abuse." 



CHAPTER XXXII. 

At length arrived the wished-for news of 
peace. A general treaty had been signed at 
Paris on the 20th of January. An armed ves- 
sel, the Triumph, belonging to the Count 
d'Estaing's squadron, arrived at Philadelphia 
from Cadiz, on the 23d of March, bringing a 
letter from the Marquis de Lafayette to the 
President of Congress, communicating the in- 
telligence. In a few days Sir Guy Carleton 
informed Washington by letter, that he was 
ordered to proclaim a cessation of hostilities 
by sea and land. 

A similar proclamation issued by Congress, 
was received by Washington on the I7th of 
April, Being unaccompanied by any instruc- 
tions respecting the discharge of the part of the 
army with him, should the measure be deemed 
necessary, he found himself in a perplexing 
situation. 

The accounts of peace received at different 
times, had raised an expectation in the minds 
of those of his troops that had engaged " for 
the war," that a speedy discharge must be the 
consequence of the proclamation. Most of 
them could not distinguish between a proclama- 
tion of a cessation of hostilities and a definitive 
declaration of peace, and might consider any 
further claim on their military services an act 
of injustice. It was becoming difficult to en- 
force the discipline necessary to the coherence 
of an army. Washington represented these 
circumstances in a letter to the president, and 



632 



A PLEA FOR THE SOLDIERS— FURLOUGHS GRANTED. 



[1'783. 



earnestly entreated a prompt determination on 
the part of Congress, as to what was to be the 
period of the services of these men, and how 
he was to act respecting their discharge. 

One suggestion of his letter is expressive of 
his strong sympathy with the patriot soldier, 
and his knowledge of what formed a matter of 
pride with the poor fellows who had served 
and suifered under him. He urged that, in dis- 
charging those who had been engaged "for the 
war," the non-commissioned officers and sol- 
diers should be allowed to take with them, as 
their own property, and as a gratuity, their 
arms and accoutrements. " This act, observes 
he, " would raise pleasing sensations in the 
minds of these worthy and faithful men, who, 
from their early engaging in the war at mod- 
erate bounties, and from their patient continu- 
ance under innumerable distresses, have not 
only deserved nobly of their country, but have 
obtained an honorable distinction over those 
who, with shorter terms, have gained large 
pecuniary rewards. This, at a comparatively 
small expense, would be deemed an honorable 
testimonial from Congress of the regard they 
bear to these distinguished worthies, and the 
sense they have of their suffering virtues and 
services. ****** 

"These constant companions of their toils, 
preserved with sacred attention, would be 
handed down from the present possessors to 
their children, as honorary badges of bravery 
and military merit ; and would probably be 
brought forth on some future occasion, with 
pride and exultation, to be improved with the 
same military ardor and emulation in the hands 
of posterity, as they have been used by their 
forefathers in the present establishment and 
foundation of our national independence and 
glory." 

This letter despatched, he notified in general 
orders that the cessation of hostilities should 
be proclaimed at noon on the following day, 
and read in the evening at the head of every 
regiment and corps of the army, " after which," 
adds he, " the chaplains with the several bri- 
gades will render thanks to Almighty God for 
all his mercies, particularly for his overruling 
the wrath of man to his own glory, and causing 
the rage of war to cease among the nations." 

Having noticed that this auspicious day, the 
19th of April, completed the eighth year of 
the war, and was the anniversary of the event- 
ful conflict at Lexington, he went on in genei'al 
orders, to impress upon the army a proper idea 



of the dignified part they were called upon to 
act. 

" The generous task for which we first flew 
to arms being accomplished; the liberties of 
our country being fully acknowledged, and 
firmly secured, and the characters of those who 
have persevered through every extremity of 
hardship, suffering, and danger, being immor- 
talized by the illustrious appellation of the pa- 
to'iot army, nothing now remains, but for the 
actors of this mighty scene to preserve a perfect, 
unvarying consistency of character, through 
the very last act, to close the drama with ap- 
plause, and to retire from the military theatre 
with the same approbation of angels and men 
which has crowned all their former virtuous 
actions." 

The letter which he had written to the pres- 
ident produced a resolution in Congress, that 
the service of the men engaged in the war did 
not expire until the ratification of the definitive 
articles of peace ; but that the commander-in- 
chief might grant furloughs to such as he 
thought proper, and that they shoiild be al- 
lowed to take their arms with them. 

"Washington availed himself freely of this 
permission : furloughs were granted without 
stint ; the men set out singly or in small par- 
ties for their rustic homes, and the danger and 
inconvenience were avoided of disbanding large 
masses, at a time, of unpaid soldiery. Now 
and then were to be seen three or four in a 
group, bound probably to the same neighbor- 
hood, beguiling the way with camp jokes and 
camp stories. The war-worn soldier was al- 
ways kindly received at the farm-houses along 
the road, where he might shoulder his gun and 
fight over his battles. The men thus dismissed 
on furlough were never called iipon to rejoin 
the army. Once at home, they sank into do- 
mestic life ; their weapons were hung up over 
their fire-places ; military trophies of the Revo- 
lution to be prized by future generations. 

In the mean time Sir Guy Carleton was mak- 
ing preparations for the evacuation of the City 
of New York. The moment he had received 
the royal order for the cessation of hostilities, 
he had written for all the shipping that could 
be procured from Europe and the "West Indies. 
As early as the 27th of April a fleet had sailed 
for different parts of Nova Scotia, carrying off 
about seven thousand persons, with all their 
effects. A great part of these were troops, but 
many were royalists and refugees, exiled by the 
laws of the United States. They looked for- 



.Et. 51.] SOCIETY OF THE CINCINNATI— LETTER TO THE GOVERNORS OF STATES. 633 



ward with a dreary eye to their voyage, 
*' bound," as one of them said, " to a country 
where there were nine months of winter and 
three months of cold weather every year." 

On the 6th of May a personal conference 
took place between Washington and Sir Guy 
at Orangetown, about the transfer of posts in 
the United States, held by the British troops, 
and the delivery of all property stipulated by 
the treaty to be given up to the Americans. 
On the 8th of May, Egbert Benson, "William S. 
Smith, and Daniel Parker, were commissioned 
by Congress to inspect and superintend at New 
York the embarkation of persons and property, 
in fulfilment of the seventh article of the pro- 
visional treaty. 

While sadness and despair prevailed among 
the tories and refugees in New York, the of- 
ficers in the patriot camp on the Hudson were 
not without gloomy feelings at the thought of 
their approaching separation from each other. 
Eight years of dangers and hardships, shared 
in common and nobly sustained, had welded 
their hearts together, and made it hard to rend 
them asunder. Prompted by such feelings. 
General Knox, ever noted for generous im- 
pulses, suggested, as a mode of perpetuating 
the friendships thus formed and keeping alive 
the brotherhood of the camp, the formation of 
a society composed of the officers of the army. 
The suggestion met with universal concurrence, 
and the hearty approbation of Washington. 

Meetings were held, at which the Baron 
Steuben, as senior officer, presided. A plan was 
drafted by a committee composed of Generals 
Knox, Hand, and Huntingdon, and Captain 
Shaw, and the society was organized at a meet- 
ing held on the 13th of May, at the baron's 
quarters in the old Verplanck House, near 
Fishkill. 

By its formula, the officers of the American 
army in the most solemn manner combined 
themselves into one society of friends to endure 
as long as they should endure, or any of their 
eldest male posterity, and in failure thereof, 
their collateral branches who might be judged 
worthy of being its supporters and members. 
In memory of the illustrious Koman, Lucius 
Quintius Cincinnatus, who retired from war 
to the peaceful duties of the citizen, it was to 
be called "The Society of the Cincinnati." 
The objects proposed by it were to preserve 
inviolate the rights and liberties for which they 
had contended ; to promote and cherish na- 
tional honor and union between the States ; to 



maintain brotherly kindness toward each other, 
and extend relief to such officers and their fami- 
lies as might stand in need of it. 

In order to obtain funds for the purpose, 
each officer was to contribute one month's pay, 
the interest only to be appropriated to the re- 
lief of the unfortunate. The general society, 
for the sake of frequent communications, was 
to be divided into State societies, and these 
again into districts. The general society was 
to meet annually on the first Monday in May, 
the State societies on each 4th of July, the dis- 
tricts as often as should be agreed on by the 
State society. 

The society was to have an insignia called 
" The Order of the Cincinnati." It was to be a 
golden American eagle, bearing on its breast 
emblematical devices ; this was to be suspended 
by a deep-blue ribbon two inches wide, edged 
with white ; significative of the union of Amer- 
ica with France. 

Individuals of the respective States, distin- 
guished for patriotism and talents, might be 
admitted as honorary members for life ; their 
numbers never to exceed a ratio of one to four. 
The French ministers who had officiated at 
Philadelphia, and the French admirals, gener- 
als, and colonels, who had served in the United 
States, were to be presented with the insignia 
of the order, and invited to become members. 

.Washington was chosen unanimously to of- 
ficiate as president of it, until the first general 
meeting, to be held in May, 1784. 

On the 8th of June, Washington addressed a 
letter to the governors of the several States on 
the subject of the dissolution of the army. The 
opening of it breathes that aspiration after the 
serene quiet of private life, which had been his 
dream of happiness throughout the storms and 
trials of his anxious career, but the full fruition 
of which he was never to realize. 

" The great object," said he, " for which I 
had the honor to hold an appointment in the 
service of my country being accomphshed, I 
am now preparing to return to that domestic 
retirement which, it is well known, I left with 
the greatest reluctance ; a retirement for which 
I have never ceased to sigh, through a long and 
painful absence, and in which (remote from the 
noise and trouble of the world) I meditate to 
pass the remainder of hfe in a state of undis- 
turbed repose." 

His letter then described the enviable con- 
dition of the citizens of America. " Sole lords 
and proprietors of a vast tract of continent. 



634 



CIRCULAR LETTER TO THE GOVERNORS OF STATES. 



[1*783. 



comprehending all the various soils and cli- 
mates of the world, and abounding with all the 
necessaries and conveniences of life ; and ac- 
knowledged possessors of " absolute freedom 
and independency." " This is the time," said 
he, " of their political probation ; this is the 
moment when the eyes of the whole world are 
turned upon them ; this is the moment to estab- 
lish or ruin their national character forever. 
This is the favorable moment to give such a 
tone to the federal government, as will enable 
it to answer the ends of its institution ; or this 
may be the moment for relaxing the powers of 
the Union, annihilating the cement of the con- 
federation, and exposing us to become the sport 
of European politics, which may play one State 
against another, to prevent their growing im- 
portance, and to serve their own interested 
purposes. 

" "With this conviction of the importance of 
the present crisis, silence in me would be a 
crime. I will therefore speak the language of 
freedom and sincerity without disguise. 

" I am aware, however," continues he mod- 
estly, " that those who differ from me in politi- 
cal sentiment may perhaps remark, that I am 
stepping out of the proper line of my duty, and 
may possibly ascribe to arrogance or ostenta- 
tion, what I know is the result of the purest 
intention. But the rectitude of my own heart, 
which disdains such unworthy motives ; the 
part I have hitherto acted in life ; the deter- 
mination I have formed of not taking any share 
in public business hereafter ; the ardent desire 
I feel, and shall continue to manifest, of quietly 
enjoying, in private life, after all the toils of 
war, the benefits of a wise and liberal govern- 
ment ; will, I flatter myself, sooner or later 
convince my countrymen, that I could have no 
sinister views in delivering, with so little re- 
serve, the opinions contained in this address." 

He then proceeded ably and eloquently to 
discuss what he considered the four things es- 
sential to the well-being, and even the exist- 
ence of the United States as an independent 
power. 

First. An indissoluble union of the States 
\under one federal head, and a perfect acqu!es- 
cence of the several States, in the full exercise 
of the prerogative vested in such a head by the 
constitution. 

Second. A sacred regard to public justice in 
discharging debts and fulfilling contracts made 
by Congress for the piu'pose of carrying on the 
war. 



Third. The adoption of a proper peace estab- 
lishment ; in which care should be taken to 
place the militia throughout the Union on a 
regular, uniform, and eflicient footing. " The 
militia of this country," said be, " must be con- 
sidered as the palladium of our security, and 
the first effectual resort in cases of hostility. 
It is essential, therefore, that the same sys- 
tem should pervade the whole ; that the for- 
mation and discipline of the militia of the con- 
tinent should be absolutely uniform, and that 
the same species of arms, accoutrements, and 
military apparatus should be introduced in 
every part of the United States." 

And Fourth, A disposition among the peo- 
ple of the United States to forget local preju- 
dices and policies ; to make mutual concessions, 
and to sacrifice individual advantages to the 
interests of the community. 

These four things "Washington pronounced the 
pillars on which the glorious character must be 
supported. " Liberty is the basis, and whoever 
would dare to sap the foundation, or overturn 
the structure, under whatever specious pretext 
he may attempt it, will merit the bitterest ex- 
ecration and the severest punishment which 
can be inflicted by his injured country." 

"We forbear to go into the ample and admir- 
able reasoning with which he expatiates on ^ 
these heads, and above all, enforces the sacred 
inviolability of the Union ; they have become 
familiar with every American mind, and ought 
to govern every American heart. Nor will we 
dwell upon his touching appeal on the subject 
of the half pay and commutation promised to 
the army, and which began to be considered 
in the odious light of a pension. " That provi- 
sion," said he, " should be viewed as it really 
was — a reasonable compensation offered by 
Congress, at a time when they had nothing else 
to give to the ofiicers of the army for services 
then to be performed. It was the only means 
to prevent a total dereliction of the service. 
It was a part of their hire. I may be allowed 
to say it was the price of their blood and of 
your independency ; it is therefore more than 
a common debt, it is a debt of honor." 

Although we have touched upon but a part 
of this admirable letter, we cannot omit its af- 
fecting close, addressed as it was to each in- 
dividual governor. 

" I have thus freely declared what I wished 
to make known, before I surrendered up my 
public trust, to those who committed it to me. 
The task is now accomplished. I now bid adieu 



^Mt. 51.] 



MUTINY IN THE PENNSYLVANIA LINE. 



635 



to your Excellency, as the chief magistrate of 
your State, at the same time I bid a last fare- 
well to the cares of office and all the employ- 
ments of public life. 

" It remains, then, to be my final and only 
request, that your Excellency will communicate 
these sentiments to your legislature at their 
next meeting, and that they may be considered 
the legacy of one, who has ardently wished, on 
all occasions, to be useful to his country, and 
who even in the shade of retirement, will not 
fail to implore the divine benediction on it. 

" I now make it my earnest prayer, that God 
would have you, and the State over which you 
preside, in his holy protection ; that he would 
incline the hearts of the citizens to cultivate a 
spirit of subordination and obedience to gov- 
ernment, to entertain a brotherly affection and 
love for one another, for their fellow-citizens of 
tlie United States at large, and particularly for 
brethren who have served in the field ; and 
finally, that he would most graciously be 
pleased to dispose us all to do justice, to love 
mercy, and to demean ourselves with that 
charity, humility, and pacific temper of mind, 
which are the characteristics of the Divine 
Author of our blessed religion, and without 
whose example in those things we can never 
hope to be a happy nation." 

While the patriot army, encamped under the 
eye of Washington, bore their hardships and 
privations without flinching, or returned quietly 
to their homes with, as yet, no actual reward 
but the weapons with which they had vindicated 
their country's cause ; about eighty newly re- 
cruited soldiers of the Pennsylvania line, sta- 
tioned at Lancaster, suddenly mutinied and set 
off" in a body for Philadelphia, to demand re- 
dress of fancied grievances from the legislature 
of the State. Arriving at that city, they were 
joined by about two hundred comrades from 
the barracks, and jjroceeded on the 2d of June 
with beat of drum and fixed bayonets to the 
State House, where Congress and the supreme 
executive council of Pennsylvania were in 
session. 

Placing sentinels at every door to prevent 
egress, they sent in a written message to the 
president and council, threatening military vio- 
lence if their demands were not complied with 
in the course of twenty minutes. 

Though these menaces were directed against 
the State government, Congress felt itself out- 
raged by being thus surrounded and blockaded 
for several hours by an armed soldiery. Fear- 



ing lest the State of Pennsylvania might not 
be able to furnish adequate protection, it ad- 
journed to meet within a few days at Prince- 
ton ; sending information, in the mean time, 
to Washington of this mutinous outbreak. 

The latter immediately detached General 
Howe with fifteen hundred men to quell the 
mutiny and punish the offenders ; at the same 
time, in a letter to the President of Congress, 
he expressed his indignation and distress at 
seeing a handful of men, "contemptible in 
numbers and equally so in point of service, and 
not worthy to be called soldiers," insulting the 
sovereign authority of the Union, and that of 
their own State. He vindicated the army at 
large, however, from the stain the behavior 
of these men might cast upon it. These were 
mere recruits, soldiers of a day, who had not 
borne the heat and burden of the war, and had 
in reality few hardships to complain of. He 
contrasted their conduct with that of the sol- 
diers recently furloughed ; — veterans, who had 
patiently endured hunger, nakedness, and cold ; 
who had suffered and bled without a murmur, 
and who had retired, in perfect good order, to 
their homes, without a settlement of their ac- 
counts or a farthing of money in their pockets. 
While he gave vent to this indignation and 
scorn, roused by the " arrogance and folly and 
wickedness of the mutineers," he declared that 
he could not sufliciently admire the fidelity, 
bravery, and patriotism of the rest of the army. 

Fortunately, before the troops under Gen- 
eral Howe reached Philadelphia, the mutiny 
had been suppressed without bloodshed. Sev- 
eral of the mutineers were tried by a court- 
martial, two were condemned to death, but ul- 
timately' pardoned, and four received corporal 
punishment. 

Washington now found his situation at head- 
quarters irksome ; there was little to do, and 
he was hable to be incessantly teased with ap- 
plications and demands, which he had neither 
the means nor power to satisfy. He resolved, 
therefore, to while away part of the time that 
must intervene before the arrival of the defini- 
tive treaty, by making a tour to the northern 
and western parts of the State, and visiting the 
places which had been the theatre of important 
military transactions. He had another object 
in view ; he desired to facilitate as far as in his 
power the operations which would be neces- 
sary for occupying, as soon as evacuated by the 
British troops, the posts ceded by the treaty of 
peace. 



636 



TOUR TO THE NORTHERN POSTS— THE ARMY TO BE DISCHARGED. 



[1783. 



Governor Clinton accompanied him on the 
expedition. They set out by water from New- 
burg, ascended the Hudson to Albany, visited 
Saratoga and the scene of Burgoyne's sur- 
render, embarked on Lake George, where light 
boats had been provided for them, traversed 
that beautiful lake so full of historic interest, 
proceeded to Ticonderoga and Crown Point ; 
and after reconnoitring those eventful posts, 
returned to Schenectady, whence they pro- 
ceeded up the valley of the Mohawk River, 
" to have a view," writes "Washington, " of that 
tract of country which is so much celebrated 
for the fertility of its soil and the beauty of 
its situation." Having reached Fort Schuy- 
ler, formerly Fort Stanwix, they crossed over 
to Wood Creek, which empties into Oneida 
Lake, and affords the water communication 
with Ontario. They then traversed the coun- 
try to the head of the eastei'n branch of the 
Susquehanna, and viewed Lake Otsego and 
the portage between that lake and the Mo- 
hawk River. 

Washington returned to head-quarters at 
Kewburg on the 5th of August, after a tour 
of at least seven himdred and fifty miles, per- 
formed in nineteen days, and for the most part 
on horseback. In a letter to the Chevalier de 
Ohastellux, written two or three months after- 
wards, and giving a sketch of his tour through 
what was, as yet, an unstudied wilderness, he 
writes : " Prompted by these actual observa- 
tions, I could not help taking a more extensive 
view of the vast inland navigation of these 
United States from maps and the information 
of others ; and could not but be struck with the 
immense extent and importance of it, and with 
the goodness of that Providence which has 
dealt its favors to us with so profuse a hand ; 
would to God, we may have wisdom enough to 
improve them. I shall not rest contented till I 
have explored the western country, and tra- 
versed those lines, or a great part of them, 
which have given bounds to a new empire." 
The vast advantages of internal communication 
between the Hudson and the great lakes, which 
dawned upon Washington's mind in the course 
of this tour, have since been realized in that 
grand artery of national wealth, the Erie Ca- 
nal. 



CHAPTER XXXIII. 

By a proclamation of Congress, dated 18th 
of October, all officers and soldiers absent on 
furlough were discharged from further service ; 
and "all others who had engaged to serve dur- 
ing the war, were to be discharged from and 
after the 3d of November. A small force only, 
composed of those who had enlisted for a defi- 
nite time, were to be retained in service until 
the peace establishment should be organized. 

In general orders of November 2d, Washing- 
ton, after adverting to this proclamation, adds : 
" It only remains for the commander-in-chief to 
address himself once more, and that for the last 
time, to the armies of the United States, how- 
ever widely dispersed the individuals who com- 
pose them may be, and to bid them an affec- 
tionate and a long farewell." 

He then goes on to make them one of those 
paternal addresses which so eminently charac- 
terize his relationship with his army, so differ- 
ent from that of any other commander. He 
takes a brief view of the glorious struggle from 
which they had just emerged ; the unpromis- 
ing circumstances under which they had under- 
taken it, and the signal interposition of Provi- 
dence in behalf of their feeble condition ; the 
unparalleled perseverance of the American 
armies for eight long years, through almost 
every possible suffering and discouragement ; 
a perseverance which he justly pronounces to 
be little short of a standing miracle. 

Adverting then to the enlarged prospects of 
happiness opened by the confirmation of na- 
tional independence and sovereignty, and the 
ample and profitable employments held out in 
a Republic so happily circumstanced, he exhorts 
them to maintain the strongest attachment to 
THE TiNiON, and to carry with them into civil 
society the most conciliatory dispositions ; prov- 
ing themselves not less virtuous and useful as 
citizens, than they had been victorious as sol- 
diers ; feeling assured that the private virtues 
of economy, prudence, and industry would not 
be less amiable in civil life, than the more 
splendid qualities of valor, perseverance, and 
enterprise were in the field. 

After a warm expression of thanks to the of- 
ficers and men for the assistance he had re- 
ceived from every class, and in every instance, 
he adds : 

" To the various branches of the army the 
General takes this last and solemn opportunity 



^T. 51.] 



EVACUATION OF NEW YORK. 



637 



of professing Lis invariable attachment and 
friendship. He wishes more than bare profes- 
sions were in his power ; that he was really 
able to be usefid to them aU in future life. He 
flatters himself, however, they will do him the 
justice to believe, that whatever could with 
propriety be attempted by him has been done. 

" And being now to conclude these his last 
public orders, to take his ultimate leave in a 
short time of the military character, and to bid 
a final adieu to the armies he has so long had 
the honor to command, he can only offer in 
their behalf his recommendations to their grate- 
ful country, and his prayers to the God of 
armies. May ample justice be done them 
here, and may the choicest of Heaven's favors, 
both here and hereafter, attend those who, 
under the Divine auspices, have secured innu- 
merable blessings for others. "With these 
wishes, and this benediction, the commander- 
in-chief is about to retire from service. The 
curtain of separation will soon be drawn, and the 
military scene to him will be closed forever." 

There was a straightforward simplicity in 
Washington's addresses to his army ; they 
were so void of tumid phrases or rhetorical em- 
bellishments ; the counsels given in them were 
so sound and practicable ; the feelings expressed 
in them so kind and benevolent ; and so per- 
fectly in accordance with his character and con- 
duct, that they always had an irresistible effect 
on the rudest and roughest hearts. 

A person who was present at the breaking up 
of the army, and whom we have had frequent 
occasion to cite, observes, on the conduct of the 
troops, " The advice of their beloved command- 
er-in-chief, and the resolves of Congress to pay 
and compensate them in such manner as the 
ability of the United States would permit, ope- 
rated to keep them quiet and prevent tumult, 
but no description would be adequate to the 
painful circumstances of the parting scene. 
Both oflScers and soldiers, long unaccustomed 
to the affairs of private life, turned loose on 
the world to starve, and to become the prey to 
vulture speculators. Never can that melan- 
choly day be forgotten when friends, compan- 
ions for seven long years in joy and in sorrow, 
were torn asunder without the hope of ever 
meeting again, and with prospects of a misera- 
ble subsistence in future." * 

Notwithstanding every exertion had been 
made for the evacuation of New York, such 



■ Thacher, p. 421. 



was the number of persons and the quantity of 
effects of all kinds to be conveyed away, that 
the month of November was far advanced be- 
fore it could be completed. Sir Guy Carleton 
had given notice to Washington of the time he 
supposed the different posts would be vacated, 
that the Americans might be prepared to take 
possession of them. In consequence of this no- 
tice. General George Clinton, at that time Gov- 
ernor of New York, had summoned the mem- 
bers of the State council to convene at East- 
chester on the 21st of November, for the pur- 
pose of establishing civil government in the 
districts hitherto occupied by the British ; and 
a detachment of troops was marched from West 
Point to be ready to take possession of the posts 
as they were vacated. 

On the 21st the British troops were drawn 
in from the oft-disputed post of King's Bridge 
and from M'Gow^an's Pass, also from the various 
posts on the eastern part of Long Island. Pau- 
lus Hook was relinquished on the following 
day, and the afternoon of the 25th of November 
was appointed by Sir Guy for the evacuation 
of the city and the opposite village of Brooklyn. 

Washington, in the mean time, had taken his 
station at Harlem, accompanied by Governor 
Clinton, who, in virtue of his office, was to take 
charge of the city. They found there General 
Knox with the detachment from West Point. 
Sir Guy Carleton had intimated a wish that 
Washington would be at hand to take immedi- 
ate posses.sion of the city, and prevent all out- 
rage, as he had been informed of a plot to plun- 
der the place whenever the king's troops should 
be withdrawn. He had engaged, also, that the 
guards of the redoubts on the East River, cov- 
ering the upper part of the town, should be 
the first to be withdrawn, and that an officer 
should be sent to give Washington's advanced 
guard information of their retiring. 

Although Washington doubted the existence 
of any such plot as that which had been report- 
ed to the British commander, yet he took pre- 
cautions accordingly. On the morning of the 
25th the American troops, composed of dra- 
goons, light-infantry, and artillery, moved from 
Harlem to the Bowery at the upper part of the 
city. There they remained until the troops 
in that quarter were withdrawn, when they 
marched into the city and took possession, the 
British embarking from the lower parts. 

A formal entry then took place of the mili- 
tary and civil authorities. General Wasliington 
and Governor Clinton, with their suites, on 



638 PARTING SCENE OF WASHINGTON AND HIS OFFICERS AT NEW YORK. [1783. 



horseback, led the procession, escorted by a 
troop of Westchester cavahy. Then came the 
lieutenant-governor and members of the coun- 
cil, General Knox and the officers of the armj, 
the speaker of the Assembly, and a large num- 
ber of citizens on horseback and on foot. 

An American lady, -who was at that time 
very young and had resided during the latter 
part of the war in the city, has given us an ac- 
count of the striking contrast between the 
American and British troops. " We had been 
accustomed for a long time," said she, " to mil- 
itary display in all the finish and finery of gar- 
rison life ; the troops just leaving us were as 
if equipped for show, and with their scarlet 
uniforms and burnished arms, made a brilliant 
display ; the troops that marched in, on the 
contrary, were ill-clad and weather-beaten, and 
made a forlorn appearance ; but then they were 
our troops, and as I looked at them, and thought 
upon all they had done and sufi'ered for us, my 
heart and eyes were full, and I admired and 
gloried in them the more, because they were 
weather-beaten and forlorn." 

The city was now a scene of public festivity 
and rejoicing. The governor gave banquets 
to the French ambassador, the commander-in- 
chief, the military and civil officers, and a large 
number of the most eminent citizens, and at 
night the public were entertained by splendid 
fireworks. 

In the course of a few days Washington pre- 
pared to depart for Annapolis, Avhere Congress 
was assembling, with the intention of asking 
leave to resign his command. A barge was in 
waiting about noon on the 4th of December at 
Whitehall ferry to convey him across the Hud- 
son to Paulus Hook. The principal officers of 
the army assembled at Fraunces' Tavern in the 
neighborhood of the ferry, to take a final leave 
of him. On entering the room, and finding him- 
self surrounded by his old companions in arms, 
who had shared with him so many scenes of 
hardship, difficulty, and danger, his agitated 
feelings overcame his usual self-command. 
Filling a glass of wine, and turning upon them 
his benignant but saddened countenance, " With 
a heart full of love and gratitude," said he, " I 
now take leave of you, most devoutly wishing 
that your latter days may be as prosperous and 
happy as your former ones have been glorious 
and honorable." 

Having drunk this f'arewell benediction, he 
added with emotion, " I cannot come to each 
of you to take my leave, but shall be obliged if 



each of you will come and take me by the 
hand." 

General Knox, who was nearest, was the first 
to advance. Washington, affected even to 
tears, grasped his hand and gave him a broth- 
er's embrace. In the same affisctionate manner 
he took leave severally of the rest. Not a word 
was spoken. The deep feeling and manly ten- 
derness of these veterans in the parting moment 
could find no utterance in words. Silent and 
solemn they followed their loved commander as 
he left the room, passed through a corps of light- 
infantry, and proceeded on foot to Whitehall 
ferry. Having entered the barge, he turned to 
tliem, took off his hat and waved a silent adieu. 

They replied in the same manner, and having 
watched the barge until the intervening point 
of the Battery shut it from sight, returned, still 
solemn and silent, to the place where they had 
assembled.* 

On his way to Annapolis, W ashington stop- 
ped for a few days at Philadelphia, where with 
his usual exactness in matters of business, he 
adjusted with the Comptroller of the Treasury 
his accounts from the commencement of the 
war down to the 13th of the actual month of 
December. These were all in his own hand- 
writing, and kept in the cleanest and most ac- 
curate manner, each entry being accompanied 
by a statement of the occasion and object of the 
charge. 

The gross amount was about fourteen thou- 
sand Ifve hundred pounds sterling ; in which 
were included moneys expended for secret in- 
telligence and service, and in various incidental 
charges. All this, it must be noted, was an ac- 
count of money actually expended in the pro- 
gress of the war ; not for arrearage of pay ; for 
it wiU be recollected Washington accepted no 
pay. Indeed, on the final adjustment of his ac- 
counts, he found himself a considerable loser, 
having frequently, in the hurry of business, neg- 
lected to credit himself with sums drawn from 
his private purse in moments of exigency. 

The schedule of his public account furnishes 
not the least among the many noble and im- 
pressive lessons taught by his character and ex- 
ample. It stands a touchstone of honesty in 
office, and a lasting rebuke on that lavish ex- 
penditure of the public money, too often heed- 
lessly, if not wilfully, indulged by military 
commanders. 

In passing through New Jersey, Pennsylva- 



* Marshall's Life of "Washington. 



^T. 51.] WASHINGTON RESIGNS HIS COMMISSION AND RETURNS TO MOUNT VERNON. 639 



nia, and Maryland, the scenes of his anxious 
and precarious campaigns, Washington was 
everywhere hailed with enthusiasm by the 
people, and greeted with addresses by legisla- 
tive assemblies, and learned and religious in- 
stitutions. He accepted them all with that 
modesty inherent in his nature ; little thinking 
that this present popularity was but the early 
outbreaking of a fame, that was to go on 
widening and deepening from generation to 
generation, and extending over the whole civil- 
ized world. 

Being arrived at Annapolis, he addressed a 
letter to the President of Congress, on the 20th 
of December, requesting to know in what man- 
ner it would be most proper to offer his resig- 
nation ; whether in writing or at an audience. 
The latter mode was adopted, and the Hall of 
Congress appointed for the cei'emonial. 

A letter from "Washington to the Baron Steu- 
ben, written on the 23d, concludes as follows : 
" This is the last letter I shall write while I 
continue in the service of my country. The 
hour of my resignation is fixed at twelve to- 
day, after which I shall become a private citi- 
zen on the banks of the Potomac." 

At twelve o'clock the gallery, and a great 
part of the floor of the Hall of Congress, were 
filled Avith ladies, with public functionaries of 
the State, and with general oflicers. The mem- 
bers of Congress were seated and covered, as 
representatives of the sovereignty of the Union. 
The gentlemen present as spectators were stand- 
ing and uncovered, 

"Washington entered, conducted by the sec- 
retary of Congress, and took his seat in a chair 
appointed for him. After a brief pause the 
president (General Mifflin) informed him, that 
"the United States in Congress assembled, 
were prepared to receive his communication." 

Washington then rose, and in a dignified and 
impressive manner, delivered a short address. 

" The great events," said he, " on which my 
resignation depended, having at length taken 
place, I now have the honor of offering my sin- 
cere congratulations to Congress, and of pre- 
senting myself before them, to surrender into 
their hands the trust committed to me, and to 
claim the indulgence of retiring from the ser- 
vice of my country." 

After expressing his obligations to the army 
in general, and acknowledging the peculiar 
services, and distinguished merits of the con- 
fidential officers who had been attached to his 
person, and composed his family during the 



war, and whom he especially recommended to 
the favor of Congress, he continued — 

" I consider it an indispensable duty to close 
this last solemn act of my official life, by com- 
mending the interests of our dearest country to 
the protection of Almighty God; and those 
who have the superintendence of them, to his 
holy keeping. 

" Having now finished the work assigned me, 
I retire from the great theatre of action ; and, 
bidding an affectionate farewell to this august 
body, under whose orders I have long acted, I 
here offer my commission, and take my leave 
of all the employments of pubhc life." 

" Few tragedies ever drew so many tears 
from so many beautiful eyes," says a wi'iter 
who was present, " as the moving manner in 
which his Excellency took his final leave of 
Congress." * 

Having delivered his commission into the 
hands of the president, the latter, in reply to 
his address, bore testimony to the patriotism 
with which he had answered to the call of his 
country, and defended its invaded rights before 
it had formed alliances, and while it was with- 
out funds or a government to support him ; to 
the wisdom and fortitude with which he had 
conducted the great military contest, invariably 
regarding the rights of the civil power, through 
all disasters and changes. " You may retire," 
added he, " from the theatre of action with the 
blessings of your fellow-citizens ; but the glory 
of your virtues will not terminate with your 
military command ; it will continue to animate 
remotest ages." 

The very next morning Washington left An- 
napolis, and hastened to his beloved Mount 
Vernon, where he ai-rived the same day, on 
Christmas-eve, in a frame of mind suited to 
enjoy the sacred and genial festival. 

" The scene is at last closed," said he in a 
letter to Governor Clinton; "I feel myself 
eased of a load of public care. I hope to spend 
the remainder of my days in cultivating the af- 
fections of good men, and in the practice of the 
domestic virtues. 



CHAPTER XXXIV. 

For some time after his return to Mount 
Vernon, Washington was in a manner locked 
up by the ice and snow of an uncommonly rig- 

* Editor of the Maryland Gazette. 



640 



WASHINGTON AT MOUNT VERNON— A SOLDIER'S REPOSE. 



[1784. 



orous winter, so that social intercourse was in- 
terrupted, and he could not even pay a visit of 
duty and affection to his aged mother at Fred- 
ericksburg. But it was enough for him at pi-es- 
ent that he was at length at home at Mount 
Vernon. Yet the habitudes of the camp stiU 
haunted him ; he could hardly realize that he 
was free from military duties ; on waking in 
the morning he almost expected to hear the 
drum going its stirring rounds and beating the 
reveille. 

" Strange as it may seem," writes he to Gen- 
eral Knox, " it is nevertheless true, that it was 
not until very lately I could get the better of 
my usual custom of ruminating as soon as I 
waked in the morning, on the business of the 
ensuing day ; and of my surprise at finding, 
after revolving many things in my mind, that 
I was no longer a public man, nor had any 
thing to do with public transactions. I feel 
now, however, as I conceive a weary traveller 
must do, who, after treading many a weary 
step, with a heavy burthen on his shoulders, 
is eased of the latter, having reached the haven 
to which all the former were directed, and from 
his house-top is looking back, and tracing, with 
an eager eye, the meanders by which he es- 
caped the quicksands and mires which lay in 
his way ; and into which none but the all-pow- 
erful Guide and Dispenser of human events 
could have prevented his falling." 

And in a letter to Lafayette he writes : " Free 
from the bustle of a camp and the busy scenes 
of public life, I am solacing myself with those 
tranquil enjoyments which the soldier, who is 
ever in pursuit of fame ; the statesman, whose 
watchful days and sleepless nights are spent in 
devising schemes to promote the welfare of his 
own, perhaps the ruin of other countries — as 
if this globe was insufficient for us all ; and the 
courtier, who is always watching the counte- 
nance of his prince in hopes of catching a gra- 
cious smile, can have very little conception. I 
have not only retired from all public employ- 
ments, but I am retiring within myself, and 
shall be able to view the solitary walk, and 
tread the paths of private life with heartfelt 
satisfaction. Envious of none, I am deter- 
mined to be pleased with all ; and this, my dear 
friend, being the order of my march, I wiU 
move gently down the stream of life until I 
sleep with my fathers." 

And subsequently, in a letter to the Mar- 
chioness de Lafayette, inviting her to America to 
see the country, " young, rude, and uncultivated 



as it is," for the liberties of which her husband 
had fought, bled, and acquired much glory, and 
whei'e everybody admired and loved him, he 
adds : " I am now enjoying domestic ease under 
the shadow of my own vine and my own fig- 
tree, in a small viUa, with the implements of 
husbandry and lambkins about me. * * * 
Come, then, let me entreat you, and call my 
cottage your own ; for yoi;r doors do not open 
to you with more readiness than mine would. 
You will see the plain manner in which we 
live, and meet with rustic civility ; and you 
shall taste the simplicity of rural life. It will 
diversify the scene, and may give you a higher 
relish for the gayeties of the court when you 
return to Versailles." 

During the winter storms, he anticipates the 
time when the retuVn of the sun will enable 
him to welcome his friends and companions in 
arms to partake of his hospitality ; and lays 
down his impretending plan of receiving the 
curious visitors who are likely to throng in 
upon him. " My manner of" living," writes he 
to a friend, " is plain, and I do not mean to be 
put out of it. A glass of wine and a bit of 
mutton are always ready ; and such as will be 
content to partake of them, are always wel- 
come. Those who expect more will be disap- 
pointed." 

Some degree of economy was necessary, for 
his financial concerns had suffered during the 
war, and the products of his estate bad fallen 
off during his long absence. 

In the mean time the supreme council of 
Pennsylvania, properly appreciating the disin- 
terestedness of his conduct, and aware that 
popular love and popular curiosity would attract 
crowds of visitors to Mount Vernon, and sub- 
ject him to extraordinary expenses, had in- 
structed their delegates in Congress to call the 
attention of that body to these circumstances, 
with a view to produce some national reward 
for his eminent services. Before acting upon 
these instructions, the delegates were instructed 
to send a copy of them to "Washington for his 
approbation. 

He received the documents while buried in 
accounts and calculations, and when, had he 
been of a mercenary disposition, the offered in- 
tervention in his favor would have seemed most 
seasonable ; but he at once most gratefully and 
respectfully declined it, jealously maintaining 
the satisfaction of having served his country at 
the sacrifice of his private interests. 

Applications began to be made to him bj 



Mt. 52.] 



JAC^B VAN BRAAM— DOMESTIC LIFE AT MOUNT VERNON. 



641 



persons desirous of writing the history of the 
Kevolution, for access to the pubHc papers in 
his possession. He excused liimself from sub- 
mitting to their inspection those relative to the 
occurrences and transactions of liis late com- 
mand, until Congress should see fit to open 
their archives to the historian. 

His old friend, Dr. Craik, made a similar 
application to Washington in behalf of a person 
who purposed to write his memoirs. He re- 
plied, that any memoir of his life distinct and 
unconnected with the general history of the war, 
would rather hurt his feelings than flatter his 
pride, while he could not furnish the papers and 
information connected with it without subject- 
ing himself to the imputation of vanity, adding: 
"I had rather leave it to posterity to think and say 
what they please of me, than, by any act of mine, 
to have vanity or ostentation imputed to me." 

It was a curious circumstance, that scarce 
had "Washington retired from the bustle of arms 
and hung up his sword at Mount Vernon, Avhen 
he received a letter from the worthy who had 
first taught him the use of that sword in these 
very halls. In a word, Jacob Van Braam, his 
early teacher of the sword exercise, his fellow 
campaigner and unlucky interpreter in the aifair 
of the Great Meadows, turned up once more. 
Ills letter gave a glance over the current of his 
life. It would appear that after the close of 
the French war, he had been allowed half pay 
in consideration of his services and misadven- 
tures ; and, in process of time, had married, 
and settled on a farm in Wales with his wife 
and wife's mother. He had carried with him 
to England a strong feeling in favor of America, 
and on the breaking out of the Eevolution had 
been very free, and, as he seemed to think, elo- 
quent and effective in speaking in aU companies 
and at country meetings against the American 
war. Suddenly, as if to stop his mouth, he re- 
ceived orders from Lord Amherst, then com- 
mander-in-chief, to join his regiment (the 60tl)), 
in which he was appointed eldest captain in the 
3d battalion. In vain he pleaded his rural occu- 
pations ; his farm cultivated at so much cost, for 
which he was in debt, and which must go to 
ruin should he abandon it so abruptly. No ex- 
cuse was admitted — he must embark and sail 
for East Florida, or lose his half pay. He ac- 
cordingly sailed for St. Augustine in the bcgin- 
ining of 17TG, with a couple of hundred recruits 
ipicked up in London, resolving to sell out of 
jthe army on the first opportunity. By a series 
!iof cross-purposes he was prevented from doing 
41 



so until in 1779, having in the interim made a 
campaign in Georgia. "He quitted the ser- 
vice," he adds, " with as much pleasure as ever 
a young man entered it." 

He then returned to England and took up his 
residence in Devonshire, but his invincible 
propensity to talk against the ministry made 
his residence there uncomfortable. His next 
move, therefore, was to the old fertile province 
of Orleannois in France, where he was still 
living near Malesherbes, apparently at his ease, 
enjoying the friendship of the distinguished 
personage of that name, and better versed, it is 
to be hoped, in the French language than whec 
he ofi5ciated as interpreter in the capitulation 
at the Great Meadows. The worthy major ap- 
peared to contemplate with joy and pride the 
eminence to which his early pupil in the sword 
exercise had attained. 

"Give me leave, sir, before I conclude," writes 
he, " to pour out the sentiments of my soul in 
congratulations for your successes in the Amer- 
ican contest ; and in wishing you a long life, 
to enjoy the blessing of a great people whom 
you have been the chief instrument in freeing 
from bondage." 

So disappears from the scene one of the ear 
liest personages of our history. 

As spring advanced. Mount Vernon, as had 
been anticipated, began to attract numeroui? 
visitors. They were received in the frank, un- 
pretending style Washington had determined 
upon. It was truly edifying to behold how 
easily and contentedly he subsided from the 
authoritative commander-in-chief 6f armies, 
into the quiet country gentleman. There was 
nothing awkward or violent in the transition. 
He seemed to be in his natural element. Mrs. 
Washington, too, who had presided with quiet 
dignity at head-quarters, and cheered the wm- 
try gloom of Valley Forge with her presence, 
presided witl% equal amenity and grace at the 
simple board of Mount Vernon. She had a 
cheerful good sense that always made her an 
agreeable companion, and was an excellent 
manager. . She has been remarked for an in- 
veterate habit of knitting. It had been ac- 
quired, or at least fostered, in the wintry en- 
campments of the Eevolution, where she used 
to set an example to her lady visitors, by dili- 
gently plying her needles, knitting stockings 
for the poor destitute soldiery. 

In entering upon the out-door management 
of his estate, Washington was but doing in per. 
son what he had long been doing through others 



642 RECOLLECTIONS OF THE FAIRFAXES— MEETING OF THE ORDER 0^ CINCINNATI. [1'784. 



He had never virtually ceased to be the agricul- 
turist. Throughout all his carapaigus he had 
kept himself informed of the course of rural 
affairs at Mount Vernon. By means of maps 
on which every field was laid down and num- 
bered, he was enabled to give directions for 
their several cultivation, and receive accounts 
of their several crops. No hurry of affairs 
prevented a correspondence with his overseer 
or agent, and he exacted Aveekly reports. Thus 
his rural were interwoven with his military 
cares ; the agriculturist was mingled with the 
soldier ; and those strong sympathies with the 
honest cultivators of the soil, and that paternal 
care of their interests to be noted throughout 
his military career, may be ascribed, in a great 
measure, to the sweetening influences of Mount 
Vernon. Yet as spring returned, and he re- 
sumed his rides about the beautiful neighbor- 
hood of this haven of his hopes, he must have 
been mournfully sensible, now and tlieu, of the 
changes which time and events had effected 
there. 

The Fairfaxes, the kind friends of his boy- 
hood, and social companions of his riper years, 
were no longer at hand to share his pleasures 
and lighten his cares. There were no more 
hunting dinners at Belvoir. lie paid a sad 
visit to that happy resort of his youth, and 
contemplated with a mournful eye its charred 
ruins, and the desolation of its once ornamented 
grounds. George William Fairfax, its former 
possessor, was in England ; his political princi- 
l>les had detained him there during the war, 
and part o'^ liis property had been sequestered ; 
still, though an exile, he continued in heart a 
friend to America, his hand had been open to 
relieve the distresses of Americans in England, 
and he had kept up a cordial correspondence 
with "Washington. 

Old Lord Fairfax, the Nimrod of Greenway 
Court, Washington's early friend and patron, 
with whom he had first learned to follow the 
hounds, had lived on in a green old age at his 
sylvan retreat in the beautiful valley of the 
Shenandoah ; popular with his neighbors and 
unmolested by the Whigs, although frank and 
open in his adherence to Great Britain. lie 
had attained his ninety-second year when 
tidings of the surrender of Yorktown wounded 
the national pride of the old cavalier to the 
quick, and snapped the attenuated thread of his 
existence.* 

• So, at least, records in homely proso and verso a rev- 



The time was now approaching when the 
first general meeting of the Order of Cincin- 
nati was to be held, and Washington saw with 
deep concern a popular jealousy awakened con- 
cerning it. Judge Burke, of South Carolina, 
had denounced it in a pamphlet as an attempt 
to elevate the military above the civil classes, 
and to institute an order of nobility. The 
Legislature of Massachusetts sounded an alarm 
that was echoed in Connecticut, and prolonged 
from State to State. The whole Union was 
put on its guard against this effort to form a 
hereditary aristocracy out of the military chiefs 
and powerful families of the several States. 

Washington endeavored to allay this jealousy. 
In his letters to the presidents of the State 
societies, notifying the meeting which was to 
be held in Philadelphia on the 1st of May, he 
expressed his earnest solicitude that it should 
be respectable for numbers and abilities, and 
wise and deliberate in its proceedings, ^o as to 
convince the public that the objects of the insti- 
tution were patriotic and trustworthy. 

The society met at the appointed time and 
place. Washington presided, and by liis saga- 
cious councils effected modifications of its con- 
stitution. The hereditary principle, and the 
power of electing honorary members, were 
abolished, and it was reduced to the harmless, 
but highly respectable footing on which it still 
exists. 

In notifying the French military and naval 
officers included in the society of the clianges 
Avhich had taken place in its constitution, he 
expressed his ardent hopes that it would render 
permanent those friendships and connections 
which had happily taken root between the offi- 
cers of the two nations. All clamors against i 
the order now ceased. It became a rallying 
place for old comrades in arms, and Washington > 
continued to preside over it until his death. 

In a letter to the Chevalier de Chastellux, for > 
whom he felt an especial regard, after inviting j 
him to the meeting, he adds : " I will only re- ;, 



erend historiographer of Mount Vernon. " When old 
Lord Fairfax heard that "Washington had captured Lord 
Cornwallis and all hia army, he called to his black waiter, 
'Come, Joe I carry me to bed, for it is high time for mo ; 
to die 1' " 

Then up rose .Joe, all at the word, 

And took his master's arm, 
And thus to bed he softly led 

The lord of Greenway farm. 

There oft he called on Britain's name, 

And oft he wept full sore. 
Then sia;hcd — thy will, oh Lord, be done — 

And word spake never more. 

See We EMS' Life of Washington. 



^T. 52.] TOUR OF WASHINGTON AND DR. CRAIK TO THE WEST. 



peat to yon the assurances of my friendsliip, 
and of the pleasure I shoiiid feel in seeing you 
in the shade of those trees which my hands 
have planted; and which, by their rapid 
growth, at once indicate a knowledge of my 
declining years, and their disposition to spread 
their mantles over me, before I go hence to re- 
turn no more." 

On the irth of August he was gladdened by 
having the Marquis de Lafayette under his roof, 
who had recently arrived from France. The 
marquis passed a fortnight with him, a loved 
and cherished guest, at the end of which he 
departed for a-time, to be present at the cere- 
mony of a treaty with the Indians, 

Washington now prepared for a tour to the 
west of tiie Appalachian Mountains, to visit his 
lands on the Oliio and Kanawha Eivers. Dr. 
Craik, the companion of his various campaigns, 
and who had accompanied him in 1770 on a 
similar tour, was to be his fellow-traveller. The 
way they were to travel may be gathered from 
Washington's directions to the doctor :— " You 
will have occasion to take nothing from home 
but a servant to look after your horses, and 
such bedding as you may think proper to make 
use of. I will carry a marquee, some camp 
utensils, and a few stores. A boat, or some | 
other kind of vessel, will be provided for the 
voyage down the river, eitlier at my place on 
the Youghiogheny or Fort Pitt, measures for 
this purpose having already been taken. A 
few medicines, and hooks and lines, you may 
probably want." 

This soldier-like tour, made in hardy mili- 
tary style, with tent, pack-horses, and frugal 
supplies, took him once more among the scenes 
of his youthful expeditions when a land sur- 
veyor in the employ of Lord Fairfax ; a leader 
of Virginia militia, or an aide-de-camp of the 
unfortunate Braddock. A veteran now in 
years, and a general renowned in arms, he so- 
berly permitted his steed to pick his way across 
the mountains by the old military route, still 
called Braddock's Road, over which he had 
spurred in the days of youtliful ardor. His 
original intention had been to survey and in- 
spect his lands on the Monongahela River ; then 
to descend the Ohio to the great Kanawha, 
where also he had large tracts of wild land. 
On arriving on the Monongahela, however, he 
heard such accounts of discontent and irritation 
among the Indian tribes, that he did not con- 
sider it prudent to venture among them. Some 
of his land on the Monongahela was settled ; 



64^ 



the rest was in the wilderness, and of little value 
in tlie present unquiet state of the country. 
He abridged his tour, therefore ; proceeded no 
further west than the Monongaliela ; ascended 
that river, and then struck southward through 
the wild, unsettled regions of the Alleganies, 
until he came out into the Shenadoah Valley 
near Staunton. He returned to Mount Vernon 
on the 4th of October ; having, since the first 
of September, traveUed on horseback six hun- 
dred and eighty miles, for a great part of the 
time in wild, mountainous country, where he 
was oMiged to encamp at night. This, like his 
tour to the northern forts with Governor Clin- 
ton, gave proof of his unfailing vigor and ac- 
tivity. 

During all this tour he had carefully observed 
the course and character of the streams flowing 
from the west into the Ohio, and the distance 
of their navigable parts from the head naviga- 
tion of the rivers east of the mountains, with 
the neai^est and best portage between then:. 
For many years he had been convinced of the 
practicability of an easy and short communica- 
tion between the Potomac and James Rivers, 
and the waters of the Ohio, and tlience on to 
the great chain of lakes ; and of the vast ad- 
vantages that would result therefrom to the 
States of Virginia and Maryland. He had even 
attempted to set a company on foot to under- 
take at their own expense the opening of such 
a communication, but the breaking out of the 
Revolution had put a stop to the enterprise. 
One object of his recent tour was to make obser- 
vations and collect information on the subject ; 
and all that he had seen and heard quickened 
his solicitude to carry the scheme into effect. 

Political as well as commercial interests, he 
conceived, were involved in the enterprise. He 
had noticed that the flanks and rear of the 
United States were possessed by foreign and 
formidable powers, who miglit lure the western 
people into a trade and alliance with them. 
The Western States, he observed, stood as it 
were upon a pivot, so that the touch of a fea- 
ther might turn them any way. They had 
looked down the Mississippi, and been tempted 
in that direction by the facilities of sending 
every thing down the stream ; whereas they 
had no means of coming to us but by long land 
transportations and rugged roads. The jealous 
and untoward disposition of the Spaniards, it 
was true, almost barred the use of the Missis- 
sippi ; but they might change their policy, and 
invite trade in that direction. The retention 



IDEAS OF INTERNAL IMPROVEMENT-PARTING WITH LAFAYETTE. [1^84. 



made a tour of the Eastern States, " crowned 
everywhere," writes Washington, "with wreaths 
of love and respect. " * 

They returned together to Mount Vernon, 
where Lafayette again passed several days, a 
cherished inmate of the domestic circle. 

"When his visit was ended, Washington, to 



644 

hv the British government, also, of the posts 
of Detroit, Niagara, and Oswego, though con- 
trary to the spirit of the treaty, shut up the 
channel of trade in that quarter. These posts, 
however, would eventually he given up ; and 
then, he was persuaded, the people of New 

Vnrk Avould lose no time in removing every • i t„. f^ 

l^tllin he way of a water communication; defer the parting scene, accompanied hun to 
obstacle '^ «^^;^^^^^^^^^ „ ^ ^^ ^^^ u if they do Annapolis. On returning to Mount Vernon, 
and " I.^^^^\^; "f J^ r^ ;;^ n.v Nation of the he wrote a farewell letter to the marquis, hor- 
Ht':Mch :^^ Z^^^ necessity of dering more upon the sentimental than almost 
lales, wmcii wm ^ i ^^ ^^^^^^ .^ ^^.^ mnltifarions correspondence. 

'tZZ^Y^^ therefore, to lose no " In the nroment of onr separation npon the 

It l>*o» «'J ^ " = • ■ fe^rable road as I have travelled, and every honr since, 

t,me rn -3' "S^' f ^J *;^ 'l\e.iern trade I have felt all that love, respect, and attachment 

rconneXg r Po.c ^^and Ja.es Elvers for yon, with which length of years, close con- 



with the waters beyond the mountains. The 
industry of tlie western settlers had hitherto 
been checked by the want of outlets to their 
products, owing to the before-mentioned ob- 
'^tacles : " But smooth the road," said he, " and 
make easy the way for them, and then see what 
an influx of articles will pour upon us ; how 
amazingly our exports will be increased by them, 
and how amply all shall be compensated for 
any trouble and expense we may encounter to 

effect it." 

Such were some of the ideas ably and amply 
set forth by him in a letter to Benjamin 
Harrison, Governor of Virginia, who, struck 
with his plan for opening the navigation of the 
western waters, laid the letter before the State 
Legislature. The favor with which it was re- 
ceived induced AVashington to repair to Rich- 
mond and give his personal support to the meas- 
ure. He arrived there on the 15th of Novem- 
ber' On the following morning a committee 
of five members of the House of Assembly, 
headed by Patrick Henry, waited on hmi m 
behalf of that body, to testify their reverence 
for his character and affection for his person, 
and their sense of the proofs given by him since 
his return to private life, that no change of 
situation could turn his thoughts from the wel- 
fare of his country. The suggestions of Wash- 
ington in his letters to the governor, and his 
representations, during this visit to Richmond, 
gave the first impulse to the great system of 
internal improvement since pursued throughout 
the United States. 

At Richmond he was joined by the Marquis 
de Lafayette ; who since their separation had 
accompanied the commissioners to Fort Schuy- 
ler, and been present at the formation of a 
treaty with the Indians ; after which he had 



nection, and your merits have inspired me. I 
often asked myself, as our carriages separated, 
whether that was the last sight I ever should 
have of you ? And though I wished to answer 
no, my fears answered yes. I called to mind 
the days of my youth, and found they had long 
since fled to return no more ; that I tvas now 
descending the hill I have been fifty-two years 
climbing, and that, though I was blessed with 
a good constitution, I was of a short-lived 
family, and might soon expect to be entombed 
in the mansion of my fathers. These thoughts 
darkened the shades, and gave a gloom to the 
picture, and consequently, to my prospect of 
ever seeing you again." 



CHAPTER XXSV. 

Washington's zeal for the public good liad • 
now found a new channel ; or, rather, his late . 
tours into the interior of the Union had quick- 
ened ideas long existing in his mind on the sub- t 
ject of internal navigation. In a letter to 
Richard Henry Lee, recently chosen President 
of Congress, he urged it upon his attention ; 
suggesting that the western waters should be 
explored, their navigable capabilities ascer-. 
tained, and that a complete map should be made ; 
of the country; that in all grants of land byi 
the United States, there should be a reserve: 
made for special sale of all mines, mineral and; 
salt springs*; that a medium price should be 
adopted for the western lands sufficient to pre-> 
vent monopoly, but not to discourage useful, 
settlers. He had a salutary horror of "land 



* Letter of Washington to the MaichioneBS de La- 
fayette. 



^T. 53.J SCHEME OF INLAND NAVIGATION-RURAL IMPROVEMENTS. 



645 



jobbers" and "roaming speculators," prowling 
about the country like wolves; marking and 
surveying valuable spots to the great disquiet 
of the Indian tribes. " The spirit of emigration 
is grefit," said he ; " people have got impatient, 
and though you cannot stop the road, it is yet 
in your power to mark the way ; a little while, 
and you will not be able to do either." 

In the latter part of December he was at An- 
napolis, at the request of the Assembly of Vir- 
ginia, to arrange matters with the Assembly of 
Maryland respecting the communication be- 
tween the Potomac and the western waters. 
Through "his indefatigable exertions two com- 
panies were formed under the patronage of the 
governments of these States, for opening the 
navigation of the Potomac and James Pvivers, 
and he was appointed president of both. By a 
unanimous vote of the Assembly of Virginia, 
fifty shares in the Potomac, and one hundred 
in the James River company, were appropriated 
for his benefit, to the end that, while the great 
works he had promoted would remain mon- 
uments of his glory, they might also be 
monuments of the gratitude of his country. 
The aggregate amount of these shares was 
about forty thousand dollars. 

Washington was exceedingly embarrassed by 
the appropriation. . To decline so noble and un- 
equivocal a testimonial of the good opinion and 
good will of his countrymen, might be construed 
into disrespect, yet he wished to be perfectly 
free to exercise his judgment and express his 
opinions in the matter, without being liable to 
the least suspicion of interested motives. It had 
been Jiis fixed determination, also, when he sur- 
rendered his military command, never to hold 
any other ofiice under government to which 
emolument might become a necessary append- 
age. From this resolution his mind had never 
swerved, 

While, however, he declined to receive the 
profi'ered shares for his own benefit, he inti- 
mated a disposition to receive them in trust, to 
be applied to the use of some object or institu- 
tion of a public nature. His wishes were com- 
plied with, and the shares were ultimately ai> 
propriated by him to institutions devoted to 
public education. Yet, though the love for his 
country would thus interfere with his love for 
his home, the dream of rm-al retirement at 
Mount Vernon still went on. 

" The more I am acquainted with agricul- 
tural atfairs," he says, in a letter to a friend in 
England, " the better I am pleased with them ; , 



insomuch that I can nowhere find so much sat- 
isfaction as in those innocent and useful pur- 
suits. While indulging these feelings, I am led 
to reflect, how much more delightful to an un- 
debauched mind is the task of making improve- 
ments on the earth, than all the vain glory that 
can be acquired from ravaging it by the most 
uninterrupted career of conquest. 

'' How pitiful, in this age of reason and re- 
ligion, is that false ambition which desolates 
the world with fire and sword for the purpose 
of conquest and fame, compared to the milder 
virtues of making our neighbors and our felloAv- 
men as happy as their frail convictions and per- 
ishable natures will permit them to be." 

He had a congenial correspondent in his 
quondam brother-soldier, Governor Clinton of 
New York, whose spear, like his own, had been 
turned into a pruning-hook. 

" Whenever the season is proper and an op- 
portunity off'ers," writes he to the governor, " I 
shall be glad to receive the balsam trees or 
others which you may think curious and exotic 
with us, as I am endeavoring to improve the 
grounds about my house in this way." He re- 
commends to the governor's care certain grape- 
vines of the choicest kinds for the table, which 
an uncle of the Chevalier de Luzerne had en- 
gaged to send from France, and which must be 
about to arrive at ISTew York. He is literally 
going to sit under his own vine and his own 
fig-tree, and devote himself to the quiet pleas- 
ures of rural life. 

At the opening of the year (1785) the entries 
in his diary show him diligently employed in 
preparations to improve iiis groves and shrub- 
bery. On the 10th of January he notes that 
the white tliorn is full in berry. On the 20th 
he begins to clear the pine groves of under- 
growth. ' 

In February he transplants ivy under the 
walls of the garden to whicli it still clings. In 
March he is planting hemlock trees, that most 
beautiful species of American evergreen, num- 
bers of which had been brought hither from 
Occoquan. In April he is sowing holly berries 
in drills, some adjoining a green-brier hedge on 
the north side of the garden gate ; others in a 
semicircle on the lawn. Many of the lioljy 
bushes thus produced, are still flourishing 
about the place in full vigor. He had learnt 
the policy, not sufficiently adopted in our 
country, of clothing his ornamented grounds as 
much as possible Avith evergreens, which resist 
the rigors of our winter, and keep up a cheering 



646 



THE BURTHEN OF COERESFONDENCE-OENAMENTAL CULTIVATION. [1785. 



verdure throughout the year. Of the trees fit- 
ted for shade in pasture land he notes the lo- 
cust, maple, black mulberry, black walnut, 
black gum, dogwood, and sassafras, none of 
which, he observes, materially injure the grass 
beneath them. 

Is then for once a soldier's dream realized ? 
Is he in perfect enjoyment of that seclusion 
from the world and its distractions, which he 
had so often pictured to himself amid the hard- 
ships and turmoils of the camp ? Alas, no ! 
The "post," that "herald of a noisy world," 
invades his quiet and loads his table with let- 
ters, until correspondence becomes an intoler- 
able burthen. 

He looks in despair at the daily accumulating 
mass of unanswered letters. " Many mistaken- 
ly think," writes he, " that I am retired to ease, 
and to that kind of tranquillity which Avould 
grow tiresome for want of employment ; but at 
no period of my life, not in the eight years I 
served the public, have I been obliged to write 
so much myself, as I have done since my re- 
tirement." * Again—" It is not the letters from 
ray friends which give me trouble, or add aught 
to my perplexity. It is references to old mat- 
ters, with which I have nothing to do ; appli- 
cations which often cannot be complied with ; 
inquiries which would require the pen of a his- 
torian to satisfy ; letters of compliment as im- 
meanlng perhaps as they arc troublesome, but 
which must be attended to ; and the common- 
place business which employs my pen and my 
time often disagreeably. These, with company, 
deprive me of exercise, and unless I can obtain 
relief, must be productive of disagreeable con- 
sequences." 

From much of this drudgery of the pen he 
was subsequently relieved by Mr. Tobias Lear, 
a young gentleman of New Hampshire, a grad- 
uate of Harvard College, who acted as his pri- 
vate secretary, and at the same time took 
charge of the instruction of the two children 
of the late Mr. Parke Custis, whom Washington 
had adpoted. 

There was another tax imposed by his celeb- 
rity upon his time and patience. Applications 
were continually made to him to sit for his 
likeness. The following is his sportive reply 
to Mr. Francis Hopkinson, who apphed in be- 
half of Mr. Pine : 

" ' In for a peimy in for a pound,'' is an old 
adage. I am so hackneyed to the touches of 



* Lottci- to Uicliiird Hcnvy Lee. 



the painters' pencil, that I am altogether at 
their beck, and sit ' like Patience on a monu- 
ment,' whilst they are delineating the lines of 
my face. It is a proof among many others, of 
what habit and custom can accomplish. At 
first I was impatient at the request, and as res- 
tive under the operation as a colt is under the 
saddle. The next time I submitted very reluc- 
tantly, but with less flouncing. Now no dray- 
horse moves more readily to his tliill, than I to 
the painter's chair. It may easily be conceiv- 
ed, therefore, that I yield a ready obedience to 
your request, and to the views of Mr, Pine." 

It was not long after this that M. Houdon, an 
artist of great merit, chosen by Mr. Jefferson 
and Dr. Franklin, arrived from Paris to make 
a study of Washington for a statue, for the Leg- 
islature of Virginia. He remained a fortnight 
at Mount Vernon, and having formed his mod- 
el, took it with him to Paris, where he pro- 
duced that excellent statue and likeness to be 
seen in the State House in Richmond, Virginia. 
Being now in some measure relieved from 
the labors of the pen, "Washington had more 
time to devote to his plan for ornamental culti- 
vation of the grounds about his dwehing. 

We find in his diary noted down with cu- 
rious exactness, each day's labor and the share 
he took in it; his frequent rides to the Mill 
Swamp ; the Dogue Creek ; the " Plantation of 
the Neck," and other places along the Potomac 
in quest of young elms, ash trees, white thorn, 
crab-apples, maples, mulberries, willows, and 
lilacs; the winding walks which he lays out, 
and the trees and shrubs which he plants along 
them. Now he sows acorns and buck-eye nuts 
brought by himself from the Monongahela ; now 
he opens vistas through the Pine Grove, com- 
manding distant views through the woodlands ; 
and now ho twines round his columns scarlet 
honeysuckles, which his gardener tells him will 
blow all the summer. 

His care-worn spirit freshens up in these em- 
ployments. With him Mount Vernon is a kind 
of idyl. The transient glow of poetical feeling 
Avhich once visited his bosom, when in boyhood 
he rhymed beneath its groves, seems about to 
return once more; and we please ourselves 
with noting among the trees set out by him, a 
group of young horse-chestnuts from West- 
moreland, his native county, the haunt of his 
schoolboy days ; which had been sent to him 
by Colonel Lee (Light-Horse Harry), the son 
of his "Lowland Beauty." 

A diagram of the plan in which he had laid out 



^T. 63.] 



MANAGEMENT OF THE ESTATE— VISIT OF MR. WATSON. 



647 



his grounds, still remains among his papers at 
Mount Vernon'; the places are marked on it for 
particular trees and shrubs. Some of those 
trees and shrubs are still to be found in the 
places thus assigned to them. In the present 
neglected state of Mount Vernon, its walks are 
overgrown, and vegetation runs wild ; but it is 
deeply interesting still to find traces of these 
toils in which Washington delighted, and to 
know that many of the trees which give it its 
present umbrageous beauty were planted by his 
hand. 

The ornamental cultivation of which we have 
spoken, was confined to the grounds appertain- 
ing to what was called the mansion-house farm ; 
but his estate included four other farms, all ly- 
ing contiguous, and containing three thousand 
two hundred and sixty acres ; each farm having 
its bailiff or overseer, with a house for his ac- 
commodation, barns and outhouses for the pro- 
duce, and cabins for the negroes. On a general 
map of the estate, drawn out by Washington 
himself, these farms were all laid down accu- 
rately and their several fields numbered; he 
knew the soil and local qualities of each, and 
regulated the culture of them accordingly. 

In addition to these five farms there w-ere 
several hundred acres of fine woodland, so that 
the estate presented a beautiful diversity of 
laud and water. In the stables near the man- 
sion-house were the carriage and saddle horses, 
of which he was very choice; on the four farms 
there were 54 draught horses, 12 mules, 317 
head of black cattle, 360 sheep, and a great 
number of swine, which last ran at large in 
the woods. 

He now read much on husbandry and gar- 
dening, and copied out treatises on those sub- 
jects. He corresponded also with the celebrat- 
ed Arthur Young ; from whom he obtained 
seeds of all kinds, improved ploughs, plans for 
laying out farm-yards, and advice on various 
parts of rural economy. 

"Agriculture," writes he to him, "has ever 
been among the most favored of my amuse- 
ments, though I have never possessed much 
skill in the art, and nine years' total inattention 
to it has added nothing to a knowledge, which 
is best understood from practice ; but with the 
means you have been so obliging as to furnish 
me, I shall return to it, though rather late in 
the day, Avith more alacrity than ever." 

In the management of his estate he was re- 
markably exact. No negligence on the part of 
the overseers or those under them was passed | 



over unnoticed. He seldom used many words 
on the subject of his plans; rarely asked advice; 
but, w^hen once determined, carried them di- 
rectly and silently into execution ; and was not 
easily dissuaded from a project when once com- 
menced. 

We have shown, in a former chapter, his 
mode of apportioning time at Mount Vernon, 
prior to the Revolution. The same system 
was, in a great measure, resumed. His active 
day began some time before the dawn. Much 
of his correspondence was despatched before 
breakfast, which took place at half-past seven. 
After breakfast he mounted his horse which 
stood ready at the door, and rode out to differ- 
ent parts of his estate, as he used to do to va- 
rious parts of the camp, to see that all was right 
at the outposts, and every one at his duty. At 
half-past two he dined. 

If there was no company he would write 
until dark, or, if pressed by business, until nine 
o'clock in the evening ; otherwise he read in 
the evening, or amused himself with a game of 
whist. 

His secretary, Mr. Lear, after two years' res- 
idence in the family on the most confidential 
footing, says, — " General Washington is, I be- 
lieve, almost the only man of an exalted char- 
acter, who does not lose some j)ai-t of his re- 
spectability by an intimate acquaintance. I 
have never found a single thing that could les- 
sen my respect for him. A complete knowledge 
of his honesty, uprightness, and candor in all 
his private transactions, has sometimes led me 
to think him more tlian a man." 

The children of Parke Custis formed a lively 
part of his household. He was fond of children 
and apt to unbend with them. Miss Custis, re- 
calling in after life the scenes of her childhood, 
writes, "I have sometimes made him laugh 
most heartily from sympatliy with my joyous 
and extravagant spirits ; " she observes, how- 
ever, that " he was a silent, thoughtful man. 
He spoke jittle generally ; never of himself. I 
never heard him relate a single act of his life 
during the war, I have often seen him per- 
fectly abstracted, his lips moving ; but no sound 
was perceptible." 

An observant traveller, Mr. Elkanah Watson, 
who visited Mount Vernon in the winter of 
1785, bearer of a letter of introduction from 
General Greene and Colonel Fitzgerald, gives 
a home picture of Washington in his retire- 
ment. Though sure that his credentials would 
secure him a respectful reception, he says, " I 



648 



WASHINGTON IN SOCIAL LIFE. 



[1785. 



trembled -with awe as I came into the presence 
of this great man. I found him at table with 
Mrs, Washington and his private family, and 
was received in the native dignity, and with 
that urbanity so peculiarly combined in the 
character of a soldier and an eminent private 
gentleman. He soon put me at my ease, by 
unbending, in a free and affable conversation. 

" The cautious reserve which wisdom and 
policy dictated, whilst engaged in rearing the 
glorious fabric of our independence, was evi- 
dently the result of consummate prudence and 
not characteristic of his nature. I observed a 
peculiarity in his smile, which seemed to illu- 
minate his eye ; his whole countenance beamed 
with intelligence while it commanded confi- 
dence and respect. 

" I found him kind and benignant in the 
domestic circle ; revered and beloved by all 
around him ; agreeably social, without osten- 
tation ; delighting in anecdote and adventures; 
without assumption ; his domestic arrange- 
ments harmonious and systematic. His ser- 
vants seemed to watch his eye, and to antici- 
pate his every wish ; hence a look was equiv- 
alent to a command. His servant Billy, the 
faitliful companion of his military career, was 
always at his side. Smiling content animated 
and beamed on every countenance in his pres- 
ence." 

In the evening Mr. Watson sat conversing 
for a full hour with Washington after all the 
family had retired, expecting, perhaps, to hear 
him fight over some of his battles ; but, if so, 
he was disappointed, for he observes : " He 
modestly waived all allusions to the events in 
which he had acted so glorious and conspicuous 
a part. Much of his conversation had reference 
to the interior country, and to the opening of 
the navigation of the Potomac by canals and 
locks, at the Seneca, the Great and Little Falls. 
His mind appeared to be deeply absorbed by 
that object, then in earnest dontemplation." 

Mr. Watson had taken a severe cold in tlie 
course of a harsh winter joui'ney, and coughed 
excessively. Washington pressed him to take 
some remedies, but he declined. After retiring 
for the night his coughing increased. " When 
some time had elapsed," writes he, "the door 
of my room was gently opened, and, on draw- 
ing my bed curtains, I beheld Washington him- 
self, standing at my bedside with a bowl of hot 
tea in his hand. I was mortified and distressed 
beyond expression. This little incident, occur- 
ring in common life with an ordinary man. 



would not have been noticed ; but as a trait of 
the benevolence and private virtue of Washing- 
ton, deserves to be recorded." 

The late Bishop White, in subsequent years, 
speaking of Washington's unassuming manners, 
observes : " I know no man who so carefully 
guarded against the discoursing of himself or 
of his acts, or of any thing that pertained to 
liim ; and it has occasionally occurred to me 
when in his company, that, if a stranger to his 
person were present, he would never have 
known from any thing said by him tbat he was 
conscious of having distinguished himself in the 
eye of the world." 

An anecdote is told of Washington's conduct 
while commander-in-chief; illustrative of his 
benignant attention to others, and his freedom 
from all assumption. While the army was en- 
camped at Morristown, he one day attended a 
religious meeting where divine service was to 
be celebrated in the open air. A chair had 
been set out for his use. Just before the ser- 
vice commenced, a woman with a child in her 
arms approached. All the seats were occupied. 
Washington immediately rose, placed her in 
the chair which had been assigned to him, and 
remained standing during the whole service.* 

The reverential awe with which his deeds 
and elevated position threw around him was 
often a source of annoyance to him in private 
life ; especially when he perceived its eff'ect 
upon the young and gay. We have been told 
of a case in point, when he made his appear- 
ance at a private ball where all were enjoying 
themselves with the utmost glee. The moment 
he entered the room the buoyant mirth was 
checked ; the dance lost its animation ; every 
face was grave ; every tongue was silent. He 
remained for a time, endeavoring to engage in 
conversation with some of the young people, 
and to break the spell ; finding it in vain, he 
retired sadly to the company of the elders in 
an adjoining room, expressing his regret that 
his presence should operate as such a damper. 
After a little while light laughter and happy 
voices again resounded from the ball-room ; 
upon which he rose cautiously, approached on 
tip-toe the door, which was ajar, and there 
stood for some time a delighted spectator of 
the youthful revelry. 

Washington in fact, though habitually grave 
aiiH thoughtful, was of a social disposition, and 
loved cheerful society. He was fond of the 



* MS. notes of the Rev. Joseph F. Tuttlc. 



^T. o3.J 



WASHINGTON IN SOCIAL LIFE. 



649 



dance ; and it was the boast of many ancient 
dames in our day, who had been belles in the 
time of the Eevolution, that they had danced 
minuets with him, or had him for a partner in 
contra-dances. There were balls in camp, in 
some of the dark times of the Revolution. 
" "We had a little dance at my quarters," writes 
General Greene from Middlebrook, in March, 
1779. "His Excellency and Mrs. Greene 
danced upwards of three hours without once 
sitting down. Upon the whole, we had a 
pretty little frisk." * 

A letter of Colonel Tench Tilghman, one of 
"Washington's aides-de-camp, gives an instance 
of the general's festive gayety when in the 
above year the army was cantoned near Mor- 
ristown. A large company, of which the Gen- 
eral and Mrs. "Washington, General and Mrs. 
Greene, and Mr. and Mrs. Olney were part, 
dined with Colonel and Mrs. Biddle. Some 
little time after the ladies had retired from 
table, Mr. Olney followed them into the next 
room. A clamor M'as raised against him as a 
deserter, and it was resolved that a party should 
be sent to demand him, and that if the ladies 
refused to give him up, he should be brought 
by force. Washington humored the joke, and 
offered to head the party. He led it with great 
formality to the door of the drawing-room, and 
sent in a summons. The ladies refused to give 
up the deserter. An attempt was made to 
capture him. The ladies came to the rescue. 
There was a mel6e ; in the course of which his 
Excellency seems to have had a passage at arms 
with Mrs. Olney. The ladies were victorious, 
as they always ought to be, says the gallant 
Tilghman.t 

More than one instance is told of Washing- 
ton's being surprised into hearty fits of laugh- 
ter, even during the war. We have recorded 
one produced by the sudden appearance of old 
General Putnam on horseback, with a female 
prisoner en croupe. The following is another 
which occurred at the camp at Morristown. 
Washington had purchased a young horse of 



* Greene to Colonel 'Waclsworth. MS. 

t This sportive occurrence gave rise to a piece of camp 
Bcandal. It was reported at a distance that Mrs. Olney 
had been in a violent rage, and had told Washington that, 
" if he did not let go her hand she would tear hifl eyes out, 
and that though he was a general, he was but a man." 

Mr. Olney wrote to Colonel Tilghman, begging him to 
refute the scandal. The latter gave a true statement of 
the aftair, declaring that the whole was done in jest, and 
that in the mock contest Mrs. Olney had made use of no 
expressions unbecoming a lady of her good breeding, or 
such as were taken the least amiss by the general. 



great spirit and power. A braggadocia of the 
array, vain of his horsemanship, asked the privi- 
lege of breaking it. Washington gave his con- 
sent, and with some of his officers attended to 
see the horse receive his first lesson. After 
much preparation, the pretender to equitation 
mounted into the saddle and was making a 
great display of his science, when the horse s 
suddenly planted his forefeet, threw up his 
heels, and gave the unlucky Gambado a somer- 
set over his head. Washington, a thorough 
horseman, and quick to perceive the ludicrous 
in these matters, was so convulsed with laugh- 
ter, that, we are told, the tears ran down his 
cheeks.* 

Still another instance is given, which oc- 
curred at the return of peace, when he was 
sailing in a boat on the Hudson, and was so 
overcome by the drollery of a story told by 
Major Fairlie of New York, of facetious mem- 
ory, that he fell back in the boat in a paroxysm 
of laughter. In that fit of laughter, it was 
sagely presumed that he threw off the burthen 
of care which had been weighing down his 
spirits throughout the war. He certainly re- 
laxed much of his thoughtful gravity of de- 
meanor when he had no longer the anxieties of 
a general command to harass him. Tlie late 
Judge Brooke, who had served as an officer in 
the legion of Light-horse Harry, used to tell of 
having frequently met Washington on his visits 
to Fredei'icksburg after the revolutionary war, 
and how " hilarious " the general was on those 
occasions with " Jack Willis, and other friends 
of his young days," laughing heartily at the 
comic songs which were sung at table. 

Colonel Henry Lee, too, who used to be a 
favored guest at Mount "Vernon, does not seem 
to have been much under the influence of that 
" reverential awe " which Washington is said 
to have inspired ; if we may judge from the 
following anecdote. Washington one day at 
table mentioned his being in want of carriage 
horses, and asked Lee if he knew where he 
could get a pair. 

" I have a fine pair, general," replied Lee. 
" but you cannot get them." 

" Why not ? " 

" Because you will never pay more than half 
price for any thing ; and I must have full price 
for my horses." 

The bantering reply set Mrs. Washington 
laughing, and her parrot, perched beside her, 



* Notes of the Rev. Mr. Tuttle. MS. 



650 



SOCIAL LIFE or WASHINGTON— DEATH OF GENERAL GREENE, [ITSo. 



joined in the laugh. The general took this fa- 
miliar assault upon his dignity in great good 
part. " All, Lee, you are a funny fellow," said 
he, — " see, that hird is laughing at you." * 

Hearty laughter, however, was rare with 
Washington. The sudden explosions we hear 
of were the result of some sudden and ludi- 
crous surprise. His general habit was a calm 
seriousness, easily softening into a benevolent 
smile; 

In some few of his familiar letters, yet pre- 
served, and not relating to business, there is 
occasionally a vein of pleasantry and even of 
humor ; but almost invariably, they treat of 
matters of too grave import to admit of any 
thing of the kind. It is to be deeply regretted 
that most of his family letters have been pur- 
posely destroyed. 

The passion for hunting had revived with 
Washington on returning to his old hunting- 
grounds; but he had no hounds. His kennel 
liad been broken up when he went to the wars, 
and the dogs given away, and it was not easy 
to replace them. After a time he received sev- 
ei'al liounds from France, sent out by Lafayette, 
and other of the French officers, and once 
more sallied forth to renew his ancient sport. 
The French hounds, however, proved indifter- 
ent ; he was out with them repeatedly, putting 
other hounds with tliem borrowed from gen- 
tlemen of the neighborhood. They improved 

NOTE. 
Another instance is on record of one of Washing- 
ton'* fits of laughter, which occurred in subsequent 
years. Judge Marshall and Judge Washington, a rel- 
ative of the general, were on their way ou horseback 
to visit Mount Vernon, attended by a black servant, 
who had charge of a large portmanteau containing 
their clothes. As they passed through a wood on the 
skirts of the Mount Vernon grounds, they were tempted 
to make a hasty toilet beneath its shade ; being covered 
with dust from the state of the roads. Dismounting, 
they threw off their dusty garments, while the servant 
took down the portmanteau. As he opened it, out 
flew cakes of Windsor soap and fancy articles of all 
kinds. The man by mistake had changed their port- 
manteau at the last stopping place for one which re- 
sembled it, belonging to a Scotch pedlar. The con- 
sternation of the negro, and their own dismantled 
state, struck them so ludicrously as to produce loud 
and repeated bursts of laughter. Washington, who 
happened to be out upon his grounds, was attracted 
by the noise, and so overcome by the strange plight 
of his friends, and the whimsicality of the whole scene, 
that he is said to have actually rolled on the grass 
with laughter. — See Life of Judge J. Smith. 



* Comrauuicatod to ua in a letter from a son of Colonel 
Loe. 



after a while, but were never stanch, .ind cr.nsed 
him frequent disappointment"?. Probably he 
was not as stanch himself as formerly ; an in- 
terval of several years may have blunted his 
keenness, if we may judge from the following 
entry in his diary : 

" Out after breakfast with my hounds, found 
a fox and ran him sometimes hard, and some- 
times at cold hunting from 11 till near 2 — 
when I came home and left the himtsmen with 
them, who followed in the same manner two 
hours or more, and then took the dogs off with- 
out killing." 

He appears at one time to have had an idea 
of stocking part of his estate with deer. In 
a letter to his friend, George WiUiam Fairfax, 
in England, a letter expressive of kind recol- 
lections of former companionship, he says : 
" Though envy is no part of my composition, 
yet the picture you have drawn of your present 
habitation and mode of living,- is enough to cre- 
ate a strong desire in me to be a participator 
of the tranquillity and rural amusements you 
have described. I am getting into the latter 
as fast as I can, being determined to make the 
remainder of my life easy, let the world or the 
affairs of it go as they may. I am not a littlo 
obliged to you for contributing to this, by pro- 
curing me a buck and doe of the best English 
deer ; but if you have not already been at this 
trouble, I would, my good sir, now wish to re- 
lieve you from it, as Mr. Ogle of Maryland has 
been so obliging as to j^resent me six fawns 
from his park of English deer at Bellair. With 
these, and tolerable care, I shall soon have a 
full stock for my small paddock.* 

While Washington was thus calmly enjoying 
himself, came a letter from Henry Lee, who 
was now in Congress, conveying a mournful 
piece of intelligence : " Your friend and second, 
the patriot and noble Greene, is no more. Uni- 
versal grief reigns here." Greene died on the 
18th of June, at his estate of Mulberry Grove, 
on Savannah River, presented to him by the 
State of Georgin. His last illness was brief; 
caused by a stroke of the sun ; he was but 
forty-four years of age. 

The news of his death struck heavily on 
Washington's heart, to whom, in the most ar- 

* George WiUiam F.iirfax rcsiJed in Bath, -where he 
died on the 3J of April, 17S7, in the sixty -third year of his 
age. Though his income was greatly reduced by the con- 
fiscation of his property in Virginia, he contributed gen- 
erously during the revolutionary war to the relief of 
American prisoners. — Sparks^ WashingtoiVs Writings, v. 
ii., p. 53. 



^T. 53.] WASHINGTON'S ENCOMIUMS OF GENERAL GREENE— REVERIES OF PEACE. 651 



duous trials of the KsvolntioT^, lis had been a 
second self. lie hac^ c.'- -j.' '''T.r'liington as his 
model, and possessed naturally many of his 
great qualities. Like him, he was sound in 
judgment ; persevering in the midst of discour- 
agements ; calm and self-possessed in time of 
danger ; heedful of the safety of others ; heed- 
less of his own. Like him, he was modest and 
unpretending, and like him he had a perfect 
command of temper. 

He had Washington's habits of early rising, 
and close and methodical despatch of business, 
"never suffering the day to crowd upon the 
morrow." In private intercourse he was frank, 
noble, candid, and intelligent; in the hurry of 
business he was free from petulance, and had, 
we are told, " a winning blandness of manner 
that won the affections of his ofBcers." 

His campaigns in the Carolinas showed him 
to be a worthy disciple of Washington, keeping 
the war alive by Ids own persevering hope and 
inexhaustible energy, and, as it were, fighting 
almost without weapons, nis great contest of 
generalship with the veteran Cornwallis, has 
ensured for him a lasting renown. 

" He was a great and good man ! " was Wash- 
ington's comprehensive eulogy on him ; and in 
a letter to Lafayette he writes : " Greene's 
death is an event Avhich has given such general 
concern, and is so much regretted by his nu- 
merous friends, that I can scarce persuade my- 
self to touch upon it, even so far as to say that 
in him you lost a man who affectionately re- 
garded, and was a sincere admirer of you." * 

Other deaths pressed u]wn Washington's sen- 
sibility about the same time. That of General 
McDougall, who had served his country faith- 
fully through the war, and since with equal 
fidelity in Congress. That, too, of Colonel 
Tench Tilghman, for a long time one of Wash- 
ington's aides-de-camp, and " who left," writes 
he, " as fair a reputation as ever belonged to a 
human character." " Thus," adds he, " some 
of the pillars of the Revolution fall. Others 
are mouldering by insensible degrees. May our 
country never want props to support the glo- 
rious fabric." 

In iiis correspondence about this time Avith 
several of the French noblemen who had been 
his associates in arms, his letters breathe the 



* We are happy to learn that a complete collection of 
the correspondence of General Greene is about to he pub- 
lished by his worthy and highly cultivated grandson, 
George Washington Greene. It is a work that, like 
Bparks' Writings of Washington, should form a part of 
every American library. 



spirit of peace which was natural to him ; for 
war Avith him had only been a matter of pa- 
triotism and public duty. To the Marquis de 
la Rouerie, who had so bravely but modestly 
fought under the title of Colonel Armand, he 
writes : " I never expect to draw my sword 
again. I can scarcely conceive the cause that 
would induce me to do it. My time is now oc- 
cupied by rural amusements in which I have 
great satisfaction ; and my first wish is (al- 
though it is against the profession of arms, and 
would clip the Avings of some of our young sol- 
diers who are soaring after glory) to see the 
whole world in peace, and the inhabitants of it 
as one band of brothers, striving who should 
contribute most to the happiness of mankind." 

So, also, in a letter to Count Eochambeau, 
dated July 31st, 1786 : " It must give pleas- 
ure," Avrites he, " to the friends of humanity, 
even in this distant section of the globe, to find 
that the clouds Avhich threatened to burst in a 
storm of Avar on Europe, have dissipated, and 
left a still brighter horizon. * * * * As 
the rage of "conquest, which in times of barbar- 
ity stiraidated nations to blood, has in a great 
measure ceased ; as the objects Avhich formerly 
gave birth to wars are daily diminishing; 
and as mankind are becoming more enlight- 
ened and humanized, I cannot but flatter my- 
self with the pleasing prospect, that a more 
liberal policy and more pacific systems will 
take place amongst them. To indulge this idea 
afl^ords a soothing consolation to a philan- 
thropic mind ; insomuch that, although it 
should be found an illusion, one Avould hardly 
Avish to be divested of an error so grateful in 
itself and so innocent in its consequences." 

And in another letter,—" It is thus, you see, 
my dear Count, in retirement upon my farm I 
speculate upon the fate of nations, amusing 
myself with innocent reveries that mankind 
will one day groAV happier and better." 

How easily may the wisest of men be de-- 
ceived in their specidations as to the future, 
especially Avhen founded on the idea of the 
perfectibility of human nature. These halcyon 
dreams of universal peace were indulged on the 
very eve, as it were, of the French Revolution, 
Avhich was to deluge the AvOrld in blood, and 
Avhen the rage for conquest was to have un- 
bounded scope under the belligerent sway of 
jSTapoleou. 



652 



WASHINGTON DOUBTS THE SOLIDITY OF THE CONFEDERATION. 



[1786. 



CHAPTER XXXVI. 

From his quiet retreat of Mount Vernou, 
"Wasliington, though ostensibly withdrawn 
from pubUc affairs, was watching witla intense 
sohcitude the working together of the several 
parts in the great political confederacy ; anx- 
ious to know whether the thirteen distinct 
States, under the present organization, could 
form a sufficiently efficient general government. 
He was daily becoming more and more doubt- 
ful of the solidity of the fabric he had assisted 
to raise. The form of confederation which had 
bound the States together and met the' public 
exigencies during the Revolution, when there 
was a pressure of external danger, was daily 
proving more and more incompetent to the 
purposes of a national government. Congress 
had devised a system of credit to provide for 
the national expenditure and the extinction of 
the national debts, which amounted to some- 
thing more than forty millions of dillars. The 
system experienced neglect from some States 
and opposition from others ; each consulting 
its local interests and prejudices, instead of the 
interests and obligations of the whole. In like 
manner treaty stipulations, which bound the 
good faith of the whole, were slighted, if not 
violated by individual States, apparently un- 
conscious that they must each share in the 
disci'edit thus brought upon the national name. 

In a letter to James Warren, who had former- 
ly been President of the Massachusetts provin- 
cial Congress, Washington writes: "The con- 
federation appears to me to be little more than 
a shadow without the substance, and Congress 
a nugatory body ) their ordinances being little 
attended to. To me it is a solecism in politics ; 
indeed, it is one of the most extraordinary 
things in nature, that Ave should confederate as 
a nation, and yet be afraid to give the rulers of 
that nation (who are creatures of our own mak- 
ing, appointed for a limited and short duration, 
and who are amenable for every action and may 
be recalled at any moment, and are subject to 
all the evils which they may be instrumental in 
producing) sufficient powers to order and direct 
the affairs of the same. By such policy as this 
the wheels of government are clogged, and our 
brightest prospects, and that high expectation 
which was entertained of us by the wondei'ing 
world, are turned into astonishment ; and from 
the high ground on which we stood, we are 



descending into the vale of confusion and dark- 
ness."* 

Not long previous to the writing of this let- 
ter, Washington had been visited at Mount Ver- 
non by commissioners, who had been appointed 
by the legislatures of Virginia and Maryland to 
form a compact relative to the navigation of 
the rivers Potomac and Pocomoke, and of part 
of the Chesapeake Bay, and who had met at 
Alexandria for the purpose. During their visit 
at Mount Vernon, the policy of maintaining 
a naval force on the Chesajieake, and of estab- 
lishing a tariff of duties on imports to which 
the laws of both States should conform, was 
discussed, and it was agreed, that the commis- 
sioners should propose to the governments of 
their respective States the appointment of 
other commissioners, with powers to make con- 
joint arrangements for the above purposes ; to 
wliich the assent of Congress was to be solicited. 

The idea of conjoint arrangements between 
States, thus suggested in the quiet councils of 
Mount Vernon, was a step in the right direction, 
and Avill be found to lead to important results. 

From a letter, written two or three months 
subsequently, we gather some of the ideas on 
national policy which were occupying Washing- 
ton's mind. " I have ever been a friend to 
adequate powers in Congress, without which it 
is evident to me we never shall establish a na- 
tional character, or be considered as on a re- 
spectable footing by tlie powers of Europe. 
We are either a united people under one head 
and for federal purposes, or we are thirteen 
independent sovereignties, eternally counteract- 
ing each other. If the former, whatever such 
a majority of the State as the constitution 
points out, conceives to be for the benefit of 
the whole, should, in my humble opinion, be 
submitted to by the minority. I can foresee no 
evil greater than disunion ; than those unrea- 
sonable jealousies (I say unreasonable, because 
I would have a ^jro^jc?* jealousy always awako, 
and the United States on the Avatch to prevent 
individual States from infracting the constitu- 
tion with impunity) which are continually poi- 
soning our minds and filling them Avith imagi- 
nary evils for the pi-evention of real ones." t 

An earnest correspondence took place some 
months subsequently between Washington and 
the illustrious patriot, John Jay, at that time 
Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Avherein the signs 
of the times were feelingly discussed. 



* Sparks, ix. 139. 

t See Letter to James McHenry. 



Sparks, is. 121. 



^T. 54.] CORRESPONDENCE WITH JOHN JAY— INSURRECTION IN MASSACHUSETTS. G53 



" Our affairs," writes Jay, " seem to lead to 
some crisis, something that I cannot foresee 
or conjecture. I am uneasy and apprehensive, 
more so than during the war. Then we had a 
fixed object, and though the means and time of 
obtaining it were problematical, yet I did firm- 
ly believe that we should ultimately succeed, 
because I did firmly believe that justice was 
with us. The case is now altered. "We are 
going and doing wrong, and therefore I look 
forward to evils and calamities, but without 
being able to guess at the instrument, na- 
ture, or measure of them. ******* 
What I most fear is, that the better kind of 
people, by which I mean the people who are 
orderly and industrious, who are content with 
their situations, and not uneasy in their cir- 
cumstances, will be led by the insecurity of 
property, the loss of public faith and rectitude, 
to consider the charms of liberty as imaginary 
and delusive. A state of uncertainty and fluc- 
tuation must disgust and alarm." Washington, 
in reply, coincided in opinion that public afixiirs 
were drawing rapidly to a crisis, and he ac- 
knowledged the event to be equally beyond his 
foresight. " We have errors," said he, " to 
correct. We have probably had too good an 
opinion of human nature in forming our confed- 
eration. Experience has taught us that men 
will not adopt and carry into execution meas- 
ures the best calculated for their own good, 
without the intervention of coercive power. I 
do not conceive we can exist long as a nation, 
without lodging, somewhere, a i)Ower which 
will pervade the whole Union in as energetic a 
manner, as the authority of the State govern- 
ments extends over the several States. To be 
fearful of investing Congress, constituted as 
that body is, with ample authorities for nation- 
al purposes, appears to me the very climax of 
popular absurdity and madness. Could Con- 
gress exert them for the detriment of the peo- 
ple, without injuring themselves in an equal or 
greater proportion ? Are not their interests 
inseparably connected with those of their con- 
stituents? By the rotation of appointments 
must they not mingle frequently with the mass 
of the citizens ? Is it not rather to be appre- 
hended, if tliey were not possessed of the pow- 
ers before described, that the individual mem- 
bers would be induced to use them, on many 
occasions, very timidly and ineflicaciously, for 
fear of losing their popularity and future elec- 
tion ? We must take human nature as we find 
it ; perfection falls not to the share of mortals. 



" What then is to be done ? things cannot go 
on in the same strain forever. It is much to 
be feared, as you observe, that the better kind 
of people, being disgusted with these circum- 
stances, will have their minds prepared for any 
revolution whatever. We are apt to run from 
one extreme to another. * * * * I am 
told that even respectable characters speak of 
a monarchical form of government without hor- 
ror. From thinking proceeds speaking, thence 
acting is often but a single step. But how irrev- 
ocable and tremendous ! What a triumph for 
our enemies to verify their predictions ! What 
a triumph for the advocates of despotism to 
find that we are incapable of governing our- 
selves, and that systems, founded on the basis 
of equal liberty, are merely ideal and falla- 
cious ! Would to God that wise measures may 
be taken in time to avert the consequences we 
have but too much reason to apprehend. 

" Ketired as I am from the world, I frankly 
acknowledge I cannot feel myself an uncon- 
cerned spectator. Yet, having happily assisted 
in bringing the ship into port, and having been 
fairly discharged, it is not my business to em- 
bark again on the sea of troubles. 

" Nor could it be expected that my senti- 
ments and opinions would have much weight 
in the minds of my countrymen. They have 
been neglected, though given as a last legacy, 
in a most solemn manner. I then perhaps had 
some claims to public attention. I consider 
myself as having none at present. 

His anxiety on this subject was quickened 
by accounts of discontents and commotions in 
the Eastern States produced by the pressure qf 
the times, the public and private indebtedness, 
and the imposition of heavy taxes at a moment 
of financial embarrassment. 

General Knox, now Seci-etary at War, who had 
been sent by Congress to Massachusetts to in- 
quire into these troubles, thus writes about the 
insurgents : " Their creed is, that the property 
of the United States has been protected from 
the confiscation of Britain by the joint exer- 
tions of all^ and therefore ought to be tlie com- 
mon 2yTopcrty of all, and he that attempts op- 
position to this creed, is an enemy to equity 
and justice, and ought to be swept from off" the 
face of the earth." Again : " They are deter- 
mined to annihilate all debts, public and pri- 
vate, and have agrarian laws, which are easily 
eflfected by the means of unfunded paper, 
which shall be a tender in all cases what- 
ever." 



654 



WASHINGTON'S REFLECTIONS ON THE INSURRECTION. 



[1786. 



In reply to Colonel Ilenry Lee in Congress, 
who had addressed several letters to hun on 
the subject, Wasliington writes: "You talk, 
my good sir, of employing influence to appease 
the present tumults iu Massachusetts. I know 
not where that influence is to be found, or, if 
attainable, that it would be a proper remedy for 
the disorders. Influence is not goternment. 
Let us have a government by which our lives, 
liberties, and properties will be secured, or let 
us know the worst at once. There is a call for 
decision. Know precisely what the insurgents 
aim at. If they have real grievances, redress 
them, if possible ; or acknowledge the justice 
of them and your inability to do it at the mo- 
ment. If they have not, employ the force of 
government against them at once. If tbis is 
inadequate, all will be convinced that the su- 
perstructure is bad and wants support. To 
delay one or other of these expedients, is to 
exasperate on the one hand, or to give confi- 
dence on the other. * * * * Let the reins 
of government, then, be braced and held with 
a steady hand, and every violation of the con- 
stitution be reprehended. If defective, let it 
be amended ; but not suffered to be trampled 
upon whilst it has an existence." 

A letter to him from his former aide-de- 
camp, Colonel Humpbreys, dated New Haven, 
November 1st, says : " The troubles in Massa- 
chusetts still continue. Government is pros- 
trated in the dust, and it is much to be feared 
that there is not energy enough in that State 
to re-establish the civil powers. The leaders 
of the mob, whose fortunes and measures are 
desperate, are strengthening themselves daily ; 
and it is expected that they will soon take pos- 
session of the Continental magazine at Spring- 
field, in which there are from ten to fifteen 
thousand stand of arms in excellent order. 

" A general want of compliance with the re- 
quisitions of Congress for money seems to prog- 
nosticate that we are rapidly advancing to 
a crisis. Congress, I am told, are seriously 
alarmed, and hardly know which way to turn 
or what to expect. Indeed, my dear General, 
nothing but a good Providence can extricate 
us from the present convulsion. 

" In case of civil discord, I have already told 
you it was seriously my opinion tliat you could 
not remain neuter, and that you would be 
obliged, in self-defence, to take one part or the 
other, or withdraw' from the continent. Your 
friends are of the same opinion." 

Close upon the receipt of this letter, came in- 



telligence that the insurgents of Massachusetts, 
far from being satisfied with the redress which 
had been offered by their general court, were 
still acting in open violation of law and govern- 
ment ; and that the chief magistrate had been 
obliged to call upon the militia of the State to 
support the constitution. 

" What, gracious God ! is man," writes Wash- 
ington, " that there should be such inconsistency 
and perfidiousness in his conduct. It was but 
the other day, that we were shedding our blood 
to obtain the constitutions under which we 
now live ; constitutions of our own choice and 
making ; and now we are unsheathing the sword 
to overturn them. The thing is so unac- 
countable, that I hardly know how to realize 
it, or to persuade myself that I am not under 
the illusion of a dream." 

His letters to Knox show the trouble of his 
mind. " I feel, my dear General Knox, infi- 
nitely more than I can express to you, for the 
disorders which have arisen in these States. 
Good God ! who, besides a tory, could have 
foreseen, or a Briton predicted them ? I do as- 
sure you that, even at this moment, when I re- 
flect upon the present prospect of our affairs, it 
seems to me to be like the vision of a dream. 
'■■= * * * After what I have seen, or rather 
what I have heard, I shall be surprised at noth- 
ing ; for, if three years since, any person had 
told me that there would have been such a for- 
midable rebellion as exists at this day against 
the laws and constitution of our own making, I 
should have thought him a bedlamite, a fit sub- 
ject for a madhouse. '^ * * In regretting, 
which I have often done with the keenest sor- 
row, the death of our much lamented friend, 
General Greene, I have accompanied it of late 
with a query, whether he would not have pre- 
ferred such an exit, to the scenes which, it is 
more than probable, many of his compatriots 
may live to bemoan." 

To James Madison, also, he writes in the 
same strain. " How melancholy is the reflec- 
tion, that in so short a time, we should have 
mnde such large strides towards fulfilling the 
predictions of our transatlantic foes ! ' Leave 
them to themselves, and their government will 
soon dissolve.' Will not the wise and good 
strive hard to avert this evil? Or will their 
supineness suffer ignorance and the arts of self- 
interested and designing, disaffected, and despe- 
rate characters, to involve this great country in 
wretchedness and contempt? What stronger 
evidence can be given of the want of energy in 



Mr. 54.] PLAN OF A CONVENTION— WASHINGTON HEADS THE VIRGINIA DELEGATION. 655 



onr government than these disorders ? If there 
is not power in it to check them, what security 
has a man for life, liberty, or property ? To 
you, I am sure I need not add aught on the 
subject. The consequences of a lax or ineffi- 
cient government are too obvious to be dwelt 
upon. Thirteen sovereignties pulling against 
each other, and all tugging at the federal head, 
will soon bring ruin on the whole ; whereas, a 
liberal and energetic constitution, well checked 
and well watched, to prevent encroachments, 
might restore us to that degree of respectability 
and consequence to which we had the fairest 
prospect of attaining." 

Thus Washington, even though in retirement, 
was almost imconsciously exercising a powerful 
influence on national affairs ; no longer the sol- 
dier, he was now becoming the statesman. The 
opinions and counsels given in his letters were 
widely effective. The leading expedient for 
federal organization, mooted in his conferences 
with the coumiissioners of Maryland and Vir- 
ginia, during their visit to Mount Vernon in the 
previous year, had been extended and ripened 
in legislative assemblies, and ended in a plan 
of a convention composed of delegates from all 
the States, to meet in Philadelphia for the sole 
and express purpose of revising the federal sys- 
tem, and correcting its defects ; the proceedings 
of the convention to be subsequently reported 
to Congress, and the several legislatures, for 
approval and confirmation. 

Washington was unanimously put at the head 
of the Virginia delegation ; but for some time 
objected to accept the nomination. He feared 
to be charged with inconsistency in again ap- 
pearing in a public situation, after his declared 
resolution to the contrary. " It will have also," 
said he, " a tendency to sweep me back into 
the tide of public affairs, when retirement and 
ease are so much desired by me, and so essen- 
tially necessary." * Beside, he had just avow- 
ed his intention of resigning the presidency of 
the Cincinnati Society, which was to hold its 
triennial meeting in May, in Philadelphia, and 
he could not appear at the same time and place 
on any other occasion, without giving offence 
to his worthy companions in arms, the late of- 
ficers of the American army. 

These considerations were strenuously com- 
bated, for the weight and influence of his name 
and counsel were felt to be all-important in 
giving dignity to the delegation. Two things 



■ Letter to Edmund Randolph, governor of Virginia. 



contributed to bring him to a favorable de- 
cision : First, an insinuation that the opponents 
<if the convention were monarchists, who wish- 
ed the distractions of the country should con- 
tiime, until a monarcliieftl government might 
be resorted to as an ark of safety. The. other 
was the insurrection in Massachusetts. 

Having made up his mind to serve as a dele- 
gate to the convention, he went into a course 
of preparatory reading on the history and prin- 
ciples of ancient and modern confederacies. An 
abstract of the general principles of eachf with 
notes of their vices or defects, exists in his own 
handwriting, among his papers; though it is 
doubted by a judicious commentator * whether 
it was originally drawn up by him, as several 
works are cited, which are written in lanrmages 
that he did not understand. 

Before the time arrived for the meeting of 
the convention, which was the second Monday 
in May, his mind was relieved from one source 
of poignant solicitude, by learning that the in- 
surrection in Massachusetts had been suppressed 
with but little bloodshed, and that the princi- 
pals had fled to Canada. He doubted, how- 
ever, the policy of the Legislature of that State 
in disfranchising a large number of its citizens 
for their rebellions conduct ; thinking more len- 
ient measures might have produced as good an 
effect, without entirely alienating the affections 
of the people from the government ; beside 
depriving some of them of the means of gaining 
a livelihood. 

Oq the 9th of May, Washington set out in 
his carriage from Mount Vernon to attend the 
convention. 

At Chester, where he arrived on the loth, 
he was met by General Mifilin, now speaker of 
the Pennsylvania Assembly, Generals Knox and 
Varnum, Colonel Humphreys, and other per- 
sonages of note. At Gray's Ferry the city 
light-horse were in attendance, by whom he 
was escorted to Philadelphia. 

It was not until the 25th of May that a suf- 
ficient number of delegates were assembled to 
form a quorum ; when they proceeded to organ- 
ize the body, and by a unanimous vote Wash- 
ington was called up to the chair as President. 

The following anecdote is recorded by Mr. 
Leigh Pierce, who was a delegate from Geor- 
gia. When the convention first opened, there 
were a number of propositions brought forward 
as great leading principles of the new govern- 

* Mr. Sparks. For this interesting document see Writ- 
ings of Washington, vol. ix., Appendix, No. iv. 



G56 



THE CONVENTION— A FEDERAL CONSTITUTION ORGANIZED. 



[17S7. 



ment to be established. A copy of them was 
given to each member with an injunction of 
profound secrecy. One morning a member, by 
accident, dropj^ed his copy of the propositions. 
It was luckily picked\ip by General MifHin, and 
handed to General Washington, who put it in 
his pocket. After the debates of the day were 
over, and the question for adjournment was 
called for, Washington rose, and previous to 
putting the question, addressed the committee 
as follows : " Gentlemen, I am sorry to find 
that some one member of this body has been so 
neglectful of the secrets of the convention, as to 
drop in the State House a copy of their proceed- 
ings ; which, by accident, was picked up and 
delivered to me this morning. I must entreat 
gentlemen to be more careful, lest our transac- 
tions get into the newspapers, and disturb the 
public re])ose by premature speculations. I 
know not whose paper it is, but there it is 
(throwing it down on the table) ; let him who 
owns it take it." At the same time he bowed, 
took his hat, and left the room with a dignity 
so severe that every person seemed alarmed. 
" For my part, I was extremely so," adds Mr. 
Pierce, " for, putting my hand in my pocket, I 
missed my copy of the same paper ; but ad- 
vancing to the table, my fears soon dissipated. 
I found it to be in the handwriting of another 
person." 

Mr. Pierce found his copy at his lodgings, in 
the pocket of a coat which he had changed 
that morning. No person ever ventured to 
claim the anonymous paper. 

We forbear to go into the voluminous pro- 
ceedings of this memorable convention, which 
occupied from four to seven hours each day for 
four months ; and in which every point was the 
subject of able and scrupulous discussion by 
the best talent, and noblest spirits of the coun- 
try. AYashington felt restrained by his situa- 
tion as President, from taking a part in the de- 
bates, but his well-known oi)inions influenced 
the whole. The result v.'as the formation of 
the Constitution of the United States, which 
(with some amendments made in after years) 
still exists. 

As the members on the last day of the session 
were signing the engrossed constitution, Dr. 
Franklin, looking towards the President's chair, 
at the back of which a sun was painted, observ- 
ed to those persons next to him, " I have often 
and often, in the course of the session, and the 
vicissitudes of my hopes and fears as to its 
i.-sne, looked at that sun behind the President, 



without being able to tell whether it was rising 
or setting ; at length I have the happiness to 
know it is a rising and not a setting sun." * 

" The business being closed," says Washing- 
ton in his diary (Sept. 17), " the members ad- 
journed to the city tavern, dined together, and 
took a cordial leave of each otlier. After 
which I returned to my lodgings, did soirie 
business with, and received the papers from, 
the secretary of the convention, and retired to 
meditate on the momentous work which had 
been executed." 

" It appears to me little short of a miracle," 
writes he to Lafayette, " that the delegates 
from so many States, different from each other, 
as you know, in their manners, circumstances 
and prejudices, should unite in forming a sys- 
tem of national government so little liable to 
well-founded objections. Nor am I such an en- 
thusiastic, partial, or undiscriminating admirer 
of it, as not to perceive it is tinctured with 
some real, though not radical defects. With 
regard to the two great points, the pivots upon 
which the whole machine must move, ray creed 
is simply. First, that the general government is 
not invested with more powers than are indis- 
pensably necessary to perform the functions of 
a good government ; and consequently, that no 
objection ought to be made against the quantity 
of power delegated to it. 

" Secondly, that these powers, as the appoint- 
ment of all rulers will forever arise from, and 
at short, stated intervals recur to, the free suf- 
frages of the people, are so distributed among 
the legislative, executive, and judicial branches 
into which the general government is arranged, 
that it can never be in danger of degenerating 
into a monarchy, an oligarchy, an aristocracy, 
or any other despotic or oppressive form, so 
long as there shall remain any virtue in the 
body of the people. 

" It will at least be a recommendation to the 
proposed constitution, that it is provided with 
more checks and barriers against the introduc- 
tion of tyranny, and those of a nature less liable 
to be surmounted, than any government hith- 
erto instituted among mortals. 

" We are not to expect perfection in this 
world ; but mankind, in modern times, have 
apparently made some progress in the science 
of government. Should that which is now of- 
fered to the people of America, be found on 
experiment less pei'fect than it can be made, a 



♦ The Madison Papors, lii. 1624. 



^T. 55.] THE CONSTITUTION RATIFIED— WASHINGTON TALKED OF FOE PRESIDENT. 657 



constitutional door is left open to its ameliora- 
tion." 

The constitution thus formed, was forwarded 
to Congress, and thence transmitted to the 
State Legislatures, each of which submitted it 
to a State convention composed of delegates 
chosen for that express purpose by the people. 
The ratification of the instrument by nine States 
was necessary to carry it into effect; and as 
the severpl State conventions would assemble 
at different times, nearly a year must elapse be- 
fore the decisions of the requisite number could 
be obtained. 

During this time, Washington resumed his 
retired life at Mount Vernon, seldom riding, as 
he says, beyond the limits of his own farms, 
but kept informed by his numerous correspond- 
ents, such as James Madison, John Jay, and 
Generals Knox, Lincoln, and Armstrong, of the 
progress of the constitution through its various 
ordeals, and of the strenuous opposition which 
it met with in different quarters ; both in de- 
bate and through the press. A diversity of 
opinions and inclinations on the subject had 
been expected by him. " The various passions 
and motives by which men are influenced," 
said he, " are concomitants of fallibility, and 
ingrafted into our nature." Still he never had 
a doubt that it would ultimately be adopted ; 
and, in fact, the national decision in its favor 
was more fully and strongly pronounced than 
even he had anticipated. 

His feelings on learning the result were ex- 
pressed with that solemn and religious faith in 
the protection of heaven, manifested by him in 
all the trials and vicissitudes through which his 
country had passed. " We may," said he, 
" with a kind of pious and grateful exultation, 
trace the finger of Providence through those 
dark and mysterious events, which first induced 
the States to appoint a general convention, and 
then led them, one after another, by such steps 
as were best calculated to effect the object, 
into an adoption of the system recommended 
by the general convention ; thereby, in all hu- 
man probability, laying a lasting foundation for 
tranquillity and happmess, when we had but too 
much reason to fear, that confusion and misery 
were coming rapidly upon us." * 

The testimonials of ratification having been 
received by Congress from a sufiicient number 
of States, an act was passed by that body on 
the 13th of September, appointing the first 



» Letter to Jonathan Trumbull, 20th July, 1788. 

42 



Wednesday in January, 1789, for the people of 
the United States to choose electors of a Presi- 
dent according to the constitution, and the first 
Wednesday in the month of February following 
for the electors to meet and make a choice. 
The meeting of the government was to be on 
the first Wednesday in March, and in the city 
of New York. 



CHAPTER XXXVII. 

The adoption of the federal constitution was 
another epoch in the life of Washington. Be- 
fore the official forms of an election could be 
carried into operation, a unanimous sentiment 
throughout the Union pronounced him the na- 
tion's choice to fill the presidential chair. He 
looked forward to the possibility of his election 
with characteristic modesty and unfeigned re- 
luctance ; as his letters to his confidential friends 
bear witness. "It has no fascinating allure- 
ments for me," writes he to Lafayette. " At 
my time of life and under my circumstances, 
the increasing infirmities of nature and the 
growing love of retirement do not permit me 
to entertain a wish beyond living and dying an 
honest man on my own farm. Let those fol- 
low the pursuits of ambition and fame who 
have a keener relish for them, or who may have 
more years in store for the enjoyment." 

Colonel Henry Lee had written to him 
warmly and eloquently on the subject. " My 
anxiety is extreme that the new government 
may have an auspicious beginning. To effect 
this and to perpetuate a nation formed under 
your auspices, it is certain that again you will 
be called forth. The same principles of devo- 
tion to the good of mankind which have inva- 
riably governed your conduct, will no doubt 
continue to rule your mind, however opposite 
their consequences may be to your repose and 
happiness. If the same success should attend 
your efforts on this important occasion which 
has distinguished you hitherto, then to be sure 
you will have spent a life which Providence 
rarely, if ever, gave to the lot of one man. It 
is my belief, it is my anxious hope, that this 
will be the case." 

" The event to which you allude may never 
happen," replies Washington. " This consid- 
eration alone would supersede the expediency 
of announcing any definitive and irrevocable 
resolution. You are among the small number 
of those who know my invincible attachment 



658 HIS LETTERS EXPRESSING RELUCTANCE TO ACCEPT THE PRESIDENCY. [I7i 



to domestic life, and that my sincerest wish is 
to continue in the enjoyment of it solely until 
my final hour. But the world would he neither 
so well instructed, nor so candidly disposed as 
to believe me uninfluenced by sinister motives, 
in case any circumstance should render a devi- 
ation from the line of conduct I had prescribed 
to myself indispensable. 

'• Should my unfeigned reluctance to accept 
the office be overcome by a deference for the 
reasons and opinions of ray friends, might I not, 
after the declarations I have made (and Heaven 
knows they were made in the sincerity of my 
heart), in the judgment of the impartial world 
and of posterity, be chargeable with levity and 
inconsistency, if not with rashness and ambi- 
tion? Nay, farther, would there not be some 
apparent foundation for the two former charges? 
Now justice to myself, and tranquillity of con- 
science require, that I should act a part, if not 
above imputation, at least capable of vindica- 
tion. Nor will you conceive me to be too solicit- 
ous for reputation. Though I prize as I ought 
the good opinion of my fellow-citizens, yet, if I 
know myself, I would not seek popularity at 
the expense of one social duty or moral virtue. 

" While doing what my conscience informed 
me was right, as it respected my God, my coun- 
try, and myself, I should despise all the party 
clamor and unjust censure, which must be ex- 
pected from some, whose personal enmity might 
be occasioned by their hostility to the govern- 
ment. I am conscious, that I fear alone to give 
any real occasion for obloquy, and that I do not 
dread to meet with unmerited reproach. And 
certain I am, whensoever I shall be convinced 
the good of my country requires my reputa- 
tion to be put in risk, regard for my own fame 
will not come in competition with an object of 
so much magnitude. 

" If I declined the task, it would lie upon 
quite another principle. Notwithstanding my 
advanced season of life, my increasing fondness 
for agricultural amusements, and my growing 
love of retirement, augment and confirm my 
decided predilection for the character of a pri- 
vate citizen, yet it would be no one of these 
motives, nor the hazard to which my former 
reputation might be exposed, nor the terror of 
encountering new fatigues and troubles, that 
would deter me from an acceptance ; but a be- 
lief, that some other person, who had less pre- 
tence and less inclination to be excused, could 
execute all the duties full as satisfactorily as 
myself." 



In a letter to Colonel Alexander Hamilton 
he writes : " In taking a survey of the subject, 
in whatever point of light I have been able to 
place it, I have always felt a kind of gloom 
upon my mind, as often as I have been taught 
to expect I might, and perhaps must ere long, 
be called upon to make a decision. You will, 
I am well assured, believe the assertion, tjiough 
I have little expectation it would gain credit 
from those who are less acquainted with me, 
that, if I should receive the appointment, and, 
if I should be prevailed upon to accept it, the 
acceptance would be attended with more diffi- 
dence and reluctance than ever I experienced 
before in my life. It would be, however, with 
a fixed and sole determination of lending what- 
ever assistance might be in my power to pro- 
mote the public weal, in hopes that, at a con- 
venient and early period, my services might be 
dispensed with, and that I might be permitted 
once more to retire, to pass an unclouded even- 
ing, after the stormy day of life, in the bosom 
of domestic tranquillity." 

To Lafayette he declares that his difficulties 
increase and multiply as he draws toward the 
period when, according to common belief, it 
will be necessary for him to give a definitive 
answer as to the office in question, 

" Should circumstances render it in a manner 
inevitably necessary to be in ^he affirmative," 
writes he, " I shall assume the task with the 
most unfeigned reluctance, and with a real dif- 
fidence, for which I shall probably receive no 
credit from the world. If I know my own 
heart, nothing short of a conviction of duty 
will induce me again to take an active part in 
public afiairs ; and in that case, if I can form a 
plan for my own conduct, my endeavors shall 
be unremittingly exerted, even at the hazard 
of former fame or present popularity, to extri- 
cate my country from the embarrassments in 
which it is entangled through want of credit ; 
and to establish a general system of policy, 
which if pursued will ensure permanent felicity 
to the commonwealth. I think I see a path 
clear and direct as a ray of light, which leads 
to the attainment of that object. Nothing but 
harmony, honesty, industry, and frugality, are 
necessary to make us a great and happy people. 
Happily the present posture of alFairs, and the 
prevailing disposition of my countrymen, prom- 
ise to co-operate in establishing those four 
great and essential pillars of public felicity." 

The election took place at the appointed 
time, and it was soon ascertained that "Wash- 



iET. 51.] "WASHINGTON ELECTED PRESIDENT— HIS TKUGUESS NORTHWARD. 



659 



ington was chosen President for the term of 
four years from the 4th of March. By this 
time the arguments and entreaties of his friends, 
and his own convictions of public expediency, 
had determined him to accept ; and lie made 
preparations to depart for the seat of govern- 
ment, as soon as he should receive oflScial notice 
of his election. Among other duties, he paid a 
visit to his mother at Fredericksburg ; it was a 
painful, because likely to be a final one, for she 
was afliicted with a malady which, it was evi- 
dent, must soon terminate her life. Their 
parting was affectionate, but solemn ; she had 
always been reserved and moderate in express- 
ing herself in regard to the successes of her 
son ; but it must have been a serene satisfaction 
at the close of her life to see him elevated by 
his virtues to the highest honor of his country. 

From a delay in forming a quorum of Con- 
gress the votes of the electoral college were 
not counted until early in April, when they 
were found to be unanimous in favor of Wash- 
ington. " The delay," said he, in a letter to 
General Knox, " may be compared to a re- 
prieve ; for in confidence I tell you (with the 
world it would obtain little credit), that my 
movements to the chair of government will be 
accompanied by feelings not unlike those of a 
culprit, who is going to the 2:)lace of his execu- 
tion ; so unwilling am I, in the evening of a 
life nearly consumed with public cares, to quit 
a peaceful abode for an ocean of diflaculties, 
without that competency of political skill, abili- 
ties, and inclination, which are necessary to 
manage the helm. I am sensible that I am em- 
barking the voice of the people, and a good 
name of my own, on this voyage ; but what 
returns will be made for them, heaven alone 
can foretell. Integrity and firmness are all I 
can promise. These, be the voyage long or 
short, shall never forsake me, although I may 
be deserted by all men ; for of the consolations 
which are to be derived from these, under any 
circumstances, the world cannot deprive me." 

At length, on the 14th of April, he received a 
letter from the president of Congress duly noti- 
fying him of his election ; and he prepared to 
set out immediately for New York, the seat of 
government. An entry in his diary, dated the 
16th, says, " About ten o'clock I bade adieu to 
Mount Vernon, to private life, and to domestic 
felicity ; and with a mind oppressed with more 
anxious and painful sensations than I have 
words to express, set out for New York with 
the best disposition to render service to my 



country in obedience to its call, but with less 
hope of answering its expectations." 

At the first stage of his journey a trial of his 
tenderest feelings awaited him in a public din- 
ner given him at Alexandria, by his neighbors 
and personal friends, among whom he had lived 
in the constant interchange of kind offices, and 
who were so aware of the practical beneficence 
of his private character. A deep feeling of 
regret mingled with their festivity. The 
mayor, who presided, and spoke the senti- 
ments of the people of Alexandria, deplored in 
his departure the loss of the first and best of 
their citizens, the ornament of the aged, the 
model of the young, the improver of their agri- 
culture ; the friend of their commerce, the pro- 
tector of their infant academy, the benefactor 
of their poor, — but " go," added he, " and 
make a grateful people happy, who will be 
doubly grateful when they contemplate this 
new sacrifice for their interests." 

Washington was too deeply affected for many 
words in reply. " Just after having bade adieu 
to my domestic connections," said he, " this 
tender proof of your friendship is hut too well 
calculated to awaken still further my sensibility, 
and increase my regret at parting from the en- 
joyments of private life. All that now re- 
mains for me is to commit myself and you to 
the care of that beneficent Being, who, on a 
former occasion, happily brought us together 
after a long and distressing separation. Per- 
haps the same gracious Providence will again 
indulge me. But words fail me. Unutterable 
sensations must, then, he left to more expressive 
silence, while from an aching heart I bid all my 
affectionate friends and kind neighbors fare- 
well ! " 

His progress to the seat of government was 
a continual ovation. The ringing of bells and 
roaring of cannonry proclaimed his course 
through the country. The old and young, 
women and children, thronged the highways to 
bless and welcome him. Deputations of the 
most respectable inhabitants from the principal 
places came forth to .meet and escort him. At 
Baltimore, on his arrival and departure, his 
carriage was attended by a numerous cavalcade 
of citizens, and he was saluted by the thunder 
of artillery. 

At the frontier of Pennsylvania he was met 
by his former companion in arms> Mifflin, now 
governor of the State, who with Judge Peters 
and a civil and military escort was waiting to 
receive him. Washington had hoped to be 



6G0 



NATIONAL OVATIONS TO WASHINGTON. 



[1789. 



spared all military parade, but found it was not 
to be evaded. At Chester, where he stopped 
to breakfast, there were preparations for a pub- 
lic entry into Philadelphia. Cavalry had as- 
sembled from the surrounding country ; a 
superb white horse was led out for Washington 
to mount, and a grand procession set forward, 
with General St. Clair of revolutionary noto- 
riety at its head. It gathered numbers as it 
advanced ; passed under triumphal arches en- 
twined with laurel, and entered Philadelphia 
amid the shouts of the multitude. 

A day of public festivity succeeded, ended 
by a display of fireworks. Washington's reply 
to the congratulations of the mayor at a great 
civic banquet, spoke the genuine feelings of his 
modest nature, amid these testimonials of a 
world's applause. " When I contemplate the 
interposition of Providence, as it was visibly 
manifested in guiding us through the Revolu- 
tion, in preparing us for the reception of the 
general government, and in conciliating the 
good will of the people of America toward one 
another after its adoption, I feel myself op- 
pressed and almost overwhelmed with a sense 
of divine munificence. I feel that nothing is 
due to my personal agency in all those wondei'- 
ful and complicated events, except what can 
be attributed to an honest zeal for the good of 
my country." 

We question whether any of these testimo- 
nials of a nation's gratitude affected Washington 
m(n-e sensibly than those he received at Tren- 
ton. It was on a sunny afternoon when he ar- 
rived on the banks of the Delaware, where, 
twelve years before, he had crossed in darkness 
and storm, through clouds, of snow and drifts 
of lloatiug ice, on his daring attempt to strike 
a blow at a triumphant enemy. 

Here at present all was peace and sunshine, 
the broad river flowed placidly along, and 
crowds awaited him on the opposite bank, to 
hail him with love and transport. 

We will not dwell on the joyous ceremonials 
with w"hich he was welcomed, but there was 
one too peculiar to be wmitted. The reader 
may remember Washington's gloomy night on 
the banks of the Assunpink, which flows 
through Trenton ; the camp fires of Cornwallis 
in front of him ; the Delaware full of floating 
ice in the rear ; and his sudden resolve on that 
midnight retreat which turned the fortunes of 
the campaign. On the bridge crossing that 
eventful stream, the . ladies of Trenton had 
caused a triumphal arch to be erected. It was 



entwined with evergreens and laurels, and bore 
the inscription, " The defender of the mothers 
will be the protector of the daughters." At 
this bridge the matrons of the city were assem- 
bled to pay him reverence ; and as he passed 
under the arch, a number of young girls, dressed 
in white and crowned with garlands, strewed 
flowers before him, singing an ode expressive 
of their love and gratitude. Never was ovation 
more graceful, touching, and sincere; and Wash- 
ington, tenderly aff'ected, declared that the im- 
pression of it on his heart could never be 
effaced. 

His whole progress through New Jersey must 
have afforded a similar contrast to his weary 
marchings to and fro, harassed by doubts and 
perplexities, with bale fires blazing on its hills, 
instead of festive illuminations, and when the 
ringing of bells and booming of cannon, now 
so joyous, were the signals of invasion and 
maraud. 

In respect to his reception in New York, 
Washington had signifiedi n a letter to Govern- 
or Clinton, that none could be so congenial to 
his feelings as a quiet entry devoid of cere- 
mony ; but his modest wishes were not com- 
plied with. At Elizabethtown Point, a com- 
mittee of both Houses of Congress, with various 
civic functionaries, waited by appointment to 
receive him. He embarked on board of a splen- 
did barge, constructed for the occasion. It was 
manned by thirteen branch pilots, masters of 
vessels, in white uniforms, and commanded by 
Commodore Nicholson. Other barges fancifully 
decorated followed, having on board the heads 
of departments and other public officers, and 
several distinguished citizens. As they passed 
through the strait between the Jerseys and 
Staten Island, called the Kills, other boats dec- 
orated with flags fell in their wake, until the 
whole, forming a nautical procession, swept up 
the broad and beautiful bay of New York, to 
the sound of instrumental music. On board of 
two vessels were parties of ladies and gentlemen 
who sang congratulatory odes as Washington's 
barge approached. The ships at anchor in the 
harbor, dressed in colors, fired salutes as it 
passed. One alone, the Galveston, a Spanish 
man-of-war, displayed no signs of gratula- 
tion until the barge of the general was nearly 
abreast; when suddenly as if by magic, the 
yards were manned, the ship burst forth, as it 
were, into a full array of flags and signals, and 
thundered a salute of thirteen guns. 

He approached the landing place of Murray's 




c ., 

O - 
< - 



C z 

< : 

cr :: 

c r 

< .: 



^T. 57.] HIS TRIUMPHAL ENTRY INTO NEW YORK— THE INAUGURATION. 



661 



"Wharf, amid the ringing of bells, the roaring 
of cannoury, and the shouting of multitudes 
collected on every pier-head. On landing, he 
was received by Governor Clinton. General 
Knox, tpo, who had taken such an affectionate 
leave of hira on his retirement from military 
life, was there to welcome him in his civil ca- 
pacity. Other of his fellow-soldiers of the 
Revolution were likewise there, mingled with 
the civic dignitaries. At this juncture an offi- 
cer stepped up and requested Washington's 
orders, announcing himself as commanding his 
guard. Washington desired him to proceed ac- 
cording to the directions he might have received 
in the presept arrangements, hut that for the 
future the affection of his fellow-citizens was 
all the guard he wanted. 

Carpets had been spread to a carriage pre- 
pared to convey him to his destined residence, 
but he preferred to walk, lie was attended by 
a long civil and military train. In the streets 
through which he passed the houses were deco- 
rated with flags, silken banners, garlands of 
flowers and evergreens, and bore his name in 
every form of ornament. The streets were 
crowded with people, so that it was with diffi- 
culty a passage could be made by the city ofli- 
cers. Washington frequently bowed to the 
multitude as he passed, taking off his hat to the 
ladies, who thronged every window, waving their 
handkerchiefs, throwing flowers before him, and 
many of them shedding tears of enthusiasm. 

That day he dined with his old friend Govern- 
or Clinton, who had invited a numerous com- 
pany of public functionaries and foreign diplo- 
matists to meet him, and in the evening the 
city was brilliantly illuminated. 

Would the reader know the effect upon Wash- 
ington's mind at this triumphant entry into 
New York ? It was to depress rather than to 
excite him. Modestly diffident of his abilities 
to cope with the new duties on which he was 
entering, he was overwhelmed by what he re- 
garded as proofs of public expectation. Noting 
in his diary the events of the day, he writes : 
" The display of boats which attended and 
joined us on this occasion, some with vocal and 
some with instrumental music on board ; the 
decorations of the ships, the roar of cannon, 
and the loud acclamations of the people which 
rent the skies, as I passed along the wharves, 
filled my mind with sensations as painful (con- 
sidering the reverse of this scene, which may 
be the case after all my labors to do good) as 
they are pleasing." 



- The inauguration was delayed for several 
days, in which a question arose as to the form 
or title by which the President elect was to be 
addressed; and a committee in both Houses 
was appointed to report upon the subject. The 
question was started without Washington's 
privity, and contrary to his desire ; as he feared 
that any title might awaken the sensitive jeal- 
ousy of republicans, at a moment when it was 
all-important to conciliate public good-will to 
the new form of government. It was a relief 
to him, therefore, when it was finally resolved 
that the address should be siniply " the Presi- 
dent of the United States," without any addi- 
tion of title ; a judicious form which has re- 
mained to the present day. 

The inauguration took place on the 30th of 
April. At nine o'clock in the morning, there 
were religious services in all the churches, and 
prayers put up for the blessing of Heaven on 
the new government. At twelve o'clock the 
city troops paraded before Washington's door, 
and soon after the committees of Congress and 
the heads of departments came in their car- 
riages. At half-past twelve the procession 
moved forward, preceded by the troops, next 
came the committees and heads of departments 
in their carriages ; then Washington in a coach 
of state, his aide-de-camp, Colonel Humphreys, 
and his secretary, Mr. Lear, in his own carriage. 
The foreign ministers and a long train of citi- 
zens brought up the rear. 

About two hundred yards before reaching 
the hall, Washington and his suite alighted from 
their carriages, and passed through the troops, 
who were drawn up on each side, into the hall 
and senate chamber, where the Vice President, 
the Senate, and House of Representatives were 
assembled. The Vice President, John Adams, 
recently inaugurated, advanced and conducted 
Washington to a chair of state at the upper end 
of the room. A solemn silence prevailed ; when 
the Vice President rose, and informed him that 
all things were prepared for him to take the 
oath of office required by the constitution. 

The oath was to be administered by the 
Chancellor of the State of New York, in a bal- 
cony in front of the senate chamber, and in full 
view of an immense multitude occupying the 
street, the windows, and even roofs of the ad- 
jacent houses. The balcony formed a kind of 
open recess, with lofty columns supporting the 
roof. In the centre was a table with a covering 
of crimson velvet, upon which lay a superbly 
bound Bible on a crimson velvet cushion. 



662 



THE INAUGURATION OF "WASHINGTON. 



[1Y89. 



This was all the pfiraphernalia for the august 
scene. 

All eyes were fixed upon the balcony, when, 
at the appointed hour, "Washington made his 
appearance, accompanied by various public 
functionaries, and members of the Senatg and 
House of Eepresentatives. lie was clad in a 
full suit of dark-brown cloth, of American 
manufacture, with a steel -hilted dress sword, 
white silk stockings, and silver shoe-buckles. 
His hair was dressed and powdered in the 
fashion of the day, and worn in a bag and soli- 
taire. 

His entrance on the balcony was hailed by 
universal shouts. He was evidently moved by 
this demonstration of public affection. Ad- 
vancing to the front of the balcony, he laid his 
hand upon his heart, bowed several times, and 
then retreated to an arm-chair near the table. 
The populace appeared to understand that the 
scene had overcome him ; and were hushed at 
once into profound silence. 

After a few moments "Washington rose and 
again came forward. John Adams, the Vice 
President, stood on his right ; on his left the 
Chancellor of the State, Eobert R. Livingston ; 
somewhat in the rear were Roger Sherman, 
Alexander Hamilton, Generals Knox, St. Clair, 
the Baron Steuben, and others. 

The chancellor advanced to administer the 
oath prescribed by the constitution, and Mr. 
Otis, the secretary of the Senate, held up the 
Bible on its crimson cushion. The oath was 
read slowly and distinctly ; "Washington at the 
same time laying his hand on the open Bible. 
"When it was concluded, he replied solemnly, 
" I swear — so help me God ! " Mr. Otis would 
have raised the Bible to his lips, but he bowed 
down reverently and kissed it. 

The chancellor now stepped forward, waved 
his hand and exclaimed, "Long live George 
"Washington, President of the United States ! " 
At this moment a flag was displayed on the cu- 
pola of the hall ; on which signal there was a 
general discharge of artillery on the battery. 
All the bells in the city rang out a joyful peal, 
and the multitude rent the air with acclama- 
tions. 

"Washington again bowed to the people and 
returned into the senate chamber, where he 
delivered, to both Houses of Congress, his in- 
augural address characterized by his usual mod- 
esty, moderation^ and good sense, but uttered 
with a voice deep, slightly tremulous, and so 
low as to demand close attention in the lis- 



teners. After this he proceeded with the whole 
assemblage on foot to St. Paul's Chui-ch, where 
prayers suited to the occasion were read by Dr. 
Prevost, Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal 
Church in New York, who bad been appointed 
by the Senate one of the chaplains of Congress. 
So closed the ceremonies of the inauguration. 

The whole day was one of sincere rejoicing, 
and in the evening there were brilliant illumi- 
nations and fireworks. 

"We have been accustomed to look to Wash- 
ington's private letters for the sentiments of 
his heart. Those written to several of his 
friends immediately after his inauguration, 
show how little he was excited by his official 
elevation. " I greatly fear," writes he, " that 
my countrymen will expect too much of me. 
I fear, if the issue of public measures should 
not correspond with their sanguine expectations, 
they will turn the extravagant, and I might 
almost say undue praises which they are heap- 
ing upon me at this moment, into equally ex- 
travagant, though I wiU fondly hope unmerited 
censures." 

Little was his modest spirit aware that the 
praises so dubiously received were but the open- 
ing notes of a theme that was to increase from 
age to age, to pervade all lands and endure 
throughout all generations. 



In the volumes here concluded, we have en- 
deavored to narrate faithfully the career of 
Washington from childhood, through his early 
surveying expeditions in the wilderness, his 
diplomatic mission to the French posts on the 
frontier, his campaigns in the French war, his ar- 
duous trials as commander-in-chief, throughout 
the Revolution, the noble simplicity of his life 
in retirement, until we have shown him ele- 
vated to the presidential chair, by no effort of 
his own, in a manner against his wishes, by the 
unanimous vote of a grateful country. 

The plan of our work has necessarily carried, 
us widely into the campaigns of the Revolution, 
even where "Washington was not present in 
person ; for his spirit pervaded and directed the 
whole, and a general knowledge of the whole is 
necessary to appreciate the sagacity, forecast, en- 
during fortitude, and comprehensive wisdom 
with which he conducted it. He himself has 
signified to one who aspired to write his biogra- 
phy, that any memoirs of liis life distinct and un- 
connected with the history of the war, would be 
unsatisfactory. In treating of the Revolution, 



iEx. 57.] 



CONCLUDING REMARKS. 



we liave endeavored to do justice to what we 
consider its most striking characteristic ; the 
greatness of the object and the scantiness of the 
means. "We have endeavored to keep in view 
the prevaiUng poverty of resources, the scan- 
dalous neglects, the squalid miseries of all kinds, 
with which its champions had to contend in 
their expeditions through trackless wildernesses, 
or thinly peopled regions ; beneath scorching 
suns or inclement skies ; their wintry marches 
to be traced by bloody footprints on snow and 
ice ; their desolate wintry encampments, ren- 
dered still more desolate by nakedness and 
famine. It was in the patience and fortitude 
with which these ills were sustained by a half- 
disciplined yeomanry, voluntary exiles from 
their homes, destitute of all the "pomp and 
circumstance " of war to excite them, and ani- 
mated solely by their patriotism, that we read 
the noblest and most affecting characteristics 
of that great struggle for human rights. They 
do wrong to its moral grandeur, who seek by 
commonplace exaggeration, to give a melo-dra- 
matic effect and false glare to its military opera- 
tions, and to place its greatest triumphs in the 
conflicts of the field. Lafayette showed a true 
sense of the nature of the struggle, when 
IsTapoleon, accustomed to effect ambitious pur- 
poses by hundreds of thousands of troops, and 
tens of thousands of slain, sneered at the scanty 
armies of the American Revolution and its 
" boasted allies." " Sire," was the admirable 
and comprehensive reply, " it was the grandest 
of causes won by skirmishes of sentinels and 
outposts." 

In regard to the character and conduct of 
Washington, we have endeavored to place his 
deeds in the clearest light, and left them *to 
speak for themselves, generally avoiding com- 
ment or eulogium, "We have quoted his own 
words and writings largely, to ex^^lain his feel- 
ings and motives, and give the true key to his 



policy ; for never did a man leave a more truth- 
ful mirror of his heart and mind, and a more 
thorough exponent of his conduct, than he has 
left in his copious correspondence. There his 
character is to be found in all its majestic sim- 
plicity, its massive grandeur, and quiet colossal 
strength. He was no hero of romance ; there 
was nothing of romantic heroism in his nature. 
As a warrior, he was incapable of fear, but made 
no merit of defying danger. He fought for a 
cause, but not for personal renown. Gladly, 
when he had won the cause, he hung up his 
sword never again to take it down. Glory, 
til at blatant word, which haunts some military 
minds like the bray of the trumpet, formed no 
part of his aspirations. To act justly was his 
instinct, to promote the public weal his constant 
effort, to deserve the " affections of good men" 
his ambition. "With such qualifications for the 
pure exercise of sound judgment and compre- 
hensive wisdom, he ascended the presidential 
chair. 

There for the present we leave him. So far 
our work is complete, comprehending the whole 
military life of "Washington, and his agency in 
public affairs, up to the formation of our con- 
stitution. How well we have executed it, we 
leave to the public to determine; hoping to 
find it, as heretofore, far more easily satisfied 
with the result of our labors than we are our- 
selves. Should the measure of health and good 
spirits, with which a kind Providence has 
blessed us beyond the usual term of literary 
labor, be still continued, we may go on, and in 
another volume, give the presidential career 
and closing life of Washington. In the mean 
time, having found a resting-place in our task, 
we stay our hands, lay by our pen, and seek 
that relaxation and repose which gathering 
years require. 



W. I. 



SUN^YSIDE, 1857. 



END OF VOL. IV. 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 



VOLUME FIFTH 



CHAPTER I. 

The eyes of the world were upon "Washing- 
ton at the commencement of his administration. 
He had won laurels in the field : would they 
continue to flourish in the cabinet ? His posi- 
tion was surrounded by difficulties. Inex- 
perienced in the duties of civil administration, 
he was to inaugurate a new and untried system 
of government, composed of States and people, 
as yet a mere experiment, to which some looked 
forward with buoyant confidence, — many with 
doubt and apprehension. 

He had moreover a high-spirited people to 
manage, in whom a jealous passion for freedom 
and independence had been strengthened by 
war, and who might bear with impatience even 
the restraints of self-imposed government. The 
constitution Avhich he was to inaugurate had 
met with vehement opposition, when under 
discussion in the General and State govern- 
ments. Only three States, New Jersey, Dela- 
ware, and Georgia, had accepted it unani- 
mously. Several of the most important States 
had adopted it by a mere majority ; five of them 
under an expressed expectation of specified 
amendments or modifications ; while two States, 
Rhode Island and North Carolina, still stood 
aloof. 

It is true, the irritation produced by the con- 
flict of opinions in the general and State con- 
ventions, had, in a great measure, subsided ; 
but circumstances might occur to inflame it 
anew. A diversity of opinions still existed 
concerning the new government. Some feared 
that it would have too little control over the 
individual States ; that the political connection 
would prove too weak to preserve order and 



prevent civil strife; others, that it would be 
too strong for their separate independence, and 
would tend toward consolidation and despotism. 

The very extent of the country he was 
called upon to govern, ten times larger than 
that of any previous republic, must have 
pressed with weight upon "Washington's mind. 
It presented to the Atlantic a front of fifteen 
hundred miles, divided into individual States, 
differing in the forms of their local govern- 
ments, differing from each other in interests, 
in territorial magnitudes, in amount of popula- 
tion, in manners, soils, climates, and produc- 
tions, and the characteristics of their several 
peoples. 

Beyond the Alleghanies extended regions al- 
most boundless, as yet for the most part wild 
and uncultivated, the asylum of roving Indians 
and restless, discontented white men. "V^ast 
tracts, however, were rapidly being peopled, 
and would soon be portioned into sections re- 
quiring local governments. Tlie great natural 
outlet for the exportation of the products of 
this region of inexhaustible fertility, was the 
Mississippi ; but Spain opposed a barrier to the 
free navigation of tliis river. Here was pecu- 
liar cause of solicitude. Before leaving Mount 
Vernon, "Washington had heard that the hardy 
yeomanry of the far West were becoming im- 
patient of this barrier, and indignant at the ap- 
parent indifference of Congress to their prayers 
for its removal. He had heard, moreover, that 
British emissaries were fostering these discon- 
tents, sowing the seeds of disaftection, and 
offering assistance to the "Western people to 
seize on the city of New Orleans and fortify the 
mouth of the Mississippi ; while, on the other 
hand, the Spanish authorities at New Orleans 



666 



THE NEW GOVERNMENT— ALEXANDER HAMILTON. 



[1189. 



"were represented as intriguing to eifect a sep- 
aration of the "Western territory from the 
Union, with a view or hope of attaching it to 
the dominion of Spain. 

Great Britain, too, Avas giving grounds for 
territorial solicitude in these distant quarters 
hj retaining possession of the "Western posts, 
the surrender of which had been stipulated by 
treaty. Her plea was, that debts due to Brit- 
ish subjects, for which by the same treaty the 
United States were bound, remained unpaid. 
This the Americans alleged was a mere pretext ; 
the real object of their retention being the mo- 
nopoly of the far trade ; and to the mischiev- 
ous influence exercised by these posts over the 
Indian tribes, was attributed much of the hos- 
tile disposition manifested by the latter along 
the "Western frontier. 

"While these brooding causes of anxiety ex- 
isted at home, the foreign commerce of the 
Union was on a most unsatisfactory footing, 
and required prompt and thorough attention. 
It was subject to maraud, even by the corsairs 
of ^Ugiers, Tunis, and Tripoli, who captured 
American merchant vessels and carried their 
crews into slavery ; no treaty having yet been 
made with any of the Barbary powers except- 
ing Morocco. 

To complete the perplexities which beset the 
new government, the finances of the country 
were in a lamentable state. There was no 
money in the treasury. The efforts of the 
former government to pay or fund its debts, 
had failed ; there was a universal state of in- 
debtedness, foreign and domestic, and public 
credit was prostrate. 

Such was the condition of affairs when "Wash- 
ington entered upon his new field of action. 
He was painfully aware of the diflaculties and 
dangers of an undertaking in which past history 
and past experience afforded no precedents. 
" I walk, as it were, on untrodden ground," 
said he ; " so many untoward circumstances 
may intervene in such a new and critical sit- 
uation, that I shall feel an insuperable difii- 
dence in my own abilities. I feel, in the ex- 
ecution of my arduous office, how much I shall 
stand in need of the countenance and aid of 
every friend to myself, of every friend to the 
revolution, and of every lover of good govern- 
ment." * 

As yet he was without the support of con- 
stitutional advisers, the departments under the 



new government not being organized ; he could 
turn with confidence, however, for counsel in 
an emergency to John Jay, who still remained 
at the head of affairs, where he had been placed 
in 1784. He was sure of sympathy also in his 
old comrade. General Knox, who continued to 
oSiciate as secretary of war ; while the affairs 
of the treasury were managed by a board, con- 
sisting of Samuel Osgood, "Walter Livingston, 
and Arthur Lee. Among the personal friends 
not in oflice, to whom "Washington felt that he 
could safely have recourse for aid in initiating 
the new government, was Alexander Hamilton. 
It is true, many had their doubts of his sincere 
adhesion to it. In the convention in Phila- 
delphia, he had held up the British constitu- 
tion as a model to be approached as nearly as 
possible, by blending some of the advantages 
of monarchy with th.e republican form. The 
form finally adopted was too low-toned for 
him ; he feared it might prove feeble and in- 
efficient ; but he voted for it as the best attain- 
able, advocated it in the State convention in 
New York, and in a series of essays, collec- 
tively known as the Federalist, written con- 
junctively with Madison and Jay; and it was 
mainly through his efforts as a speaker and a 
writer that the constitution was ultimately ac- 
cepted. Still many considered him at heart a 
monarchist, and suspected him of being secretly 
bent upon bringing the existing government to 
the monarchical form. In tliis they did him 
injustice. He still continued, it is true, to 
doubt whether the republican theory would 
admit of a vigorous execution of the laws, but 
was clear that it ought to be adhered to as long 
as there was any chance for its success. " The 
idea of a perfect equality of political rights 
among the citizens, exclusive of all permanent 
or hereditary distinctions," had not hitherto, 
he thought, from an imperfect structure of the 
government, had a fair trial, and " was of a 
nature to engage the good wishes of every good 
man, whatever might be his theoretic doubts ; " 
the endeavor, therefore, in his opinion, ought 
to be to give it "a better chance of success by 
a government more capable of energy and 
order." * 

"Washington, who knew and appreciated 
Hamilton's character, had implicit confidence 
in his sincerity, and felt assured that he would 
loyally aid in carrying into effect the constitu- 
tion as adopted. 



* Letter to Edward Rutledge. 



Hamilton's 'Writina 



^T. 5Y.] 



QUERIES AS TO PRESIDENTIAL ETIQUETTE. 



667 



It was a great satisfaction to "Washington, on 
looking round for reliable advisers at tins mo- 
ment, to see James Madison among the mem- 
bers of Congress : Madison, who had been with 
him in the convention, who had laljored in the 
Federalist, and whose talents as a speaker, and 
calm, dispassionate reasoner ; whose extensive 
information and legislative experience destined 
him to be a leader in the House. Highly ap- 
preciating his intellectual and moral worth, 
"Washington would often turn to him for coun- 
sel. " I am troublesome," would he say, " but 
you must excuse me ; ascribe it to friendship 
and confidence." 

Knox, of whose sure sympathies we have 
spoken, was in strong contrast with the cool 
statesman just mentioned. His mind was ar- 
dent and active, his imagination vivid, as was 
his language. He had abandoned the military 
garb, but still maintained his soldier-like air. 
He was large in person, above the middle stat- 
ure, with a full face, radiant and benignant, 
bespeaking his open, buoyant, generous nature. 
He had a sonorous voice, and sometimes talked 
rather grandly, flourishing his cane to give ef- 
fect to his periods.* He was cordially appre- 
ciated by "Washington, who had experienced 
his prompt and efficient talent in time of war, 
had considered him one of the ablest officers of 
tlie revolution, and now looked to him as an 
energetic man of business, capable of giving 
practical advice in time of peace, and cherished 
for him that strong feeling of ancient compan- 
ionship in toil and danger, which bound the 
veterans of the revolution firmly to each other. 



CHAPTER II. 

The moment the inauguration was over, 
"Washington was made to perceive that he was 
no longer master of himself or of his home. 
" By the time I had done breakfast," wi'ites 
he, " and thence till dinner, and afterwards till 
bed-time, I conld not get rid of the ceremony 
of one visit before I had to attend to another. 
In a word, I had no leisure to read or to an- 
swer the despatches that were pouring in upon 
me from all quarters." 

How was he to be protected from these in- 
trusion^ In his former capacity as command- 
er-in-chief of the armies, his head-quarters had 
been guarded by sentinels and military eti- 

* See Sullivan's Letters on Public Characters, p. 84. 



quette ; but what was to guard the privacy of 
a popular chief magistrate ? 

"What, too, were to be the forms and cere- 
monials to be adopted in the presidential man- 
sion, that would maintain the dignity of his 
station, allow him time for the performance of 
its official duties, and yet be in harmony with 
the temper and feelings of the people, and the 
prevalent notions of equality and republican 
simplicity ? 

The conflict of opinions that had already oc- 
curred as to the form and title by which the 
President was to be addressed, had made him 
aware that every step at the outset of his career 
would be subject to scrutiny, perhaps cavil, and 
might hereafter be cited as a precedent. Look- 
ing around, therefore, upon the able men at 
hand, such as Adams, Hamilton, Jay, Madison, 
he propounded to them a series of questions as 
to a line of conduct proper for him to observe. 

In regard to visitors, for instance, would not 
one day in the week be sufficient for visits of 
compliment, and one hour every morning (at 
eight o'clock for example) for visits on business ? 

Might he make social visits to acquaintances 
and public characters, not as President, but as 
private individual ? And then as to his table 
— under the preceding form of government, the 
Presidents of Congress had been accustomed to 
give dinners twice a week to large parties of 
both sexes, and invitations had been so indis- 
criminate, that every one who could get intro- 
duced to the President, conceived he had a 
right to be invited to his board. The table 
was, therefore, always crowded, and with a 
mixed company ; yet, as it was in the nature 
of things impracticable to invite everybody, as 
many offences were given as if no table had 
been kept. 

"Washington was resolved not to give general 
entertainments of this kind, but in his series of 
questions he asked whether he might not in- 
vite, informally or otherwise, six, eight, or ten 
official characters, including in rotation the 
members of both Houses of Congress, to dine 
with him on the days fixed for receiving com- 
pany, without exciting clamors in the rest of 
the community. 

Adams in his reply talked of chamberlains, 
aides-de-camp, masters of ceremony, and evinced 
a high idea of the presidential office and the 
state with which it ought to be maintained. 
" The office," writes he, " by its legal authority 
defined in the constitution, has no equal in the 
world excepting those only which are held by 



668 



VIEWS OF ADAMS AND HAMILTON. 



[1YS9. 



crowned heads ; nor is the royal authority in 
all cases to be compared to it. The royal ofBce 
in Poland is a mere shadow in comparison with 
it. The Dogeship in Venice, and the Stadt- 
holdership in Holland, are not so much — neither 
dignity nor authority can be supported in hu- 
man minds, collected into nations or any great 
numbers, without a splendor and majesty in 
some degree proportioned to them. The send- 
ing and receiving ambassadors is one of the 
most splendid and important prerogatives of 
sovereigns, absolute or limited, and this in our 
' constitution is wholly in the Pi-esident. If the 
state and pomp essential to this great depart- 
ment are not in a good degree preserved, it will 
be in vain for America to hope for considera- 
tion with foreign powers." * 

According to Mr. Adams, two days in a week 
would be required for the receipt of visits of 
compliment. Persons desiring an interview 
with the President should make application 
through the minister of state. In every case the 
name, quality, or business of the visitor shoidd 
be communicated to a chamberlain or gentle- 
man in waiting, who should judge whom to 
admit, and whom to exclude. The time for re- 
ceiving visits ought to be limited, as for ex- 
ample, from eight to nine or ten o'clock, lest 
the whole morning be taken up. The Presi- 
dent might invite what official character, mem- 
bers of Congress, strangers, or citizens of dis- 
tinction he pleased, in small parties without ex- 
citing clamors ; but this should always be done 
without formality. Ilis private life should be 
at his own discretion, as to giving or receiving 
informal visits among friends and acquaint- 
ances ; but in his official character, he should 
have no intercourse with society but upon pub- 
lic business, or at his levees. Adams, in the 
conclusion of his reply, ingenuously confessed 
that his long residence abroad might have im- 
pressed him with views of things incompatible 
with the present temper and feelings of his 
fellow-citizens ; and Jefferson seems to Lave 
been heartily of the same opinion, for speaking 
of Adams in his Arias, he observes that "the 
glare of royalty and nobility, during his mission 
to England, had made him believe their fasci- 
nation a necessary ingredient in government." t 
Hamilton, in his reply, while he considered it a 
primary object for the public good, that the dig- 
nity of the presidential office should be sup- 
ported, advised that care should be taken to 



* Life and "Works of John Adams, vol. viii., p. • 
t Jeflferson's Works, ix. 97. 



avoid SO high a tone in the demeanor of the 
occupant, as to shock the prevalent notions of 
equality. 

The President, he thought, should hold a levee 
at a fixed time once a week, remain half an 
liour, converse cursorily on indifferent subjects 
with such persons as invited his attention, and 
then retire. 

He should accept no invitations, give formal 
entertainments twice, or at most, four times in 
the year ; if twice, on the anniversaries of the 
declaration of independence and of his inaugu- 
ration : if four times, the anniversaiy of the 
treaty of alliance with France and that of the 
definitive treaty with Great Britain to be added. 

The President on levee days to give informal 
invitations to family dinners ; not more than 
six or eight to be asked at a time, and the civil- 
ity to be confined essentially to members of 
the legislature, and other official characters : — 
the President never to remain long at table. 

The heads of departments should, of course, 
have access to the President on business. For- 
eign ministers of some descriptions should also 
be entitled to it. " In Europe, I am informed," 
writes Hamilton, "ambassadors only have direct 
access to the chief magistrate. Something very 
near what prevails there would, in my opinion, 
be right. The distinction of rank between di- 
plomatic characters requires attention, and the 
door of access ought not to be too wide to that 
class of persons. I have thought that the mem- 
bers of the Senate should also have a right of 
individual access on matters relative to the 
puhlic administration. In England and France 
peers of the realm have this right. We have 
none such in this country, but I believe it wiU 
be satisfactory to the people to know that there 
is some body of men in the state who have a 
right of continual communication with the 
President. It will be considered a safeguard 
against secret combinations to deceive him." * 

The reason alleged by Hamilton for giving 
the Senate this privilege, and not the Eepre- 
sentatives was, that in the constitution " the 
Senate are coupled with the President in cer- 
tain executive functions, treaties, and appoint- 
ments. This makes them in a degree his con- 
stitutional counsellors, and gives them a peculiar 
claim to the right of access." 

These are the only written replies ^liat we 
have before us of Washington's advisers on this 
subject. 



Hamilton's "Works, vol. iv., p. 3. 



JEt. 57.] ANECDOTE OF THE FIRST LEVEE— JOUEXEY OF MES. WASHINGTON. 



669 



Colonel Humphreys, formerly one of "Wash- 
ington's aides-de-camp, and recently secretary 
of Jefferson's legation at Paris, was at present 
an inmate in the presidential mansion. General 
Knox was frequently there ; to these Jefferson 
assures us, on Washington's authority, was as- 
signed the task of considering and prescribing 
the minor forms and ceremonies, the etiquette, 
in fact, to be observed on public occasions. 
Some of the forms proposed by them, he adds, 
were adopted. Others were so highly strained 
that Washington absolutely rejected them. 
Knox was no favorite with Jefferson, who had 
no sympathies with the veteran soldier, and 
styles him "a man of parade," and Humphreys 
he appears to think captivated by the ceremo- 
nials of foreign courts. He gives a whimsical 
account, which he had at a second or third 
hand, of the first levee. An ante-chamber and 
presence room were provided, and when those 
who were to pay their court were assembled, 
the President set out, preceded by Humphreys. 
After passing through the ante-chamber, the 
door of the inner room was thrown open, and 
Humphreys entered first, calling out with a 
loud voice, " The President of the United 
States." The President was so much discon- 
certed with it that he did not recover in the 
whole time of the levee, and, when the com- 
pany were gone, he said to Humphreys, " Well, 

you have taken me in once, but by , you 

shall never take me in a second time." 

This anecdote is to be taken with caution, 
for Jefferson was disposed to receive any re- 
port that placed the forms adopted in a dispar- 
aging point of view. 

He gives in his Ana a still more whimsical ac- 
count on the authority of " a Mr. Brown," of 
the ceremonials at an inauguration ball at which 
Washington and Mrs. Washington presided in 
almost regal style. As it has been proved to 
be entirely incorrect, we have not deemed it 
worthy an insertion. A splendid ball was in 
fact given at the Assembly Eooms, and another 
by the French Minister, the Count de Mous- 
tier, at both of which Washington was present 
and danced ; but Mrs. Washington was not at 
either of them, not being yet arrived, and on 
neither occasion were any mock regal ceremo- 
nials observed. Washington was the last man 
that would have tolerated any thing of the 
kind. Our nest chapter will show the almost 
casual manner in which the simple formalities 
of his republican court originated. 



CHAPTER III. 

Ox the 17th of May, Mrs. Washington, ac- 
companied by her grandchildren, Eleanor Cus- 
tis and George Washington Parke Custis, set 
out from Mount Vernon in her travelling cai'- 
riage with a small escort of horse, to join her 
husband at the seat of government ; as she had 
been accustomed to join him at head-quar- 
ters, in the intervals of his revolutionary cam- 
paigns. 

Throughout the journey she was greeted with 
public testimonials of respect and affection. 
As she approached Philadelphia, the President 
of Pennsylvania and other of the State func- 
tionaries, with a number of the principal in- 
habitants of both sexes, came forth to meet 
her, and she was attended into the city by a 
numerous cavalcade, and welcomed with the 
ringing of bells and firing of cannon. 

Similar honors were paid her in her pro- 
gress through New Jersey. At Elizabethtown 
she alighted at the residence of Governor lAv- 
ingston, whither Washington came from New 
York to meet her. They proceeded thence by 
water, in the same splendid barge in which the 
general had been conveyed for his inaugura- 
tion. It was manned, as on that occasion, by 
thirteen master pilots, arrayed in white, and 
had several persons of note on board. There 
was a salute of thirteen guns as the barge 
passed the Battery at New York. The land- 
ing took place at Peck Slip, not far from the 
presidential residence, amid the enthusiastic 
cheers of an immense multitude. 

On the following day, Washington gave a 
demi-ofiicial dinner, of which Mr. Wingate, a 
senator from New Hampshire, who was pres- 
ent, writes as follows : " The guests consisted 
of the Vice President, the foreign ministers, 
the heads of departments, the Speaker of the 
House of Eepresentatives, and the Senators 
from New Hampshire and Georgia, the then 
most Northern and Southern States. It was 
the least showy dinner that I ever saw at the 
President's table, and the company was not 
large. As there was no chaplain present, the 
President himself said a very short grace as he 
was sitting down. After dinner and dessert 
were finished, one glass of wine was passed 
around the table, and no toast. The President 
rose, and all the company retired to the draw- 
ing-room, from which the guests departed, as 
every one chose, without ceremony." 



670 



THE PRESIDENT'S HOUSEHOLD— HIS EQUIPAGE. 



[ns9. 



Oa the evening of the following day (Friday, 
May 29th), Mrs. Washington had a general re- 
ception, which was attended by all that was 
distinguished in official and fashionable society. 
Henceforward there were similar receptions 
every Friday evening, from eight to ten o'clock, 
to which the families of all persons of respecta- 
bility, native or foreign, had access, without 
special invitation ; and at which the President 
was always present. These assemblages were 
as free from ostentation and restraint as the 
ordinary receptions of polite society ; yet the 
reader will find they were soon subject to in- 
vidious misrepresentation ; and cavilled at as 
" court-like levees " and " queenly drawing- 
rooms." 

Beside these public receptions, the presiden- 
tial-family had its private circle of social inti- 
macy ; the President, moreover, was always 
ready to receive visits by appointment on pub- 
lic or private business. 

The sanctity and quiet of Sunday were strict- 
ly observed by "Washington. He attended 
church in the morning, and passed the after- 
noon alone in his closet. No visitors were ad- 
mitted, excepting perhaps an intimate friend in 
the evening, which v/as spent by him in the 
bosom of his family. 

The household establishment was conducted 
on an ample and dignified scale, but without 
ostentation, and regulated with characteristic 
system and exactness. Samuel Fraunces, once 
landlord of the city tavern in Broad street, 
where "Washington took leave of the officers of 
the ai'my in 1783, was now Steward of the 
presidential household. He was required to 
render a weekly statement of receipts and ex- 
I)enditures, and warned to guard against waste 
and extravagance. " We are happy to inform 
our readers," says Fenno's Gazette <^ the day, 
" that the President is determined to pursue 
that system of regularity and economy in his 
household which has always marked his pub- 
lic and private life." 

In regard to the deportment of "Washington 
at this juncture, we have been informed by one 
who had opportunities of seeing him, that he 
still retained a military air of command which 
had become habitual to him. At levees and 
drawing-rooms he sometimes appeared cold 
and distant, but this was attributed by those 
who best knew him to the novelty of his posi- 
tion and his innate diffidence, which seemed to 
increase with the light which his renown shed 
about him. Though reserved at times, his re- I 



serve had nothing repulsive in it, and in social 
intercourse, where he was no longer under the 
eye of critical supervision, soon gave way to sol- 
dier-like frankness and cordiality. At all times 
his courtesy was genuine and benignant, and 
totally free from that stately condescension 
sometimes mistaken for politeness. Nothing 
we are told could surpass the noble grace with 
which he presided at a ceremonial dinner ; 
kindly attentive to all his guests, but particu- 
larly attentive to put those at their ease and in 
a favorable light, who appeared to be most diffi- 
dent. 

As to Mrs. Washington, those who really 
knew her at the time, speak of her as free from 
pretension or affectation; undazzled by lier 
position, and discharging its duties with the 
truthful simplicity and real good-breeding of 
one accustomed to preside over a hospitable 
mansion in the " Ancient Dominion." She had 
her husband's predilection for private life. 

In a letter to an intimate she writes : " It is 
owing to the kindness of our numerous friends 
in all quarters that my new and xmwished for 
situation is not indeed a burden to me. When 
I was much younger, I should probably have 
enjoyed the innocent gayeties of life as much 
as most persons of my age ; but I had long 
since placed all the prospects of my futui-e 
worldly happiness in the still enjoyments of 
the fireside at Mount Vernon. 

" I little thought, when the war was finished, 
that any circumstances could possibly happen, 
which would call the General into public life 
again. I had anticipated that from that mo- 
ment we should be sufl;ered to grow old to- 
gether in solitude and tranquillity. That was 
the first and dearest wish of my heart." * 

Much has been said of Washington's equi- 
pages, when at New York, and of his having 
four, and sometimes six horses before his car- 
riage, with servants and outriders in rich liv- 
ery. Such style we would premise was usual 
at the time both in England and the colonies, 
and had been occasionally maintained by the 
continental dignitaries, and by Governors of 
the several States, prior to the adoption of the 
new constitution. It was still prevalent, we 
are told, among the wealthy planters of the 
South, and sometimes adopted by 'merchant 
princes ' and rich individuals at the North. It 
does not appear, however, that Washington 
ever indulged in it through ostentation. When 



* Quoted in a note to Sparks, p. 422. 



^T. 57.] ALARMIXG ILLNESS OF THE TRESIDEXT— A NOMINATION REJECTED. 



671 



he repaired to the Hall of Congress, at his in- 
auguration, he was drawn by a single pair of 
horses in a chariot presented for the occasion, 
on the panels of which were emblazoned the 
arms of the United States. 

Beside this modest equipage there was the 
ample family carriage which had been brought 
from Virginia. To this four horses were put 
when the family drove out into the country, 
the state of the roads in those days requiring 
it. For the same reason six horses were put 
to the same vehicle on journeys, and once on a 
state occasion. If there was any thing he was 
likely to take a pride in, it was horses ; he was 
passionately fond of that noble animal, and 
mention is occasionally made of four white 
horses of great beauty which he owned while 
in 'New York.* His favorite exercise when 
the weather permitted it was on horseback, 
accompanied by one or more of the members 
of his household, and he was noted always for 
being admirably mounted, and one of the best 
horsemen of his day. 



CHAPTER IV. 

As soon as Washington could command suf- 
ficient leisure to inspect papei's and docu- 
ments, he called unofiicially upon the heads of 
departments to furnish him with such reports 
in writing as would aid him in gaining a dis- 
tinct idea of the state of public affairs. For 
this purpose also he had recourse to the public 
archives, and proceeded to make notes of the 
foreign official correspondence from the close 
of the war until his inauguration. He was in- 
terrupted in his task by a virulent attack of an- 
thrax, which for several days threatened morti- 
fication. The knowledge of his perilous condi- 
tion spread alarm through the community ; he, 
however, remained unagitated. His medical 
adviser was Dr. Samuel Bard, of New York, 
an excellent physician and most estimable man, 
who attended him with unremitting assiduity. 



* For gome of these particulars concerning "Washington 
■we are indebted to the late 'WilUam A. Duer, president of 
Columbia, College, who in his boyhood was frequently in 
the President's house, playmate of young Custis, Mrs. 
"Washington's grandson. 

Washington's Residences in New YorA-.— The first Presi- 
dential residence was at the junction of Pearl and Cherry 
streets, Franklin Square. At the end of about a year, the 
President removed to the house on the west side of Broad- 
way, near Rector street, afterwards known as Bunker's 
Mansion House. Both of these buildings have disappeared, 
in the course of " modern improvements." 



Being alone one day with the doctor, Wash- 
ington regarded him steadily, and asked his 
candid opinion as to the probable result of his 
case. " Do not flatter me with vain hopes," said 
he, with placid firmness ; " 1 am not afraid to 
die, and therefore can bear the worst." The 
doctor expressed hope, but owned that he had 
apprehensions. " Whether to-night or twenty 
years hence, makes no difference," observed 
Washington. " 1 know that I am in the hands 
of a good Providence." His sufferings were 
intense, and his recovery was slow. For six 
weeks he was obliged to lie on his right side ; 
but after a time he had his carriage so con- 
trived that he could extend himself at full 
length in it, and take exercise in the open air. 

While rendered morbidly sensitive by bodily 
pain, he suffered deep annoyance from having 
one of his earliest nominations, that of Benja- 
min Fishburn, for the place of naval officer of 
the port of Savannah, rejected by the Senate. 

If there was any thing in which Washington 
was scrupulously conscientious, it was in the 
exercise of the nominating power ; scrutinizing 
the fitness of candidates ; their comparative 
claims on account of public services and sacri- 
fices, and with regard to the equable distribu- 
tion of offices among the States ; in all which he 
governed himself solely by considerations for 
the public good. He was especially scrupulous 
where his own friends and connections were 
concerned. " So far as I know my own mind," 
would he say, " I would not be in the remotest 
degree influenced in making nominations by 
motives arising from the tics of family or 
blood." 

He was principally hurt in the present in- 
stance by the want of deference on the part of 
the Senate, in assigning no reason for rejecting 
his nomination of Mr, Fishburn. He acqui- 
esced, however, in the rejection, and forthwith 
sent in the name of another candidate ; but at 
the same time administered a temperate and 
dignified rebuke. " Wliatever may have been 
the reasons which induced your dissent," writes 
he to the Senate, " I am persuaded that they 
were such as you deemed sufficient. Permit 
me to submit to your consideration, whether, 
on occasions where the propriety of nominations 
appears questionable to you, it would not be 
expedient to communicate that circumstance to 
me, and thereby avail yourselves of the informa- 
tion which led me to make them, and which I 
would with pleasure lay before you. Probably 
my reasons for nominating Mr. Fishburn may 



672 



DEATH OF WASHINGTON'S MOTHER— THE DEPARTMENTS ORGANIZED. [1789. 



tend to show that such a mode of proceeding, 
in such cases, might be useful. I will therefore 
detail them." 

He then proceeds to state, that Colonel Fish- 
burn had served under his own eye with repu- 
tation as an officer and a gentleman ; had dis- 
tinguished himself at the storming of Stony- 
Point ; had repeatedly been elected to the As- 
sembly of Georgia as a representative from 
Chatham County, in which Savannah was situ- 
ated ; had been elected by the officers of the 
militia of that county Lieutenant Colonel of the 
militia of the district ; had been member of 
the Executive Council of the State, and presi- 
dent of the same ; had been appointed by the 
council to an office which he actually held, in 
the port of Savannah, nearly similar to that for 
which "Washington had nominated him. 

" It appeared therefore to me," adds Wash- 
ington, " that Mr. Fishburn must have enjoyed 
the confidence of the militia officers in order to 
have been elected to a military rank — the con- 
Jidence of the freemen to have been elected to 
the Assembly — the confidence of the Assembly, 
to have been selected for the Council, and the 
confidence of the Council to have been appoint- 
ed collector of the port of Savannah." 

"We give this letter in some detail, as relating 
to the only instance in which a nomination by 
"Washington was rejected. The reasons of the 
Senate for rejecting it do not appear. Tiiey 
seem to have felt his rebuke, for the nomination 
last made by him was instantly confirmed. 

"While yet in a state of convalescence, "Wash- 
ington received intelligence of the death of his 
mother. The event, which took place at Fred- 
ricksburg in Virginia, on the 25th of August, 
was not unexpected ; she was eighty-two years 
of age, and had for some time been sinking 
under an incurable malady, so that when he 
last parted with her he had apprehended that 
it was a final separation. Still he was deeply 
afifected by the intelligence ; consoling himself, 
however, with the reflection that " Heaven had 
spared her to an age beyond which few attain ; 
had favored her with the full enjoyment of her 
mental faculties, and as much bodily health as 
usually fiills to the lot of fourscore." 

Mrs. Mary "Washington is represented as a 
woman of strong plain sense, strict integrity, 
and an inflexible spirit of command. "We have 
mentioned the exemplary manner in which she, 
a lone widow, had trained her little flock in 
their childhood. The deference for her, then 
instilled into their minds, continued throughout 



life, and was manifested by "Washington when 
at the height of his power and reputation. 
Eminently practical, she bad thwarted his mili- 
tary aspirmgs when he was about to seek honor 
in the Bi'itish navy. During his early and dis- 
astrous campaigns on the frontier, she would 
often shake her head. and exclaim, " Ah, George 
had better have staid at home and cultivated 
his farm." Even his ultimate success and re- 
nown had never dazzled, however much they 
may have gratified her. "When others congrat- 
ulated her, and were enthusiastic in his praise, 
she listened in silence, and would temperately 
reply that he had been a good son, and she be- 
lieved he had done his duty as a man. 

Hitherto the new government had not been 
properly organized, but its several duties had 
been performed by the officers who had them 
in charge at the time of "Washington's inaugura- 
tion. It was not until the 10th of September 
that laws were passed instituting a department 
of Foreign Affairs (afterwards termed Depart- 
ment of State), a Treasury department, and a 
department of "War, and fixing their respective 
salaries. On the following day, "Washington 
nominated General Knox to the department of 
"War, the duties of which that officer had hith- 
erto discharged. The post of Secretary of the 
Treasury was one of far greater importance at 
the present moment. It was a time of financial 
exigency. As yet no statistical account of the 
country had been attempted ; its fiscal resources 
were wholly unknown ; its credit was almost 
annihilated, for it was obliged to borrow money 
even to pay the interest of its debts. 

"We have already quoted the language held 
by "Washington in regard to this state of things 
before he had assumed the direction of affairs. 
" My endeavors shall be unremittingly exerted, 
even at the hazard of former fame, or present 
popularity, to extricate my country from the 
embarrassments in which it is entangled through 
want of credit." 

Under all these circumstances, and to carry 
out these views, he needed an able and zealous 
coadjutor in the Treasury department ; one 
equally solicitous with himself on the points in 
question, and more prepared upon them by 
financial studies and investigations than he 
could pretend to be. Such a person he consid- 
ered Alexander Hamilton, whom he nominated 
as Secretary of the Treasury, and whose quali- 
fications for the office were so well understood 
by the Senate that his nomination was confirm- 
ed on the same day on which it was made. 



^T. 57.] 



EDMUXD RANDOLPH— ADJOURNMENT OF CONGRESS. 



673 



"Within a few clays after Hamilton's appoint- 
ment, the House of Representatives (Sept. 21), 
acting upon the policy so ardently desired by 
Washington, passed a resolution, declaring their 
opinion of the high importance to the honor 
and prosperity of the United States, that an 
adequate provision should be made for the sup- 
port of public credit ; and instructing the Sec- 
retary of the Treasury to prepare a plan for the 
purpose, and report it at their next session. 

The arrangement of the Judicial department 
was one of "Washington's earliest cares. On 
the 27th of September, he wrote unofficially to 
Edmund Randolph, of "V^irginia, informing him 
that he had nominated him Attorney-General 
of the United States, and would be highly grat- 
ified with his acceptance of that office. Some 
old recollections of the camp and of the early 
days of the Revolution, may have been at the 
bottom of this good-will, for Randolph had 
joined the army at Cambridge in 1775, and act- 
ed for a time as aide-de-camp to Washington 
in place of Mifflin. He had since gained expe- 
rience in legislative business as member of 
Congress, from 1779 to 1782, Governor of "V^ir- 
ginia in 1786, and delegate to the convention in 
1787. In the discussions of that celebrated 
body, he had been opposed to a single execu- 
tive, professing to discern in the unity of that 
power the " fostus of monarchy ;" and prefer- 
ring an executive consisting of three ; whereas, 
in the opinion of others, this plural executive 
would be "a kind of Cerberus with three 
heads." Like Madison, he had disapproved of 
the equality of suffrage in the Senate, and 
been, moreover, of opinion, that the President 
should be ineligible to office after a given num- 
ber of years. 

Dissatisfied with some of the provisions of 
the constitution as adopted, he had refused to 
sign it ; but had afterwards supported it in the 
State convention of Virginia. As we recollect 
him many years afterwards, his appearance and 
address were dignified and prepossessing; he 
had an-expi-essive countenance, a beaming eye, 
and somewhat of the ore rotundo in speaking. 
Randolph promptly accepted tlie nomination, 
but did not take his seat in the cabinet until 
some months after Knox and Hamilton. 

By the judicial system established for the 
Federal Government, the Supreme Court of the 
United States was to be composed of a chief 
justice and five associate judges. There were 
to be district courts with a judge in each State, 
and circuit courts held by an associate judge 
43 



and a district judge. John Jay, of New York, 
received the appointment of Chief Justice, and 
in a letter enclosing his commission, Washing- 
ton expressed the singular pleasure he felt in 
addressing him " as the head of that depart- 
ment which must be considered as tlie keystone 
of our political fabric." 

Jay's associate judges were, John Rutledge 
of South Carohna, James Wilson of Pennsylva- 
nia, William Gushing of Massachusetts, John 
Blair of Virginia, and James Iredell of North 
Carolina. Washington had originally nomi- 
nated to one of the judgeships his former mili- 
tary secretary, Robert Harrison, familiarly 
known as tlie old Secretary ; but he preferred 
the office of Chancellor of Maryland, recently 
conferred upon him. 

On the 29th of September, Congress adjourn- 
ed to the first Monday in January, ai'ter an ar- 
duous session, in which many important ques- 
tions had been discussed, and powers organized 
and distributed. The actual Congress was in- 
ferior in eloquence and shining talent to the 
first Congress of the revolution ; but it possessed 
men well fitted for the momentous work before 
them ; sober, solid, upright, and well informed. 
An admirable harmony had prevailed between 
the legislature and the executive, and the ut- 
most decorum had reigned over the public de- 
liberations. 

Fisher Ame.«, then a young man, Avho had 
acquired a brilliant reputation in Massachusetts 
by the eloquence with which he had champion- 
ed the new constitution in the convention of 
that important State, and who had recently 
been elected to Congress, speaks of it in the 
following terms : " I have never seen an assem- 
bly where so little art was used. If they wish 
to carry a point, it is directly declared and jus- 
tified. Its merits and defects are plainly stated, 
not without sophistry and prejudice, but with- 
out management. * * * There is no inti'igue, 
no caucusing, little of clanning together, little 
asperity in debate, or personal bitterness out of 
the House." 



XJHAPTER V. 

The cabinet was still incomplete ; the depart- 
ment of foreign affairs, or rather of State, as it 
was now called, was yet to be supplied with a 
head. John Jay would have received the nom- 
ination had he not preferred the bench. Wash- 



674 



THOMAS JEFFERSON— SKETCH OF HIS CHARACTER AND OPINIONS. [1789. 



ington next thought of Thomas Jeiferson, who 
had so loug filled the post of Minister Plenipo- 
tentiary at the Court of Versailles, but had re- 
cently solicited and obtained permission to re- 
turn, for a few months, to the United States, 
for the purpose of placing his children among 
their friends in their native country, and of ar- 
ranging his private affairs, which had suffered 
from his protracted absence. And here we will 
venture a few particulars concerning this emi- 
nent statesman, introductory to the important 
influence he was to exercise on national affairs. 

His political principles as a democratic repub- 
lican, had been avowed at an early date in his 
draft of the Declaration of Independence, and 
subsequently in the successful war which he 
made upon the old cavalier traditions of his 
native State ; its laws of entails and i)rimogen- 
iture, and its church establishment, a war which 
bi'oke down the hereditary fortunes and hered- 
itary families, and put an end to the hereditary 
aristocracy of the Ancient Dominion. 

Being sent to Paris as minister plenipotenti- 
ary a year or two after the peace, he arrived 
there, as he says, " when the American revolu- 
tion seemed to have awakened the thinking 
part of the French nation from the sleep of des- 
potism in which they had been sunk." 

Carrying with him his republican principles 
and zeal, his house became the resort of Lafay- 
ette and others of the French oflicers who had 
served in the American revolution. They were 
mostly, he said, young men little shackled by 
habits and prejudices, and had come back with 
new ideas and new impressions which began to 
be disseminated by the press and in conversa- 
tion. Politics became the theme of ail societies, 
male and female, and a very extensive and zeal- 
ous party was formed which acquired the ap- 
pellation of the Patriot Party, who, sensible of 
the abuses of the government under, which they 
lived, sighed for occasions of reforming it. 
This party, writes Jefferson, " comprehended 
all the honesty of the kingdom sufficiently at 
leisure to think, the men of letters, the easy 
bourgeois, the young nobility, partly from re- 
flection, partly from the mode ; for these senti- 
ments became matter of mode, and, as such, 
united most of the young women to the party." 

By this party Jefferson was considered high 
authority from his republican principles and 
experience, and his advice was continually 
sought in the great effort for political reform 
which was daily growing stronger and stronger. 
His absence in Europe had prevented his taking 



part in the debates on the new constitution, 
but he had exercised his influence through his 
corresppndence. " I expressed freely," writes 
he, " in letters to my friends, and most partic- 
ularly to Mr. Madison and General "Washington, 
my approbations and objections." * What those 
approbations and objections were appears by 
the following citations, which are important to 
be kept in mind as illustrating his after con- 
duct: 

" I approved, from the first moment, of the 
great mass of what is in the new constitu- 
tion, the consolidation of the government, the 
organization into executive, legislative, and ju- 
diciary ; the subdivision of the legislature, the 
happy compromise of the interests between the 
great and little States, by the different manner 
of voting in the different Houses, the voting by 
persons instead of States, the qualified negative 
on laws given to the executive, which, howev- 
er, I should have liked better if associated with 
the judiciary also, as in New York, and the 
power of taxation : what I disapproved from 
the first moment, was the want of ^ bill of 
rights to guard liberty against the legislative as 
well as against the executive branches of the 
government ; that is to say, to secure freedom 
of religion, freedom of the press, freedom from 
monopolies, freedom from unlawful imprison- 
ment, freedom from a permanent military, and 
a trial by jury in all cases determinable by the 
laws of the land." 

"What he greatly objected to was the perpetual 
re-eligibility of the President. " This, I fear," 
said he, " will make that an office for life, first, 
and then hereditary. I was much an enemy to 
monarchies before I came to Europe, and am 
ten thousand times more so since I have seen 
what they are. There is scarcely an evil known 
in these countries which may not bo traced to 
their king as its source, nor a good which is 
not derived from the small fibres of republican- 
ism existing among them. I can further say, 
with safety, there is not a crowned head in Eu- 
rope whose talents or merits would entitle him 
to be elected a vestryjnan by the people of any 
parish in America." f 

In short, such a horror had he imbibed of 
kingly rule, that, in a familiar letter to Colonel 
Humphreys, who had been his Secretary of Le- 
gation, he gives it as the duty of our young Ke- 
public " to besiege the throne of heaven with 
eternal prayers to extirpate from creation this 



* Aiitobiography, Works, 1. 79. 

t Letter to Washington, May 2, 17S8. Works, ii. 375. 



-Et. 57. J 



THOMAS JEFFERSON AND GOUVERNEUR MORRIS. 



675 



class of human lions, tigers, and mammoths, 
called kings, from whom, let him perish who 
does not say, ' Good Lord, deliver us ! ' " 

Jefferson's pohtical fervor occasionally tended 
to exaltation, but it was genuine. In his ex- 
cited state he regarded with quick suspicion 
every thing in his own country that appeared to 
him to have a regal tendency. His sensitive- 
ness had been awakened by the debates in 
Congress as to the title to be given to the Pres- 
ident, whether or not he should be addressed 
as His Highness ; and had been relieved by the 
decision that he was to have no title but that 
of office, viz. : President of the United States. 
" I hope," said Jefferson, " the terms of Excel- 
lency, Honor, "Worship, Esquire, forever disap- 
pear from among us from that moment. I 
wish that of Mr. would follow them." * 

With regard to the re-eligibility of the Pres- 
ident, his anxiety was quieted for the present, 
by the elevation of "Washington to the Presi- 
dential chair. " Since the thing [re-eligibUity] 
is established," writes he, " I would wish it not 
to be altered dui-ing the lifetime of our great 
leader, whose executive talents are superior to 
those, I believe, of any man in the world, and 
who, alone, by the authority of his name, and 
the confidence reposed in his perfect integrity, is 
fully qualified to put the new government so 
under way as to secure it against the efforts of 
opposition. But, having derived from our error 
all the good there was in it, I hope we shall 
correct it the moment we can no longer have 
the same name at the helm." t 

Jefferson, at the time of which we are speak- 
ing, was, as we have shown, deeply immersed 
in French politics and interested in the success 
of the " Patriot Party," in its efforts to reform 
the country. His despatches to government all 
proved how strongly he was on the side of the 
people. " He considered a successful reforma- 
tion in France as insuring a general reformation 
throughout Europe, and the resurrection to a 
new life of their people now ground to dust by 
the abuses of the governing powers." 

Gouverneur Morris, who was at that time in 
Paris on private business, gives a different view 
of the state of things produced by the Patriot 
party. Morris had arrived in Paris on the 3d 
of February, 1789, furnished by Washington 
with letters of introduction to persons in Eng- 
land, France, and Holland. His brilliant talents, 
ready conversational powers, easy confidence in 



* Letter to Mr. Carraichael, Works, iii. 85 
t Letter to F. Hopkinson, Works, ii. 587. 



society, and striking aristocratical appearance, 
had given him great currency, especially in the 
court party and among the ancient nobility ; in 
which direction his tastes most inclined. He 
had renewed his intimacy with Lafayette, 
whom he found "full of politics," but "too re- 
publican for the genius of his country." 

In a letter to the French minister, residing in 
Few York, Morris writes on the 23d of Febru- 
ary, 1789 : " Your nation is now in a most im- 
portant crisis, and the great question — shall 
we hereafter have a constitution, or shall will 
continue to be law — employs every mind and 
agitates every heart in France. Even volup- 
tuousness itself rises from its couch of roses and 
looks anxiously abroad at the busy scene to 
which nothing can now be indifferent. 

" Your nobles, your clergy, your people, are 
all in motion for the elections. A spirit which 
had been dormant for generations starts up and 
stares about, ignorant of the means of obtain- 
ing, but ardently desirous to possess its object 
— consequently active, energetic, easily led, but 
also easily, too easily, misled. Such is the in- 
stinctive love of freedom which now grows 
warm in the bosom of your country." 

When the king was constrained by the popu- 
lar voice to convene the States General at Ver- 
sailles for the purpose of discussing measures 
of reform, Jefferson was a constant attendant 
upon the debates of that body. " I was much 
acquainted with the leading patriots of the As- 
sembly," writes he, "being from a country 
which had successfully passed through similar 
reform ; they were disposed to my acquaintance 
and had some confidence in me. I urged most 
strenuously an immediate compromise to secure 
what the government was now ready to yield, 
and trust to future occasions for what might 
still be wanting." 

The " leading patriots" here spoken of, were 
chiefly the deputies from Brittany, who, with 
others, formed an association called the Breton 
Club, to watch the matters debated in Parlia- 
ment and shape the course of affairs. 

Morris, speaking of Jefferson at this juncture, 
observes, " He and I differ in- our system of 
politics. He, with all the leaders of liberty 
here, is desirous of annihilating distinctions of 
order. How far such views may be right, re- 
specting mankind in general, is, I think, ex- 
tremely problematical. But, with respect to 
this nation, I am sure it is wrong and cannot 
eventuate well." * 



* Life of G. Morris, i. 313. 



676 



JEFFERSON ON THE FRENCH CRISIS— WASHINGTON'S OPINION. 



[1789. 



Jefferson, in a letter to Thomas Paine (July 
11), giving some account of the proceedings of 
the States General, observes, " The National 
Assembly (for that is the name they take) 
having shown, through every stage of tliese 
transactions, a coolness, wisdom, and resolution 
to set fire to the four corners of the kingdom, 
and to perish with it themselves rather than to 
relinquish an iota from their plan of a total 
change of government, are now in complete 
and undisputed possession of the Sovereignty. 
The executive and aristocracy are at their feet ; 
the mass of the nation, the mass of the clergy, 
and the army are with them ; they have pros- 
trated the old government and are now begin- 
ning to build one from the foimdation." 

It was but three days after the date of this 
letter that the people of Paris rose in their 
might, plundered the arsenal of the Invalides, 
furnished themselves with arms, stormed the 
Bastille ; and a national guard, formed of the 
Bourgeoisie, with the tricolored cockade for an 
emblem and Lafayette as commander, took 
Paris under its protection. 

Information of these events was given at 
midnight to the king at Versailles by Koche- 
foucauld-Liancourt. " It is a revolt," ex- 
claimed the king. " Sire," replied Liancourt, 
'' it is a revolution ! " 

Jefferson, in his despatches to government, 
spoke Avith admiration of the conduct of the 
people throughout the violent scenes which ac- 
companied this popular convulsion. " There 
was a severity of honesty observed, of which 
no example has been known. Bags of money, 
offered on various occasions through fear or 
guilt, have been uniformly refused by the mobs. 
The churches are now occupied in singing ' De 
Profundis ' and ' Eequiems ' for the repose of 
the souls of the brave and valiant citizens who 
have sealed, with their blood, the liberty of the 
nation, * * * y^Q cannot suppose this par- 
oxysm confined to Pa^is alone ; the whole coun- 
try must pass successfully through it, and happy 
if they get through as soon and as vrell as Paris 
has done." * 

Gouverneur Morris, writing on the same sub- 
ject to 'Washington, on the 31st of July, ob- 
serves : " You may consider the Ee volution as 
complete. The authority of the king and of 
the nobility is completely subdued ; yet I trem- 
ble for the constitution. They have all the 
romantic spirit and all the romantic ideas of 

* Letter to John Jay. Jefferson's Works, iii. 80. 



government, which, happily for America, we 
were cured of before it was too late." 

The foregoing brief notices of affairs in rev- 
olutionary France, and of the feelings Avith 
Avhich they were viewed by American states- 
men resident there, Avill be found of service in 
illustrating subsequent events in the United 
States. 

The first news of the Revolution reached 
America in October, and v/as hailed by the 
great mass of the people Avith enthusiasm. 
Washington in reply to his old comrade in arms, 
the Count deEochambeau, observes: " I am per- 
suaded I express the sentiments of my fellow- 
citizens, when I offer an earnest prayer that it 
may terminate in the permanent honor and 
happiness of your government and people." 

But, in a reply of the same date (13th Oct.) to 
Gouverneur Morris, he shoAvs that his circum- 
spect and cautious spirit was not to be hurried 
away by popular excitement. " The revolution 
Avhich has been effected in France," writes he, 
" is of so wonderful a nature, that the mind can 
hardly realize the fact. If it ends as our last 
accounts to the 1st of August predict, that na- 
tion will be the most powerful and happy in 
Europe ; but I fear, though it has gone trium- 
phantly through the first paroxysm, it is not 
the last it has to encounter before matters are 
finally settled. In a word, the revolution is of 
too great a magnitude to be effected in so short 
a space, and with the loss of so little blood. 
The mortification of the king, the intrigues of 
the queen, and the discontent of the princes 
and noblesse, will foment divisions, if possible, 
in the National Assembly ; and they will, un- 
questionably, avail themselves of every faux 
pas in the formation of the constitution, if they 
do not give a more open, active opposition. In 
addition to these, the licentiousness of the peo- 
ple on one hand, and sanguinary punishments 
on the other, will alarm the best disposed 
friends to the measure, and contribute not a 
little to the overthrow of their object. Great 
temperance, firmness, and foresight are neces- 
sary in the movements of that body. To for- 
bear rimning from one extreme to another, is 
no easy matter : and should this be the case, 
rocks and sheh^es, not visible at present, may 
wreck the vessel and give a higher-toned des- 
potism than the one which existed before." * 

Hamilton, too, regarded the recent events in 
France with a mixture of pleasure and appre- 



• Writings of Washington, x. S9. 



^T. 57.] 



WASHINGTON'S JOURNEY THROUGH THE EASTERN STATES. 



677 



hension. In a letter to Lafayette lie writes : 
" As a friend to mankind and to liberty, I re- 
joice in the efforts which you are making to 
establish it, while I fear much for the final 
success of the attempts, for the fate of those 
who are engaged in it, and for the danger in 
case of success, of innovations greater than will 
consist with the real felicity of your nation. 
* * * I dread disagreements among those 
Avho are now imited, about the nature of yonr 
constitutton ; I dread the vehement character 
of your people, whom, I fear, you may find it 
more easy to bring on, than to keep within 
proper bounds after you have put them in mo- 
tion. I dread the interested refractoriness of 
your nobles, who cannot all be gratified, and 
who may be unwilling to submit to the requisite 
sacrifices. And I dread the reveries of your 
philosophic politicians, who appear in the mo- 
ment to have great influence, and who, being 
mere speculatists, may aim at more refinement 
than suits either with human nature or the 
composition of your nation." * 

The opposite views and feelings of Hamilton 
and Jefierson, with regard to the French revo- 
lution, are the more interesting, as these emi- 
nent statesmen were soon to be brought face to 
face in the cabinet, the policy of Avhich would 
be greatly influenced by French afi"airs ; for it 
was at this time that "Washington wrote to 
Jefierson, oflfering him the situation of Secre- 
tary of State, but forbearing to nominate a 
successor to his post at the Court of Versailles, 
iintil he should be informed of his determina- 
tion. 



CHAPTER VI. 

At the time of writing the letter to Jefi'erson, 
off'ering him the department of State, "Washing- 
ton was on the eve of a journey through the 
Eastern States, with a view, as he said, to ob- 
serve the situation of the country, and with a 
hope of perfectly re-establishing his health, 
which a series of indispositions had much im- 
paired. Having made all his arrangements, and 
left the papers appertaining to the office of 
Foreign Aftairs imder the temporary superin- 
tendence of Mr. Jay, he set out from New York 
on the 15th of October, travelling in his car- 
riage with four horses, and accompanied by his 
official secretary. Major Jackson, and his private 



HamOton'a AVorks, v. 440. 



secretary, Mr. Lear. Though averse from pub- 
lic parade, he could not but be deeply affected 
and gratified at every step by the manifestations 
of a people's love. "Wherever he came, all labor 
was suspended ; business neglected. The bells 
were rung, the guns were fired ; there were 
civic processions and military parades and tri- 
umphal arches, and all classes poured forth to 
testify, in every possible manner, their gratitude 
and aff"ection for the man whom they hailed as 
the Father of his country ; and well did his 
noble stature, his dignified demeanor, his ma- 
tured years, and his benevolent aspect, suit that 
venerable appellation. 

On the 22d, just after entering Massachusetts, 
he was met by an express from the Governor 
of the State (the Hon. John Hancock), inviting 
him to make his quarters at his house while he 
should remian in Boston, and announcing to 
him that he had issued orders for proper escorts 
to attend him, and that the troops with the 
gentlemen of the Council would receive him at 
Cambridge and wait on him to town. 

Washington, in a courteous reply, declined 
the Governor's invitation to his residence, hav- 
ing resolved, he said, on leaving New York, to 
accept of no invitations of the kind while on 
his journey, through an unwillingness to give 
trouble to private families. He had accordingly 
instructed a friend to engage lodgings for him 
during his stay in Boston. He was highly sen- 
sible, he observed, of the honors intended him ; 
but, could his wishes prevail, he would desire 
to visit the metropolis without any parade or 
extraordinary ceremony. It was never Wash- 
ington's good fortune, on occasions of the kind, 
to have his modest inclinations consulted; in 
the present instance they were little in accord 
with the habits and notions of the Governor, 
who, accustomed to fill public stations and pre- 
side at public assemblies, which he did with 
the punctilio of the old school, was strictly ob- 
servant of every thing appertaining to official 
rank and dignity. Governor Hancock was now 
about fifty-two years of age, tall and thin, of a 
commanding deportment and graceful manner, 
though stooping a little and much afflicted with 
the gout. He was really hospitable, which his 
ample wealth enabled him to be, and was no" 
doubt desirous of having Washington as a guest 
under his roof, but resolved, at all events, to 
give him a signal reception as the guest of the 
State over which he presided. Now it so hap- 
pened that the "select-men," or municipal 
authorities of Boston, had also made arrange- 



678 



WASHINGTON'S ENTRY INTO BOSTON— A QUESTION OF ETIQUETTE. 



[1*789. 



ments for receiving the President in their civic 
domain, and in so doing had proceeded without 
consulting the Governor ; as might have been 
expected, some clashing of rival plans was the 
result. 

In pursuance of the Governor's arrangement, 
tlie militia, with General Brooks at their head, 
and Mr. Samuel Adams, the Lieutenant-Gov- 
ernor, at the head of the Executive Council, met 
Washington at Cambridge, and escorted him 
Avith great ceremony to town. Being arrived 
at the grand entrance, which is over what is 
called " The Neck," the Lieutenant-Governor 
and the Executive Council were brought to a 
sudden halt by observing the municipal au- 
tliorities drawn up in their carriage, in formal 
array, to pay civic honors to the city's guest. 
Here ensued a great question of etiquette. The 
Executive Council insisted on the right of the 
Governor, as chief of the State, to receive and 
welcome its guest, at the entrance of its capital. 
" He should have met him at the boundary of 
the State over which he presides," replied the 
others ; " and there have welcomed him to the 
hospitalities of the commonwealth. When the 
President is about to enter the town, it is the 
delegated right of the 7minicipal authorities 
thereof to receive and bid him welcome." 

The contending parties remained drawn up 
resolutely in their carriages, while aides-de- 
camp and marshals were posting to and fro be- 
tween them, carrying on a kind of diplomatic 
parley. 

In the mean time the President, and Major 
Jackson, his secretary, had mounted on horse- 
back, and were waiting on the Neck to be con- 
ducted into the town. The day was unusually 
cold and murky. Washington became chilled 
and impatient, and when informed of the cause 
of the detention, " Is there no other avenue 
into the town ? " demanded he of Major Jack- 
son. He was, in fact, on the point of wheeling 
about, when word was brought that the con- 
troversy was over, and that he would be re- 
cieved by the municipal authorities. 

We give his own account of the succeeding 
part of the ceremony. " At the entrance, I 
was welcomed by the select-men in a body. 
Then following the Lieutenant-Governor and 
Council in the order we came from Cambridge 
(preceded by the town corps, very handsomely 
dressed), we passed through the citizens, classed 
in their different professions, and under their 
own banners, till we came to the State House." 

The streets, the doors, the windows, the 



housetops, were crowded with well-dressed 
people of both sexes. " He was on horseback," 
says an observer, " dressed in his old continen- 
tal uniform, with his hat off. He did not bow 
to the spectators as he passed, but sat on his 
horse with a calm, dignified air. He dismounted 
at the old State House, now City Hall,* and 
came out on a temporary balcony at the west 
end ; a long procession passed before him, 
whose salutations he occasionally returned. 
These and other ceremonials being over, the 
Lieutenant-Governor and Council, accompanied 
by the Yice-President, conducted Washington 
to his lodgings, where they took leave of him." 
And now he is doomed to the annoyance of a 
new question of etiquette. He had previously 
accepted the invitation of Governor Hancock to 
an informal dinner, but had expected that that 
functionary would wait upon him as soon as he 
should arrive ; instead of which he received a 
message from him, pleading that he was too 
much indisposed to do so. Washington dis- 
trusted the sincerity of the apology. He had 
been given to understand that the Governor 
wished to evade paying the first visit, conceiv- 
ing that, as Governor of a State, and within the 
bounds of that State, the point of etiquette 
made it proper that he should receive the first 
visit, even from the President of the United 
States. Washington determined to resist this 
pretension ; he therefore excused himself from 
the informal dinner, and dined at his lodghigs, 
where the Vice-President favored him with his 
company. 

The next day the Governor, on consultation 
with his friends, was persuaded to waive the 
point of etiquette, and sent " his best respects 
to the President," informing him that, if at 
home and at leisure, he would do himself the 
honor to visit him in half an hour, intimating 
that he would bave done it sooner had his 
health permitted, and that it was not without . 
hazard to his health that he did it now. 

The following was Washington's reply, the 
last sentence of which almost savors of irony : 

" SuNDAT, 26tli October, 1 o'clock. 

" The President of the United States presents 
his best respects to the Governor, and has the 
honor to inform him that he shall be home till 
two o'clock. 

" The President need not express the pleas- 
ure it win give him to see the Governor ; but 
at the same time, he most earnestly begs that 



* This -nas written some years ago. 



^T. 67.] ' WASHINGTON RETURNS TO NEW YORK— COL. JOHN TRUMBULL. 



679 



tlie Governor will not hazard his health on the 
occasion." 

From Washington's diary we find that the 
Governor found strength to pay the litigated 
visit within the specified time — though, accord- 
ing to one authority, he went enveloped in red 
baize, and was borne in the arms of servants 
into the house.* 

It does not appear that any harm resulted 
from the hazard to which the Governor exposed 
himself. At all events the hydra etiquette was 
silenced, and every thing went on pleasantly and 
decorously throughout the remainder of Wash- 
ington's sojourn in Boston. 

Various addresses were made to him in the 
course of his visit, but none that reached his 
heart more directly than that of his old compan- 
ions in arms, the Cincinnati Society of Massa- 
chusetts, who hailed him as "their glorious lead- 
er in war, their illustrious example in peace." 

" Dear, indeed," said he, in reply, " is the 
occasion which restores an intercourse with my 
associates in prosperous and adverse fortune ; 
and enhanced are the triumphs of peace par- 
ticipated with those whose virtue and valor so 
largely contributed to procure them. To that 
virtue and valor your country has confessed 
her obligations. Be mine the grateful task to 
add to the testimony of a connection which it 
was my pride to own' in the field, and is now 
my happiness to acknowledge in the enjoy- 
ments of peace and freedom." 

After remaining in Boston for a week, feted 
in the most hospitable manner, Jie appointed 
eight o'clock, on Thursday the 29th, for his de- 
parture. The appointed time arrived, but not 
the escort ; whereupon, punctual himself, and 
fearing, perhaps, to be detained by some new 
question of etiquette, he departed without 
them, and was overtaken by them on the road. 

His journey eastward terminated at Ports- 
mouth, whence he turned his face homeward 
by a middle route through the interior of the 
country to Hartford, and thence to New York, 
where he arrived between tv,ro and three 
o'clock on the 13th of November. 



CHAPTER VII. 

Not long after Washington's return from his 
eastern tour, Colonel John Trumbull, his aide- 
de-camp in former days, now an historical paint- 



* Sullivan's Letters on Public Character?, p. 15. 



er of eminence, arrived from Europe, where he 
had been successfully prosecuting his art and 
preparing for his grand pictures, illustrative of 
our revolutionary history. At Mr. Jefferson's 
house in Paris, he had been enabled to sketch 
from life the portraits of several of the French 
officers who had been present at the capture of 
Cornwallis, and were now amoiJg the popular 
agitators of France. He had renewed his mili- 
tary acquaintance with Lafayette; witnessed 
the outbreak of the revolution ; the storming 
of the Bastille ; and attended the marquis on 
one occasion, when the latter succeeded in 
calming the riotous excesses of a mob, princi- 
pally workmen, in the Faubourg St. Antoine. . 

Trumbull brought an especial message from 
Lafayette. The marquis had been anxious that 
Washington should know the state of affairs in 
France, and the progress and prospects of the 
momentous cause in which he was engaged, 
but, in the hurry of occupation, had not time 
to write with the necessary detail ; finding, how- 
ever, that Trumbull was soon to depart for the 
United States, he invited him to breakfast with 
him at an early hour and alone, for the express 
purpose of explaining matters to him frankly 
and fully, to be communicated by him to Wash- 
ington, immediately on his arrival in America. 

We give the Colonel's report of Lafayette's 
conversation, as he has recorded it in his auto- 
biography. 

" You have witnessed the surface of things," 
said the marquis ; " it is for me to explain the 
interior. The object which is aimed at by the 
Duke de Eochefoucauld, M. Condorcet, myself, 
and some others, who consider ourselves leaders, 
is to obtain for France a constitution nearly 
resembling that of England, which we regard 
as the most perfect model of government hith- 
erto known. To accomplish this, it is necessary 
to diminish, very essentially, the power of the 
king ; but our object is to retain the throne, in 
great majesty, as the first branch of the legisla- 
tive power, but retrenching its executive power 
in one point, which, though very important in 
the British crown, Ave think is needless here. 
The peerage of France is already so numerous, 
that we would take from our king the right of 
creating new peers, except in cases where old 
families might become extinct. To all this, 
the king (who is one of the best of men, and 
sincerely desirous for the happiness of his peo- 
ple) most freely and cordially consents. 

" We wish a House of Peers with powers of 
legislation similar to that of England, restricted 



080 LAFAYETTE TO WASHINGTON"— JEFFERSON MADE SECRETARY OF STATE. [1789. 



in number to one hundred members, to be ' 
elected by the whole body from among them- 
selves, in the same manner as the Scotch peers 
are in the British parliament. * * * We 
wish, as the third brancli of the legislative 
body, a House of Representatives, chosen by 
the great body of the people from among them- 
selves, by sufA a ratio as shall not make the 
House too numerous ; and this branch of our 
project meets unanimous applause. * * * 
Unhappily, there is one powerful and wicked 
man, who, I fear, will destroy this beautiful 
fabric of human happiness — the Duke of Or- 
leans. He does not, indeed, possess talent to 
carry into execution a great project, but he pos- 
sesses immense wealth, and France abounds in 
marketable talents. Every city and town has 
young men eminent for abilities, particularly in 
the law — ardent in character, eloquent, ambi- 
tious of distinction, but poor. These are the 
instruments which the duke may command by 
money, and they will do his bidding. His ha- 
tred of the royal family can be satiated only by 
their ruin ; his ambition, probably, leads him 
to aspire to the throne. 

" You saw the other day, in the mob, men 
who were called les Marseillois, leg patriots 2^<^'>' 
excellence. You saw them particularly active 
and audacious in stimulating the discontented 
artisans and laborers, who composed the great 
mass of the mob, to acts of violence and feroci- 
ty ; these men are, in truth, desperadoes, as- 
sassins from the south of France, familiar with 
murder, robbery, and every atrocious crime, who 
have been brought up to Paris by the money 
of the duke, for the very purpose in which you 
saw them employed, of mingling in all mobs, and 
exciting the passions of the people to fi-enzy. 

" This is the first act of the drama. The sec- 
ond will be to influence the elections, to fill the 
approaching Assembly with ardent, inexperi- 
enced, desperate, ambitious young men, who, 
instead of proceeding to discuss calmly the de- 
tails of the plan of which I have given you the 
general outline, and to carry it quietly into 
operation, will, under disguise of zeal for 
the people, and abhorrence of the aristocrats, 
'drive every measure to exti-emity, for the pur- 
pose of throwing the aftairs of the nation into 
utter confusion, when the master spirit may ac- 
complish his ultimate purpose." * 

Such was the report of affairs in France 
which Lafayette transmitted by Trumbull to 

' 'I 

* Trumbull's Autobiography, 151. 



Washington. It was not long after this Con- 
versation of the colonel with the marquis that, 
the sittings of the National Assembly being 
transferred from Versailles to Paris, the Breton 
club fixed itself on the site of the convent of 
Jacobins ; threw open its doors to the public, 
and soon, under the appellation of the Jacobin 
Club, exercised the baleful influence in public 
affairs which Lafayette apprehended. 

Washington had listened with profound at- 
tention to the report rendered by Trumbull. 
In the course of a subsequent conversation the 
latter informed him that Mr. Jefi'erson had em- 
barked for America, and, it Avas probable, had 
already landed at Norfolk in Virginia. Wash- 
ington immediately forwarded to him his com- 
mission as Secretary of State, requesting to 
know his determination on the subject. 

Jefferson, in reply, expressed liimself flattered 
by the nomination, but dubious of his being 
equal to its extensive and various duties, while, 
on the other hand, he felt familiar with the du- 
ties of his present office. " But it is not for an 
individual to choose his path," said he. " You 
are to marshal us as may best be for the public 
good. * * * Signify to me, by another line, 
your ultimate wish, and I shall conform to it 
cordially. If it should be to remain in New 
York, my cliief comfort will be to work under 
your eye ; my only shelter the authority of 
your name and the wisdom of measures to be 
dictated by you and implicitly executed by me." * 

Washington, in answer, informed him that he 
considered the successful administration of the 
general government an object of almost infinite 
consequence to the present and future happinciss 
of the citizens of the United States ; that he 
regarded the office of Secretary for the depart- 
ment of State very important, and that he knew 
of no person who, in his judgment, could better 
execute the duties of it than himself.t 

Jefferson accordingly accepted the nomina- 
tion, but observed that the matters which had 
called him home, would probably prevent his 
setting out for New York before the month of 
March. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

CoxcnEss reassembled on the 4th of January 
(1790), but a quorum of the two Houses was 
not present until the 8th, when the session was 



* Jefferson's Works, vol. iii., p. 125. 
t Washington's Writings, x. 77. 



^T. 58.] 



FINANCIAL CONDITION OF THE COUNTRY. 



681 



opened by "Washington in form, with an address 
dehvered before them in the Senate chamber.* 

Among the most important objects suggested 
in the address for the dehberation of Congress, 
were provisions for national defence; provis- 
ions for facihtating intercourse with foreign na- 
tions, and defraying the expenses of diplomatic 
agents ; laws for the naturalization of foreign- 
ers ; uniformity in the currency, weights, and 
measures of the United States; facilities for 
the advancement of commerce, agriculture, and 
manufactures ; attention to the post-office and 
post-roads ; measures for the promotion of sci- 
ence and literature, and for the support of pub- 
lic credit. 

This last object was the one which Washing- 
ton had more immediately at heart. The gov- 
ernment was now organized, apparently, to the 
satisfaction of all parties ; but its efficiency 
would essentially depend on the success of a 
measure which Washington had pledged him- 
self to institute, and which was yet to be tried ; 
namely, a system of finance adapted to revive 
the national credit, and place the public debt 
in a condition to be paid off. The credit of 
the country was at a low ebb. The confeder- 
acy, by its articles, had the power of contract- 
ing debts for a national object, but no control 
over the means of payment. Thirteen inde- 
pendent legislatures could grant or withhold 
the means. The government was then a gov- 
ernment under governments — the States had 
more power than Congress. At the close of 



* As tho degree of state -witli which the session was 
opened was suhsequeutly a matter of comment, we extract 
from Washington's diary his own account of it, premising 
that the regulations were devised by General Knox and 
Colonel Humphreys. 

" Friday, 8th, according to appointment, at 11 o'clock, 
I set out for the City Hall in my coach, preceded by Col- 
onel Humphreys and Major Jackson in uniform (on my 
two white horses), and followed by Messrs. Lear and Nel- 
son in my chariot, and Mr. Lewis, on horseback, following 
them. In their rear was the Chief Justice of the United 
Btates and Secretaries of tho Treasury and "War Depart- 
ments in their respective carriages, and in tho order they 
are named. At the outer door of the Hall, I was met by 
the door-keepers of tho Senate and House, and conducted 
to the door of the Senate chamber, and passing from 
thence to the chair through the Senate on the right and 
House of Representatives on the left, I took my seat. The 
gentlemen who attended me followed and took their stands 
behind the senators ; the whole rising as I entered. After 
being seated, at which time the members of both Houses 
also sat, I rose (as they also did), and made my speech, 
delivering one copy to the President of the Senate and 
another to the Speaker of the House of Representatives- 
after which, and being a few moments seated, I retired, 
bowing on each side to the assembly (who stood) as I 
passed, and descending to tiio lower hall attended as 
before, I returned with them to my house." 



the war the debt amounted to forty-two mil- 
lions of dollars ; but so little had the country 
been able to fulfil its engagements, owing to 
the want of a sovereign legis||iture having tho 
sole and exclusive power of laying duties ujwn 
imports, and thus providing adequate ro.sources, 
that the debt had swollen, through arreiars of 
interest, to upwards of lit'ty-four raillions. Of 
this amount nearly eight millions were due to 
France, between three and ^our millions to pri- 
vate lenders in Holland, fl.ul about two hun- 
dred and fifty thousand jii Spain ; making, al- 
together, nearly twehe millions due abroad. 
The debt contracted at home amounted to up- 
wards of forty-two millions, and was due, orig- 
inally, to officers and soldiers of the revolution- 
ary war, who had risked th|>ir lives for the 
cause ; farmers who h.vi lurnishe'd supplies for 
the public service, or M^ho:.'e property had been 
assumed for it ; capitalists who, in critical pe- 
riods of the war, had adventured their fortunes 
in support of their country's independence. 
The domestic debt, therefire, could not have 
had a more sacred and patriotic origin ; but, in 
the long delay of national justice, the paper 
which represented 1 ^.oso outstanding claims, 
had sunk to less th; n a sixth of its nominal 
value, and the larger portion of it had booii 
parted with at that depreciated rate, either la 
the course of trade, or to speculative purchi'.s- 
ers, who were willing to take the risk of even'- 
ual payment, however little their oonfidejice 
seemed to be warranted, at the time, by tho 
pecuniary condition and prospects of the coun- 
try. 

The debt, when ^hus transferred, lost its 
commanding appeal to patriiitic syiv.yr.^-^:;,' ; but 
remained as obligatory in the eye of justice. 
In public newspapers, however, and in private 
circles, the propriety of a discrimination be- 
tween the assignees and the original holders 
of the public securities, was freely discussed. 
Beside the foreign and domestic debt of the 
federal government, the States, individually, 
were involved in liabilities contracted for the 
common cause, to an aggregate amount of about 
twenty-five millions of dollars ; of which, more 
than one-half was due from three of them ; 
Massachusetts and South Carolina each owing 
more than five millions, and Virginia more than 
three and a half. The reputation and the well- 
being of the government were, therefore, at 
stake upon the issue of some plan to retrieve 
the national credit, and establish it upon a firm 
and secure foundation. 



682 FOREIGN AND DOJIESTIC DEBTS— WASHINGTON ON SECTIONAL JEALOUSIES. [1790. 



The Secretary of the Treasury (Mr. Hamil- 
ton), it will be remembered, had been directed 
by Congress to prepare such a plan during its 
recess. In the one thus prepared, he asserted, 
what none were disposed to question, the pro- 
priety of paying H;he foreign debt according to 
its terms. He asserted, also, the equal validity 
of the original claims of the An^erican creditors 
of the government; whether those creditors 
were the original holders of its certificates or 
subsequent purchasers of them at a depreciated 
value. The idea of any distinction between 
them, which some were inclined to advance, 
lie repudiated as alike unjust, impolitic, and im- 
practicable. He urged, moreover, the assump- 
tion, by the general government, of the separate 
debts of the States, contracted for the common 
cause, and that a !ike provision should be made 
for their payment as for the payment of those 
of the Union. They were all contracted in the 
struggle for national independence, not for the 
independence of any particular part. No more 
money would be required for their discharge as 
federal, than as State debts. Money could be 
raised more readily by the federal government 
than by the States, and all clashing and jealousy 
between State and federal debtors would thus 
be prevented. A reason, also, which, no doubt,, 
had great weight with him, though he did not 
bring it under consideration in his report, for 
fear,' probably, of offending the jealousy of State 
sovereignty, dormant, but not extinct, was, 
that it would tend to iinite the States finan- 
cially, as they were united politically, and 
strengthen the central government by rallying 
capitalists around it ; subjecting them to its in- 
fluence, and rendering them agents of its will. 
He recommended, therefore, that the entire 
mass of debt be funded ; the Union made re- 
sponsible for it, and taxes imposed for its liqui- 
dation. He suggested, moreover, the expedien- 
cy, for the greater security of the debt and 
punctuality in the payment of interest, that the 
domestic creditors submit to an abatement of 
accruing interest. 

The plan was reported to the House by Mr. 
Hamilton, the 14th of January, but did not un- 
'dergo consideration until the 8th of February, 
when it was opposed with great earnestness, 
especially the point of assuming the State debts, 
as tending to consolidation, as giving an undue 
influence to the general government, and as 
being of doubtful constitutionality. -This finan- 
cial union of the States was reprobated, not 
only on the floor of Congress, but in different 



parts of the Union, as fraught with political 
evil. The Northern and Eastern States gene- 
rally favored the plan, as did also South Caro- 
lina, but Virginia manifested a determined op- 
position. The measure, however, passed, in 
Committee of the Whole, on the 9th of March, 
by a vote of 31 to 26. 

The funding of the State debts was supposed 
to benefit, materially, the Northern States, in 
which was the entire capital of the country ; 
yet, South Carolina voted for the assumption. 
The fact is, opinions were honestly divided on 
the subject. The great majority were aiming 
to do their duty — to do what was right ; but 
their disagreement was the result of real difll- 
culties incident to the intricate and complicated 
problem with which they had to deal. 

A letter from Washington's monitory friend, 
Dr. Stuart of Virginia (dated March 15th), spoke 
with alarm of the jealous belief growing up in 
that quarter, that the Northern and Eastern 
States were combining to pursue their own ex- 
clusive interests. Many, he observed, who had 
heretofore been warm supporters of the govern- 
ment, were changing their sentiments, from a 
conviction of the impracticability of union with 
States whose interests were so dissimilar. 

Washington had little sympathy with these 
sectional jealousies ; and the noble language in 
which he rebukes them, cannot be too largely 
cited. " I am sorry," observes he, " such jeal- 
ousies as you speak of, should be gaining ground 
and poisoning the minds of the southern peo- 
ple ; but, admit the fact which is alleged as the 
cause of them, and give it full scope, does it 
amount to more than was known to every man 
of information before, at, and since the adoption 
of the Constitution? Was it not always be- 
lieved that there are some points which pecu- 
liarly interest the Eastern States? And did 
any one who reads human nature, and more 
especially the character of the eastern people, 
conceive that they would not pursue them 
steadily, by a combination of their force ? Are 
there not other points which equally concern 
the Southern States ? If these States are less 
tenacious of their interest, or if, while the East- 
ern move in a solid phalanx to effect their 
views, the Southern are always divided, which 
of the two is most to be blamed? That there 
is a diversity of interests in the Union, none 
has denied. That this is the case, also, in every 
State, is equally certain ; and that it even ex- 
tends to the counties of individual States, can 
be as readily proved. Instance the southern 



^T. 58.] JEFFERSOX ARRIVES IN NEW YORK— HIS IMPRESSIONS OF AFFAIRS. 



683 



and northern parts of Virginia, the upper and 
lower parts of South Carolina. Have not the 
interests of these always been at variance? 
Witness the county of Fairfax. Have not the 
interests of the people of that county va- 
ried, or the inhabitants been taught to believe 
so ? These are well-known truths, and yet it 
did not foUow that separation was to result 
from the disagreement. 

" To constitute a dispute, there must be two 
parties. To understand it well, both parties, and 
all the circumstances, must be fully heard ; and, 
to accommodate diiferences, temper and mutual 
forbearance are requisite. Common danger 
brought the States into confederacy, and on 
their union our safety and importance depend. 
A spirit of accommodation was the basis of the 
present Constitution. Can it be expected, then, 
that the southern or eastern parts of the empire 
will succeed in all their measures ? Certainly 
not. But I will readily grant that more points 
will be carried by the latter than the former, 
and for the reason which has been mentioned ; 
namely, that in all great national questions, 
they move in unison, whilst the others are di- 
vided. But I ask again, which is most blame- 
worthy, those who see and will steadily pursue 
their interest, or those who cannot see, or see- 
ing, will not act wisely ? And I wiU ask an- 
otlier question, of the highest magnitude in my 
mind, to "wit, if the Eastern and Northern 
States are dangerous in union, will they be less 
so in separation ? If self-interest is their gov- 
erning principle, will it forsake them, or be re- 
strained by such an event ? I hardly think it 
would. Then, independently of other consid- 
erations, what would Virginia, and such other 
States as might be inclined to join her, gain by 
a separation ? Would they not, unquestionably, 
be the weaker party ? " 

At this juncture (March 21st), when Virginian 
discontents were daily gaining strength, Mr. 
Jefferson arrived in New York to undertake 
the duties of the Department of State. We 
have shown his strong antipathies, while in 
Paris, to every thing of a monarchical or aris- 
tocratical tendency ; he had just been in Vir- 
ginia, where the forms and ceremonials adopted 
at the seat of our government, were subjects of 
cavil and sneer ; where it was reported that 
Washington affected a monarchical style in his 
official intercourse, that he lield court-like levees, 
and Mrs. Washington " queenly drawing-rooms," 
at which none but the aristocracy were admit- 
ted, that the manners of both were haughty, 



and their personal habits reserved and exclu- 
sive. 

The impressions thus made on Jefferson's 
mind, received a deeper stamp .on his arrival 
in New York, from conversations with his 
friend Madison, in the course of which the lat- 
ter observed, that " the satellites and syco- 
phants which surrounded Washington, had 
wound up the ceremonials of the government 
to a pitch of stateliness which nothing but his 
personal character could have supported, and 
which no character after him could ever main- 
tain." 

Thus prepossessed and premonished, Jeffer- 
son looked round him with an apprehensive 
eye, and appears to have seen something to 
startle him at every turn. We give, from his 
private correspondence, his own account of his 
impressions. "Being fresh from the French 
revolution, while in its first and pure stage, 
and, consequently, somewhat whetted up in 
my own republican principles, I found a state 
of things in the general society of the place, 
which I could not have supposed possible. The 
revolution I had left, and that we had just gone 
through in the recent change of our own gov- 
ernment, being the common topics of conversa- 
tion, I was astonished to find the general prev- 
alence of monarchical sentiments, insomuch, 
that in maintaining those of republicanism, I 
had always the whole company on my hands, 
never scarcely finding among them a single co- 
advocate in that argument, unless some old 
member of Congress happened to be present. 
The furthest that any one would go in support 
of the republican features of our new govern- 
ment, would be to say, ' the present constitu- 
tion is weU as a beginning, and may be allowed 
a fair trial, but it is, in fact, only a stepping- 
stone to something better.' " 

This picture, given under excitement, and 
with preconceived notions, is probably over- 
charged; but allowing it to be true, we can 
hardly wonder at it, viewed in connection with 
the place and times. New York, during the 
session of Congress, was the gathering place of 
politicians of every party. The revolution of 
France had made the forms of government once 
more the universal topics of conversation, and 
revived the conflict of opinions on the subject. 
As yet, the history of the world had furnished 
no favorable examples of popular government ; 
speculative writers in England had contended 
that no government more popular than their 
own, was consistent with either internal trau- 



684 



HAMILTON'S APPEAL TO JEFFERSON. 



[1190. 



quillity, the supremacy of the laws, or a great 
extent of empire. Our repubhc was ten thoes 
larger than any that had yet existed. Jay, one 
of the calmest thinkers of the Union, expressed 
himself dubiously on the subject. 

" Whether any people could long govern 
themselves in an equal, uniform, and orderly 
manner, was a question of vital importance to 
the cause of liberty, but a question which, like 
others, Avhose solution depends on facts, could 
only be determined by experience — now, as 
yet, there had been very few opportunities of 
making the experiment." 

Alexander Hamilton, though pledged and 
sincerely disposed to support the republican 
form, with regard to our country, preferred, theo- 
reticalhj, a monarchical form ; and, being frank 
of speech, and, as Gouverneur Morris writes, 
" prone to mount his hobby," may have spoken 
openly in favor of that form as suitable to 
France ; and as his admirers took their creed 
from him, opinions of the kind may have been 
uttered pretty freely at dinner-tables. These, 
however, which so much surprised and shocked 
Mr. Jeft'erson, were probably merely specula- 
tive opinions, broached in unguarded hours, 
with no sinister design, by men who had no 
thought of paving the way for a monarchy. 
They made, however, a deep impression on his 
apprehensive mind, which sank deeper and 
deeper until it became a fixed opinion with 
him, that there was the desire and aim of a 
large party, of which Hamilton was the leader, 
to give a regal form to the government. 



CHAPTER IX. 

The question of the assumption of the State 
debts was resumed in Congress on the 29th of 
March, on a motion to commit, which was car- 
ried by a majority of two ; the five members 
from North Carolina (now a State of the Union) 
who Avcre strongly opposed to assumption, hav- 
ing taken their seats and reversed the position 
of parties on the question. An angry and in- 
temperate discussion was revived, much to the 
chagrin of Washington, who was concerned for 
the dignity of Congress ; and who considered 
the assumption of the State debts, under proper 
restrictions and scrutiny into accounts, to be 
just and reasonable.''' On the 12th of April, 



■ See letter to David Stuart, "Writings, x. p. 98. 



when the question to commit was taken, there 
was a majority of two against the assumption. 

On the 2Gth the House was discharged, for 
the present, from proceeding on so much of the 
report as related to the assumption. Jefferson, 
who had arrived in New York in the midst of 
what he terms " this bitter and angry contest," 
had taken no concern in it ; being, as he says, 
" a stranger to the ground, a stranger to the 
actors in it, so long absent as to have lost all 
familiarity with the subject, and to be unaware 
of its object." We give his own account of an 
earnest eftbrt made by Hamilton, who, he says, 
was " in despair," to resuscitate, through his 
influence, his almost hopeless project. " As I 
was going to the President's one day, I met 
him [Hamilton] in the street. He walked me 
backwards and forwards before the President's 
door for half an hour. He painted pathetically 
the temper into which the legislature had been 
wrought ; the disgust of those who were called 
the creditor States ; the danger of the secession 
of their members, and the separation of the 
States, He observed that the members of the 
administration ought to act in concert ; that 
though this question was not of my depart- 
ment, yet a common duty should make it a 
common concern ; that the President was the 
centre on which all administrative questions 
ultimately rested, and that all of us should rally 
around him, and support, with joint efforts, 
measures approved by him ; and that the ques- 
tion having been lost by a small majority only, 
it was probable that an appeal from me to the 
judgment and discretion of some of my friends, 
might effect a change in the vote, and the ma- 
chine of government, now suspended, might be 
again set into motion. I told him that I was 
really a stranger to the whole subject ; that not 
having yet informed myself of the system of 
finance adopted, I knew not how far this was 
a necessary sequence ; that undoubtedly, if its 
rejection endangered a dissolution of our Union 
at this incipient stage, I should deem that the 
most unfortunate of all consequences, to avert 
which all partial and temporary evils should be 
yielded. I proposed to him, however, to dine 
with me the next day, and. I would invite 
another friend or two, bring them into confer- 
ence together, and I thought it impossible that 
reasonable men, consulting together coolly, could 
fail, by some mutual sacrifices of opinion, to 
form a compromise Avhich was to saVe the 
Union. The discussion took place. I could 
take no part in it but an e^ortatory one, be- 



Mr. 58.] SEAT OF GOVEKNMENT— CAVILLINGS ABOUT PRESIDENTIAL ETIQUETTE. 685 



cause I Tvas a stranger to the circumstances 
wliicli should govern it. But it was finally 
agreed, that whatever importance had been at- 
tached to the rejection of this proposition, the 
preservation of the Union, and of concord 
among the States, was more important, and 
that, therefore, it would he better that the vote 
of rejection should be rescinded, to effect which 
some members should change their votes. But 
it was observed that this pill would be pecu- 
liarly bitter to the Southern States, and that 
some concomitant measure should be adopted 
to sweeten it a little to them. There had be- 
fore been projects to fix the seat of government 
either at Philadelphia or at Georgetown on the 
Potomac ; and it was thought that, by giving 
it to Philadelphia for ten years, and to George- 
town permanently afterwards, this might, as 
an anodyne, calm in some degree the ferment 
which might be excited by the other measure 
alone. So two of the Potomac members (White 
and Lee, but White with a revulsion of. stom- 
ach almost convulsive) agreed to change their 
votes, and Hamilton undertook to carry the 
other point. In doing this, the influence he 
had established over the eastern members, with 
the agency of Eobert Morris with those of the 
Middle States, effected his side of the engage- 
ment." * 

The decision of Congress was ultimately in 
favor of assumption, though the form in which 
it finally passed differed somewhat from the 
proposition of Hamilton. A specific sum was 
assumed ($21,500,000), and this was distributed 
among the States in specific portions. Thus 
modified, it passed the Senate, July 22d, by the 
close vote of fourteen to twelve : and the 
House, July 24th, by thirty-four to twenty- 
eight, '' after having," says Washington, " been 
agitated with a warmth and intemperance, with 
prolixity and threats which, it is to be feared, 
have lessened the dignity of Congress and de- 
creased the respect once entertained for it." 

The question about the permanent seat of 
government, which, from the variety of con- 
tending interests, had been equally a subject of 
violent contests, was now compromised. It was 
agreed that Congress should continue for ten 
years to hold its sessions at Philadelphia ; dur- 
ing which time the public buildings should be 
erected at some place on the Potomac, to which 
the government should remove at the expira- 
tion of the above term. A territory, ten miles 



* Jefferson's Works, ix. 93, The Anaa. 



square, selected for the purpose on the confines 
of Maryland and Virginia, was ceded by those 
States to the United States, and subsequently 
designated as the District of Columbia. 

One of the last acts of the Executive during 
this session was the conclusion of a treaty of 
peace and friendship with the Creek nation of 
Indians, represented at New York by Mr. 
M'GiUivray, and thirty of the chiefs and head 
men. By this treaty (signed August 7th), an 
extensive territory, claimed by Georgia, was 
relinquished, greatly to the discontent of that 
State ; being considered by it an unjustifiable 
abandonment of its rights and interests. Jeffer- 
son, however, lauded the treaty as important, 
" drawing a line," said he, " between the 
Creeks and Georgia, and enabling the govern- 
ment to do, as it wiU do, justice against either 
party offending." 

In familiar conversations with the President, 
Jefferson remonstrated frequently and earnestly 
against the forms and ceremonies prevailing at 
the seat of government. Washington, in reply, 
gave the explanation which we have stated in 
a preceding chapter ; that they had been 
adopted at the advice of others, and that for 
himself he was indifferent to all forms. He 
soon, however, became painfully aware of the 
exaggerated notions on the subject prevalent in 
Virginia. A letter from his friend. Dr. Stuart, 
informed him that Patrick Henry had scouted 
the idea of being elected to the Senate ; he 
was too old, he said, to fall into the awkward 
imitations which were now become fashionable. 
" From this expression," adds Mr. Stuart, " I 
suspect the old patriot has heard some extra- 
ordinary representations of the etiquette estab- 
lished at your levees." Another person whom 
Dr. Stuart designates as Col. B , had af- 
firmed " that there was more pomp used there 
than at St. James's where he had been, and 
that Washington's bows were more distant and 
stiff"." 

These misapprehensions and exaggerations, 
prevalent in his native State, touched Washing- 
ton to the quick, and called forth a more sen- 
sitive reply than, on such subjects, he was ac- 
customed to make. "That I have not been 
able," writes he, " to make bows to the taste 

of poor Colonel B (who, by the by, I 

believe never saw one of them), is to be re- 
gretted, especially, too, as, upon those occa- 
sions, they were indiscriminately bestowed, and 
the best I was master of. Would it not have 
been better to throw the veil of charity over 



686 



THE PRESIDENT'S LEVEES— RIVALRY IN THE CABINET. 



[1790. 



them, ascribing their stiffness to the effects of 
age, or to the unskilfulness of my teacher, 
rather than to pride and the dignity of office, 
•which, God knows, has no charms for me? 
For I can truly say, I had rather be at Mount 
Vernon with a friend or two about me, than 
to be attended at the seat of government by 
the officers of state and the representatives of 
every power in Europe." 

He then goes on to give a sketch of his 
levees, and the little ceremony that prevailed 
there. As to the visits made on those occa- 
sions to the presidential mansion, they were 
optional, and made without invitation. " Be- 
tween the hours of three and four, every Tues- 
day, I am prepared to receive them. Gentle- 
men, often in great numbers, come and go, 
chat with each other, and act as they please ; 
a porter shows them into the room and they 
retire from it when they please, and without 
oeremony. At their first entrance they salute 
me, and I them, and as many as I can talk to, 
I do. "What pomp there is in all this, I am 
unable to discover. Perhaps it consists in not 
sitting. To this, two reasons are opposed : 
first, it is unusual ; secondly, which is a more 
substantial one, because I have no room large 
enough to contain a third of the chairs which 
would be sufficient to admit it. 

" Similar to the above, but of a more sociable 
kind, are the visits every Friday afternoon to 
Mrs. "Washington, where I always am. These 
public meetings, and a dinner once a week, to 
as many as my table will hold, with the refer- 
ences to and from the different departments 
of State, and other communications with all 
parts of the Union, are as much, if not more, 
than I am able to undergo ; for I have already 
had, within less than a year, two severe at- 
tacks — the last worse than the first. A third, 
more than probably, will put me to sleep with 
my fathers." 

Congress adjourned on the 12th of August. 
Jefferson, commenting on the discord that had 
prevailed for a time among the members, ob- 
serves, that in the latter part of the session, 
they had reacquired the harmony which had 
always distinguished their proceedings before 
the introduction of the two disagreeable sub- 
jects of the Assumption and the Kesidence : 
" these," said he, " really threatened, at one 
time, a separation of the legislature sine die.'''' 

" It is not foreseen," adds he sanguinely, 
" that any thing so generative of dissension can 
arise again ; and, therefore, the friends of gov- 



ernment hope that, that difficulty surmounted 
in the States, every thing will work well." * 

"Washington, too, however grieved and dis- 
appointed he may have been by the dissensions 
which had prevailed in Congress, consoled him- 
self by the fancied harmony of his cabinet. 
Singularly free himself from aU jealousy of the 
talents and popularity of others, and solely ac- 
tuated by zeal for the public good, he had sought 
the ablest men to assist him in his arduous task, 
and supposed them influenced by the same un- 
selfish spirit. In a letter to Lafayette, he writes, 
" Many of your old acquaintances and friends 
are concerned with me in the administration of 
this government. By having Mr. Jefferson at 
the head of the department of State, Mr, Jay 
of the judiciary, Hamilton of the treasury, and 
Knox of war, I feel myself supported by able 
coadjutors who harmonize extremely well to- 
gether." 

Yet, at this very moment, a lurking spirit of 
rivalry between Jefferson and Hamilton was 
already existing and daily gaining strength. 
Jefferson, who, as we have intimated, already 
considered Hamilton a monarchist in his prin- 
ciples, regarded all his financial schemes with 
suspicion, as intended to strengthen the influ- 
ence of the treasury and make its chief the 
master of every vote in the legislature, " which 
might give to the government the direction 
suited to his political views." 

Under these impressions, Jefferson looked 
back with an angry and resentful eye to the 
manner in which Hamilton had procured his 
aid in effecting the measure of assumption. 
He now regarded it as a finesse by which he 
had been entrapped, and stigmatized the meas- 
ure itself as a " fiscal manoeuvre, to which he 
had most ignorantly and innocently been made 
to hold the candle." t 



CHAPTER X. 

DuRixG these early stages of his administra- 
tion the attention of Washington was often 
called off from affairs at home to affairs in 
France ; and to the conspicuous and perilous 
part which his frieud and disciple, Lafayette, 
was playing in the great revolutionary drama. 

"Your friend, the Marquis de Lafayette," 
writes the Marquis de la Luzerne, " finds him- 



Jefl'erson's "Works, iii. 184. 



t Idem, ix. 92. 



^T. 58.] 



LETTERS FROM LAFAYETTE TO WASHINGTON. 



G67 



self at the head of the revolution ; and, indeed, 
it is a very fortunate circumstance for the State 
that he is, but very little so for himself. Never 
has any man been placed in a more critical sit- 
uation. A good citizen, a faithful subject, he 
is embarrassed by a thousand difficulties in 
making many people sensible of what is proper, 
who very often feel it not, and who sometimes 
do not understand what it is." 

Lafayette, too, amid the perplexities of con- 
ducting a revolution, looked back to the time 
when, in his early campaigns in America, he 
had shared "Washington's councils, bivouacked 
with him on the field of battle, and been ben- 
efited by his guardian wisdom in every emer- 
gency. 

" How often, my well-beloved general," 
writes he (January, 1790), "have I regretted 
your sage councils and friendly support. We 
have advanced in the career of the revolution 
without the vessel of State being wrecked 
against the rocks of aristocracy or faction. In 
the midst of eflforts, always renewing, of the 
partisans of the past and of the ambitious, we 
advance towards a tolerable conclusion. At 
present, that which existed has been destroyed ; 
a new political edifice is forming ; without be- 
ing perfect, it is sufficient to assure liberty. 
Thus prepared, the nation will be in a state to 
elect, in two years, a convention which can 
correct the faults of the constitution. * * * 
The result will, I hope, be happy for my coun- 
try and for humanity. One perceives the 
germs of liberty in other parts of Europe. I 
will encourage their development by all the 
means in my power." 

Gouverneur Morris, who is no enthusiast of 
the revolution, regards its progress with a du- 
bious eye. Lafayette, in the previous month 
of November, had asked his opinion of his situ- 
ation. " I give it to him," writes Morris, "s«ns 
menagement. I tell him that the time ap- 
proaches, when all good men must cling to the 
throne. That the present king is very valu- 
able on account of his moderation ; and if he 
should possess too great authority, might be 
persuaded to grant a proper constitution. That 
the thing called a constitution, which the As- 
sembly have framed, is good for nothing. That, 
as to himself, his personal situation is very deli- 
cate. That he nominally, but not really, com- 
mands his troops. That I really cannot under- 
stand how he is to establish discipline among 
them, but, unless he can accomplish that object 
he must be ruined sooner or later." 



On the 22d of January, 1790, Morris writes 
to Washington, " Our friend, Lafayette, burns 
with desire to be at the head of an army in 
Flanders, and drive the Stadtholder into a 
ditch. He acts now a splendid, but dangerous 
part. Unluckily, he has given in to measures, 
as to the constitution, Avhich he does not heart- 
ily approve, and heartily approves many things 
which experience will demonstrate to be injuri- 
ous." * 

Far removed as Washington was from the 
theatre of political action, and but little ac- 
quainted with many of the minute circumstan- 
ces which might influence important decisions, 
he was cautious in hazarding opinions in his 
replies to his French correspondents. Indeed, 
the whole revolutionary movement appeared 
to him so extraordinary in its commencement, 
so wonderful in its progress, and so stupendous 
in its possible consequences, that he declared 
himself almost lost in the contemplation of it. 
" Of one thing you may rest perfectly assured," 
writes he to the Marquis de la Luzerne, " that 
nobody is more anxious for the happy issue of 
that business than I am ; as no one can wish 
more sincerely for the prosperity of the French 
nation than I do. Nor is it without the most 
sensible pleasure that I learn that our friend, 
the Marquis de Lafayette, has, in acting the 
arduous part which has fallen to' his share, con- 
ducted himself with so much wisdom and ap- 
parently with such general satisfaction." 

A letter subsequently received from Lafay- 
ette gives him two months' later tidings, ex- 
tending to the middle of March. " Our revolu- 
tion pursues its march as happily as is possible, 
with a nation which, receiving at once all its 
liberties, is yet subject to confound them with 
licentiousness. The Assembly has more of ha- 
tred against the ancient system, than of experi- 
ence to organize the new constitutional govern- 
ment ; the ministers regret their ancient pow- 
er, and do not dare to make use of that which 
they have ; in short, as all which existed has 
been destroyed, and replaced by institutions 
very incomplete, there is ample matter for 
critiques and calumnies. Add to this, we are 
attacked by two sorts of enemies ; the aristo- 
crats who aim at a counter-revolution, and the 
factious who would annihilate all authority, 
perhaps even attempt the life of the members 
of the reigning branch. These two parties fo- 
ment all the troubles. 



* Sparks' Life of Morris, ii. 86. 



688 



THE KEY OF THE BASTILLE— FRONTIER DIFFICULTIES. 



[1790. 



" After having avowed all this, my dear gen- 
eral, I will tell you, with the same frankness, 
that we have made an admirahle and almost 
incredible destruction of all the abuses, of aU 
the prejudices ; that all which was not useful 
to the people ; all which did not come from 
them, has been retrenched ; that, in considering 
the situation, topographical, moral, and politi- 
cal of France, we have effected more changes in 
ten months, than the most presumptuous patri- 
ots could have hoped, and that the reports 
about our anarchy, our internal troubles, are 
greatly exaggerated." 

In concluding this letter, he writes : " Per- 
mit me, my dear general, to offer you a picture 
representing the Bastille, such as it was some 
days after I had given orders for its demoli- 
tion. I make you homage, also, of the prin- 
cipal key of this fortress of despotism. It is 
a tribute which I owe you, as son to my 
adopted father, as aide-de-camp to my general, 
as missionary of liberty to its patriarch." "^ 

Thomas Paine was to have been the bearer 
of the key, but he forwarded it to "Washing- 
ton from London, " I feel myself happy," 
writes he, " in being the person through whom 
the marquis has conveyed this early trophy of 
the spoils of despotism, and the first ripe fruits 
of American principles, transplanted into Eu- 
rope, to his great master and patron. That 
the principles of America opened the Bastille 
is not to be doubted, and, thei*efore, the key 
comes to the right place." 

"Washington received the key with reverence, 
as " a token of the victory gained by liberty 
over despotism ;" and it is still preserved at 
Mount Vernon, as a precious historical relic. 

His affectionate solicitude for the well-being 
of Lafayette, was somewhat relieved by the 
contents of his letter ; but, while his regard for 
the French nation made him rejoice in the pro- 
gress of the political reform which he consid- 
ered essential to its welfare, he felt a generous 
solicitude for the personal safety of the youth- 
ful monarch, who had befriended America in 
its time of need. 

" Happy am I, my good friend," writes he to 
the marquis, " that, amidst all the tremendous 
tempests which have assailed your political 
ship, you have had address and fortitude 
enough to steer her hitherto safely through the 
quicksands and rocks which threatened instant 
destruction on every side ; and that your young 

» Mem. de Lafayette, T. ii. 44G. 



king, in all things, seems so well disposed to 
conform to the wishes of the nation. In such 
an important, such a hazai'dous voyage, when 
every thing dear and sacred is embarked, you 
know full well my best wishes have never left 
you for a moment. Yet I will avow, that the ac- 
counts we received through the English papers, 
which were sometimes our only channels of 
information, caused our fears of failure almost 
to exceed our expectations of success." 

Those fears were not chimerical ; for, at the 
very time he penned this letter, the Jacobin 
club of Paris had already sent forth ramifica- 
tions throughout France ; corresponding clubs 
were springing up by hundreds in the prov- 
inces, and every thing was hurrying forward 
to a violent catastrophe. 

Three days after the despatch of the last- 
cited letter, and two days after the adjourn- 
ment of Congress, "Washington, accompanied 
by Mr. Jefferson, departed by water on a visit 
to Rhode Island, which State had recently 
acceded to the Union. He was cordially wel- 
comed by the inhabitants, and returned to New 
York, after an absence of ten days, whence he 
again departed for his beloved Mount Vernon, 
there to cast off public cares as much as possi- 
ble, and enjoy the pleasures of the country 
during the residue of the recess of Congress. 



CHAPTER XI. 

Frequent depredations had of late been 
made on our frontier settlements by what 
"Washington termed " certain banditti of Indi- 
ans " from the north-west side of the Ohio. 
Some of our people had been massacred and 
others carried iilto deplorable captivity. 

Strict justice and equity had always formed 
the basis of "Washington's dealings with the 
Indian tribes, and he had endeavored to con- 
vince them that such was the general policy ot 
our government ; but his efforts were often 
thwarted by the conduct of our own people ; 
the encroachments of land speculators and the 
lawless conduct of our frontiersmen ; and jeal- 
ousies thus excited were fomented by the in- 
trigues of foreign agents. 

The Indians of the Wabash and the Miami 
Rivers, who were the present aggressors, were 
numerous, warlike, and not deficient in disci- 
pline. They were well armed also, obtaining 
weapons and ammunition from the posts which 



-^T. 58.] 



GENERAL HARMER'S EXPEDITION AGAINST THE INDIANS. 



689 



the British still retained within the territories 
of the United States, contrary to the treaty of 
peace. 

"Washington had deprecated a war with these 
savages, whom he considered acting under 
delusion ; but finding all pacific overtures un- 
availing, and rather productive of more daring 
atrocities, he felt compelled to resort to it, alike 
by motives of policy, humanity, and justice. 
An act had been provided for emergencies, by 
which the President was empowered to call 
out the militia for the protection of the fron- 
tier ; this act he put in force in the interval of 
Congress ; and under it an expedition was set on 
foot, which began its march on the 30th of 
September from Fort Washington (which stood 
on the site of the present city of Cincinnati). 
Brigadier General Harmer, a veteran of the 
revolution, led the expedition, having under 
him three hundred and twenty regulars, with 
militia detachments from Pennsylvania and 
Virginia (or Kentucky), making in all fourteen 
hundred and fifty-three men. After a march 
of seventeen days, they approached the princi- 
pal village of the Miamis. The Indians did 
not await an attack, but set fire to the village 
and fled to the woods. The destruction of the 
place, with that of large quantities of provisions, 
was completed. 

An Indian trail being discovered. Colonel 
Hardin, a continental officer who commanded 
the Kentucky militia, v/as detached to follow 
it, at the head of one hundred and fifty of his 
men, and about thirty regulars, under Captain 
Armstrong and Ensign Hartshorn. They fol- 
lowed the trail for about, six miles, and were 
crossing a plain covered by thickets, when 
suddenly there were volleys of rifles on each 
side, from unseen marksmen, accompanied by 
the horrid war-whoop. The trail had, in fact, 
decoyed them into an ambush of seven hundred 
savages, under the famous warrior Little Turtle. 
The militia fled, without firing a musket. The 
savages now turned upon the little handful of 
regulars, who stood their ground, and made a 
brave i*esistance with the bayonet until all were 
slain, excepting Captain Armstrong, Ensign 
Hartshorn, and five privates. Tlie ensign was 
saved by falling behind a log, which screened 
him from liis pursuers, Armstrong plunged 
into a swamp, where he sank up to his neck, 
and remained for several hours in the night 
within two hundred yards of the field of action, 
a spectator of the war-dance of the savages 
over the slain. The two officers who escaped 
44 



thus narrowly, found their way back to the 
camp about six miles distant.* 

The army, notwithstanding, elTected the main 
purpose of the expedition in laying waste the 
Indian villages and destroying their winter's 
stock of provisions, after which it coujinenced 
its march back to Port Washington. On the 
21st of October, when it was halted about ten 
miles to the west of CLillicothe, an opportunity 
was given Colonel Hardin to wipe out the late 
disgrace of his arms. He was detached with a 
larger body of militia than before, and sixty 
regulars, imder Major Willys, to seek and bring 
the savages to action. The accounts of these 
Indian wars are very confused. It appears, 
however, that he had another encounter with 
Little Turtle and his braves. It was a bloody 
battle, fought well on both sides. The militia 
behaved bravely, and lost many men and ofla- 
cers, as did the regulars ; Major Willys fell at 
the commencement qf the action. Colonel 
Hardin was at length compelled to retreat, 
leaving the dead and wounded in the hands of 
the enemy. After he had rejoined the main 
force, the whole expedition made its way back 
to Fort Washington, on the banks of the Ohio. 

During all this time, Washington had been 
rusticating at Mount Vernon, in utter ignorance 
of the events of this expedition. Week after 
week elapsed, without any tidings of its issue, 
progress, or even commencement. On the 2d 
of November, he wrote to the Secretary of War 
(General Knox), expressing his surprise at this 
lack of information, and his anxiety as to the 
result of the enterprise, and requesting him to 
forward any ofiiicial or other accounts that he 
might have relating to it. 

"This matter," observed he, "favorable or 
otherwise in the issue, will be required to be 
laid before Congress, that the motives which 
induced the expedition may appear." Nearly 
another month elapsed ; the time for the reas- 
sembling of Congress was at hand, yet Wash- 
ington was still without the desired informa- 
tion. It was not until the last of November, 
that he received a letter from Governor George 
Clinton, of New York, communigating particu- 
lars of the atfair related to him by Brant, the 
celebrated Indian chief. 

"If the information of Captain Brant be 
true," wrote Washington in reply, " the issue 
of the expedition against the Indians will indeed 
prove unfortunate and disgraceful to the troops 
who suffered themselves to be ambuscaded." 



Butler's History of Kentucky, 192. 



690 



A NATIONAL BANK— OPPOSITE CABINET POLICY. 



[1*790. 



CHAPTER XII. 

CoNGP.Ess reassembled according to adjourn- 
ment, on the first Monday in December, at 
Philadelphia, which was now, for a time, the 
seat of government. A house belonging to Mr. 
Robert Morris, the financier, had been hired by 
Washington for his residence, and at his re- 
quest, had undergone additions and alterations, 
in a plain and neat, and not by any means in 
an extravagant style." 

His secretary, Mr. Lear, had made every 
preparation for his arrival and accommodation, 
and, among other things, had spoken of the 
rich and elegant style in which the state car- 
riage was fitted up. " I had rather have 
heard," replied "Washington, " that my coach 
was plain and elegant than rich and elegant." 

Congress, at its opening, was chiefly occupied 
in financial arrangementp, intended to establish 
the public credit and provide for the expenses 
of government. According to the statement 
of the Secretary of the Treasury, an additional 
annual revenue of eight hundred and twenty- 
six thousand dollars would be required, princi- 
pally to meet the additional charges arising 
from the assumption of the State debts. He 
proposed to raise it by an increase of the impost 
on foreign distilled spirits, and a tax by way of 
excise on spirits distilled at home. An Impost 
and Excise bill was accordingly introduced into 
Congress, and met with violent opposition. An 
attempt was made to strike out the excise, but 
failed, and the whole bill was finally carried 
through the House. 

Mr. Hamilton, in his former Treasury report, 
had recommended the establishment of a Na- 
tional Bank ; he now, in a special report, urged 
the policy of the measure. A bill introduced 
in conformity with his views, was passed in 
the Senate, but vehemently opposed in the 
House ; partly on considerations of policy ; but 
chiefly on the ground of constitutionality. On 
one side it was denied that the constitution had 
given to Congress the power of incorporation ; 
on the other, side it was insisted that such 
power was incident to the power vested in 
Congress for raising money. 

The question was argued at length, and with 
great ardor, and after passing the House of 
V Representatives by a majority of nineteen votes, 
came before the executive for his approval. 
"Washington was fully alive to the magnitude 
of tho question and the interest felt in it by 



the opposing parties. The cabinet was divided 
on it. Jefferson and Randolph denied its con- 
stitutionality ; Hamilton and Knox maintained 
it. "Washington required of each minister the 
reasons of las opinion in writing ; and, after 
maturely weighing them, gave his sanction to 
the act, and the bill was carried into eftect. 

The objection of Jefferson to a bank was 
not merely on constitutional grounds. In his 
subsequent writings he avows himself opposed 
to banks, as introducing a paper instead of a 
cash system — raising up a moueyed aristocracy, 
and abandoning the public to the discretion of 
avarice and swindlers. Paper money might 
have some advantages, but its abuses were in- 
evitable, and by breaking up the measure of 
value, it made a lottery of all private property. 
These objections he maintained to his dying 
day ; but he had others, which might have 
been more cogent with him in the present in- 
stance. He considered the bank as a powerful 
engine intended by Hamilton to complete the 
machinery by which the whole action of the 
legislature was to be placed under the direction 
of the Treasury, and shaped to further a mo- 
narchical system of government. "Washington, 
he aflSrmed, was not aware of the drift or effect 
of Hamilton's schemes. " Unversed in finan- 
cial projects and calculations and budgets, his 
approbation of them was bottomed on his con- 
fidence in the man." 

"Washington, however, was not prone to be 
swayed in his judgments by bjind partiality. 
When he distrusted his own knowledge in re- 
gard to any important measure, he asked the 
written opinions of those of his council who 
he thought were better informed, and examined 
and weighed them, and put them to the test of 
his almost unfailing sagacity. This was the 
way he had acted as a general, in his military 
councils, and he found the same plan efiicacious 
in his cabinet. His confidence in Hamilton's 
talents, information, and integrity, had led him 
to seek his counsels ; but his approbation of 
those counsels was bottomed on a careful in- 
vestigation of them. It was the same in regard 
to the counsels of Jefferson ; they were received 
with great deference, but always deliberately 
and scrupulously weighed. The opposite policy 
of these rival statesmen brought them into in- 
cessant collision. "Hamilton and myself," 
writes Jefferson, " were daily pitted in the 
cabinet like two cocks." The warm-hearted 
Knox always sided with his old companion in 
arms : whose talents he revered. He is often 



^T. 59.] WASHINGTON'S INDIAN POLICY— FIRST CONGRESS EXPIRES. 



691 



noticed with a disparaging sneer by Jeiferson, 
, in consequence. Randolph commonly adhered 
to the latter, Washington's calm and massive 
intellect overruled any occasional discord. His 
policy with regard to his constitutional advisers 
has been happily estimated by a modern states- 
man : " He sought no unit cabinet, according 
to the set phrase of succeeding times. He asked 
na suppression of sentiment, no concealment 
of opinion ; he exhibited no mean jealousy of 
high talent in others. He gathered around him 
the greatest public men of that day, and some 
of them to be ranked with the greatest of any 
day. He did not leave Jefferson and Hamilton 
without the cabinet, to shake, perhaps, the 
whole fabric of government in their fierce wars 
and rivalries, but he took them within, where 
he himself might arbitrate their disputes as 
they arose, and turn to the best account for 
the country their suggestions as they were 
made." * 

In the mean time two political parties were 
forming throughout the Union, under the ad- 
verse standards of these statesmen. Both had 
the good of the country at heart, but differed 
as to the policy by which it was to be secured. 
The Federalists, who looked up to Hamilton as 
then- model, were in favor of strengthening the 
general government so as to give it weight and 
dignity abroad and efiiciency at home ; to guard 
it against the encroachments of the individual 
States and a general tendency to anarchy. The 
other party, known as republicans or democrats, 
and taking Mr. Jefferson's view of affairs, saw 
in all the measures advocated by the Federalists, 
an intention to convert the Federal into a great 
central or consolidated government, preparatory 
to a change from a republic to a monarchy. 

The particulars of General Harmer's expedi- 
tion against the Indians, when reported to 
Congress, gave great dissatisfaction. The con- 
duct of the troops, in suffering themselves to be 
surprised, was for some time stigmatized as 
disgraceful. Further troubles in that quarter 
were apprehended, for the Mianiis were said to 
be less disheartened by the ravage of their vil- 
lages than exultant at the successful ambuscades 
of Little Turtle. 

Three Seneca chiefs, Cornplanter, Half Town, 
and Great Tree, being at the seat of govei-nment 
on business of their own nation, offered to visit 
these belligerent tribes, and persuade them to 
bury the hatchet. Washington, in a set speech. 



* Speech of R. M. T. Hunter, of Virginia. 



encouraged them in the undertaking. "By 
this humane measure," said he, " you will ren- 
der these mistaken people a great service, and 
probably prevent their being swept off the face 
of the earth. The United States require only 
that these people should demean themselves 
peaceably. But they may be assured that the 
United States are able, and will most certainly 
punish them severely for all their robberies and 
murders." 

Washington had always been earnest in his 
desire to civilize the savages, but had little faith 
in the expedient which had been pursued, of 
sendmg their young men to our colleges ; the 
true means, he thought, was to introduce the 
arts and habits of husbandry among them. 
In concluding his speech to the Seneca chiefs, 
he observed, " When you return to your coun- 
try, tell your nation that it is my desire to pro- 
mote their prosperity by teaching them the use 
of domestic animals, and the manner that the 
white people plough and raise so much corn ; 
and if, upon consideration, it would be agreea- 
ble to the nation at large to learn those arts, I 
will find some means of teaching them at 
some places within their country as shall be 
agreed upon." 

In the course of the present session, Congress 
received and granted the applications of Ken- 
tucky and Vermont for admission into the 
Union, the former after August, 1792 ; the lat- 
ter immediately. 

On the 3d of March the term of this first 
Congress expired. Washington, after reciting 
the various important measures that had been 
effected, testified to the great harmony and 
.cordiality which had prevailed. In some few 
instances, he admitted, particularly in passing 
the law for higher duties on spirituous liquors, 
and more especially on the subject of the bank, 
" the line between the southern and eastern 
interests had appeared more strongly marked 
than could be wished," the former against and 
the latter in favor of those measures, " but the 
debates," adds he, " were conducted with tem- 
per and candor." 

As the Indians on the north-west side of the 
Ohio still continued their hostilities, one of the 
last measures of Congress had been an act to 
augment the military establishments, and to 
place in the hands of the executive more ample 
means for the protection of the frontiers. A 
new expedition against the belligerent tribes 
had, in consequence, been projected. General 
St. Clair, actually governor of the territory 



692 WASHINGTON'S JOURNEY SOUTH— PROSPEROUS STATE OF THE COUNTRY. [I'ZOl. 



west of the Oliio, was appointed commander-in- 
chief of tlie forces to be employed. 

Washington had been deeply chagrined by 
the mortifying disasters of General Harmer's 
expedition to the Wabash, resulting from In- 
dian ambushes. In taking leave of his old mili- 
tary comrade, St. Clair, he wished him success 
and honor, but gave him a solemn warning. 
" You have your instructions from the Secretary 
of War. I had a strict eye to them, and will 
add but one word — Beware of a sm-prise ! You 
know how the Indians fight. I repeat it — 
Beware of a surprise ! " With these warning 
words sounding in his ear, St. Clair departed.* 



CHAPTER XIII. 

In the month of March Washington set out 
on a tour through the Southern States ; travel- 
ling with one set of horses and making occa- 
sional halts. The route projected, and of which 
lie had marked oif the halting places, was by 
Ti-edericksburg, Richmond, Wilmington (N. C), 
and Charleston to Savannah ; thence to Augus- 
ta, Columbia, and the interior towns of North 
Carolina and Virginia, comprising a journey of 
eighteen hundred and eighty-seven miles; all 
which he accomplished without any interrup- 
tion from sickness, bad weather, or any un- 
toward accident. " Indeed," writes he, " so 
highly were we favored that we arrived at each 
place where I proposed to make any halt, on 
the very day I fixed upon before we set out. 
Tlie same horses performed the whole tour; 
and, although much reduced in flesh, kept up 
their full spirits to the last day." 

He returned to Philadelphia on the 6th of 
July, much pleased with his tour. It had ena- 
bled him, he said, to see with his own eyes, the 
situation of the country, and to learn more ac- 
curately the disposition of the people than he 
could have done from any verbal information. 
He had looked around him, in fact, with a 
paternal eye, been cheered as usual by con- 
tinual demonstrations of a nation's love, and 
his heart had warmed with the reflection how 
much of this national happiness had been won 
by his own patriotic exertions. 

" Every day's experience of the government 
of the United States," writes he to David 
Humphreys, " seems to confirm its establish- 



ment, and to render it more popular. A ready 
acquiescence in the laws made imder it shows, , 
in a strong light, the confidence which the 
people have in their representatives, and in the 
upright views of those who administer the 
government. At the time of passing a law 
imposing a duty on home-made spirits, it was 
vehemently afiirmed by many that such a law 
could never be executed in the Southern States, 
particularly in Virginia and South Carolina. 
* * But from the best information I could 
get on my journey respecting its operations on 
the minds of the people— and I took some pains 
to obtain information on this point — there re- 
mains not a doubt but it will be carried into 
eff'ect, not only without opposition, but with 
very general approbation, in those very parts 
where it was foretold that it never would be 
submitted to by any one." 

" Our public credit," adds he, " stands on 
that ground, which, three years ago, it would 
have been madness to have foretold. The 
astonishing rapidity with which the newly in- 
stituted bank was filled, gives an unexampled 
proof of the resources of our countrymen, and 
their confidence in public measures. On the 
first day of opening the subscription the whole 
number of shares (twenty thousand) were taken 
up in one hour, and application made for up- 
wards of four thousand shares more than were 
granted by the institution, besides many others 
that were coming in from various quarters." * 

To his comrade in arms, Lafayette, he also 
writes exultingly of the flourishing state of the 
country and the attachment of all classes to 
the government : 

" While in Europe, wars or commotions seem 
to agitate almost every nation, peace and tran- 
quillity prevail among us, except in some parts 
of our Western frontiers, where the Indians 
have been troublesome, to reclaim or chastise 
whom, proper measures are now pursuing. 
This contrast between the situation of the peo- 
ple of the United States and those of Europe, 
is too striking to be passed over, even by the 
most superficial observer, and may, I believe, 
be considered as one great cause of leading the 
people here to reflect more attentively on their 
own prosperous state, and to examine more 
minutely, and consequently approve more fully, 
of the government under which they live, than 
they otherwise would have done. But we do 
not wish to be the only people who may taste 



Rush's "Washington in Domestic Life, p. 07. 



■ "Writings, s. 171. 



iET. 59.] GOUVERNEUR MORRIS ON FRENCH AFFAIRS-LETTERS OF LAFAYETTE. 



69< 



the sweets of an eqiial and good government. 
We look with an anxious eye to the time when 
happii^ss and tranquillity shall prevail in your 
country, and when all Europe shall be freed 
from commotion, tumults, and alarms." 

Letters from Gouverneur Morris had given 
him a gloomy picture of French affairs. " This 
unhappy country," writes he, " bewildered in 
pursuit of metaphysical whimsies, presents to 
our moral view a mighty ruin. Like the rem- 
nants of ancient magnificence, we admire the 
architecture of the temple, while we detest the 
false god to whom it was dedicated. Daws 
and ravens, and the birds of night, now build 
their nests in its niches. The sovereign, hum- 
bled to the level of a beggar's pity, without re- 
sources, without authority, without a friend. 
The Assembly at once a master and a slave, 
ne A' in power, wild in theory, raw in practice. 
It engrosses all functions, though incapable of 
exercising any, and has taken from this fierce, 
ferocious people, every restraint of religion and 
of respect. * * * Lafayette has hitherto 
acted a splendid part. The king obeys but de- 
tests him. He obeys because he fears. Who- 
ever possesses the royal person may do what- 
ever he pleases with the royal character and 
authority. Hence it happens that the minis- 
ters are of Lafayette's appointment." * 

Lafayette's own letters depict the troubles of 
a patriot leader in the stormy times of a revo- 
lution: a leader warm, generous, honest, im- 
pulsive, but not far-seeing. " I continue to be 
forever tossed about on an ocean of factions 
and commotions of every kind ; for it is my 
fate to be attacked with equal animosity ; on 
one side, by all that is aristocratic, servile, par- 
liamentary, in a word, by all the adversaries of 
my free and levelling doctrine ; on the other, 
by the Orleans and anti-monarchical factions, 
and all the workers of disorder and pillage. 
If it is doubtful whether I may escape person- 
ally from so many enemies, the success of our 
grand and good revolution is, at least, thank 
heaven, assured in France, and soon it will 
propagate itself in the rest of the world, if we 
succeed in establishing public order in this 
country. Unfortunately, the people have much 
better learnt how to overturn despotism, than 
to comprehend the duty of submission to law. 
It is to you, my dear General, the patriarch and 
generalissimo of the promoters of universal lib- 
erty, that I ought always to render a faithful 



* Sparks' Life of G. Morris, ii. 117-lia 



account of the conduct of your aide-de-camp in 
the service of this grand cause." 

And in a subsequent letter : " I would that 
I could give you the assurance that our troubles 
were terminated, and our constitution estab- 
hshed. Nevertheless, though our horizon is 
still very dark, we commence to foresee the 
moment when a new legislative body will re- 
place this Assembly ; and, unless there come 
an intervention of foreign powers, I hope that 
four months from this your friend will have 
resumed the life of a peaceful and simple citi- 
zen. 

" The rage of party, even between the differ- 
ent shades of patriots, has gone as lar as possi- 
ble without the effusion of blood ; but if ani- 
mosities are far from subsiding, present cir- 
cumstances are somewhat less menacing of a 
collision between the different supporters of 
the popular cause. As to myself, I am always 
the butt for attacks of all parties, because they 
see in my person an insurmountable obstacle 
to their evil desigus. In the mean time, what 
appears to me a species of phenomenon, my 
popularity hitherto has not been shaken." 

And in another letter, he speaks of the mul- 
tiplying dangers which menaced the progress 
of reform in France : " The refugees hovering 
about the frontiers, intrigues in most of the 
despotic and aristocratic cabinets, our regular 
army divided into Tory officers and undisci- 
plined soldiers, licentiousness among the people 
not easily repressed, the capital, that gives the 
tone to the empire, tossed about by anti-revo- 
lutionary or factious parties, the Assembly fa- 
tigued by hard labor, and very unmanageable. 
However, according to the popular motto, pa 
ira, it will do." 

When Lafayette thus wrote, faction was pre- 
dominant at Paris. Liberty and equality began 
to be the watch-words, and the Jacobin club 
had set up a journal wliich was spreading the 
spirit of revolt and preparing the fate of roy- 
alty. 

" I assure you," writes Washington, "I have 
often contemplated, with great anxiety, the 
danger to which you are personally exposed 
by your peculiar and delicate situation in the 
tumult of the time, and your letters are far from 
quieting that friendly concern. But to one 
who engages in hazardous enterprises for the 
good of his country, and who is guided by pure 
and upright views, as I am sure is the case with 
you, life is but a secondary consideration. 

" The tumultuous populace of large cities are 



694 



JOHN ADAMS— FLIGHT AND RECAPTURE OF LOUIS XVI. 



[1V91. 



ever to be dreaded. Their indiscriminate vio- 
lence prostrates, for the time, all public au- 
thority, and its consequences are sometimes 
extensive and terrible. In Paris, we may sup- 
pose these tumults are peculiarly disastrous at 
this time, when the public mind is in a ferment, 
and when, as is always the case on such occa- 
sions, there are not wanting wicked and design- 
ing men whose element is confusion, and who 
will not hesitate in destroying the public tran- 
quillity to gain a favorite point." 

Sympathy with the popular cause prevailed 
with a part of Washington's cabinet. Jefferson 
was ardent in his wishes that the revolution 
might be established. He felt, he said, that 
the permanence of our own revolution leaned, 
in some degree, on that of France ; that a failure 
there would be a powerful argument to prove 
there must be a failure here, and that the suc- 
cess of the French revolution was necessary to 
stay up our own and " prevent its falling back 
to that kind of half-way house, the English 
constitution." 

Outside of the cabinet, the Vice-President, 
John Adams, regarded the French revolution 
with strong distrust. His official position, how- 
ever, was too negative in its nature to afford 
him an opportunity of exerting influence on 
public affairs. He considered the post of Vice- 
President beneath his talents. " My country," 
writes he, " has, in its wisdom, contrived for 
me the most insignificant office that ever the 
invention of man contrived or his imagination 
conceived." * Impatient of a situation of which, 
as lie said, he could do neither good nor evil, 
he resorted, for mental relief, to the press, and 
for upwards of a year had exercised his fertile 
and ever ready pen, in furnishing Fenno's Ga- 
zette of the United States, with a series of pa- 
pers entitled, " Discourses on Davila," being an 
analysis of Davila's History of the Civil "Wars 
of France in the 16th century. The aim of 
Mr. Adams, in this series, was to point out to 
his countrymen the dangers to be apprehended 
from powerful factions in ill-balanced forms of 
government ; but his aim was mistaken, and 
he was charged with advocating monarchy, 
and laboring to prepare the way for an heredi- 
taiy presidency. To counteract these " politi- 
cal heresies," a reprint of Paine's Rights of 
Man, written in reply to Burke's pamphlet on 
the French revolution, appeared under the aus- 
pices of Mr. Jefferson. 



* Life, i. 460. 



While the public mind was thus agitated with 
conflicting opinions, news arrived in August, 
of the flight of Louis XVI. from Paris, and his 
recapture at Varennes. All Jefferson's hatred 
of royalty was aroused by this breach of royal 
faith. " Such are the fruits of that form of 
government," said he, scornfully, " which heaps 
importance on idiots, and which the tories of 
the present day are trying to preach into our 
favor. It would be unfortunate were it in the 
power of any one man to defeat the issue of 
so beautiful a revolution. I liope and trust 
that it is not, and that, for the good of suffer- 
ing humanity all over the earth, that revolution 
will be established and spread all over the 
world." 

He was the first to communicate the intelli- 
gence to Washington, who was holding one of 
his levees, and observes, " I never saw him so 
much dejected by any event in my life." Wash- 
ington himself, declares that he remained for 
some time in painful suspense, as to what would 
be the conseqxiences of this event. Ultimately, 
when news arrived that the king had accepted 
the constitution from the hands of the National 
Assembly, he hailed the event as promising 
happy consequences to Fra'^ce, and to mankind 
in general ; and what added to his joy, was the 
noble and disinterested part which his friend, 
Lafayette, had acted in this great drama. " The 
prayers and wishes of the human race," writes 
he to the marquis, " have attended the exer- 
tions of your nation ; and when your affairs ai'e 
settled under an energetic and equal govern- 
ment, the hearts of all good men will be satis- 
fied." 



CHAPTER XIV. 

A FEW weeks of autumn were passed by 
Washington at Mount Vernon, with his family 
in rural enjoyment, and in instructing a new 
agent, Mr. Robert Lewis, in the management 
of his estate ; his nephew. Major George A. 
Washington, who ordinarily attended to his 
landed concerns, being absent among the 
mountains in quest of health. 

The second Congress assembled at Philadel- 
phia on the 24th of October, and on the 25th 
Washington delivered his opening speech. 
After remarking upon the prosperous situation 
of the country, and the success which had at- 
tended its financial measures, he adverted to 



iET. 59.] OPERATIONS AGAINST THE INDIANS— EXPEDITION UNDER ST. CLAIR. 695 



the offensive operations against the Indians, 
which government had heen comi:)elled to 
adopt for the protection of the "Western fron- 
tier. Some of these operations, he observed, 
liad been successfnl, others were still depend- 
ing. A brief statement will be sufficient of 
the successful operations alluded to. To re- 
concile some of the people of the West, to the 
appointment of General St. Clair as command- 
er-in-chief in that quarter, a local board of war 
had been formed for the Western country, em- 
powered to act in conjunction with the com- 
*manding officer of the United States, in calling 
out the militia ; sending out expeditions against 
the Indians, and apportioning scouts through 
the exposed parts of the district of Kentucky. 

Under this arrangement, two expeditions had 
been organized in Kentucky against the villages 
on the Wabash. The first, in May, was led by 
General Charles Scott, having General Wilkin- 
son as second in command. The second, a vol- 
unteer enterprise, in August, was led by Wil- 
kinson alone. Very little good was effected, or 
glory gained by either of these expeditious. 
Indian villages and wigwams were burned, and 
fields laid waste ; some few warriors were 
killed and prisoners taken, and an immense ex- 
pense incurred. 

Of the events of a third enterprise, led by 
General St. Clair himself, no tidings had been 
received at the time of Washington's opening 
speech ; but we will anticipate the official de- 
spatches, and proceed to show how it fared with 
that veteran soldier, and how far he profited by 
the impressive warning, which he had received 
from the President at parting. 

The troops for his expedition assembled early 
in September, in the vicinity of Fort Washing- 
ton (now Cincinnati). There were about two 
thousand regulars, and one thousand militia. 
The regulars included a corps of artillery and 
several squadrons of horse. An arduous task 
was before them. Roads were to be opened 
through a wilderness ; bridges constructed for 
the conveyance of artillery and stores, and forts 
to be built so as to keep up a line of communi- 
cation between the Wabash and the Ohio, the 
base of operations. The troops commenced 
their march directly North, on the 6th or Tth 
of September, cutting their way through the 
woods, and slowly constructing the line of 
forts. The little army, on the 24th of October, 
according to the diary of an officer, was respect- 
able in numbers — " upon paper " — but, adds 
he, " the absence of the first Regiment, and de- 



sertions from the militia, had very much re- 
duced us. With the residue there was too 
generally wanting the essential stamina of sol- 
diers. Picked up and recruited from the off- 
scourings of large towns and cities, enervated 
by idleness, debauchery, and every species of 
vice, it was impossible they could have been 
made competent to the arduous duties of In- 
dian warfare. An extraordinary aversion to 
service was also conspicuous amongst them, and ' 
demonstrated by repeated desertions ; in many 
instances, to the very foe we were to combat. 
The late period at which they had been brought 
into the field, left no leisure nor opportunity to 
discipline them. They were, moreover, badly 
clothed, badly paid, and badly fed. * * * * 
The military stores and arms were sent on in 
infamous order. Notwithstanding pointed or- 
ders against firing, and a penalty of one hun- 
dred lashes, game was so plenty and presented 
such a strong temptation, that the militia and 
the levies were constantly offending, to the 
great injury of the service and the destruction 
of all order in the army." * 

After placing garrisons in the forts, the gen- 
eral continued his march. It was a forced one 
with him, for he was so afflicted with the gout 
that he could not walk, and had to be helped 
on and off of his horse ; but his only chance to 
keep his little army together was to move on. 
A number of the Virginia troops had already, 
on the 27th of October, insisted on their dis- 
charges ; there was danger that the whole bat- 
talion would follow their example, and the 
time of the other battalions was nearly up. 
The plan of the general was to push so far into 
the enemy's country, that such detachments as 
might be entitled to their discharges, would be 
afraid to return. 

The army had proceeded six days after leav- 
ing Fort Jefferson, and were drawing near a 
part of the country where they were likely to 
meet with Indians, when, on the 30th of Oc- 
tober, sixty of the militia deserted in a body; 
intending to supply themselves by plundering 
the convoys of provisions which were coming 
forward in the rear. The 1st United States 
regiment, under Major Hamtranck, was de- 
tached to march back beyond Fort Jefferson, 
apprehend these deserters, if possible, and at 
all events, prevent the provisions that might 
be on the way, from being rifled. The force 
thus detached, consisted of three hundred of 

* Diary of Col. Winthrop Sargent, Adjutant-General 
of tlie U. S. ariuy during the campaign of 1791. 



696 



ENCAMPMENT OF ST. CLAIR— CONTEST WITH INDIANS. 



[ngi. 



the best disciplined men in the service, with 
experienced officers. 

Thus reduced to 1,400 effective rank and file, 
the army continued its march to a point about 
twenty-nine miles from Fort Jefferson, and 
ninety-seven from Fort Washington, and fif- 
teen miles south of the Miami villages, where 
it encamped, November 3d, on a rising ground 
with a stream forty feet wide in front, running 
westerly. This stream was mistaken by Gen- 
eral St. Clair for the St. Mary, which empties 
itself into the Miami of the lakes ; but it was, 
in fact, a tributary of the Wabash. 

A number of new and old Indian camps 
showed that this had been a place of general 
resort ; and in the bends of the stream were 
tracks of a party of fifteen, horse and foot ; a 
scouting party most probably, which must have 
quitted the ground just before the arrival of the 
army. 

The troops were encamped in two lines, the 
right wing composed of Butler, Clarke, and 
Patterson's battalions, commanded by Major- 
Geiieral Butler, forming the first line ; Patter- 
son on the right, and four pieces of artillery on 
the right of Butler. The left wing, consisting 
of Beddingcr and Gaither's battalions, and the 
second United States regiment, commanded by 
Colonel Darke, formed the second line ; with 
an interval of about seventy yards, which was 
all that the ground allowed. The length of the 
lines was nearly four hundred yards; the rear 
somewhat more, and the front somewhat less. 
A troop of horse, commanded by Captain Tru- 
man, and a company of riflemen under Captain 
Faulkner, were upon the right flank, and Snow- 
den's troop of horse on the left. 

The ground descended gradually in front of 
the encampment to the stream, which, at this 
time, was fordable, and meandered in its 
course ; in some places, one hundred yards dis- 
tant from the camp, in others not more than 
twenty-five. The immediate spot of the en- 
campment was very defensible against regular 
troops ; but it was surrounded by close woods, 
dense thickets, and the trunks of fallen ti'ees, 
with here and there a ravine, and a small 
swamp — all the best kind of cover for stealthy 
Indian warfare. 

The militia were encamped beyond the 
stream about a quarter of a mile in the ad- 
vance, on a high flat ; a much more favorable 
position than that occupied by the main body ; 
and capacious enough to have accommodated 
the whole, and admitted any extent of lines. 



It was the intention of St. Clair to throw up 
a slight work on the following day, and to move 
on to the attack of the Indian villages as soon 
as he should be rejoined by Major Hamtrauck 
and the first United States regiment. The plan 
of this work he concerted in the evening with 
Major Ferguson of the artillery, a cool, inde- 
fatigable, determined man. In the mean time. 
Colonel Oldham, the commanding officer of the 
militia, was directed to send out two detach- 
ments that evening, to explore tlie country and 
gain information concerning the enemy. The 
militia, however, showed signs of insubordina-* 
tion. They complained of being too much fa- 
tigued for the purpose ; in short, the service 
was not, and probably could not be enforced. 
Sentinels posted around the camp, about fifty 
paces distant from each other, formed the prin- 
cipal security. 

About half an hour before sunrise on the 
next morning (Nov. 4th), and just after the 
troops had been dismissed on parade, a horri- 
ble sound burst forth from the woods around 
the militia camp, resembling, says an officer, 
the jangling of an infinitude of horse bells. It 
was the direful Indian yell, followed by the 
sharp reports of the deadly rifle. The militia 
returned a feeble fire and then took to flight, 
dashing helter-skelter into the other camp. 
The first line of the continental troops, which 
was hastily forming, was thrown into disorder. 
The Indians were close upon the heels of the 
flying militia, and would have entered the 
camp with them, but the sight of troops drawn 
up with fixed bayonets to receive them, checked 
their ardor, and they threw themselves behind 
logs and bushes at the distance of seventy yards ; 
and immediately commenced an attack upon 
the first line, which soon was extended to the 
second. The great weight of the attack was 
upon the centre of each line where the artillery 
was placed. The artillery, if not well served, 
was bravely fought ; a quantity of canister and 
some round shot were thrown in the direction 
whence the Indians fired ; but, concealed as 
they were, and only seen occasionally as they 
sprang from one covert to another, it was im- 
possible to direct the pieces to advantage. 
The artillerists themselves were exposed to a 
murderous fire, and every officer, and more 
than two-thirds of the men, were killed and 
wounded. Twice the Indians pushed into the 
camp, delivering their fire and then rushing on 
with the tomahawk, but each time they were 
driven back. General Butler had been shot 



^T. 59.] 



DEFEAT OF GENERAL ST. CLAIR. 



697 



from his horse, and was sitting down to have 
his wound dressed, when a daring savage, dart- 
ing into the camp, tomahawked and scalped 
him. He failed to carry otf his trophy, being 
instantly slain. 

The veteran St. Clair, who, unable to mount 
his horse, was borne about on a litter, pre- 
served his coolness in the midst of the peril and 
disaster, giving his orders with judgment and 
self-possession. Seeing to what disadvantage 
his troops fought with a concealed enemy, he 
ordered Colonel Darke, with his regiment of 
regulars, to rouse the Indians from their covert 
with the bayonet, and turn their left flank. 
This was executed with great spirit : the ene- 
my were driven three or four hundred yards ; 
but, for want of cavalry or riflemen, the pur- 
suit slackened, and the troops were forced to 
give back in turn. The savages had now got 
into the camp by the left flank ; again several 
charges were made, but in vain. Great cai*- 
nage was suffered from the enemy concealed in 
the woods ; every shot seemed to take eft'ect ; 
all the officers of the second regiment were 
picked off, excepting three. The contest had 
now endured for more than two hours and a 
half. The spirits of the troops flagged under 
the loss of the officers ; half of the army was 
killed, and the situation of the remainder was 
desperate. There appeared to be no alternative 
but a reti-eat. 

At half-past nine. General St. Clair ordered 
Colonel Darke, with the second regiment, to 
make another charge, as if to turn the right 
wing of the enemy, but, in fact, to regain the 
road from which the army was cut off. This 
object was effected. " Having collected in one 
body the greatest part of the troops," writes 
one of the officers, " and such of the wounded 
as could possibly hobble along with us, we 
pushed out from the left of the rear line, sacri- 
ficing our artillery and baggage." Some of the 
wounded officers were brought off on horses, 
but several of the disabled men had to be left 
on the ground. The poor fellows charged their 
pieces before they were left : and the flriug of 
musketry heard by the troops after they quit- 
ted the camp, told that their unfortunate com- 
rades were selling their lives dear. 

It was a disorderly flight. The troops threw 
away arms, ammunition, and accoutrements ; 
even the officers, in some instances, divested 
themselves of their fusees. The general was 
mounted on a pack horse which could not be 
pricked out of a walk. Fortunately, the ene- 



my did not pursue above a mile or two, re- 
turning, most probably, to plunder the camp. 

By seven in the evening, the fugitives reach- 
ed Fort Jefferson, a distance of twenty-nine 
miles. Here they met Major Ilamtranck with 
the first regiment; but, as this force was far 
from sufficient to make u]) for the losses of the 
morning, the retreat was continued to Fort 
Washington, where the army arrived on the 
8th at noon, shattered and broken-spirited. 
Many poor fellows fell behind in the retreat, 
and fancying the savages were upon them, left 
the road, and some of them were wandering 
several days, until nearly starved. 

In this disastrous battle the whole loss of 
regular troops and levies amounted to five 
hundred and fifty killed, and two hundred 
wounded. Out of ninety-five commissioned 
officers who were on the field, thirty-one were 
slain and twenty-four wounded. Of the three 
hundred and nineteen militia. Colonel Oldham 
and three other officers were killed and five 
wounded ; and of non-commissioned officers and 
privates, thirty-eiglit were killed and twenty- 
nine wounded. Fourteen artificers and ten 
pack horsemen were also killed, and thirteen 
wounded. So that, according to Colonel Sar- 
gent's estimate, the whole loss amounted to six 
hundred and seventy-seven killed, including 
thirty women, and two hundred and seventy- 
one wounded. 

Poor St. Clair's defeat has been paralleled 
with that of Braddock. No doubt, when he 
realized the terrible havoc that had been made, 
he thought sadly of Washington's parting words, 
" Beware of a surprise ! " 

We have a graphic account of the manner 
in which the intelligence of the disaster was 
received by Washington at Philadelphia. Tow- 
ards the close of a winter's day in December, 
an officer in uniform dismounted in front of the 
President's house, and, giving the bridle to his 
servant, knocked at the door. He was in- 
formed by the porter that the President was 
at dinner and had company. The officer was 
not to be denied ; he was on public business, 
he brought despatches for the President. A 
servant was sent into the dining-room to com- 
municate the matter to Mr. Lear. The latter 
left the table and went into the hall, where the 
officer repeated what he had said to the porter. 
Mr. Lear, as secretary of the President, offered 
to take charge of the despatches and deliver 
them at the proper time. The officer replied 
that he was just arrived from the Western 



698 



THE PRESIDENT'S OUTBURST— THE APPORTIONMENT BILL, 



[1191, 



army ; his orders were to deliver the de- 
spatches promptly to the President in person ; 
but that he would wait his directions. Mr.' 
Lear returned, and, in a whisper, communi- 
cated to the President what had passed. Wash- 
ington rose from the table and went into the 
hall, whence he returned in a short time and 
resumed his seat, apologizing for his absence, 
but without alluding to the cause of it. One of 
the company, however, overheard him, as he took 
his seat, mutter to himself, with an ejaculation 
of extreme impatience, "I knew it would be so! " 

Mrs. Washington held her drawing-room 
that evening. The gentlemen repaired thither 
fr9m the table. Washington appeared there 
with his usual serenity ; speaking courteously 
to every lady, as was his custom. By ten 
o'clock all the company had gone ; Mrs. Wash- 
ington retired soon after, and Washington and 
his secretary alone remained. 

The general walked slowly backward and 
forward for some minutes in silence. As yet 
there had been no change in his manner. Tak- 
ing a seat on a sofa by the fire he told Mr. Lear 
to sit down ; the latter had scarce time to no- 
tice that he was extremely agitated, when he 
broke out suddenly : " It's all over ! — St. Clair's 
defeated ! — routed : the officers nearly all kill- 
ed, the men by wholesale ; the rout complete ; 
too shocking to think of, and a surprise into the 
bargain ! " All this was uttered with great 
vehemence. Then pausing and rising from the 
sofa, he walked up and down the room in 
silence, violently agitated, but saying nothing. 
When near the door he stopped short ; stood 
still for a few moments, when there was an- 
other terrible explosion of wrath. 

" Yes," exclaimed he, " here, on this very 
spot, I took leave of him ; I wished him suc- 
cess and honor. ' You have your instructions 
from the Secretary of War,' said I, ' I had a 
strict eye to them, and will add but one word, 
BEWAEE OF A suEPEisE ! You know liow the 
Indians fight us. I repeat it, bewaee of a 
sxjEPEisE.' He went off with that, my last 
warning, thrown into his ears. And yet ! ! To 
suffer that army to be cut to pieces, hacked, 
butchered, tomahawked, by a surprise — the 
very thing I guarded him against — God ! 
God ! " exclaimed he, throwing up his hands, 
and while his very frame shook with emotion, 
" he's worse than a murderer ! How can he 
answer it to his country ! The blood of the 
slain is upon him — the curse of widows and 
orphans — the curse of heaven ! " 



Mr. Lear remained speechless; awed into 
breathless silence by the appalling tones in 
which this torrent of invective was poured 
forth. The paroxysm passed by. Washington 
again sat down on the sofa — he was silent — ap- 
parently uncomfortable, as if conscious of the 
ungovernable burst of passion which had over- 
come him. " This must not go beyond this 
room," said he at length, in a subdued and al- 
tered tone — there was another and a longer 
pause ; then, in a tone quite low : " General 
St. Clair shall have justice," said he. " I look- 
ed hastily through the despatches ; saw the 
whole disaster, but not all the particulars. I 
will receive him without displeasure ; I will 
hear him without prejudice ; he shall have full 
justice." * 

Washington had recovered his equanimity. 
" The storm," we are told, " was over, and no 
sign of it was afterwards seen in his conduct or 
heard in his conversation." How well he kept 
his word, in regard to General St. Clair, will 
hereafter be shown. 



CHAPTER XV. 

I^r the course of the present session of Con- 
gress a bill was introduced for apportioning 
representatives among the people of the several 
States, according to the first enumeration. 

The constitution had provided that the num- 
ber of representatives should not exceed one for 
every thirty thousand plersons, and the House 
of Representatives passed a bill allotting to 
each State one member for this amount of popu- 
lation. This ratio would leave a fraction, 
greater or less, in each State. Its operation 
was unequal, as in some States a large surplus 
would be unrepresented, and hence, in one 
branch of the legislature, the relative power of 
the State be affected. That, too, was the popu- 
lar branch, which those who feared a strong 
executive, desired to provide with the counter- 
poise of as full a representation as possible. 

To obviate this difficulty the Senate adopted 
a ncAv principle of apportionment. They as- 
sumed the total population of the United States, 
and not the population of each State, as the 
basis on which the whole number of represent- 
atives should be ascertained. This aggregate 
they divided by thirty thousand : the quotient 



Rush's Washington in Domestic Life. 



^T. 60.J 



WASHINGTOiN'S VETO— INTENTION OF EETIREMENT. 



699 



gave one hundred and twenty as the number of 
representatives ; and this number they apportion- 
ed upon the several States according to their pop- 
ulation ; allotting to each one member for every 
tliirty thousand, and distributing the residuary 
members (to mak« up the one hundred and 
twenty) among the States having the largest 
fractions. 

After an earnest debate, the House concurred, 
and the bill came before the President for his 
decision. The sole question was as to its con- 
stitutionality ; that being admitted, it was un- 
exceptionable. "Washington took the opinion 
of his cabinet. Jelferson and Eandolph consid- 
ered the act at variance with the constitution. 
Knox was undecided. Hamilton thought the 
clause of the constitution relating to the subject 
somewhat vague, and was in favor of the con- 
struction given to it by the legislature. 

After weighing the arguments on both sides, 
and maturely deliberating, the President made 
up his mind that the act was unconstitutional. 
It was the obvious intent of the constitution to 
apply tlie ratio of representation according to 
the separate members of each State, and not to 
the aggregate of the population of the United 
States. Now this bill allotted to eight of the 
States more than one representative for thirty 
tliousand inhabitants. He accordingly returned 
the bill with his objections, being the first ex- 
ercise of the veto power. A new bill was sub- 
stituted, and passed into a law ; giving a repre- 
sentative for every tliirty-three thousand to each 
State. 

Great heat and asperity were manifested in 
the discussions of Congress throughout the 
present session. Washington had observed 
with pain the political divisions which were 
growing up in the country ; and was deeply 
concerned at finding that they were pervading 
the halls of legislation. The press, too, was 
contributing its powerful aid to keep up and 
increase the irritation. Two rival papers ex- 
isted at the seat of government ; one was Fen- 
no's Gazette of the United States, in which John 
Adams had published his " Discourses on Da- 
vila ;" the other was the National Gazette, edit- 
ed by Philip Freneau. Freneau had been edi- 
tor of the New York Daily Advertiser, but had 
come to Philadelphia in the autumn of 1791 to 
occupy the post of translating clerk in Mr. Jef- 
ferson's office, and had almost immediately (Oct. 
81) published the first number of his Gazette. 
Notwithstanding his situation in the office of 
the Secretary of State, Freneau became and 



continued to be throughout the session, a viru- 
lent assailant of most of the measures of govern- 
ment; excepting such as originated with Mr. 
Jefierson, or were approved by him. 

Heart-weary by the political strifes and dis- 
agreements which were disturbing the country 
and marring the harmony of liis cabinet, the 
charge of government was becoming intolerably 
irksome to "Washington ; and he longed to be 
released from it, and to be once more master 
of himself, free to indulge those rural and agri- 
cultural tastes which were to give verdure and 
freshness to his future existence. He had some 
time before this expressed a determination to 
retire from public life at the end of his presi- 
dential term. But one more year of that term 
remained to be endured ; he was congratulat- 
ing himself with the thought, wlien Mr. Jeffer- 
son intimated that it was his intention to retire 
from office at the same time with himself. 

"Washington was exceedingly discomposed by 
this determination. Jefferson, in his Anas, as- 
sures us that the President remonstrated with 
him against it, " in an affectionate tone." For 
his own part, he observed, many motives com- 
pelled him to retire. It was only after much 
pressing that he had consented to take a part 
in the new government and get it under way. 
"Were he to continue in it longer, it might give 
room to say that, having tasted the sweets of 
office, he could not do without them. 

He observed, moreover, to Jefferson, that he 
really felt himself growing old ;■ that his bodily 
health was less firm, and his memory, always 
bad, was becoming worse. The other faculties 
of his mind, perhaps, might be evincing to 
others a decay of which, he himself might be 
insensible. This apprehension, he said, partic- 
ularly oppressed him. 

His activity, too, had declined ; business was 
consequently more irksome, and the longing 
for tranquillity and retirement had become an 
irresistible passion. For these reasons he felt 
himself obliged, he said, to retire ; yet he should 
consider it unfortunate if, in so doing, he should 
bring on the retirement of the great officers of 
government, which might produce a shock on 
the public mind of a dangerous consequence. 

Jefferson, in reply, stated the reluctance with 
which he himself had entered upon public em- 
I)loyment, and tlie resolution he had formed on 
accepting his station in the cabinet, to make 
the resignation of the President the epoch of 
his own retirement from labors of which he 
was heartily tired. He did not believe, how- 



700 



JEFFERSON'S CHARACTER OF HAMILTON— MR. MADISON. 



[1192. 



ever, that any of his brethren in the adminis- 
tration had any idea of retiring ; on the con- 
trary, he had perceived, at a late meeting of 
the trustees of the sinking fund, that the Secre- 
tary of the Treasury had developed the plan he 
intended to pursue, and that it embraced years 
in its view. 

Washington rejoined, that he considered the 
Treasury department a limited one, going only 
to the single object of revenue, while that of 
the Secretary of State, embracing nearly all the 
objects of administration, was much more im- 
portant, and the retirement of the officer, there- 
fore, would be more noticed ; that though the 
government had set out with a pretty general 
goodwill, yet that symptoms of dissatisfaction 
had lately shown themselves, far beyond what 
he could have expected ; and to what height 
these might arise, in case of too great a change 
in the administration, could not be foreseen. 

Jefferson availed himself of this opportunity 
to have a thrust at his political rival. " I told 
him," (the President,) relates he, " that in my 
opinion there was only a single source of these 
discontents. • Though they had, indeed, ap- 
peared to spread themselves over the "War de- 
partment also, yet I considered that as an over- 
flowing only from their real channel, which 
would never have taken place if they had not 
first been generated in another department, to 
wit, that of the Treasury. That a system had 
there been contrived for deluging the States 
with paper money instead of gold and silver, 
for withdrawing our citizens from the pursuits 
of commerce, manufoctures, buildings, and other 
branches of useful industry, to occupy them- 
selves and their capitals in a species of gam- 
bling, destructive of morality, and which had 
introduced its poison into the government it- 
self." * 

Mr. Jefferson went on, in the same strain, to 
comment at large upon the measures of Mr. 
Hamilton, but records no reply of importance 
on the part of Washington, whose object in 
seeking the conversation had been merely to 
persuade his Secretary to remain in the cabinet ; 
and Avho had no relish for the censorious com- 
ments to which it had given rise. 

Yet with all this political rivalry, Jefferson 
has left on record his appreciation of the ster- 
ling merit of Hamilton. In his Anas, he speaks 
of him as " of acute understanding, disinterest- 
ed, honest, and honorable in all private trans- 



* Jefferson's "Works, ix. lOi 



actions ; amiable in society, and duly valuing 
virtue in private life. Yet so bewitched and 
perverted by the British example, as to be 
under thorough conviction that corruption was 
essential to the government of a nation." 

In support of this sweeping exception to Mr; 
Hamilton's political orthodoxy, Mr. Jefferson 
gives, in his Anas, a conversation which occur- 
red between that gentleman and Mr. Adams, 
at his (Mr. Jefferson's) table, after the cloth was 
removed. " Conversation," writes he, " began 
on other matters, and by some circumstance 
was led to the British constitution, on which 
Mr. Adams observed, ' purge that constitution 
of its corruption, and give to its popular branch 
equality of representation, and it would be the 
most perfect constitution ever devised by the 
wit of man.' Hamilton paused and said, ' purge 
it of its corruption, and give to its popular 
branch equality of representation, and it would 
become an impracticable government; as it 
stands at present, with all its supposed defects, 
it is the most perfect government which ever 
existed,' " * 

This after-dinner conversation appears to us 
very loose ground on which to found the opin- 
ion continually expressed by Mr. Jefferson, that 
" Mr. Hamilton was not only a monarchist, but 
for a monarchy bottomed on corruption." 

Subsequent to Washington's remonstrance 
with Mr. Jefferson above cited, he had confi- 
dential conversations with Mr. Madison on the 
subject of his intended retirement from office 
at the end of the presidential term, and asked 
him to think what .would be the proper time 
and mode of announcing his intention to the 
public ; and intimating a wish that Mr. Madison 
would prepare for him the announcement. 

Mr. Madison remonstrated in the most earnest ; 
manner against such a resolution, setting forth, i 
in urgent language, the importance to the 
country of his continuing in the presidency. 
Washington listened to his reasoning with pro- 
found attention, but still clung to his resolution. •. 

In consequence of St. Clair's disastrous defeat ; 
and the increasing pressure of the Indian war, ; 
bills had been passed in Congress for increasing i 
the army, by adding three regiments of infantry 
and a squadron of cavalry (which additional 
force was to serve for three years, unless sooner t 
discharged), also for establishing a uniform 
militia system. 

The question now came up as to the appoint- 



■ Jefferson's Works, vol. ix., p. 96. 



Ml. 60.] 



WASHINGTON TO ST. CLAIR— REQUESTS MADISON'S ADVICE. 



701 



ment of an officer to command in the Western 
frontier. General St. Clair, in a letter to 
Washington, expressed a wish that a court of 
inquiry might be instituted to investigate his 
conduct in the late expedition. " Your desire," 
replied Washington, March 28th, " of rectify- 
ing any errors of the public opinion relative to 
your conduct, by an investigation of a court of 
inquiry, is highly laudable, and would be read- 
ily complied with, were the measure practica- 
ble. But a total deficiency of officers in actual 
s'ervice, of competent rank to form a legal court 
for that purpose, precludes the power of grati- 
fying your wishes on this occasion. 

"The intimation of your wishes to afford 
your successor all the information of which you 
are capable, although unnecessary for my per- 
sonal conviction, must be regarded as an addi- 
tional evidence of the goodness of your heart, 
and of your attachment to your country." 

In a letter dated March 31st, St. Clair urged 
reasons for being permitted to retain his com- 
mission " until an opportunity should be pre- 
sented, if necessary, of investigating his conduct 
in every mode presented by law." 

These reasons, Washington replied, would 
be conclusive with him under any other circum- 
stances than the present. " But the establish- 
ment of the troops," observes he, " allows only 
of one Major-General. You have manifested 
your intention of retiring, and the essential in- 
terests of the public require that your successor 
should be immediately appointed, in order to 
repair to the frontiers. 

" As the House of Representatives have been 
pleased to institute an inquiry into the causes 
of the failure of the late expedition, I should 
hope an opportunity would thereby be afforded 
you of explaining your conduct in a manner 
satisfactory to the public and yourself." 

St. Clair resignetl his commission, and was 
succeeded in his Western command by General 
Wayne, the mad Anthony of the revolution, 
still in the vigor of his days, being forty seven 
years of age. " He has many good points as 
an officer," writes Washington, " and it is to be 
hoped that time, reflection, good advice, and, 
above all, a due sense of the importance of the 
trust which is committed to him, will correct 
his foibles, or cast a shade over them." * 

Washington's first thought was that a deci- 
sive expedition conducted by this energetic man 
of the sword, might retrieve the recent frontier 



* Letter to Governor Lee. 
X. 248. 



Waahington'a Writings, 



disgrace, and put an end to the persevering hos- 
tility of the Indians. In deference, however, to 
the clamors which had been raised against the 
war and its expenses, and to meet what appear- 
ed to be the prevalent wish of the nation, he 
reluctantly relinquished his more energetic pol- 
icy, and gave in to that which advised further 
negotiations for peace ; though he was far from 
anticipating a beneficial result. 

In regard to Sty Clair, we will here add : that 
a committee of the House of Eepresentatives 
ultimately inquired into the cause of the failure 
of his expedition, and rendered a report, in 
which he was explicitly exculpated. His adju- 
tant-general also (Winthrop Sargent), in his 
private diary, testifies to St. Clair's coolness 
and bravery, though debilitated by illness. 
Public sentiment, however, remained for a long 
time adverse to him; but Washington, satisfied 
with the explanations which had been given, 
continued to honor him with his confidence and 
friendship. 

Congress adjourned on the 8th of May, and 
soon afterward Washington set off on a short 
visit to Mount Vernon. The season was in all 
its beauty, and never had this rallying place of 
his affections appeared to him more attractive. 
How could he give up the prospect of a speedy 
return to its genial pursuits and pleasures from 
the harassing cares and j anglings of public life. 
On the 20th of May, he wrote to Mr. Madison 
on the subject of their late conversation. " I 
have not been unmindful," says he, " of the 
sentiments expressed by you. On the contrary, 
I have again and again revolved them with 
thoughtful anxiety, but without being able to 
dispose my mind to a longer continuation in the 
office I have now the honor to hold, I, there- 
fore, still look forward with the fondest and 
most ardent wishes to spend the remainder of 
my days, which I cannot expect to be lo.ug, in 
ease and tranquillity." 

He now renewed the request he had made 
Mr. Madison, for advice as to the proper time 
and mode for announcing his intention of re- 
tiring, and for assistance in preparing the an- 
nouncement. " In revolving this subject my- 
self," writes he, "my judgment has always 
been embarrassed. On the one hand, a previous 
declaration to retire, not only carries with it the 
appearance of vanity and self-importance, but 
it may be construed into a manoeuvre to be in- 
vited to remain ; and, on the other hand, to 
say nothing, implies consent, or, at any rate, 
would leave the matter in doubt ; and to de- 



702 



JEFFERSON OPPOSES WASHINGTON'S RETIREMENT. 



[1792. 



cline afterwards, might be deemed as bad and 
uncandid." 

" I would fain cany my request to you fur- 
ther," adds he. " As the recess [of Congress] 
may afford you leisure, and, I flatter myself, 
you have dispositions to oblige me, I Avill, 
without apology, desire, if the measure in itself 
should strike you as projjer, or likely to produce 
public good, or private honor, that you w'ould 
turn your thoughts to a valedictory address 
from me to the public." 

He then went on to suggest a number of the 
topics and ideas which the address was to con- 
tain ; all to be expressed in " plain and modest 
terms." But, in the main, he left it to Mr. 
Madison to determine whether, in the first 
place, such an address would be proper ; if so, 
what matters it ought to contain, and when it 
ought to appear ; whether at the same time 
■with his [Washington's] declaration of his in- 
tention to retire, or at the close of his career. 

Madison, in reply, approved of the measure, 
and advised that the notification and address 
should appear together, and be promulgated 
through the press in time to pervade every part 
of the Union by the beginning of November. 
With the letter he sent a draft of the address. 
" You will readily observe," writes he, " that, 
in executing it, I have aimed at that plainness 
and modesty of language, which you had in 
view, and which, indeed, are so peculiarly be- 
coming the character and the occasion ; and 
that I had little more to do as to the matter, 
than to follow the just and comprehensive out- 
line which you had sketched. I flatter myself, 
however, that, in every thing which has de- 
pended on me, much improvement will be 
made, before so interesting a paper shall have 
taken its last form." * 

Before concluding his letter, Madison ex- 
pressed a hope that Washington would recon- 
sider his idea of retiring from oflice, and that 
the country might not, at so important a con- 
juncture, be deprived of the inestimable advan- 
tage of having him at the head of its councils. 

On the 23d of May, Jeftersoii also addressed 
a long letter to Washington on the same subject. 
" When you first mentioned to me your purpose 
of retiring from the government, though I felt 
all the magnitude of the event, I was in a con- 
siderable degree silent. I knew that, to such 
a mind as yours, persuasion was idle and im- 
pertinent ; that, before forming your decision, 

* Washington's Writings. Sparks, xii. 382. 



you had weighed all the reasons for and against 
the measure, had made up your mind in full 
view of them, and that there could be little 
hope of changing the result. Pursuing my 
reflections, too, I knew we were some day to 
try to walk alone, and, if tlie essay should be 
made while you should be alive and looking on, 
we should derive confidence from that circum- 
stance, and resource if it failed. The public 
mind, too, was then calm and confident, and 
therefore in a favorable state for making the 
experiment. But the public mind is no longer 
so confident and serene ; and that from causes 
in which you are no ways personally mixed." 

Jefferson now launched out against the public 
debt and all the evils which he apprehended 
from the funding system, the ultimate object 
of all which was, said he, " to prepare the way 
for a change from the present republican form 
of government to that of a monarchy, of which 
the English constitution is to be the model." 
He concluded by pronoimcing the continuance 
of Washington at the head of affairs, to be of 
the last importance. 

" The confidence of the whole Union," writes 
he, " is centred in you. Your being at the 
helm will be more than an answer to every ar- 
gument which can be used to alarm and lead 
the people in any quarter into violence or ce- 
cession. North and South will hang together, 
if they have you to hang on ; and, if the first 
corrective of a numerous representation should 
fail in its eflfect, your presence will give time 
for trying others not inconsistent with the union 
and peace of the States. 

" I am perfectly aware of the oppression 
under which your present office lays your mind, 
and of the ardor with which you pant for re- 
tirement to domestic life. But there is some- 
times an eminence of character on which society 
has such peculiar claims, as to control the pre- 
dilections of the individual for a particular 
walk of happiness, and i-estrain him to that 
alone, arising from the present and future bene- 
dictions of mankind. This seems to be your 
condition, and the law imposed on you by 
Providence, in forming your character, and 
fashioning the events on which it was to ope- 
rate ; and it is to motives like these, and not to 
personal anxieties of mine or others, who have 
no right to call on you for sacrifices, that I ap- 
peal from your former determination and urge 
a revisal of it, on the ground of change in the 
aspect of things. Should an honest majority 
result from the new and enlarged representa- 



^T. 60.] 



JEFFERSON TO LAFAYETTE— FEENEAU'S GAZETTE. 



703 



tion, should those acquiesce, whose principles 
or interests they may control, your wishes for 
retirement would be gratified with less danger, 
as soon as that shall be manifest, without await- 
ing the completion of the second period of four 
years. One or two sessions will determine the 
crisis ; and I cannot but hope, that you can 
resolve to add one or two more to the many 
years you have already sacrificed to the good 
of mankind." * 



CHAPTER XVI. 

The letter of Jefferson was not received by 
"Washington until after his return to Philadel- 
phia, and the purport of it was so painful to 
him, that he deferred from day to day having 
any conversation with that statesman on the 
subject. A letter written in the mean time, by 
Jefferson to Lafayette, shows the predominant 
suspicion, or rather belief, which had fixed it- 
self in the mind of the former, and was shaping 
his course of action. 

" A sect," writes he, " has shown itself among 
us, who declare they espoused our constitution 
not as a good and sufiicient thing in itself, but 
only as a step to an English constitution, the 
only thing good and sufiicient in itself, in their 
eyes. It is happy for us that these are preach- 
ers without followers, and that our people are 
firm and constant in their republican purity. 
You will wonder to be told that it is from the 
Eastward chiefly, that these champions for a 
king, lords, and commons, come. They get 
some important associates from New York, and 
are puffed up by a tribe of Agioteurs which 
have been hatched in a bed of corruption, made 
up after the model of their beloved England. 
Too many of these stock-jobbers and king-job- 
bers have come into our legislature, or rather, 
too many of our legislature have become stock- 
jobbers and king-jobbers. However, the voice 
of the people is beginning to make itself heard, 
and will probably cleanse their seats at the next 
election." f 

In regard to the suspicions and apprehensions 
avowed in the above letter, and which appa- 
rently were haunting Jefferson's mind, Hamil- 
ton expressed himself roundly in one of his 
cabinet papers : 

"^he idea of introducing a monarchy or 
aristocracy into this country, by employing the 



■ Writings, x. 508. 



t Jeflerson's Works, iii. 450. 



influence and force of a government continually 
changing hands, towards it, is one of those 
visionary things that none but madmen could 
meditate, and that no wise man will believe. 
If it could be done at all, which is utterly in- 
credible, it would require a long series of time, 
certainly beyond the life of any individual, to 
effect it — who, then, would enter into such a 
plot? for Avhat purpose of interest or ambi- 
tion ? " 

And as to the charge of stock-gambling in 
the legislature, Hamilton indignantly writes : 
" As far as I know, there is not a member of 
the legislature who can properly be called a 
stock-jobber or a paper dealer. There are 
several of them who were proprietors of pubhc 
debt, in various ways; some for money lent 
and property furnished for the use of the public 
during the war, others for sums received in 
payment of debts, and it is supposable enough 
that some of them had been purchasers of the 
public debt, with intention to hold it as a valu- 
able and convenient property, considering an 
honorable provision for it as a matter of course, 

" It is a strange perversion of ideas, and as 
novel as it is extraordinary, that men should 
be deemed corrupt and criminal for becoming 
proprietors in the funds of their country-. Yet, 
I believe the number of members of Congress 
is very small, who have ever been considerable 
proprietors in the funds. As to improper spec- 
ulations on measures depending before Con- 
gress, I believe never was any body of men 
freer from them." * 

On the 10th of July, Washington had a con- 
versation with Jefferson on the subject of the 
letter he had recently received from him ; and 
endeavored with his usual supervising and 
moderating assiduity to allay tlie jealousies and 
suspicions which were disturbing the mind of 
that ardent politician. These, he intimated, 
had been carried a great deal too far. There 
might be desires, he said, among a few in the 
higher walks of life, particularly in the great 
cities, to change the form of government into a 
monarchy, but he did not believe there were 
any designs ; and he believed the main body 
of the people of the Eastern States were as 
steadily for republicanism as in the Southern. 

He now spoke with earnestness about articles 
in the public papers, especially in the Gazette 
edited by Freneau, the object of which seemed 
to be to excite opposition to the government, 



* narailton's Works, iv. 268. 



704 CONVERSATION BETWEEN WASHINGTON AND JEFFERSON— HAMILTON. [1-7 9! 



and which had actually excited it in Pennsyl- 
vania, in regard to the excise law. " These 
articles," said lie, feelingly, " tend to produce a 
sepai-ation of the Union, the most dreadful of 
calamities ; and whatever tends to produce an- 
archy, tends, of course, to produce a resort to 
monarchical government." 

The articles in question had, it is true, been 
chiefly levelled at the Treasury department, but 
Washington accepted no immunity from attacks 
pointed at any dejaartment of his government ; 
assuming that they were aimed directly at him- 
self. " In condemning the administration of 
the government, they condemned me," said he, 
" for, if they thought these were measures pur- 
sued contrary to my sentiments, they must con- 
ceive me too careless to attend to them or too 
stupid to understand them." 

He acknowledged, indeed, that he had signed 
many acts of which he did not approve in all 
their parts ; but never had he put his hand to 
one which he did not think eligible, on the 
whole. 

As to the bank which had been so mi;ch 
complained of, he observed that, imtil there 
was some infallible criterion of reason, a differ- 
ence of opinion must be tolerated. He did 
not believe the discontents extended far from 
the seat of government. He had seen and 
spoken with many people in Maryland and Vir- 
ginia in his late journey, and had found them 
contented and happy. 

Jefferson's observations in reply tended, prin- 
cipally, to iterate and enforce what he had al- 
ready urged in his letter. The two great popu- 
lar complaints were, he said, that the national 
debt was unnecessarily increased by the As- 
sumption, and that it had furnished the means 
of corrupting both branches of the legislature. 
In both Houses the're was a considerable squad- 
ron whose votes were devoted to the paper 
and stock-jobbing interest. On examining the 
votes of these men they would be found uni- 
formly for every treasury measure, and as most 
of these measures had been carried by small 
majorities, they had been carried by these very 
votes. It was a cause of just uneasiness there- 
fore, when we saw a legislature legislating for 
their own interests in opposition to those of the 
people. 

" Washington," observes Jefferson, " said not 
a word on the corruption of the legislature." 
He probably did not feel disposed to contend 
against what he may have considered jealous 
suspicions and deductions. But he took uj) the 



other point and defended the Assum]\tion, 
arguing, says Jefferson, that it had not in- 
creased the debt, for that all of it was ?ionest 
delt. 

He justified the excise law, too, as one of the 
best laws that could be passed, as nobody 
would pay the tax who did not choose to do 
it. 

We give this conversation as noted down by 
Jefferson in his " Anas." It is one of the very 
few instances we have of Washington's infor- 
mal discussions with the members of his cabi- 
net, and it bears the stamp of that judgment, 
considerateness, delicacy, and good faith which 
enabled him to moderate and manage the way- 
ward passions and impulses of able men. 

Hamilton was equally strenuous with Jeffer- 
son in urging upon Washington the policy of a 
re-election, as it regarded the public good, and 
wrote to him fully on the subject. It was the 
opinion of every one, he alleged, with whom 
he had conversed, that the affairs of the na- 
tional government were not yet firmly estab- 
lished ; that its enemies, generally speaking, 
were as inveterate as ever ; that their enmity 
had been sharpened by its success and all the 
resentments which flow from disappointed pre- 
dictions and mortified vanity ; that a general 
and strenuous effort was making in every State 
to place the administration of it in the hands 
of its enemies, as if they were its safest guar- 
dians; that the period of the next House of 
Representatives was likely to prove the crisis of 
its national character ; that if Washington con- 
tinued in oflice, nothing materially mischievous 
was to be apprehended ; but, if he should quit, 
much was to be dreaded ; that the same mo- 
tives which had induced him to accept origin- 
ally, ought to decide him to continue till mat- 
ters had assumed a more determinate aspect ; 
that, indeed, it would have been better as it 
regarded his own character, that he had never 
consented to come forward than now to leave 
the business unfinished and in danger of being 
undone ; that in the event of storms arising, 
there would be an imputation either of want 
of foresight or want of firmness ; and, in fine, 
that on public and personal accounts, on patri- 
otic and prudential considerations, the clear 
path to be pursued by him would be again to 
obey the voice of his country ; which, it was 
not doubted, would be as earnest and as unani- 
mous as ever. 

In concluding his letter, Hamilton observes, 
"The sentiments I have delivered upon this 



^T. 60.] A WARRING CABINET-HAMILTON'S ATTACK ON JEFFERSON. 



705 



occasion, I can truly say, proceed exclusively 
from au anxious concern for the public welfare 
and an affectionate personal attachment." 

Mr. Edmund Randolph also, after a long let- 
ter on the "jeopardy of the Union," which 
seemed to him " at the eve of a crisis," adds : 
" The fuel which has been already gathered for 
combustion wants no addition. But how aw- 
fully might it be increased, were the \iolence, 
which is now suspended by a universal submis- 
sion toyour pretensions, let loose by your res- 
ignation. Permit me, then, in the fervor of 
a dutiful and affectionate attachment to you, to 
beseech you to penetrate the consequences of a 
dereliction of the reins. The constitution 
would never have been adopted but from a 
knowledge that you had once sanctioned it, and 
an expectation that you would execute it. It 
is a in a state of probation. The most inauspi- 
cious struggles are past, but the public delib- 
erations need stability. You alone can give 
them stability. You suffered yourself to yield 
when the voice of your country summoned you 
to the administration. Should a civil war arise, 
you cannot stay at home. And how much 
easier will it be to disperse the factions, which 
are rushing to this catastrophe, than to subdue 
them after they shall appear in arms ? It is the 
fixed opinion of the world, that you surrender 
nothing incomplete." * 

Not the cabinet, merely, divided as it was in 
its poHtical opinions, but all parties, however 
discordant in other points, concurred in a desire 
that Washington should continue in oflSce — so 
truly was he regarded as the choice of the na- 
tion. 

But though the cabinet was united in feeling 
on this one subject, in other respects its dissen- 
sions were increasing in virulence. Hamilton, 
aggrieved by the attacks made in Freneau's 
paper upon his funding and banking system, his 
duty on home-made spirits, and other points 
of his financial policy, and upon himself, by 
holding him up as a monarchist at heart, and 
considering these attacks as originating in the 
hostility of Freneau's patron, Mr. Jefferson, 
addressed a note signed T. L., to the editor of 
ithe Gazette of the United States, in which he 
observed that the editor of the National Gazette 
received a salary from government, adding the 
significant quere — whether this salary was paid 
him for translations or for publications, the de- 
sign of which was to vilify those to whom the 



45 



^ WaBliington's 'Writings, x. 514. 



voice of the people had committed the adminis- 
tration of our public affairs, to oppose the 
measures of government, and, by false insinua- 
tions, to disturb the public peace ? " In com- 
mon life it is thought ungrateful for a man to 
bite the hand that puts bread in his mouth ; 
but, if the man is hired to do it, the case is 
altered." 

In another article, dated August 4th, Mr. 
Hamilton, under the signature of "An Ameri- 
can," gave some particulars of the negotiations 
which ended m the establishment of the Nation- 
al Gazette, devoted to the interests of a certain 
party, of which Mr. Jefferson was the head. 
"An experiment," said he, " somewhat new in 
the history of pohtical manoeuvres in this coun- 
try ; a newspaper instituted by a public officer, 
and the editor of it regularly pensioned with the 
public money in the disposal of that officer. * 
* * * But, it may be asked— is it possible 
that Mr. Jefferson, the head of a principal de- 
partment of the government, can be the patron 
of a paper, the evident object of which is to 
decry the government and its measures ? If he 
disapproves of the government itself, and thinks 
it deserving of his opposition, can he reconcile 
it to his own personal dignity and the princi- 
ples of probity, to hold an office under it, and 
employ the means of official influence in that 
opposition ? If he disapproves of the leading 
measures which have been adopted in the course 
of his administration, can he reconcile it with 
the principles of delicacy and propriety, to hold 
a place in that administration, and at the same 
time to be instrumental in vilifying measures 
which have been adopted by majorities of both 
branches of the legislature, and sanctioned ly 
the chief magistrate of the Union ? " 

This attack brought out an affidavit from Mr. 
Freneau, in which he declared that his coming 
to Philadelphia was his own voluntary act-, 
that, as an editor of a newspaper, he had never 
been urged, advised, or influenced by Mr. Jeffer- 
son, and that not a single line of his Gazette 
was ever directly or indirectly written, dictated, 
or composed for it, by the Secretary of State. 

Washington had noticed this growing feud 
with excessive pain, and at length found it ne- 
cessary to interfere and attempt a reconciliation 
between the warring parties. In the course of 
a letter to Jefferson (Aug. 23d), on the subject 
of Indian hostilities, and the possibility of their 
being furnished by foreign agents to check, as 
far as possible, the rapid increase, extension, 
and consequence of the United States, " How 



706 



WASHINGTON'S HEALING ADMONITIONS— HAMILTON'S REPLY. 



[1792; 



unfortunate then," observes he, " and how much 
to be regretted that, while we are encompassed 
on all sides with armed enemies and insidious 
friends, internal dissensions should be harrow- 
ing and tearing our vitals. The latter, to me, 
is the most serious, the most alarming, and the 
most afflicting of the two ; and without more 
charity for the opinions and acts of one another 
in governmental matters, or some more infalli- 
ble criterion by which the truth of speculative 
opinions, before they have undergone the test 
of experience, are to be prejudged, than has yet 
fallen to the lot of fallibility, I believe it will 
be diiScult, if not impracticable, to manage the 
reins of government, or to keep the parts of it 
together ; for if, instead of laying our shoulders 
to the machine after measures are decided 
on, one pulls this way and another that, before 
the utility of the thing is fairly tried, it must 
inevitably be torn asunder ; and, in my opinion, 
the fairest prospect of happiness and prosperity 
that ever was presented to man, will be lost 
perhaps forever. 

" My earnest wish and fondest hope, there- 
fore, is, that instead of wounding suspicions and 
irritating charges, there may be liberal allow- 
ances, mutual forbearances, and temporizing 
yieldings on all sides. Under the exercise of 
these, matters will go on smoothly, and, if pos- 
sible, more prospei-ously. "Without them, every 
thing must rub ; tlie wheels of government will 
clog ; our enemies will triumph, and, by throw- 
ing their weight into the disaffected scale, may 
accomplish the ruin of the goodly fabric we 
have been erecting." 

Admonitions to the same purport were ad- 
dressed by him to Hamilton. " Having pre- 
mised these things," adds he, " I would fain hope 
that liberal allowances will be made for the po- 
litical opinions of each other ; and, instead 
of those wounding suspicions and irritating 
charges, with which some of our gazettes are so 
strongly impregnated, and which cannot fail, 
if persevered in, of pushing matters to extrem- 
ity, and thereby tearing the machine asunder, 
that there may be mutual forbearance and tem- 
porizing yielding on all sides. Without these 
I do not see how the reins of government are 
to be managed, or how the Union of the States 
can be much longer preserved." * * * 

" I do not mean to apply this advice to any 
measures which are passed, or to any particular 
character. I have given it in the same general 
terms to other officers of the government My 
earnest wish is, that balsam may be poured into 



all the wounds which have been given, to pre- 
vent them from gangrening, and from those fa- 
tal consequences which, the community may 
sustain if it is withheld." * 

Hamilton was prompt and affectionate in his 
reply, expressing sincere regret at the circum- 
stances which had given rise to the uneasy sen- 
sations experienced by Washington. " It is my 
most anxious wish," writes he, " as far as may 
depend upon me, to smooth the path of your 
administration, and to render it prosperous and 
happy. And if any prospect shall open of heal- 
ing or terminating the differences which exist, I 
shall most cheerfully embrace it ; though I con- 
sider myself as the deeply injured party. The 
recommendation of such a spirit is worthy of 
the moderation and wisdom which dictated it." 

He then frankly acknowledged that he had 
had " some instrumentality " in the retaliations 
which of late had fallen upon certain public 
characters. 

" I considered myself compelled to this con- 
duct," adds he, " by reasons public as well as 
personal, of the most cogent nature. I hiow I 
have been an object of uniform opposition from 
Mr. Jefferson, from the moment of his coming 
to the city of New York to enter upon his pres- 
ent office. I Tcnow^ from the most authentic 
sources, that I have been the frequent subject 
of the most imkind whispers and insinuations 
from the same quartei*. I have long seen a 
formed party in the legislature under his aus- 
pices, bent upon my subversion. I cannot 
doubt, from the evidence I possess, that the 
National Gazette was instituted by him for po- 
litical purposes, and that one leading object of 
it has been to render me and all the measures 
onnected with my department as odious as 
possible." "Nevertheless," proceeds he, "I 
can truly say, that, excepting explanations to 
confidential friends, I never, directly or indi- 
rectly, retaliated or countenanced retaliation 
till very lately. * * * * * 

But when I no longer doubted that there was 
a formed party deliberately bent upon the sub- 
version of measures which, in its consequences, 
would subvert the government; when I saw 
that the undoing of the funding system in par- 
ticular, (which, whatever may be the original 
measures of that system, would prostrate the 
credit and honor of the nation, and bring the 
government into contempt with that description 
of men who are in every society the only firm 



* Writings, s. p. 284. 



JEt. 60.] 



JEFFEKSON'S EEPLY TO WASHINGTON'S LETTER. 



707 



supporters of government,) was an avowed ob- 
ject of the party ; and that all possible pains 
were taken to produce that effect, by rendering 
it odious to the body of the people, I considered 
it a duty to endeavor to resist the torrent, and, as 
an effectual means to this end, to draw aside the 
veil from the principal actors. To this strong 
impulse, to this decided conviction, I have 
yielded ; and I think events will prove that I 
have judged rightly. 

" Nevertheless, I pledge my hand to you, sir, 
that, if you shall hereafter form a plan to re- 
unite the members of your administration upon 
some steady principle of co-operation, I will 
faithfully concur in executing it during my con- 
tinuance in office. And I will not, directly or 
indirectly, say or do a thing that shall endanger 
a feud." 

Jefferson, too, in a letter of the same date, 
assured "Washington that to no one had the dis- 
sensions of the cabinet given deeper concern 
than to himself — to no one equal mortification 
at being himself a part of them. His own 
grievances, which led to those dissensions, he 
traced back to the time when Hamilton, in the 
spring of 1790, procured his influence to effect 
a change in the vote on Assumption. " When 
I embarked in the government," writes he, " it 
was with a determination to intermeddle not at 
all with the legislature, and as little as possible 
with my co-departments. The first and only 
instance of vai-iance from the former part of 
my resolution, I was duped into by the Secre- 
tary of the Treasury, and made a tool for for- 
warding his schemes, not then sufliciently un- 
derstood by me ; and of all the errors of my 
political life, this has occasioned me the deepest 
regret." * * * u jf jj. j^^g ^^^^ supposed 
that I have ever intrigued among the members 
of the legislature to defeat the plans of the Sec- 
retary of the Treasury, it is contrary to all 
truth. * * * That I have utterly, in my 
private conversations, disapproved of the system 
of the Secretary of the Treasury, I acknowledge 
and avow.; and this was not merely a specula- 
tive difference. His system flowed from prin- 
ciples adverse to liberty, and was calculated to 
undermine and demolish the republic by crea- 
ting an influence of his department over the 
members of the legislature." 

In regard to Freneau's Gazette, Mr. Jefferson 
absolutely denied that he had set it up, but ad- 
mitted that, on its first establishment, and sub- 
sequently from time to time, he had furnished 
the editor with the Leyden Gazette, requesting 



that he would always translate and publish the 
material intelligence contained in them. " But 
as to any other direction or indication," adds 
he, " of my wish how his press should be con- 
ducted, what sort of intelligence he should give, 
what essays encourage, I can protest, in the 
presence of Heaven, that I never did, by myself 
or any other, directly or indirectly, say a sylla- 
ble, nor attempt any kind of influence. I can 
further protest, in the same awful presence, 
that I never did, by myself or any other, di- 
rectly or indirectly, write, dictate, or procure 
any one sentence or sentiment to be inserted in 
his or any other Gazette, to which my name 
was not affixed, or that of my office. * * * 
" Freneau's proposition to publish a paper 
having been about the time that the writings 
of PuBLicoLA and the Disgotjeses on Davila 
had a good deal excited the public attention, I 
took it for granted, from Freneau's character, 
which had been marked as that of a good Whig, 
that he would give free place to pieces written 
against the aristocratical and monarchical prin- 
ciples these papefs had inculcated. * =f= * 
" As to the merits or demerits of his paper, 
they certainly concern me not. He and Fenno 
[editor of the United States Gazette] are rivals 
for the public favor ; the one courts them by 
flattery, the other by censure ; and I believe it 
will be admitted that the one has been as ser- 
vile as the other severe. But is not the dig- 
nity and even decency of government com- 
mitted, when one of its principal ministers en- 
lists himself as an anonymous writer or para- 
graphist for either the one or the other of 
them ? " 

Mr. Jefferson considered himself particularly 
aggrieved by charges against him in Fenno's 
Gazette, which he ascribed to the pen of Mr. 
Plamilton, and intimated the possibility, that 
after his retirement from office, he might make 
an appeal to the country, should his own justifi- 
cation or the interests of the Eepublic require 
it, subscribing his name to whatever he might 
write, and using with freedom and truth the 
facts and names necessary to place the cause in 
its just form before that tribunal. " To a thor- 
ough disregard of the honors and emoluments 
of office, I join as great a value for the esteem 
of my countrymen ; and conscious of having 
merited it "by an integrity which cannot be re- 
proached, and by an enthusiastic devotion to 
their rights and liberty, I will not suffer my re- 
tirement to be clouded by the slanders of a man, 
whose history, from tlie moment at which his- 



708 



A PROCLAMATION-WASHINGTON UNANIMOUSLY RE-ELECTED. [1792. 



tory can stoop to notice hiui, is a tissue of 
machinations against the liberty of the country 
which has not only received and given him 
bread, but heaped its honors on his head." 

Washington's solicitude for harmony in his 
cabinet had been rendered more anxious by 
public disturbances in some parts of the coun- 
try. The excise law on ardent spirits distilled 
within the United States, had, from the time 
of its enactment by Congress in 1791, met with 
opposition from the inhabitants of the Western 
counties of Pennsylvania. It had been modi- 
fied and rendered less offensive within the pres- 
ent year ; but the hostihty to it had continued. 
Combinations were formed to defeat the execu- 
tion of it, and the revenue officers were riot- 
ously opposed in the execution of their duties. 
Determined to exert all the legal powers with 
which he was invested to check so darmg and 
unwarrantable a spirit, Washington, on the 15th 
of September, issued a proclamation, warning 
all persons to desist from such unlawful com- 
binations and proceedings, and requiring all 
courts, magistrates, and officers to bring the m- 
fractors of the law to justice ; copies of which 
proclamation were sent to the governors of 
Pennsylvania and of North and South Carolina. 
On the 18th of October, Washington made 
one more effort to allay the discord in his cab- 
inet. Finding it impossible for the rival secre- 
taries to concur in any system of politics, he 
urged them to accommodate their differences 
by mutual yieldings. " A measure of this sort," 
observed he, " would produce harmony and 
consequent good in om- public councils, and the 
contrary will inevitably produce confusion and 
serious mischiefs ; and all for what ? Because 
mankind cannot think alike, but would adopt 
different means to attain the same end. For I 
will frankly and solemnly declare, that I believe 
the views of both to be pure and well meant, 
and that experience only will decide with re- 
spect to the salutariness of the measures which 
are the subjects of this dispute. 

" Why, then, when some of the best citizens 
of the United States— men of discernment- 
uniform and tried patriots— who have no smis- 
ter views to promote, but are chaste in their 
ways of thinkmg and acting, are to be found, 
some on one side and some on the other of the 
questions which have caused these agitations- 
why should either of you be so tenacious of 
your opinions as to make no allowance for those 
of the other? * * * * 
" I have a great, a sincere esteem and regard 



for you both ; and ardently wish that some line 
could be marked out by which both of you could 
walk." 



CHAPTEPv XVII. 

It was after a long and painful conflict of 
feelings that Washington consented to be a can- 
didate for re-election. There was no opposition 
on the part of the public, and the vote for him 
in the Electoral College was unanimous. In 
a letter to a friend, he declared himself grate- 
fully impressed by so distinguished and honora- 
ble a testimony of public approbation and con- 
fidence. In truth he had been apprehensive of 
being elected by but a meagre majority, which 
he acknowledged would have been a matter of 
chagrin. 

George Clinton, of New York, was held up 
for the Vice-Presidency, in opposition to John 
Adams ; but the latter was re-elected by a ma- 
jority of twenty-seven electoral votes. 

But though gratified to find that the hearts 
of his countrymen were still with him, it was 
with no emotion of pleasure that Washington 
looked forward to another term of public duty, 
and a prolonged absence from the quiet retire- 
ment of Mount Vernon. 

The session of Congress, which was to close 
his present term, opened on the fifth of Novem- 
ber. The continuance of the Indian war formed 
a painful topic in the President's address. Ef- 
forts at pacification had as yet been unsuccess- 
ful: two brave officers, Colonel Hardin and 
Major Trueman, who had been sent to negotiate 
with the savages, had been severally murdered. 
Vigorous preparations were therefore making 
for an active prosecution of hostilities, in which 
Wayne was to take the field. Washington, 
with benevolent earnestness, dwelt upon the 
humane system of civilizing the tribes, by incul- 
cating agricultural tastes and habits. 

The factious and turbulent opposition which 
had been made in some parts of the country to 
the collection of duties on spirituous liquors 
distiUed in the United States, was likewise ad- 
verted to by the President, and a determination 
expressed to assert and maintain the just au- 
thority of the laws ; trusting in the " full co- 
operation of the other departments of govern- 
ment, and the zealous support of all good citi- 
zens." 
In a part of the speech addressed to the 



^T. 60.] OPENING OF CONGRESS-WASHINGTON INSTALLED FOR HIS SECOND TERM. 709 



House of Eepresentatives, he expressed a strong 
hope that the state of the national finances was 
now sufficiently matured to admit of an ar- 
rangement for the redemption and discharge of 
the public debt. " No measure," said he, " can 
be more desirable, whether viewed with an eve 
to its intrinsic importance, or to the general 
sentiment and wish of the nation." 

The address was well received by both houses, 
and a disposition expressed to concur with 
the President's views and wishes. The discus- 
sion of the subjects to which he had called their 
attention, soon produced vehement conflicts of 
opinion in the house, marking the growing vir- 
ulence of parties. The Secretary of the Treas- 
ury, in reporting, at the request of the House, 
a plan for the annual reduction of so much of 
the national debt as the United States had a 
right to redeem, spoke of the expenses of the 
Indian war, and the necessity of additional in- 
ternal taxes. The consideration of the report 
was parried or evaded, and a motion made to 
reduce the military establishment. This gave 
an opportunity for sternly criticizing the mode 
in which the Indian war had been conducted ; 
for discussing the comparative merits and cost 
of regular and militia forces, and for inveighing 
against standing armies, as dangerous to liber- 
ty. These discussions, while they elicited much 
heat, led to no present result, and gave way to 
an inquiry into the conduct of the Secretary of 
the Treasury in regard to certain loans, which 
the President, in conformity to acts of Con- 
gress, had authorized him to make ; but con- 
cerning the management of which he had not 
furnished detailed reports to the legislature. 

The subject was opened by Mr, Giles, of Vir- 
ginia, who moved in the House of Representa- 
tives a series of resolutions seeking information 
in the matter, and who followed his resolutions 
by a speech, charging the Secretary of the 
Treasury with official misconduct, and intimat- 
ing that a large balance of public money had 
not been accounted for. 

A report of the Secretary gave all the in- 
formation desired ; but the charges against him 
continued to be urged with great acrimony to 
the close of the session, when they were signal- 
ly rejected, not more than sixteen members 
voting for any one of them. 

The veneration insjiired by the character of 
"Washington, and the persuasion that he would 
never permit himself to be considered the head 
of a party, had hitherto shielded him from at- 
tack ; a little circumstance, however, showed 



that the rancor of party was beginning to glance 
at him. 

On his birth-day (Feb. 22) many of the mem^ 
hers of Congress were desirous of waiting on 
him in testimony of respect as chief magistrate 
of the Union, and a motion was made to adjourn 
for half an hour for that purpose. It met with 
serious opposition as a species of homage— it 
was setting up an idol dangerous to liberty— it 
had a bias towards monarchy ! 

Washington, though he never courted popu- 
larity, was attentive to the signs of public opin- 
ion, and disposed to be guided by them when 
right. The time for entering upon his second 
term of Presidency was at hand. There had 
been much cavilling at the parade attending his 
first installation. Jefi'erson especially had pro- 
nounced it " not at all in character with the 
simpHcity of republican government, and look- 
ing, as if wishfully, to those of European 
Courts." 

To guide him on the coming occasion, Wash- 
ington called the heads of departments togeth- 
er, and desired they would consult with one 
another, and agree on any changes they might 
consider for the better, assuring them he would 
willingly conform to whatever they should 
advise. 

They held such consultation, and ultimately 
gave their individual opinions in writing, with 
regard to the time, manner, and place of the 
President's taking the oath of office. As they 
were divided in opinion, and gave no positive 
advice as to any change, no change was made. 
On the 4th of March, the oath was publicly ad- 
ministered to Washington by Mr. Justice Gush- 
ing, in the Senate Chamber, in presence of the 
heads of departments, foreign ministers, such 
members of the House of Eepresentatives as 
were in town, and as many other spectators as 
could be accommodated. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

Early in 1792, Gouverneur Morris had re- 
ceived the appointment of minister plenipoten- 
tiary to the French court. His diplomatic" 
correspondence from Paris gave shocking ac- 
counts of the excesses attending the revolution. 
France he represented as governed by Jacobin 
clubs. Lafayette, by endeavoring to check 
their excesses, had completely lost his author- 
ity. "Were he to appear just now in Paris, 



710 OVERTHROW OF THE FRENCH MONARCHY— IMPRISONMENT OF LAFAYETTE. [1792. 



unattended by his army," writes Morris, " he 
would be torn to pieces." "Washington receiv- 
ed these accounts with deep concern. What 
was to be the fate of that distracted country — 
what was to be the fate of his friend ! 

Jefferson was impatient of these gloomy 
picturings ; especially when he saw their effect 
upon Washington's mind. " The fact is," writes 
he, "that Gouverneur Morris, a high-flying 
monarchy man, shutting his eyes and his faith 
to every fact against his wishes, and believing 
every thing he desires to be true, has kept the 
President's mind constantly poisoned with his 
forebodings." 

His forebodings, however, were soon veri- 
fied. Lafayette addi-essed from his camp, a 
letter to the Legislative Assembly, formally 
denouncing the conduct of the Jacobin club as 
violating the declaration of rights and the con- 
stitution. 

His letter was of no avail. On the 20th of 
June bands from the Faubourg St. Antoine, 
armed with pikes, and headed by Santerre, 
marched to the Tuileries, insulted the king in 
the presence of his family, obliging him to put 
on the bonnet rouge, the baleful cap of liberty 
of the revolution. Lafayette, still loyal to his 
sovereign, hastened to Paris, appeared at the 
bar of the Assembly, and demanded, in the 
name of the army, the punishment of those 
who had thus violated the constitution, by in- 
sulting in his palace, the chief of the executive 
power. His intervention proved of no avail, 
and he returned with a sad and foreboding 
heart to his army. 

On the 9th of August, Paris was startled by 
the sound of the fatal tocsin at midnight. On 
the 10th the chateau of the Tuileries was at- 
tacked, and the Swiss guard who defended it, 
were massacred. The king and queen took 
refuge in the National Assembly, which body 
decreed the suspension of the king's authority. 

It was at once the overthrow of the mon- 
archy, the annihilation of the constitutional 
party, and the commencement of the reign of 
terror. Lafayette, who was the head of the 
constitutionalists, was involved in their down- 
fall. The Jacobins denounced him in the Na- 
tional Assembly ; his arrest was decreed, and 
emissaries were sent to carry the decree into 
effect. At first he thought of repairing at once 
to Paris and facing his accusers, but, on second 
tiiou^^hts, determined to bend before the storm 
and await the return of more propitious days. 

Leaving every thing in order in his army, 



which remained encamped at Sedan, he set off 
with a few trusty friends for the Netherlands, 
to seek an asylum in Holland or the United 
States, but, with his companions, was detained 
a prisoner at Eochefort, the first Austrian post. 

" Thus his circle is completed," writes Mor- 
ris. " He has spent his fortune on a revolution, 
and is now crushed by the wheel which he put 
in motion. He lasted longer than I expected." 

Washington looked with a sadder eye on this 
catastrophe of Lafayette's high-hearted and 
gallant aspirations, and mourned over the ad- 
verse fortunes of his friend. 

The reign of terror continued. " We have 
had one week of unchecked murders, in which 
some thousands have perished in the city," 
writes Morris to Jefferson, on the 10th of Sep- 
tember. " It began with between two and 
three hundred of the clergy, who had been shot 
because they would not take the oaths prescrib- 
ed by the law, and which they said were con- 
trary to their conscience." Thence tJiese execu- 
tors of speedy justice went to the abhaye where 
persons were confined who were at court on the 
10th of August. These were despatched also, 
and afterwards they visited the other prisons. 
"All those who were confined either on the 
accusation or suspicion of crimes, were destroy- 
ed." 

The accounts of these massacres grieved Mr. 
Jefferson. They were shocking in themselves, 
and he feared they might bring great discredit 
upon the Jacobins of France, whom he consid- 
ered republican patriots, bent on the establish- 
ment of a free constitution. They had acqui- 
esced for a time, said he, in the experiment of 
retaining an hereditary executive, but finding, 
if pursued, it would ensui'e the re-establishment 
of a despotism, they considered it absolutely 
indispensable to expunge that ofiice. " In the 
struggle which was necessary, many guilty per- 
sons fell without the forms of trial, and with 
them, some innocent. These I deplore as much 
as anybody, and shall deplore some of them to 
the day of my death. But I deplore them as I 
should have done, had they fallen in battle. It 
was necessary to use the arm of the people, a 
machine not quite so blind as balls and bombs, 
but blind to a certain degree. A few of their 
cordial friends met at their hands the fate of 
enemies. But time and truth will rescue and 
embalm their memories, while their posterity 
wiU be enjoying that very liberty for which 
they would never have hesitated to offer up 
their lives. The liberty of the whole earth was 



^T. 60.] WASHINGTON'S CONCERN FOR LAFAYETTE— MORRIS ON EVENTS IN FRANCE. 711 



depending on the issue of the contest, and was 
ever such a prize won with so little innocent 
blood ? My own aflections have been deeply 
wounded by some of the martyrs to this cause, 
but rather than it should have failed, I would 
have seen half the earth desolated ; were there 
but an Adam and Eve left in every country, 
and left free, it would be better than as it now 
is." * 

Washington, who contemplated the French 
revolution with a less sanguine eye than Jeffer- 
son, was simply shocked at the atrocities which 
disgraced it, and at the dangers to be appre- 
hended fz'om an unrestrained populace. A let- 
ter which he received from Gouverneur Morris 
(dated October 23d), placed the condition of 
the unfortunate Louis XVI., the ancient friend 
and ally of America, in a light to awaken his 
benevolent sympathy, " You will have seen," 
writes Morris, " that the king is accused of high 
crimes and misdemeanors ; but I verily believe 
that he wished sincerely for this nation, the 
enjoyment of the utmost degree of liberty, 
which their situation and circumstances will 
permit. He wished for a good constitution, 
but, unfortunately, he had not the means to 
obtain it, or, if he had, he was thwarted by 
those about him. What may be his fate God 
only knows, but history informs us that the 
passage of dethroned monarchs is short from 
the prison to the grave." 

JSTothing, however, in all the eventfid tidings 
from France, gave Washington greater concern 
than the catastrophe of his friend Lafayette. 
His first thoughts prompted the consolation 
and assistance of the marchioness. In a letter 
to her, he writes : " If I had words that could 
convey to you an adequate idea of my feelings 
on the present situation of the Marquis Lafay- 
ette, this letter would appear to you in a differ- 
ent garb. The sole object in writing to you 
now, is to inform you that I have deposited in 
the hands of Mr, Nicholas Van Staphorst of 
Amsterdam, two thousand three hundred and 
ten guilders, Holland currency, equal to two 
hundred guineas, subject to your orders. 

" This sum is, I am certain, the least I am 
indebted for services rendered me by the Mar- 
quis de Lafayette, of which I never yet have 
received the account. I could add much, but 
it is best, perhaps, that I should say little on 
this subject. Your goodness will supply my 
deficiency. 



* Letter to Mr. Short. JeflFerson's Works, iii. 501. 



" The uncertainty of your situation, after all 
the inquiries I have made, has occasioned a 
delay in this address and remittance ; and even 
now the measure adopted is more the effect of 
a desire to find where you are, than from any 
knowledge I have obtained of your residence." 

Madame de Lafayette, in fact, was at that 
time a prisoner in France, in painful ignorance 
of her husband's fate. She had been com- 
manded by the Jacobin committee to repair to 
Paris about the time of the massacres, but was 
subsequently permitted to reside at Chavaniac, 
under the surveillance of the municipality. 

We will anticipate events by adding here, 
that some time afterwards, finding her husband 
was a prisoner in Austria, she obtained permis- 
sion to leave France, and ultimately, with her 
two daughters, joined him in his prison at 01- 
mutz, George Washington Lafayette, the son 
of the General, determined to seek an asylum 
in America. 

In the mean time, the arms of revolution- 
ary France were crowned with great success. 
" Towns fall before them without a blow," 
writes Gouverneur Morris, " and the declara- 
tion of riglits produces an effect equal at least 
to the trumpets of Joshua." But Morris was 
far from drawing a favorable augury from this 
success. " We must observe the civil, moral, 
religious, and political institutions," said he. 
" These have a steady and lasting effect, and 
these only. * * ^ Since I have been in this 
country, I have seen the worship of many idols, 
and but little of the true God. I have seen 
many of those idols broken, and some of them 
beaten to dust. I have seen the late constitu- 
tion, in one short year, admired as a stupen- 
dous monument of human wisdom, and ridi- 
culed as an egregious production of folly and 
vice. I wish much, very much, the happiness 
of this inconstant people. I love them. I feel 
grateful for their efforts in our cause, and I con- 
sider the establishment of a good constitution 
here as the principal means, under Divine Prov- 
idence, of extending the blessings of freedom 
to the many millions of my fellow-men, who 
groan in bondage on the continent of Europe, 
But I do not greatly indulge the flattering illu- 
sions of hope, because I do not yet perceive 
that reformation of morals, without which, lib- 
erty is but an empty sound." * 



* Life of Morris, ii. 248. 



712 EXECUTION OF LOUIS XVI.— FRANCE DECLARES WAR AGAINST ENGLAND. [1793. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

It was under gloomy auspices, a divided cab- 
inet, and increasing exasperation of parties, a 
suspicion of monarchical tendencies, and a 
threatened abatement of popularity, that Wash- 
ington entered upon his second term of presi- 
dency. It was a portentous pei'iod in the his- 
tory of the world, for in a little while came 
news of that tragical event, the beheading of 
Louis XVI. It was an event deplored by many 
of the truest advocates of liberty in America, 
who, like Washington, remembered that unfor- 
tunate monarch as the friend of their country 
in her revolutionary struggle ; but others, zeal- 
ots in the cause of political reform, considered 
it with complacency, as sealing the downfall of 
the French monarchy and the establishment of 
a republic. 

An event followed hard upon it to shake the 
quiet of the world. Early in April intelligence 
was received that France had declared war 
against England. Popular excitement was now 
wound up to the highest pitch. What, it was 
asked, were Americans to do in such a junc- 
ture ? Could they remain unconcerned specta- 
tors of a conflict between their ancient enemy 
and republican France ? Should they fold their 
arms and look coldly on a war, begun, it is true, 
by France, but threatening the subversion of 
the republic, and the re-establishment of a mon- 
archical government ? 

Many, in the wild enthusiasm of the moment, 
would at once have precipitated the country 
into a v/ar. Fortunately this belligerent im- 
pulse was not general, and was checked by the 
calm, controlling wisdom of Washington. He 
was at Mount Vernon when he received news 
of the war, and understood that American ves- 
sels were already designated, and some even 
fitting out to serve in it as privateers. He 
forthwith despatched a letter to Jefferson on 
the subject. " War having actually commenced 
between France and Great Britain," writes he, 
" it behooves the government of this country 
to use eveiy means in its power to prevent the 
citizens thereof from embroiling us with either 
of those powers, by endeavoring to maintain a 
strict neutrality." 

Hastening back to Philadelphia, he held a 
cabinet council on the 19th of April, to deliber- 
ate on the measures proper to be observed by 
the United States in the present crisis ; and to 



determine upon a general plan of conduct for 
the Executive. 

In this council it was unanimously deter- 
mined that a proclamation should be issued by 
the President, " forbidding the citizens of the 
United States to take part in any hostilities on 
the seas, and warning them against carrying to 
the belligerents any articles deemed contraband 
according to the modern usages of nations, and 
forbidding all acts and proceedings inconsistent 
with the duties of a friendly nation towards 
those at war." 

It was unanimously agreed also, that should 
the republic of France send a minister to the 
United States, he should be received. 

No one at the present day questions the wis- 
dom of Washington's proclamation of neutral- 
ity. It was our true policy to keep aloof from 
European war, in which our power would be in- 
efiicient, our loss certain. The measure, how- 
ever, was at variance with the enthusiastic feel- 
ings and excited passions of a large portion of the 
citizens. They treated it for a time with some 
forbearance, out of long-cherished reverence 
for Washington's name ; but his popularity, 
hitherto unlimited, was no proof against the 
inflamed state of public feeling. The proclama- 
tion was stigmatized as a royal edict ; a daring 
assumption of power ; an open manifestation 
of partiality for England and hostility to France. 

Washington saw that a deadly blow was 
aimed at his influence and his administration, 
and that both were at hazard ; but he was con- 
vinced that neutrahty was the true national 
policy, and he resolved to maintain it, whatever 
might be his immediate loss of popular favor. 
His resolution was soon put to the test. 

The French republic had recently appointed 
Edmond Charles Genet, or ' Citizen Genet,' as 
he was styled, minister to the United States, 
He was represented as a young man of good 
parts, very well educated, and of an ardent 
temper. He had served in the bureau of For- 
eign Affairs under the ministry of Vergennes, 
and been employed in various diplomatic situ- 
ations until the overthrow of the monarchy, 
when he joined the popular party, became a 
political zealot, and member of the Jacobin 
club, and was rewarded with the mission to 
America. 

A letter from Gouverneur Morris apprised 
Mr. Jefferson that the Executive Council had 
furnished Genet with three hundred blank com- 
missions for privateers, to be given clandes- 
tinely to such persons as he might find in 



.Et. 61.] FRENCH MISSION TO THE UNITED STATES— RECEPTION OF GENET. 



713 



America inclined to take them. "They sup- 
pose/' writes Morris, " that the avidity of some 
adventurers may lead them into measures which 
would involve altercations with Great Britain, 
and terminate finally in a war." 

Genet's conduct proved the correctness of 
this information. He had landed at Charles- 
ton, South Carolina, from the French frigate 
the Ambuscade, on the 8th of April, a short 
time before the proclamation of neutrality, and 
was received with great rejoicing and extrava- 
gant demonstrations of respect. His landing 
at a port several hundred miles from the seat 
of government, was a singular move for a dip- 
lomat ; but his object in so doing was soon evi- 
dent. It is usual for a foreign minister to pre- 
sent his credentials to the government to which 
he comes, and be received by it in form before 
he presumes to enter upon the exercise of his 
functions. Citizen Genet, however, did not 
stop for these formalities. Confident in his 
nature, heated in his zeal, and flushed with the 
popular warmth of his reception, he could not 
pause to consider the proprieties of his mission 
and the delicate responsibilities involved in 
diplomacy. The contiguity of Charleston to 
the AVest Indies made it a favorable port for 
fitting out privateers against the trade of these 
islands ; and during Genet's short sojourn there 
he issued commissions for arming and equipping 
vessels of war for that purpose, and manning 
them with Americans. 

In the latter part of April, Genet set out for 
the north by laud. As he proceeded on his 
journey, the newspapers teemed with accounts 
of the processions and addresses with which 
he was greeted, and the festivities which cele- 
brated his arrival at each place. Jefferson, in 
a letter to Madison written from Philadelphia 
on the 5th of May, observes with exultation : 
'' The war between France and England seems 
to be producing an eifect not contemplated. 
All the old spirit of 1776, rekindling the news- 
papers from Boston to Charleston, proves this ; 
and even the monocrat papers are obliged to 
pubhsh the most furious philippics against Eng- 
land. A French frigate * took a British prize 
[the Grange] ofif the Capes of Delaware the 
other day, and sent her up here. Upon her 
coming into sight, thousands and thousands of 
the yeomanry of the city crowded and covered 
the wharves. Never was there such a crowd 
seen there ; and when the British colors were 



* The Ambuscade. 



seen reversed, and the French flying above 
them, they burst into peals of exultation, I 
wish we may be able to repress the spirit of 
the people within the limits of a fair neutrality. 
* * * We expect Genet daily." 

A friend of Hamilton writes in a difi'erent 
vein. Speaking of Genet, he observes : " He 
has a good person, a fine ruddy comi^lexion, 
quite active, and seems always in a bustle, 
more like a busy man than a man of business. 
A Frenchman in his manners, he announces 
himself in all companies as the minister of the 
republic, etc., talks freely of his commission, 
and, like most Europeans, seems to have 
adopted mistaken notions of the penetration 
and knowledge of the people of the United 
States. His system, I think, is to laugh us into 
the war if he can." 

On the 16th of May, Genet arrived at Phila- 
delphia. His belligerent operations at Charles- 
ton had already been made a subject of com- 
plaint to the government by Mr. 'Hammond, 
the British minister; but they produced no 
abatement in the public enthusiasm. " It was 
suspected," writes Jefferson, "that there was 
not a clear mind in the President's counsellors 
to receive Genet, The citizens, however, de- 
termined to receive him. Arrangements were 
taken for meeting him at Gray's Ferry, in a 
great body. He escaped that, by arriving in 
town with the letters which brought informa- 
tion that he was on the road." * 

On the following day, various societies and 
a large body of citizens waited upon him with 
addresses, recalling with gratitude the aid given 
by France in the achievement of American in- 
dependence, and extolling and rejoicing in the 
success of the arms of the French republic. 
On the same day, before Genet had presented 
his credentials and been acknowledged by the 
President, he was invited to a grand republican 
dinner, " at which," we are told, " the com- 
pany united in singing the Marseilles hymn. 
A deputation of French sailors presented them- 
selves, and were received by the guests with 
the ' fraternal embrace.' The table was deco- 
rated with the ' tree of liberty,' and a rod cap, 
called the cap of liberty, was placed on the 
head of the minister, and from his travelled in 
succession from head to head round the table." t 

This enthusiasm of the multitude was re- 
garded with indalgence, if not favor, by Jeffer- 
son, as being the effervescence of the true 



* Letter to Madison, Works, iii. 562. 
t Jay's Life, vol. i., p. 301. 



714 DEPRECATIONS OF HAMILTON— GENET PRESENTS HIS LETTER OF CREDENCE. [1798. 



spirit of liberty ; but was deprecated by Ham- 
ilton as an infatuation that might " do us much 
harm, and could do France no good." A let- 
ter, written by him at the time, is worthy of 
full citation, as embodying the sentiments of 
that party of which he was the leader. " It 
cannot be without danger and inconvenience 
to our interests, to impress on the nations of 
Europe an idea that we are actuated by the 
same spirit which has for some time past fatally 
misguided the measures of those who conduct 
the affairs of France, and sullied a caiase once 
glorious, and that might have been triumphant. 
The cause of France is compared with that of 
America during its late revolution. "Would to 
Heaven that the comparison were just ! "Would 
to Heaven we could discern, in the mirror of 
French affairs, the same decorum, the same grav- 
ity, the same order, the same dignity, the same 
solemnity, which distinguished the cause of the 
American revolution ! Clouds and darkness 
would not then rest upon the issue as they now 
do. I own I do not like the comparison. "When 
I contemplate the horrid and systematic massa- 
cres of the 2d and 3d of September ; when I 
observe that a Marat and a Kobespierre, the 
notorious prompters of those bloody scenes, sit 
triumphantly in the convention, and take a 
conspicuous part in its measures — that an at- 
tempt to bring the assassins to justice has been 
obliged to be abandoned — when I see an unfor- 
tunate prince, whose reign was a continued 
demonstration of the goodness and benevolence 
of his heart, of his attachment to the people of 
whom he was the monarch, who, though edu- 
cated in the lap of despotism, had given re- 
peated proofs that he was not the enemy of 
liberty, brought precipitately and ignomin- 
iously to the block without any substantial 
\proof of guilt, as yet disclosed — without even 
an authentic exhibition of motives, in decent 
regard to the opinions of mankind ; when I 
find the doctrines of atheism openly advanced 
in the convention, and heard with loud ap- 
plauses ; when I see the sword of fanaticism 
extended to force a political creed upon citi- 
zens who were invited to submit to the arms 
of France as the harbingers of liberty ; when I 
behold the hand of rapacity outstretched to 
prostrate and ravish the monuments of relig- 
ious worship, erected by those citizens and their 
ancestors ; when I perceive passion, tumult, 
and violence usurping those seats, where reason 
and cool deliberation ought to preside, I ac- 
knowledge that I am oilad to believe there is no 



real resemblance between what was the cause 
of America and what is the cause of France ; 
that the difference is no less great than that 
between liberty and licentiousness. I regret 
whatever has a tendency to confound them, 
and I feel anxious, as an American, that the 
ebullitions of inconsiderate men among us 
may not tend to involve our reputation in the 
issue." * 

"Washington, from his elevated and responsi- 
ble situation, endeavored to look beyond the 
popular excitement, and regard the affairs of 
France with a dispassionate and impartial eye, 
but he confessed that he saw in the turn they 
had lately taken the probability of a terrible 
confusion, to which he could predict no certain 
issue : a boundless ocean whence no land was 
to be seen. He feared less, he said, for the 
cause of liberty in France from the pressure of 
foreign enemies, than from the strifes and quar- 
rels of those in whose hands the government 
was intrusted, who were ready to tear each 
other to pieces, and would more probably 
prove the worst foes the country had. 



CHAPTER XX. 

On the 18th of May, Genet presented his let- 
ter of credence to the President ; by whom, 
notwithstanding his late unwarrantable pro- 
ceedings at Charleston, he was well received ; 
"Washington taking the occasion to express his 
sincere regard for the French nation. 

Jefferson, who, as Secretary of State, was 
present, had all his warm sympathies in favor 
of France, roused by Genet's diplomatic speech. 

" It was impossible," writes he to Madison, 
" for any thing to be more affectionate, more 
magnanimous, than the purport of Genet's mis- 
sion. ' We wish you to do nothing,' said he, 
' but what is for your own good, and we will 
do all in our power to promote it. Cherish 
your own peace and prosperity. You have 
expressed a willingness to enter into a more 
liberal commerce with us ; I bring full powers 
to form such a treaty, and a preliminary decree 
of the National Convention to lay open our 
country and its colonies to you, for every pur- 
pose of utility, without your participating the 
burthens of maintaining and defending them. 
"We see in you, the only person on earth who 

* HamUtou's AVorks, v. 56G. 



yET, 61.] EXPOSTULATIONS OF WASHINGTON— RESTITUTION OF CAPTURED VESSELS. 715 



cau love ns sincerely, and merit to be so loved.' 
In short, he otFers every thing, and asks noth- 
ing." 

"Yet I kno^v the oiiers will he opposed," 
adds Jefferson, " and suspect they will not he 
accepted. In short, my dear sir, it is impossi- 
ble for you to conceive what is passing in our 
conclave ; and it is evident that one or two, at 
least, under pretence of avoiding war on the 
one side, have no great antipathy to run foul 
of it on the other, and to make a part in the 
confederacy of princes against human liberty." 

The ' one or two,' in the paragraph above 
cited, no doubt, imply Hamilton and Knox. 

"Washington again, in conversation, endeav- 
ored to coimteract these suspicions which were 
swaying Jefferson's mind against Ms contem- 
poraries. We give Jefferson's own account of 
the conversation. " He (Washington) observed 
that, if anybody wanted to change the form of 
our government into a monarchy, he was sure 
it was only a few individuals, and that no man 
in the United States would set his face against 
it, more than himself; but, that this was not 
what he was afraid of; his fears were from 
another quarter ; that there was more danger 
of anarchy being introduced.'''' 

He then adverted to Freneau's paper and its 
partisan hostilities. He despised, he said, all 
personal attacks upon himself, but observed 
that there never had been an act of the gov- 
ernment which that paper had not abused. 
" He was evidently sore and warm," adds Jef- 
ferson, " and I took his intention to be, that I 
should interpose in some way with Freneau ; 
perhaps, withdraw his appointment of trans- 
lating clerk in my ofSce. But I will not do 
it." 

It appears to us rather an imgracious deter- 
mination on the part of Jefferson, to keep this 
barking cur in his employ, when he found him 
so annoying to the chief, whom he professed, 
and we believe with sincerity, to revere. 
Neither are his reasons for so doing satisfac- 
tory, savoring, as they do, of those strong po- 
litical suspicions already noticed. "His (Fre- 
neau's) paper," observed he, " has saved our 
constitution, which was galloping fast into 
monarchy, and has been checked by no 
means so powerfully as by that paper. It is 
well and universally known, that it has been 
that paper which checked the career -of the 
monocrats ; the President, not sensible of the 
designs of the party, has not, with his usual 
good sense and sangfroid, looked on the efforts 



and effects of this free press, and seen that, 
though some bad things have passed through 
it to the public, yet tlie good have preponder- 
ated immensely." * 

Jefferson was mistaken. Washington had 
regarded the efforts and effects of this free 
press with his usual good sense ; and the in- 
jurious influence it exercised in public affairs, 
was presently manifested in the transactions of 
the government with Genet. The acts of this 
diplomatic personage at Charleston, had not 
been the sole ground of the complaint preferred 
by the British minister. The capture of the 
British vessel, the Grange, by the frigate Am- 
buscade, formed a gi'aver one. Occurring with- 
in our waters, it was a clear usurpation of na- 
tional sovereignty, and a violation of neutral 
rights. The British minister demanded a res- 
titution of the prize, and the cabinet were 
unanimously of opinion that restitution should 
be made ; nor was there any difficulty with 
the French minister on this head ; but resti- 
tution was likewise claimed of other vessels 
captured on the high seas, and brought into 
port by the privateers authorized by Genet. 
In regard to these there was a difference of 
sentiment in the cabinet. Hamilton and Knox, 
were of opinion that the government should 
interpose to restore the prizes ; if being the 
duty of a neutral nation to remedy any injury 
sustained by armaments fitted out in its ports. 
Jefferson and Ptandolph contended that the case 
should be left to the decision of the courts of 
justice. If the courts adjudged the commis- 
sions issued by Genet to be invalid, they would, 
of course, decide the captures made under them 
to be void, and the property to remain in the 
original owners; if, on the other hand, the 
legal right to the property had been transferred 
to the captors, they would so decide. 

Seeing this difference of opinion in the cab- 
inet, Washington reserved the point for further 
deliberation ; but directed the Secretary of State 
to communicate to the ministers of France and 
Britain, the principles in which they concurred ; 
these being considered as settled. Circular let- 
ters, also, were addressed to the Governors of 
several States, requiring their co-operation, 
with force, if necessary, to carry out the rules 
agreed upon. 

Genet took umbrage at these decisions of 
the government, and expressed his dissatisfac- 
tion in a letter, complaining of them as viola- 



* Works, ix. 143. 



716 DISSATISFACTION OF GENET— WASHINGTON CALLED TO MOUNT VERNON. [1793. 



tions of natural right, and subversive of the ex- 
isting treaties between the two nations. His 
letter, though somewhat wanting in strict de- 
corum of language, induced a review of the 
subject in the cabinet ; and he was informed 
that no reason appeared for changing the sys- 
tem adopted. He was further Informed that 
in the opinion of the executive, the vessels 
which had been illegally equipped, should de- 
part from the ports of the United States. 

Genet was not disposed to acquiesce in 
these decisions. He was aware of the grateful 
feelings of the nation to France : of the popu- 
lar disposition to go all lengths short of war, 
in her favor ; of the popular idea, that repub- 
lican interests were identical on both sides of 
the Atlantic ; that a royal triumph over repub- 
licanism in Europe, would be followed by a 
combination to destroy it in this country. He 
had heard the clamor among the populace, and 
uttered in Freneau's Gazette and other news- 
papers, against the policy of neutrality ; the 
people, he thought, were with him, if "Washing- 
ton was not, and he believed the latter would 
not dare to risk his popularity in thwarting 
their enthusiasm. He persisted, therefore, in 
disregarding the decisions of the government, 
and spoke of them as a departure from the ob- 
ligations it owed to France ; a cowardly aban- 
donment of friends when danger menaced. 

Another event added to the irritation of Ge- 
net. Two American citizens, whom he had 
engaged at Charleston, to cruise in the service 
of France, were arrested on board of the pri- 
vateer, conducted to prison, and prosecutions 
commenced against them. The indignant feel- 
ings of Genet were vented in an extraordinary 
letter to the Secretary of State. When speak- 
ing of their arrest, " The crime laid to their 
charge," writes he — " the crime which my 
mind cannot conceive, and which my pen al- 
most refuses to state — is the serving of France, 
and defending with her children the common 
glorious cause of liberty. 

" Being ignorant of any positive law or 
treaty, which deprives Americans of this privi- 
lege, and authorizes officers of police arbitra- 
rily to take mariners in the service of France 
from on board of their vessels, I call upon your 
intervention, sir, and that of the President of 
the United States, in order to obtain the im- 
mediate releasement of the above-mentioned 
officers, who have acquired, by the sentiments 
animating them, and by the act of their engage- 
ment, anterior to any act to the contrary, the 



right of French citizens, if they have lost that 
of American citizens." 

The lofty and indignant tone of this letter 
had no effect in shaking the determination of 
government, or obtaining the release of the 
prisoners. Washington confesses, however, 
that he was very much harried and perplexed 
by the " disputes, memorials, and what not," 
with which he was pestered, by one or other 
of the powers at war. It was a sore trial of 
his equanimity, his impartiality, and his discrim- 
ination, and wore upon his spirits and his health. 
" The President is not well," writes Jefferson 
to Madison (.June 9th) ; " little lingering fevers 
have been hanging about him for a week or ten 
days, and affected his looks most remarkably. 
He is also extremely affected by the attacks 
made and kept up on him, in the public papers. 
I think he feels these things more than any 
other person I ever yet met with. I am sin- 
cerely sorry to see them." 

Jefferson's sorrow was hardly in accordance 
with the resolution expressed by him, to retain 
Freneau in his office, notwithstanding his inces- 
sant attacks upon the President and the meas- 
ures of his government. Washington might well 
feel sensitive to these attacks, which Jefferson 
acknowledges were the more mischievous, from 
being planted on popular ground, on the uni- 
versal love of the people to France and its cause. 
But he was not to be deterred by personal con- 
siderations, from the strict line of his duty. 
He was aware that, in withstanding the public 
infatuation in regard to France, he was putting 
an unparalleled popularity at hazard ; but he 
put it at hazard without hesitation ; and, in so 
doing, set a magnanimous example for his suc- 
cessors in office to endeavor to follow. 



CHAPTER XXI. 

In the latter part of July, Washington was 
suddenly called to Mount Vernon by the death 
of Mr. Whiting, the manager of his estates. 
During his brief absence from the seat of gov- 
ernment, occurred the case of the Little 
Saeah. This was a British merchant vessel 
which had been captured by a French privateer, 
and brought into Philadelphia, where she had 
been armed and equipped for privateering; 
manned with ©ne hundred and twenty men, 
many of them Americans, and her name changed 
into that of Le Petit Democrat. This, of course. 



^T. 61.] CASE OF THE LITTLE SARAH— JEFFERSON'S INTERVIEW WITH GENET. 



717 



was in violation of Washington's decision, which 
had heen communicated to Genet. 

General Mifflin, now Governor of Pennsylva- 
nia, being informed, on the 6th of July, that 
the vessel was to sail the next day, sent his 
secretary, Mr. Dallas, at midnight to Genet, to 
persuade him to detain her until the President 
should arrive, intimating that otherwise force 
would be used to prevent her departure. 

Genet flew into one of the transports of pas- 
sion to which he was prone ; contrasted the 
treatment experienced by him from the officers 
of government, with the attachment to his 
nation professed by the people at large ; declared 
that the President was not the sovereign of the 
country, and had no right, without consulting 
Congress, to give such instructions as he had 
issued to the State Governors ; threatened to 
appeal from his decision to the people, and to 
repel force by force, should an attempt be made 
to seize the privateer. 

Apprised of this menace. Governor Mifflin 
forthwith ordered out one hundred and twenty 
of the militia to take possession of the privateer, 
and communicated the circumstances of the 
case to the cabinet. 

Mr. Jeflferson now took the matter in hand, 
and, on the 7th of July, in an interview with 
Genet, repeated the request that the privateer 
be detained until the arrival of the President. 
Genet, he writes, instantly took up the subject 
in a very high tone, and went into an immense 
field of declamation and complaint. Jefferson 
made a few efforts to be heard, but, finding 
them ineffectual, suffered the torrent of vitu- 
peration to pour on. He sat in silence, there- 
fore, while Genet charged the government with 
having violated the treaties between the two 
nations ; with having suffered its flag to be 
insulted and disregarded by the English, who 
stopped its vessels on the high seas, and took 
out of them whatever they suspected to be 
French property. He declared that he had been 
thwarted and opposed in every thing he had 
to do with the governmen-t ; so that he some- 
times thought of packing up and going away, as 
he found he could not be useful to his nation 
in any thing. He censured the executive for 
the measures it had taken without consulting 
Congress, and declared that, on the President's 
return, he would certainly press him to convene 
that body. 

He had by this time exhausted his passion 
and moderated his tone, and Jefferson took 
occasion to say a word. "I stopped him," 



writes he, " at the subject of calling Congress ; 
explained our constitution to liim as having 
divided the functions of government among 
three different authorities, the executive, legis- 
lative, and judiciary, each of which were su- 
preme on all questions belonging to their de- 
partment, and independent of the others ; that 
all the questions which had arisen between him 
and us, belonged to the executive department, 
and, if Congress were sitting, could not be car- 
ried to them, nor would they take notice of 
them." 

Genet asked with surprise, if Congress were 
not the sovereign. 

" No," replied Jefferson. " They are sover- 
eign only in making laws ; the executive is the 
sovereign in executing them, and the judiciary 
in construing them, where they relate to that 
department." 

" But at least," cried Genet, " Congress are 
bound to see that the treaties are observed." 
" No," rejoined Jefferson. " There are very 
few cases, indeed, arising out of treaties, which 
they can take notice of. The President is to 
see that treaties are observed." 

" If he decides against the treaty, "demand- 
ed Genet, " to whom is a nation to appeal ? " 
" The constitution," replied Jefferson, " has 
made the President the last appeal." 

Genet, perfectly taken aback at finding his 
own ignorance in the matter, shrugged his 
shoulders, made a bow, and said, " he would 
not compliment Mr. Jefferson on such a con- 
stitution ! " 

He had now subsided into coolness and good 
humor, and the subject of the Little Sarah being 
resumed, Jefferson pressed her detention until 
the President's return ; intimating that her 
previous departure would be considered a very 
serious offence. 

Genet made no promise, but expressed him- 
self very happy to be able to inform Mr. Jefferson 
that the vessel was not in a state of readiness ; 
she had to change her position that day, he said, ' 
and fall down the river, somewhere about the 
lower end of the town, for the convenience of 
taking some things on board, and would not 
depart yet. 

When Jefferson endeavored to extort an 
assurance that she would await the President's 
return, he evaded a direct committal, intima- 
ting however, by look and gesture, that she 
would not be gone before that time, " But let 
me beseech you," said he, " not to permit any 
attempt to put men on board of her. She is 



718 EVASIVE ASSURANCES OF GENET— HIS INSOLENT CONDUCT TO GOVERNMENT. [1793. 



filled with high-spirited patriots, and they will 
unquestionably resist. And there is no occa- 
sion, for I tell you she will not be ready to 
depart for some time." 

Jeiferson was accordingly impressed with the 
belief that the privateer would remain in the 
river until the President should decide on her 
case, and, on communicating this conviction to 
the Governor, the latter ordered the militia to 
be dismissed. 

Hamilton and Knox, on the other hand, were 
distrustful, and proposed the immediate erection 
of a battery on Mud Island, with guns mounted 
to fire at the vessel, and even to sink her, if she 
attempted to pass. Jefferson, however, refus- 
ing to concur in the measure, it was not adopt- 
ed. The vessel, at that time, was at Gloucester 
Point, but soon fell down to Chester. 

Washington arrived at Philadelphia on the 
11th of July ; when papers requiring " instant 
attention," were put into his hands. They re- 
lated to the case of the Little Sarah, and were 
from Jefferson, who, being ill with fever, had 
retired to his seat in the country. Nothing 
could exceed the displeasure of Washington 
when he examined these papers. 

In a letter written to Jefferson, on the spur 
of the moment, he puts these indignant que- 
ries : " What is to be done in the case of the 
Little Sarah, now at Chester ? Is the minister 
of the French republic to set the acts of this 
government at defiance with impunity ? And 
then threaten the executive with an appeal to 
the people ! What must the world think of 
such conduct, and of the government of the 
United States in submitting to it ? 

" These are serious questions. Circumstances 
press for decision, and, as you have had time 
to consider them (upon me they come unexpec- 
tedly), I wish to know your opinion upon them, 
even before to-morrow, for the vessel may then 
be gone." 

Mr. Jefferson, in a reply of the same date, 
informed the President of his having received 
assurance, that day, from Mr. Genet, that the 
vessel would not be gone before his (the Presi- 
dent's) decision. 

In consequence of this assurance of the 
French minister, no immediate measures of a 
coercive nature were taken with j-egard to the 
vessel ; but, in a cabinet council held the next 
day, it was determined to detain in port all 
privateers which had been equipped within the 
United States by any of the belligerent powers. 

No time was lost in communicating this de- 



termination to Genet ; but, in defiance of it, 
the vessel sailed on her cruise. 

It must have been a severe trial of Washing- 
ton's spirit to see his authority thus braved and 
insulted, and to find that the people, notwith- 
standing the indignity thus offered to their 
chief magistrate, sided with the aggressors, and 
exulted in their open defiance of his neutral 
policy. 

About this time a society was formed under 
the auspices of the French minister, and in 
imitation of the Jacobin clubs of Paris. It 
was called the Democratic Society, and soon 
gave rise to others throughout the Union ; all 
taking the French side in the present questions. 
The term democrat, thenceforward, began to 
designate an ultra-republican. 

Fresh mortifications awaited Washington, 
from the distempered state of public sentiment. 
The trial came on of Gideon Heufield, an Amer- 
ican citizen, prosecuted under the advice of 
the Attorney-General, for having enlisted, at 
Charleston, on board of a French privateer 
Avhich had brought prizes into the port of Phil- 
adelphia. Tbe populace took part with Ilenfield. 
lie had enlisted before the proclamation of neu- 
trality had been published, and even if he had 
enlisted at a later date, was he to be punished 
for engaging with their ancient ally, France, in 
the cause of liberty against the royal despots 
of Europe ? His acquittal exposed Washmgton 
to the obloquy of having attempted a measure 
which the laws would not justify. It showed 
him, moreover, the futility of attempts at pun- 
ishment for infractions of the rules proclaimed 
for the preservation of neutrality ; while the 
clamorous rejoicing by which the acquittal of 
Ilenfield had been celebrated, evinced the pop- 
ular disposition to thwart the line of policy 
which he considered most calculated to promote 
the public good. Nothing, however, could in- 
duce him to swerve from that policy. " I have 
consolation within," said he, " that no earthly 
effort can deprive me of, and that is, that 
neither ambitious nor interested motives have 
influenced my conduct. The arrows of malev- 
olence, therefore, however barbed and well- 
pointed, can never reach the most vulnerable 
part of me ; though, whilst I am set up as a 
inai% they will be continually aimed." * 

Hitherto Washington had exercised great 
forbearance toward the French minister, not- 
withstanding the little respect shown by the 



* Letter to Governor Lee. Sparks, x. 359. 



^T. 61.] THE RECALL OF GENET DEMANDED— JEFFERSON'S INTENDED RETIREMENT. 719 



latter to the rights of the United States ; but 
the official communications of Genet were 
becoming too offensive and insulting to be 
longer tolerated. Meetings of the heads of de- 
partments and the Attorney-General were held 
at the President's on the 1st and 2d of August, 
in which the whole of the official correspond- 
ence and conduct of Genet was passed in re- 
view ; and it was agreed that his recall should 
be desired. Jefferson recommended that the 
desire should be expressed w.'th great delicacy ; 
the others were for peremptory terms. Knox 
v/as for sending him off at once, hut this propo- 
sition was generally scouted. In the end it was 
agreed that a letter should be written to Gou- 
verneur Morris, giving a statement of the case, 
with accompanying documents, that he might 
lay the whole before the executive council of 
France, and explain the reason for desiring the 
recall of Mr. Genet. 

It was proposed that a publication of the 
whole correspondence, and a statement of the 
proceedings, should be made by way of appeal 
to the people. This produced animated debates. 
Hamilton spoke vrith great warmth in favor of 
an appeal. Jefferson opposed it. " Genet," 
said he, " wiU appeal also ; it will become a 
contest between the President and Genet. 
Anonymous writers will take it up. There will 
be the same difference of opinion in 2^uMic as 
in our cabinet — there will be the same differ- 
ence in Congress, for it must be laid before 
them. It would work, therefore, very unpleas- 
antly at home. How would it work abroad ? 

"Washington, already weary and impatient, 
under the incessant dissensions of his cabinet, 
was stung by the suggession that he might be 
held up as in conflict with Genet, and subjected, 
as he had been, to the ribaldry of the press. 
At this unlucky moment Knox blundered forth 
with a specimen of the scandalous libels already 
in circulation ; a pasquinade lately printed, 
called the Funeral of George "Washington, 
wherein the President was represented as 
placed upon the guillotine, a horrible parody 
on the late decapitation of the French King. 
" The President," writes Jefferson, " now burst 
forth into one of those transports of passion 
beyond his control ; inveighed against the per- 
sonal abuse which had been bestowed upon him, 
and defied any man on earth to produce a single 
act of his since he had been in the government 
that had not been done on the purest motives. 

" He had never repented but once the having 
slipped the moment of resigning his office, and 



that was every moment since. In the agony 
of his heart he declared that he had rather be 
in his grave than in his present situation ; that 
he had rather be on his farm than to be made 
emperor of the world— and yet, he said, indig- 
nantly, they are charging me with wanting to 
be a king ! 

" All were silent during this burst of feeling 
— a pause ensued— it was difficult to resume 
the question. Washington, however, who had 
recovered his equanimity, put an end to the 
difficulty. There was no necessity, he said, for 
deciding the matter at present; the propo- 
sitions agreed to, respecting the letter to Mr. 
Morris, might be put into a train of execution, 
and, perhaps, events would show whether the 
appeal would be necessary or not." * 



CHAPTER XXII. 

Washington had hitherto been annoyed and 
perplexed by having to manage a divided cabi- 
net ; he was now threatened with that cabinet's 
dissolution. Mr. Hamilton had informed him 
by letter, that private as well as public reasons 
had determined him to retire from office towards 
the close of the next session ; probably with a 
view to give Congress an opportunity to ex- 
amine into his conduct. Now came a letter from 
Mr. Jefferson, dated July 31st, in which he re- 
called the circumstances which had induced 
him to postpone for a while his original inten- 
tion of retiring from office at the close of the 
first four years of the republic. These circum- 
stances, he observed, had now ceased to such a 
degree as to leave him free to think again of a 
day on which to withdraw ; "at the close, 
therefore, of the ensuing month of September, 
I shall beg leave to retire to scenes of greater 
tranquillity, from those for which I am every 
day more and more convinced that neither my 
talents, tone of mind, nor time of life fit me." 

Washington was both gi-ieved and embar- 
rassed by this notification. FuU of concern, he 
called upon Jefferson at his country residence 
near Philadelphia ; pictured his deep distress 
at finding himself, in the present perplexing 
juncture of affairs, about to be deserted by 
those of his cabinet on whose counsel he had 
counted, and whose places he knew not where 
to find persons competent to supply ; and, in 



* Jefferson's Works, ix. 164. 



720 INTERVIEW BETWEEN WASHINGTON AND JEFFERSON— A NAVAL CHALLENGE. [1793. 



his chagrin, again expressed his repentance that 
he himself had not resigned as he had once 
meditated. 

The public mind, he went on to observe, was 
in an alarming state of ferment ; political com- 
binations of various kinds were forming ; where 
all this would end he knew not. A new Con- 
gress was to assemble, more numerous than the 
last, perhaps of a different spirit ; the first ex- 
pressions of its sentiments would be important, 
and it would relieve him considerably if JelTer- 
son would remain in office, if it were only until 
the end of the session. 

Jefferson, in reply, pleaded an excessive re- 
pugnance to public life ; and, what seems to 
have influenced him more sensibly, the actual 
uneasiness of his position. lie Avas obliged, 
he said, to move in exactly the circle which 
he knew to bear him peculiar hatred ; " the 
wealthy aristocrats, the merchants connected 
closely with England ; the newly-created paper 
fortunes." Thus surrounded, his words were 
caught, multiplied, misconstrued, and even 
fabricated, and spread abroad to his injury. 

Mr. Jefferson pleaded, moreover, that the 
opposition of views between Mr. Hamilton and 
himself was peculiarly unpleasant, and destruc- 
tive of the necessary harmony. With regard 
to the republican party he was sure it had not 
a view which went to the frame of the govern- 
ment ; he believed the next Congress would 
attempt nothing material but to render their 
own body independent ; the manoeuvres of Mr. 
Genet might produce some little embarrass- 
ment, but the repubhcans would abandon that 
functionary the moment they knew the nature 
of his conduct. 

Washington replied, that lie believed the 
views of the republican party to be perfectly 
pure : " but when men put a machine into mo- 
tion," said he, " it is impossible for them to stop 
it exactly where they would choose, or to say 
where 4t will stop. The constitution we have 
is an excellent one, if we can keep it where it 
is." 

He again adverted to Jefferson's constant 
suspicion that there was a party disposed to 
change the constitution into a monarchical 
form, declaring that there was not a man in 
the United States who would set his face more 
decidedly against such a change than himself. 

" No rational man in the United States sus- 
pects you of any other disposition," cried Jef- 
ferson ; " but there does not pass a week in 
Q'hich we cannot prove declarations dropping 



from the monarchical party, that our govern- 
ment is good for nothing ; is a milk-and-water 
thing which cannot support itself; that we 
must knock it down and set up something with 
more energy." 

" If that is the case," rejoined Washington, 
" it is a proof of their insanity, for the repub- 
lican spirit of the Union is so manifest and so 
solid that it is astonishing how any one can ex- 
pect to move it." 

We have only Jefferson's account of this and 
other interesting interviews of a confidential 
nature which he had with the President, and we 
give them generally almost in his own words, 
through which, partial as they may have been, 
we discern Washington's constant efforts to 
moderate the growing antipathies between the 
eminent men whom he had sought to assist him 
in conducting the government. He continued 
to have the highest opinion of Jefferson's abili- 
ties, his knowledge of foreign affairs, his 
thorough patriotism ; and it was his earnest 
desire to retain him in his cabinet through the 
whole of the ensuing session of Congress ; be- 
fore the close of which he trusted the affairs 
of the country relating to foreign powers, Indian 
disturbances, and internal policy, would have 
taken a more decisive, and it was to be hoped 
agreeable form than they then had. A com- 
promise was eventually made, according to 
which Jefferson was to be allowed a temporary 
absence in the autumn, and on his return was 
to continue in office until January. 

In the mean time Genet had proceeded to 
Kew York, which very excitable city was just 
then in a great agitation. The frigate Ambus- 
cade, while anchored in the harbor, had been 
challenged to single combat by the British frig- 
ate Boston, Captain Courtney, which was cruis- 
ing off the Hook. The challenge was accepted ; 
a severe action ensued ; Courtney was killed ; 
and the Boston, much damaged, was obliged to 
stand for Halifax. The Ambuscade returned 
triumphant to New York, and entered the port 
amid the enthusiastic cheers of the populace. 
On the same day, a French fleet of fifteen sail 
arrived from the Chesapeake and anchored in 
the Hudson river. The officers and crews were 
objects of unbounded favor with aU who inclined 
to the French cause. Bompard, the command- 
er of the Ambuscade, was the hero of the day. 
Tri-colored cockades, and tri-colored ribbons 
were to be seen on every side, and rude at- 
tempts to chant the Marseilles Hymn and the 
Carmagnole resounded through the streets. 



Mt. 61.] EECEPTION OF GENET IN NEW YORK— GRIEVANCES OF GENET. 



721 



In the midst of this excitement, the ringing 
of bells and the firing of cannon announced 
that Citizen Genet was arrived at Powles Hook 
Ferry, directly opposite the city. There was 
an immediate assemblage of the republican 
party in the fields now called the Park. A 
committee was appointed to escort Genet into 
the city, lie entered it amid the almost frantic 
cheerings of the populace. Addresses were 
made to him expressing devoted attachment to 
the French republic, and abjuring all neutrality 
in regard to its heroic struggle, " The cause 
of France is the cause of America," cried the 
enthusiasts, " it is time to distinguish its friends 
from its foes." Genet looked around him. 
The tri-colored cockade figured in the hats of 
the shouting multitude ; tri-colored ribbons 
fluttered from the dresses of females in the 
windows ; the French flag was hoisted on tlie 
top of the Tontine OoflFee House (the City Ex- 
change), surmounted by the cap of liberty. 
Can we wonder that what little discretion 
Genet possessed, was completely overborne by 
this tide of seeming popularity ? 

In the midst of his self-gratulation and 
complacency, however, he received a letter 
from Mr. Jefferson (Sept. 15th), acquainting him 
with the measures taken to procure his recall, 
and enclosing a copy of the letter written for 
that purpose to the American minister at Paris, 
It was added that, out of anxious regard lest 
the interests of France might suffer, the Execu- 
tive would, in the mean time, receive bis (M. 
Genet's) communications in writing, and admit 
the continuance of his functions so long as they 
should be restrained within the law as thereto- 
fore announced to him, and should be of the 
tenor usually observed towards independent 
nations, by the representative of a friendly 
power residing with them. 

The letter of the Secretary. of State threw 
Genet into a violent passion, and produced a 
reply (Sept, 18th), written while he was still in 
a great heat. In this he attributed his disfavor 
with the American government to the machi- 
nations of " those gentlemen who had so often 
been represented to him as aristocrats, partisans 
of monarchy, partisans of England and her 
constitution, and consequently enemies of the 
principles which all good Frenchmen had em- 
braced Avith religious enthusiasm." " These 
persons," he said, " alarmed by the popularity 
which the zeal of the American peoi)le for the 
cause of France had shed upon her minister ; 
alarmed also by his inflexible and incorruptible 
40 



attachment to the severe maxims of democracy, 
were striving to ruin him in his own country, 
after having united all their efforts to calum- 
niate him in the minds. of their fellow-citizens." 

" These people," observes he, " instead of a 
democratic ambassador, would prefer a minister 
of the ancient regime, very complaisant, very 
gentle, very disposed to pay court to people in 
office, to conform blindly to every thing which 
flattered their views and projects; above all, 
to prefer to the sure and modest society of 
good farmers, simple citizens, and honest arti- 
sans, that of distinguished personages who 
speculate so patriotically in the public funds, 
in the lands, and the paper of government." 

In his heat. Genet resented the part Mr, Jef- 
ferson had taken, notwithstanding their cordial 
intimacy, in the present matter, although this 
part had mei-ely been the discharge of an offi- 
cial duty. "Whatever, Sir," writes Genet, 
" may be the result of the exploit of which you 
have rendered yourself the generous instru- 
ment, after having made me beheve that you 
were my friend, after having initiated me in 
the mysteries which have influenced my hatred 
against all those who aspire to absolute power, 
there is an act of justice which the American 
people, which the French people, which all 
free people are interested in demanding ; it is, 
that a particular inquiry should be made, in the 
approaching Congress, into the motives which 
have induced the chief of the executive power 
of the United States to take upon himself to 
demand the recall of a public minister, whom 
the sovereign peoj)le of the United States have 
received fraternally and recognized, before the 
diplomatic forms had been fulfilled in respect 
to him at Philadelphia." 

The wrongs of which Genet considered him- 
self entitled to complain against the executive, 
commenced before his introduction to that func- 
tionary. It was the proclamation of neutrality 
which first grieved his spirit. "I was ex- 
tremely wounded," writes he, " that the Presi- 
dent of the United States should haste, before 
knowing what I had to transmit on the part of 
the French republic, to proclaim sentiments 
over which decency and friendship should at 
least have thrown a veil." 

He was grieved, moreover, that on his first 
audience, the President had spoken only of the 
friendship of the United States for France, 
without uttering a word or expressing a single 
sentiment in regard to its revolution, although 
all the towns, all the villages from Charleston 



722 



NEUTRALITY ENDANGERED BY GREAT BRITAIN. 



[1*793. 



to Philadelphia, had made the air resound with 
their ardent voices for the French republic. 
And what further grieved his spirit was, to ob- 
serve " that this first magistrate of a free peo- 
ple had decorated his saloon with certain me- 
dallions of Capet [meaning Louis XVI.] and 
his family, which served in Paris for rallying 
signs." 

"We forbear to cite further this angry and ill- 
judged letter. Unfortunately for Genet's ephe- 
meral popularity, a rumor got abroad that he 
had expressed a determination to appeal from 
the President to the people. This at first was 
contradicted, but was ultimately established by 
a certificate of Chief Justice Jay, and Mr. Ru- 
fus King, of the United States Senate, which 
was published in the papei's. 

The spirit of audacity thus manifested by a 
foreign minister, shocked the national pride. 
Meetings were held in every part of the Union 
to express the public feeling in the matter. In 
these meetings the proclamation of neutrality 
and the system of measures flowing from it, 
were sustained, partly from a conviction 'of 
their wisdom and justice, but more from an 
undiminished aftection for the person and char- 
acter of "Washington ; for many who did not 
espouse his views, were ready to support him 
in the exercise of his constitutional functions. 
The warm partisans of Genet, however, were 
the more vehement in his support from the 
temporary ascendency of the other party. 
They advocated his right to appeal from the 
President to the people. The President, they 
argued, was invested with no sanctity to make 
such an act criminal. In a republican country 
the people were the real sovereigns. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

While the neutrality of the United States, 
so jealously guarded by "Washington, was en- 
dangered by the intrigues of the French minis- 
ter, it was put to imminent hazard by ill-ad- 
vised measures of the British cabinet. 

There was such a scarcity in France, in con- 
sequence of the failure of the crops, that a 
famine was apprehended. England, availing 
herself of her naval ascendency, determined 
to increase the distress of her rival by cutting 
off all her supplies from abroad. In June, 1793, 
therefore, her cruisers were instructed to de- 
tain all vessels bound to France with cargoes 



of corn, flour, or meal, take them into port, 
unload them, purchase the cargoes, make a 
proper allowance for the freight, and then re- 
lease the vessels ; or to allow the masters of 
them, on a stipulated security, to dispose of 
their cargoes in a port in amity with England. 
This measure gave umbrage to all parties in the 
United States, and brought out an earnest re- 
monstrance from the government, as being a 
violation of the law of neutrals, and indefensi- 
ble on any proper construction of the law of 
nations. 

Another grievance which helped to swell the 
tide of resentment against Great Britain, was 
the frequent impressment of American seamen, 
a wrong to which they were particularly ex- 
posed from national similarity. 

To these may be added the persistence of 
Great Britain in holding the posts to the south 
of the lakes, which, according to treaty stipu- 
lations, ought to have been given up. "Wash- 
ington did not feel himself in a position to press 
our rights under the treaty, with the vigorous 
hand that some would urge ; questions having 
risen in some of the State courts, to obstruct 
the fulfilment of our part of it, which regarded 
the payment of British debts contracted before 
the war. 

The violent partisans of France thought 
nothing of these shortcomings on our own part ; 
and would have had the forts seized at once ; 
but "Washington considered a scrupulous dis- 
charge of our own obligations the necessary pre- 
liminary, should so violent a measure be 
deemed advisable. His prudent and conscien- 
tious conduct in this particular, so in unison 
with the impartial justice which governed all 
his actions, was cited by partisan writers, as 
indicative of his preference of England to 
" our ancient ally." 

The hostilities of the Indians north of the 
Ohio, by many attributed to British wiles, still 
continued. The attempts at an amicable nego- 
tiation had proved as fruitless as "Washington 
had anticipated. The troops under "Wayne 
had, therefore, taken the field to act often- 
sively ; but from the lateness of the season, had 
formed a winter camp near the site of the 
present city of Cincinnati, whence "Wayne was 
to open his campaign in the ensuing spring. 

Congress assembled on the 2d of December 
(1793), with various causes of exasperation at 
work ; the intrigues of Genet and the aggres- - 
sions of England, uniting to aggravate to a 
degree of infatuation the partiality for France, 



.Et. 61.] THE PRESIDENT'S SPEECH TO CONGRESS— HIS CENSURE OF GENET. 



723 



and render imminent the chance of a foreign 
war. 

Washington, in his opening speech, after ex- 
pressing his deep and respectful sense of the 
renewed testimony of pnblic approbation mani- 
fested in his re-election, proceeded to state the 
measures he had taken, in consequence of the 
war in Europe, to protect the rights and inter- 
ests of the United States, and maintain peaceful 
relations with the belligerent parties. Still he 
pressed upon Congress the necessity of placing 
the country in a condition of complete defence. 
" The United States," said he, " ought not to 
indulge a persuasion .that, contrary to the order 
of human events, they wiU forever keep at a 
distance those painful appeals to arms with 
which the history of every nation abounds. 
There is a rank due to the United States among 
nations, which will be withheld, if not abso- 
lutely lost, by the reputation of weakness. If 
we desire to avoid insult, we must be able to 
repel it ; if we desire to secure peace — one of 
the most powerful instruments of our prosper- 
ity — it must be known that we are, at all times, 
ready for war." In the spirit of these remarks, 
he urged measures to increase the amount of 
arms and ammunition in the arsenals, and to 
improve the militia establishment. 

One part of his speech conveyed an impres- 
sive admonition to the House of Kepresenta- 
tives : " No pecuniary consideration is more 
urgent than the regular redemption and dis- 
cliarge of the public debt ; in none can delay 
be more injurious, or an economy of time more 
valuable." 

The necessity of augmenting the public rev- 
enue in a degree commensurate with the ob- 
jects suggested, was likewise touched upon. 

In concluding his speech, he endeavered to 
impress upon his hearers the magnitude of their 
task, the important interests confided to them, 
and the conscientiousness that should reign 
over their deliberations. " Without an tmpre- 
judiced coolness, the welfare of the government 
may be hazarded ; without harmony, as far as 
consists with freedom of sentiment, its dignity 
may be lost. But, as the legislative proceedings 
of the United States will never, I trust, be re- 
proached for the want of temper or of candor, 
so shall not the public happiness languish for 
the want of my strenuous and warmest co- 
operation." 

In a message to both Houses, on the 5th of 
December, concerning foreign relations, Wash- 
ington spoke feelingly with regard to those with 



the representative and executive bodies of 
France : " It is with extreme concern I have to 
inform you that the proceedings of the person 
whom they have unfortunately appointed their 
minister plenipotentiary here, have breathed 
nothing of the friendly spirit of the nation 
which sent him ; their tendency, on the con- 
trary, has been to involve us in war abroad, 
and discord and anarchy at home. So far as 
his acts, or those of his agents, have threatened 
our immediate commitment in the war, or fla- 
grant insult to the authority of the laws, their 
effect has been coimteracted by the ordinary 
cognizance of the laws, and by an exertion of 
the powers confided to me. Where their dan- 
ger was not imminent, they have been borne 
with, from sentiments of regard for his nation ; 
from a sense of their friendship towards us ; 
from a conviction, that they would not _ suffer 
us to remain long exposed to the action of a 
person, who has so little respected our mutual 
dispositions ; and, I will add, from a reliance 
on the firmness of my fellow-citizens in their 
princii^les of peace and order." 

John Adams, speaking of this passage of the 
message, says : " The President has given 
Genet a bolt of thunder." He questioned, 
however, whether Washington would be sup- 
ported in it by the two Houses — " although Le 
stands at present, as high in the admiration and 
confidence of the people as ever he did, I expect 
he will find many bitter and desperate enemies 
arise in consequence of his just judgment 
against Genet." * 

In fact, the choice of speaker showed that 
there was a majority of ten against the admin- 
istration, in the House of Eepresentatives ; yet 
it was manifest, from the affectionate answer 
on the 6th, of the two Houses, to Washington's 
speech, and the satisfaction expressed at his re- 
election, that he was not included in the oppo- 
sition which, from this act, appeared to await 
his political system. Tlie House did justice to 
the purity and patriotism of the motives which 
had prompted him again to obey the voice of 
his country, when called by it to the Presiden- 
tial chair. " It is to virtues which have com- 
manded long and universal reverence, and ser- 
vices from which have flowed great and lasting 
benefits, that the tribute of praise may be paid, 
without the reproach of flattery ; and it is from 
the same sources that the fairest anticipations 
may be derived in favor of the public happiness." 



* Letter to Mrs. Adams. Life, vol. i., p. 460. 



724 



JEFFERSON'S REPORT— HE RETIRES FROM THE CABINET. 



[119Z. 



Notwithstanding the popular ferment in fa- 
vor of France, both Houses seemed to have 
approved the course pursued by "Washington in 
regard to that country ; and as to his procla- 
mation of neutrality, while the House approved 
of it in guarded terras, the Senate pronounced it 
a " measure well-thned and wise ; manifesting 
a watchful solicitude for the welfare of the 
nation, and calculated to promote it." 

Early in the session, Mr. Jefferson, in compli- 
ance with a requisition which the House of 
Representatives had made, Feb. 23d, 1791, fur- 
nished an able and comprehensive report of the 
state of trade of the United States with different 
countries ; the nature and extent of exports and 
imports, and the amount of tonnage of the 
American shipping : specifying, also, the vari- 
ous restrictions and prohibitions by which our 
commerce was embarrassed, and, in some in- 
stances, almost ruined, " Two methods," he 
said, " presented themselves, by which these 
impediments might be removed, modified, or 
counteracted ; friendly arrangement or coun- 
tervailing legislation. Friendly arrangements 
were preferable with all who would come into 
them, and we should carry into such arrange- 
ments all the liberality and spirit of accommoda- 
tion which the nature of the case would admit. 
But," he adds, " should any nation continue its 
system of prohibitive duties and regulations, it 
behooves us to protect our citizens, their com- 
merce and navigation, by counter prohibitions, 
duties, and regulations." To effect this, he sug- 
gested a series of legislative measures of a reta- 
liatory kind. * 

"With this able and elaborate report, Jefferson 
closed his labors as Secretary of State. His 
last act was a kind of parting gun to Mr. Genet. 
This restless functionary had, on the 20th of 
December, sent to him translations of the in- 
structions given him by the executive council 
of France ; desiring that the President would 
lay them ofheially before both Houses of Con- 
gress, and proposing to transmit successively, 
other papers to be laid before them in like 
manner. 

Jefferson, on the 31st of December, informed 
Genet that he had laid his letter and its accom- 
paniments before the President. "I have it 
in charge to observe," adds he, " that your 
functions as the missionary of a foreign nation 
here, are confined to the transactions of the 
affairs of your nation with the Executive of 



Soe Jefferson' a "Works, vol. vii. 



the United States ; that the communications 
which are to pass between the executive and 
legislative branches, cannot be a subject for 
your interference, and that the President must 
be left to judge for himself what matters his 
duty or the public good may require him to 
propose to the deliberations of Congress. I 
have, therefore, the honor of returning you the 
copies sent for distribution, and of being, with 
great respect, sir, your most obedient and most 
humble servant." 

Such was Jefferson's dignified rebuke of the 
presumptuous meddling of Genet, and indeed 
his whole course of official proceedings with 
that minister, notwithstanding his personal in- 
timacy with him and his strong French par- 
tialities, is worthy of the highest approbation. 
Genet, in fact, who had calculated on Jeffer- 
son's friendship, charged him openly v/ith hav- 
ing a language official and a language confiden- 
tial, but it certainly was creditable to him, as a 
public functionary in a place of high trust, that, 
in his official transactions, he could rise superior 
to individual prejudices and partialities, and con- 
sult only the dignity and interests of his country. 

"Wasliington had been especially sensible of 
the talents and integrity displayed by Jefferson 
during the closing year of his secretaryship, 
and particularly throughout this French per- 
plexity, and had recently made a last attempt, 
but an unsuccessful one, to persuade him to re- 
main in the cabinet. On the same day with his 
letter to Genet, Jefferson addressed one to 
"Washington, reminding him of his having post- 
poned his retirement from office until the end 
of the annual year. " That term being now 
arrived," writes he, " and my propensities to 
retirement becoming daily more and more irre- 
sistible, I now take the liberty of resigning the 
office into your hands. Be pleased to accept it 
with my sincere thanks for all the indulgences 
which you have been so good as to exercise 
towards me in the discharge of its duties. Con- 
scious that my need of them has been great, I 
have still ever found them greater, without 
any other claim on my part than a firm pursuit 
of what has appeared to me to be right, and a 
thorough disdain of all means which were not 
as open and honorable as their object was pure. 
I carry into my retirement a lively sense of 
your goodness, and shall continue gratefully to 
remember it." 

The following was "Washington's reply: 
" Since it has been impossible to prevent you 
to forego any longer the indulgence of youi 



JEt. 62.] 



EDMUND RANDOLPH— DEBATE ON JEFFERSON'S REPORT. 



725 



desire for private life, the event, however anx- 
ious I am to avert it, must be submitted to. 

" But I cannot suffer you to leave your station 
vrithout assuring you, that the opinion which 
I had formed of your integrity and talents, and 
which dictated your original nomination, has 
been confirmed by the fullest experience, and 
that both have been eminently displayed in 
the discharge of your duty." 

The place thus made vacant in the cabinet 
was filled by Mr. Edmund Eandolph, whose 
office of Attorney-General was conferred on 
Mr. William Bradford, of Pennsylvania. 

No one seemed to throw off the toils of office 
with more delight than Jefferson ; or to betake 
himself with more devotion to the simple oc- 
cupations of rural life. It was his boast, in a 
letter to a friend, written some time after his 
return to Monticello, that he had seen no news- 
paper since he had left Philadelphia, and he be- 
lieved he should never take another newspaper 
of any sort. " I think it is Montaigne," writes 
he, " who has said, that ignorance is the softest 
pillow on which a man can rest his head. I 
am sure it is true as to every thing political, 
and sliall endeavor to estrange myself to every 
thing of that character." Yet the very next 
sentence shows the lurking of the old party 
feud. " I indulge myself in one political topic 
only — that is, in declaring to my countrymen 
the shameless corruption of a portion of the 
representatives of the first and second Con- 
gresses, aiid their imjilicit devotion to the trcas- 

We subjoin his comprehensive character of 
Washington, the result of long observation and 
cabinet experience, and written in after years, 
when there was no temptation to insincere 
eulogy : 

"His integrity was most pure; his justice 
the most inflexible I have ever known ; . no 
motives of interest or consanguinity, of friend- 
ship or hatred, being able to bias his decision. 
He was, indeed, in every sense of the word, a 
wise, a good, and a great man." 



• CHAPTER XXIV. 

Public affairs were becoming more and more 
complicated, and events in Europe were full of 
gloomy portent. "The news of this evening," 

* Letter to E. Kandolpli. Works, iv. 103. 



writes John Adams to his wife, on the 9th of 
January, " is, that the queen of France is no 
more. "When will savages be satisfied with 
blood ? No prospect of peace in Europe, there- 
fore none of internal harmony in AmcBica, 
We cannot well be in a more disagreeable sit- 
uation than we are with all Europe, with all 
Indians, and with all Barbary rovers. Nearly 
one-half of the Continent is in constant oppo- 
sition to the other, and the President's situa- 
tion, which is highly responsible, is very dis- 
tressing." 

Adams speaks of having had two hours' con- 
versation with Washington alone in his cabinet, 
but intimates that he could not reveal the pur- 
port of it, even by a hint ; it had satisfied him, 
however, of Washington's earnest desire to do 
right ; his close application to discover it, and 
his deliberate and comprehensive view of our 
affairs with all the world. " The anti-federal- 
ists and the Frenchified zealots," adds Adams, 
" have nothing now to do that I can conceive of, 
but to ruin his character, destroy his peace, 
and injure his health. He supports all their 
attacks with firmness, and his health appears 
to be very good." * 

The report of Mr. Jefferson on commercial 
intercourse, was soon taken up in the House in 
a committee of the whole. A series of resolu- 
tions based on it, and relating to the privileges 
and restrictions of the commerce of the United 
States, were introduced by Mr. Madison, and 
became the subject of a warm and acrimonious 
debate. The report upheld the policy of turn- 
ing the course of trade from England to France, 
by discriminations in favor of the latter ; and 
the resolutions were to the same purport. The 
idea was to oppose commercial resistance to 
commercial injury; to enforce a perfect com- 
mercial equality by retaliating impositions, as- 
suming that the commercial system of Great 
Britain was hostile to the United States — a po- 
sition strongly denied by some of the debaters. 

Though the subject was, or might seera to 
be, of a purely connnercial nature, it was inev- 
itably mixed up with political considerations, 
according as a favorable inclination to England 
or France was apprehended. The debate 
waxed warm as it proceeded, with a strong 
infusion of bitterness. Fisher Ames stigma- 
tized the resolutions as having French stamped 
upon the very face of them. Whereupon, Colo- 
nel Parker of Virginia, wished that there were 



* Life of John Adams, vol. i., p. 461. 



726 



A NAVAL FORCE PROPOSED— AUDACITY OF GENET. 



[1794. 



a stamp on the forehead of every one to desig- 
nate whether he were for France or England. 
For himself, he would not be silent and hear 
that nation abused, to whom America was in- 
delited for her rank as a nation. There was a 
burst of applause in the gallery ; but the inde- 
corum was rebuked by the galleries being 
cleared. 

The debate, which had commenced on the 
13th of January (1794), was protracted to the 
Sd of February, when the question being taken 
on the first resolution, it was carried by a ma- 
jority of only five, so nearly were parties di- 
vided. The further consideration of the re- 
maining resolutions was postponed to March, 
when it Avas resumed, but, in consequence of 
the new complexion of afiairs, was suspended 
without a decision. 

The next legislative movement was also pro- 
ductive of a warm debate, though connected 
with a subject which appealed to the sympa- 
thies of the whole nation. Algerine corsairs 
had captured eleven American merchant ves- 
sels, and upwards of one hundred prisoners, 
and the regency manifested a disposition for 
further outrages. A bill Avas introduced into 
Congress proposing a force of six frigates to 
]n-otect the commerce of the United States 
against the cruisers of this piratical power. 
The bill met with strenuous opposition. The 
force would require time to prepare it ; and 
would then be insufiicient. It might be laying 
the foundation of a large permanent navy and 
a great public debt. It would be cheaper to 
purchase the friendship of Algiers with money, 
as was done by other nations of superior mar- 
itime force, or to purchase the protection of 
those nations. It seems hardly credible at the 
present day, that such policy could have been 
urged before an American Congress, without 
provoking a burst of scorn and indignation ; 
yet it was heard without any emotion of the 
kind ; and, though the bill was eventually 
passed by both Houses, it was but by a small 
majority. It received the hearty assent of the 
President. 

In the course of this session, fresh instances 
had come before the government of the mis- 
chievous activity and audacity of Genet ; show- 
ing that, not content with compromising the 
neutrality of the United States at sea, he was 
attempting to endanger it by land. From doc- 
uments received, it appeared that in November 
he had sent emissaries to Kentucky, to enrol 
American citizens in an expedition against New 



Orleans and the Spanish possessions ; furnish- 
ing them with blank commissions for the pur- 
pose.* It was an \enterprise in which the ad- 
venturous people of that State were ready 
enough to embark, through enthusiasm for the 
French nation and impatience at the delay of 
Spain to open the navigation of the Mississippi. 
Another expedition was to proceed against the 
Floridas ; men for the purpose to be enlisted at 
the South, to rendezvous in Georgia, and to be 
aided by a body of Indians and by a French 
fleet, should one arrive on the coast. 

A proclamation from Governor Moultrie 
checked all such enlistments in South Caro- 
lina, but brought forth a letter from Genet to 
Mr. Jefferson, denying that he had endeavored 
to raise an armed force in that State for the 
service of the republic : " At the same time," 
adds he, " I am too frank to conceal from you 
that, authorized by the French nation to de- 
liver brevets to such of your fellow-citizens 
who feel animated by a desire to serve the 
fairest of causes, I have accorded them to sev- 
eral brave republicans of South Carolina, whose 
intention appeared to me to be, in expatriating 
themselves, to go among the tribes of inde- 
pendent Indians, ancient friends and allies of 
France, to inflict, if they could, in concert with 
them, the harm to Spaniards and Englishmen, 
which the governments of those two nations 
had the baseness to do for a long time to your 
fellow-citizens, under the name of these sav- 
ages, the same as they have done recently un- 
der that of the Algerines." 

Documents relating to these transactions 
were communicated to Congress by "Washing- 
ton early in January. But, though the expe- 
dition set on foot in South Carolina had been 
checked, it was subsequently reported that the 
one in Kentucky against Louisiana, was still in 
progress and about to descend the Ohio. 

These schemes showed such determined pur- 
pose, on the part of Genet, to undermine the 
peace of the United States, that "Washington, 
without waiting a reply to the demand for his 
recall, resolved to keep no further terms with 
that headlong diplomat. The dignity, possibly 
the safety of the United States, depended upon 
immediate measures. • 

In a cabinet council it was determined to 
supersede Genet's diplomatic functions, deprive 
him of the consequent privileges, and arrest his 
person ; a message to Congress, avowing such 

* American State Papers, ii. 36. 



^T. 62.] RECALL OF GENET— HIS SUCCESSOR ARRIVES— BRITISH AGGRESSIONS. 727 



determination, was prepared, but at this criti- 
cal juncture came despatches from Gouverneur 
Morris, announcing Genet's recall. 

The French minister of foreign affairs had, 
in fact, reprobated the conduct of Genet as un- 
authorized by his instructions and deserving of 
punishment, and Mr. Faucliet, secretary of the 
executive council, was appointed to succeed 
him. Mr. Fauchet arrived in the United States 
iu February. 

About this time vigilance was required to 
guard against wrongs from an opposite quarter. 
"We have noticed the orders issued by Great 
Britain to her cruisers iu June, 1793, and the 
resentment thereby excited in the United 
States, On the 6th of the following month of 
November, she had given them additional in- 
structions to detain all vessels laden with the 
produce of any colony belonging to France, or 
carrying supplies to any such colony, and to 
bring them, with their cargoes, to British 
ports, for adjudication in the British courts of 
admiralty. 

Captures of American vessels were taking 
place in consequence of these orders, and 
heightening public irritation. They were con- 
sidered indicative of determined hostility on 
the part of Great Britain, and they produced 
measures in Congress preparatory to an appre- 
hended state of war. An embargo was laid, 
prohibiting all trade from the United States to 
any foreign place for the space of thirty days, 
and vigorous preparations for defence were 
adopted with but little opposition. 

On the 27th of March, resolutions were 
moved that all debts due to British subjects be 
sequestered and paid into the treasury, as a 
fund to indemnify citizens of the United States 
for depredations sustained from British cruis- 
ers, and that all intercourse with Great Britain 
be interdicted until she had made compensation 
for these injuries, and until she should make 
surrender of the Western posts. 

The popular excitement was intense. Meet- 
ings were held on the subject of British spolia- 
tions. 'Peace or war' was the absorbing 
question. The partisans of France were now 
in the ascendant. It was scouted as pusillani- 
mous any longer to hold terms with England. 
" No doubt," said they, " she despises the pro- 
clamation of neutrality, as an evidence of tim- 
idity ; every motive of self-respect calls on 
the people of the United States to show a 
proper spirit." 

It was suggested that those who were in 



favor of resisting British aggressions should 
mount the tri-colored cockade ; and forthwith 
it was mounted by many ; while a democratic 
society was formed to correspond with the one 
at Philadelphia, and aid in giving effect to these 
popular sentiments. 

While the public mind was in this inflam- 
mable state, Washington received advices from 
Mr. Pinckney, the American minister in Lon- 
don, informing him that the British ministry 
had issued instructions to the commanders of 
armed vessels, revoking those of the 6th of 
November, 1793. Lord GrenviUe also, in con- 
versation with Mr. Pinckney, had explained 
the real motives for that order, showing that, 
however oppressive in its execution, it had not 
been intended for the special vexation of Amer- 
ican commerce. 

Washington laid Pinckney's letter before 
Congress on the 4th of April. It had its ef- 
fects on both parties ; federalists saw in it a 
chance of accommodating difficulties, and, 
therefore, opposed all measures calculated to 
irritate ; the other party did not press their 
belligerent propositions to any immediate de- 
cision, but showed no solicitude to avoid a rup- 
ture. 

Jefferson, though reputed to be the head of 
the French party, avowed in a letter to Madi- 
son his hope that war would not result, but 
that justice would be obtained in a peaceable 
way ; * and he repeats the hope in a subse- 
quent letter. "My countrymen," writes he, 
" are groaning under the insidts of Great Brit- 
ain. I hope some means will turn up of recon- 
ciling our faith and honor with peace. I con- 
fess to you, I have seen enough of one war 
never to wish to see another." t 

" 'Tis as great an error," writes Hamilton, 
at the same time, " for a nation to overrate as 
to underrate itself. Presumption is as great a 
fault as timidity. 'Tis our error to overrate 
ourselves and underrate Great Britain ; we 
forget how little we can annoy, how much wo 
may be annoyed." | 

The war cry, however, is too obvious a 
means of popular excitement to be readily 
given up. Busy partisans saw that the feeling 
of the populace was belligerent, and every 
means were taken by the press and the demo- 
cratic societies to exasperate this feeling; ac- 
cording to them the crisis called, not for niod- 



* Jefferson's Works, vol. iv., p. 102. 

t lb. vol. iv., p. 104. Letter to John Adams. 

t namilton's Works, iv. 528. 



728 JAY APPOINTED MINISTER TO ENGLAND— JEFFERSON ON EUROPEAN MISRULE. [1794. 



eration, but for decision; foi- energy. Still, to 
adhere to a neutral position would argue tame- 
ness — cowardice ! Washington, however, was 
too morally brave to be clamored out of his 
wise moderation by such taunts. He resolved 
to i^revent a war if possible, by an appeal to 
British justice, to be made through a special en- 
voy, who should represent to the British gov- 
ernment the injuries we had sustained from it 
in various ways, and should urge indemnifica- 
tion. 

The measure was decried by the party favor- 
able to France, as an undue advance to the 
British government ; but they were still more 
hostile to it when it was rumored that Hamil- 
ton Avas to be chosen for the mission. A 
member of the House of Representatives ad- 
dressed a strong letter to the President, depre- 
cating the mission, but especially the reputed 
choice of the envoy. James Monroe, also, at 
that time a member of the Senate, remon- 
strated against the nomination of Hamilton, as 
injurious to the public interest, and to the in- 
terest of Washington himself, and offered to 
explain his reasons to the latter in a private 
interview. 

Washington declined the interview, but re- 
quested Mr. Monroe, if possessed of any facts 
which Avould disqualify Mr. Hamilton for the 
mission, to communicate them to him in writing. 

" Colonel Hamilton and others have been 
mentioned," adds he, " but no one is yet abso- 
lutely decided upon in my mind. But as much 
will depend, among other things, upon the abili- 
ties of the person sent, and his knowledge of 
the affairs of this country, and as I alone am 
responsible for a proper nomination, it certainly 
behooves me to name such a one as, in my judg- 
ment, combines the requisites for a mission so 
peculiarly interesting to the peace and happi- 
ness of this country." 

Hamilton, however, aware of the " collateral 
obstacles " which existed with respect to him- 
self, had resolved to advise Washington to drop 
him from the consideration, and to fix upon 
another character ; and recommended John 
Jay, the Chief Justice of the United States, as 
the man whom it would be advisable to send. 
" I think," writes he, " the business Avould have 
the best chance possible in his hands, and I 
flatter myself, that his mission would issue in 
a manner that would produce the njost import- 
ant good to tlie nation." * 



naiiulton's Works, vol. iv., p. 531. 



Mr. Jay was the person ultimately chosen. 
Washington, in his message, thus nominating 
an additional envoy to Great Britain, expressed 
undiminished confidence in the minister actually 
in London. " But a mission like this," observes 
he, " while it corresponds with the solemnity 
of the occasion, will announce to the world a 
solicitude for a friendly adjustment of our com- 
plaints and a reluctance to hostility. Going 
immediately from the United States, such an 
envoy will cai-ry with him a full knowledge of 
the existing temper and sensibility of our coun- 
try, and will thus be taught to vindicate our 
rights with firmness, and to cultivate peace 
with sincerity." 

The nomination was approved by a majority 
of ten Senators. 

By this sudden and decisive measure Wash- 
ington sought to stay the precipitate impulses 
of public passion ; to give time to put the co^in- 
try into a complete state of defence, and to pro- 
vide such other measures as might be necessary 
if negotiation, in a reasonable time, should 
prove unsuccessful.* 

Notwithstanding the nomination of the en- 
voy, the resolution to cut off all intercourse 
with Great Britain passed the House of Repre- 
sentatives, and was only lost in the Senate by 
the casting vote of the Vice President, which 
was given, according to general belief, " not 
from a disinclination to the ulterior expedience 
of the measure, but from a desire," previously, 
" to try the effect of negotiation." t 

While Washington was thus endeavoring to 
steer the vessel of State, amid the surges and 
blasts which were threatening on every side, 
Jefferson, who had hauled out of the storm, 
writes serenely from his retirement at Monti- 
cello, to his friend Tench Coxe at Paris : 

" Your letters give a comfortable view of 
French affairs, and later events seem to confirm 
it. Over the foreign powers, I am convinced 
they will triumph completely, and I cannot but 
hope that that triumph, and the consequent dis- 
grace of the invading tyrants, is destined, in 
order of events, to kindle the wrath of Europe 
against those who have dared to embroil them 
in such wickedness, and to bring, at length, 
kings, nobles, and priests, to the scaffolds which 
they have been so long deluging with human 
blood. I am still warm whenever I think of 
these scoundrels, though I do it as seldom as I 
can, preferring infinitely to contemijlute the 

* Letter to Edmund Randolph. Writings, x. 403. 
t Washington to Tobias Lear. Writings, x. 401. 



A^r. 62.] MONROE APPOINTED MINISTER TO FRANCE— PENNSYLVANIA INSURRECTION. 729 



tranquil growtli of my lucerne and potatoes. 
I have so completely withdrawn myself from 
these spectacles of usurpation and misrule, that 
I do not take a single newspaper, nor read one 
a month ; and I feel myself infinitely the hap- 
pier for it." * 



CHAPTER XXV. 

The French government having so promptly 
complied with the wishes of the American gov- 
ernment in recalling citizen Genet, requested, as 
an act of reciprocity, the recall of Gouverneur 
Morris, whose political sympathies were con- 
sidered highly aristocratical. The request was 
granted accordingly, but Washington, in a let- 
ter to Morris, notifying him of his being super- 
seded, assured him of his own undiminished 
confidence and friendship. 

James Monroe, who was appointed in his 
place, arrived at Paris in a moment of great 
reaction. Eobespierre had terminated his 
bloody career on the scaffold, and the reign of 
terror was at an end. The new minister from 
the United States was received in public by 
the Convention. The sentiments expressed by 
Monroe on delivering his credentials, were so 
completely in unison with the feelings of the 
moment, that the President of the Convention 
embraced him with emotion, and it was decreed 
that the American and French flags should be 
entwined and hung up in the hall of the Con- 
vention, in sign of the union and friendship of 
the two republics. # 

Chiming in with the popular impulse, Mon- 
roe presented the American flag to the Con- 
vention, on the part of his country. It was 
received with enthusiasm, and a decree was 
passed, that the national flag of France should 
be transmitted in return, to the government of 
tlie United States. 

"Washington, in the mean time, was becom- 
ing 'painfully aware that censorious eyes at 
home were keeping a watch upon his adminis- 
tration, and censorious tongues and pens were 
ready to cavil at every measure. " The affairs 
of this country cannot go wrong," writes he 
ironically to Gouverneur Morris; "there are 
so many watchful guardians of tliem^ and such 
infallible guides, that no one is at a loss for a 
director at every turn." 



* Works, iv. 104. 



This is almost the only instance of irony to 
be found in his usually plain, direct correspond- 
ence, and to us is mournfully suggestive of 
that soreness and weariness of heart with 
which he saw his conscientious policy misun- 
derstood or misrepresented, and himself becom- 
ing an object of party hostility. 

Within three weeks after the date of this let- 
ter, an insurrecticm broke out in the western 
part of Pennsylvania on account of the excise 
law. We have already mentioned the riotous 
opposition this law had experienced. Bills of 
indictment had been found against some of the 
rioters. The marshal, when on the way to 
serve the processes issued by the court, was 
fired upon by armed men, and narrowly es- 
caped with his life. He was subsequently seiz- 
ed and compelled ta renounce the exercise of 
his official duties. The house of General ISTe- 
vil, inspector of the revenue, was assailed, bu* 
the assailants were repulsed. They assembled 
in greater numbers ; the magistrates and mili- 
tia officers shrank from interfering, lest it 
should provoke a general insurrection ; a few 
regular soldiers were obtained from the gar- 
rison at Fort Pitt. There was a parley. The 
insurgents demanded that the inspector and his 
papers should be given up ; and the soldiers 
march out of the house and ground their arms. 
The demand being refused, the house was at- 
tacked, the outhouses set on fire, and the gar- 
rison was compelled to surrender. The mar- 
shal and inspector finally escaped out of the 
country ; descended the Ohio, and, by a circu- 
itous route, found their way to the seat of gov- 
ernment ; bringing a lamentable tale of their 
misadventures. 

Washington deprecated the result of these 
outrageous proceedings. " If the laws are to 
be so trampled upon with impunity," said he, 
" and a minority, a small one too, is to dic- 
tate to the majority, there is an end put, at one 
stroke, to republican government." 

It was intimated that the insurgent district 
could bring seven thousand men into the field. 
Delay would only swell the growing disaffec- 
tion. On the 7th of Aygust Washington issued 
a proclamation, warning the insurgents to dis- 
perse, and declaring that if tranquillity were 
not restored before the 1st of September, force 
would be employed to compel submission to the 
laws. To show that this was not an empty 
threat, he, uu the same day, made a requisi- 
tion on the governors of New Jersey, Pennsyl- 
vania, Maryland, and Virginia, for militia to 



730 WASHINGTON PROCEEDS AGAINST THE INSURGENTS— THEIR ALARM. [1794. 



compose an army of twelve thousand men ; 
afterwards augmented to fifteen thousand. 

In a letter to the Governor of Virginia 
(Light-Horse Harry Lee), he says : " I consid- 
er this insurrection as the first formidable fruit 
of the Democratic Societies, brought forth, I 
believe, too prematurely for their own views, 
which may contribute to the annihilation of 
them. 

" That these societies were instituted by the 
artful and designing members (many of their 
body, I have no doubt, mean well, but know 
little of the real plan), primarily to sow among 
tlie people the seeds of jealousy and distrust of 
the government, by destroying aU confidence 
in the administration of it, and that these doc- 
trines have been budding and blowing ever 
since, is not new to any one who is acquainted 
with the character of their leaders, and has 
been attentive to their manoei;vres. I early 
gave it as my opinion to the confidential char- 
acters around me, that if these societies were 
not counteracted (not by prosecutions, the 
ready way to make them grow stronger), or 
clid not fall into disesteem from the knowledge 
of their origin, and the views with which they 
had been instituted by their father. Genet, for 
purposes well known to the government, they 
would shake the government to its foimdation." 

The insurgents manifesting a disposition to 
persevere in their rebellious conduct, the Presi- 
dent issued a second proclamation on the 25th 
of September, describing in forcible terms, the 
perverse and obstinate spirit with which the 
lenient propositions of government had been 
met, and declaring his fixed purpose to reduce 
the refractory to obedience. Shortly after this 
he left Philadelphia for Carlisle, to join the 
army, tlien on its march to suppress the insur- 
rection in the western part of Pennsylvania. 

Just as Washington was leaving Pliiladelphia, 
a letter was put into his hands from Major-Gcn- 
cral Morgan. The proclamation had roused 
the spirit of that revolutionary veteran. He 
was on his way, he wrote, to join the expedition 
against the insurgents, having command of a 
division of the Virginia militia, of which Gen- 
eral Lee was commander-in-chief. 

Washington replied from Carlisle to his old 
companion in arms : " Although I regret the 
occasion which has called you into the field, 
I rejoice to hear you are there ; and it is 
probable I may met you at Fort Cumberland, 
whither I shall proceed as soon as I see the 
troops at this rendezvous in condition to ad- 



vance. At that place, or at Bedford, my ulte- 
rior resolution must be taken, either to advance 
with the troops into the insurgent counties of 
this State, or to return to Philadelphia for the 
purpose of meeting Congress the 3d of next 
month. 

" Imperious circumstances alone can justify 
my absence from the seat of government, whilst 
Congress are in session ; but if these, from the 
disposition of the people in the refractory coun- 
ties, and the state of the information I expect 
to receive at the advanced posts, should appear 
to exist, the less must yield to the greater 
duties of my ofiice, and I shall cross the moun- 
tains with the troops ; if not, I shall place the 
command of the combined force under the or- 
ders of Governor Lee of Virginia, and repair to 
the seat of government." 

We will here note that Lawrence Lewis, a 
son of Washington's sister, Mrs. Fielding Lewis, 
having caught the spirit of arms, accompanied 
Morgan as aide-de-camp, on this expedition. 
The prompt zeal with which he volunteered 
into the service of his country was, doubtless, 
highly satisfactory to his uncle, with whom, it 
will be seen, he was a great favorite. 

On the 9th of October Washington writes 
from Carlisle to the Secretary of State : " Tlie 
insurgents are alarmed, but not yet brought to 
their proper senses. Every means is devised 
by thera and their friends and associates, to 
induce a belief that there is no necessity for 
troops crossing the mountains; although we 
have information, at the same time, that part 
of the people there are obliged to embody 
themselveSjfc to repel the insults of another 
part." 

On the 10th, the Pennsylvania troops set 
out from Carlisle for their rendezvous at Bed- 
ford, and Washington proceeded to Williamsport, 
thence to go on to Fort Cumberland, the ren- 
dezvous of the Virginia and Maryland troops. 
He arrived at the latter place on the 16th of 
October, and found a respectable force assem- 
bled from those States, and learnt that fifteen 
hundred more from Virginia were at hand. All 
accounts agreed that the insurgents were great- 
ly alarmed at the serious appearance of things. 
" I believe," writes Washington, " the eyes of 
all the well-disposed people of this country 
will soon be opened, and that they will clearly 
see the tendency, if not the design, of the lead- 
er of the self-created societies. As far as I 
have heard them spoken of, it is with strong 
reprobation." 



jEt. 62.] 



SUPPRESSION OF THE PENNSYLVANIA INSURRECTION. 



731 



At Bedford he arranged matters and settled a 
plan of military operations. The Governors of 
Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, were at 
the head of the troops of their respective States, 
but Governor Lee was to have the general com- 
mand. This done, Washington prepared to 
shape his course for Philadelphia—" but not," 
says he indignantly, " because the impertinence 
of Mr. Bache, or his correspondent, has under- 
taken to pronounce that I cannot, constitution- 
ally, command the army, Avhilst Congress is in 
session." 

In a letter to Governor Lee, on leaving him 
in command, be conveyed to the army the very 
high sense he entertained " of the enlightened 
and patriotic zeal for the constitution and the 
laws which had led them cheerfully to quit 
their families, homes, and the comforts of pri- 
vate life, to undertake, and thus far to perform, 
a long and fatiguing march, and to encounter 
and endure the hardships and privations of a 
military life." 

" No citizen of the United States," observes 
he, " can ever be engaged in a service more 
important to their country. It is nothing less 
than to consolidate and to preserve the bless- 
ings of that revolution which, at much expense 
of blood and treasure, constituted us a free and 
independent nation." 

His parting admonition is — "that every offi- 
cer and soldier will constantly bear in mind, 
that he comes to support the laws, and that it 
would be peculiarly unbecoming in him to be, 
in any way, the infractor of them ; that the es- 
sential principles of a free government confine 
the province of the military when called forth 
on such occasions, to these two objects : first, 
to combat and subdue all who may be found in 
arms in opposition to the national will and au- 
thority ; secondly, to aid and support the civil 
magistrates in bringing offenders to justice. 
The dispensation of this justice belongs to the 
civil magistrates ; and let it ever be our pride 
and our glory to leave the sacred deposit there 
inviolate." 

Washington pushed on for Philadelphia, 
through deep roads and a three days' rain, and 
arrived there about the last of October. Gov- 
ernor Lee marched with the troops in two di- 
visions, amounting to fifteen thousand men, 
into the western counties of Pennsylvania. 
This great military array extinguished at once 
the kindling elements of a civil war, by making 
resistance desperate." At the approach of so 
overwhelming a force the insurgents laid down 



their arms, and gave assurance of submission, 
and craved the clemency of government. It 
was extended to them. A few were tried for 
treason, but were not convicted ; but as some 
spirit of discontent was still manifest, Major- 
General Morgan was stationed with a detach- 
ment for the winter, in the disalFected region. 

The paternal care with which Washington 
watched, at all times, over the welfare of the 
country, was manifested in a letter to General 
Hamilton, who had remained with the army. 
" Press the Governors to be pointed in order- 
ing the officers under their respective com- 
mands to march back with their respective 
corps; and to see that the inhabitants meet 
with no disgraceful insults or injuries from 
them." 

It must have been a proud satisfaction to 
Washington to have put down, without an 
effusion of blood, an insurrection which, at one 
time, threatened such serious consequences. 
In a letter to Mr. Jay, who had recently gone 
minister to England, he writes : " The insur- 
rection in the western counties of this Stat^ 
will be represented differently, according to 
the wishes of some and the prejudices of others, 
who may exhibit it as an evidence of what has 
been predicted, ' that we are unable to govern 
ourselves.' Under this view of the subject, I 
am happy in giving it to you as the general 
opinion, that this event, having happened at 
the time it did, was fortunate, although it will 
be attended with considerable expense." 

After expressing his opinion that the ' self- 
created societies ' who were laboring to effect 
some revolution in the government, were the 
fomenters of these western disturbances, he 
adds : " It has afforded an occasion for the peo- 
ple of this country to show their abhorrence of 
the result and their attachment to the constitu- 
tion and the laws ; for I believe that five times 
the number of militia that was required, would 
have come forward, if it had beep necessary, 
in support of them. 

" The spirit which blazed out on this occa- 
sion, as soon as the object was fully understood 
and the lenient measures of the government 
were made known to the people, deserves to be 
communicated. There are instances of general 
officers going at the head of a single troop, and 
of light companies ; of field officers, when they 
came to the place of rendezvous, and found no 
command for them in that grade, turning into 
the ranks and proceeding as private soldiers, 
under their own captains ; and of numbers, pos- 



732 



WASHINGTON'S DENUNCIATION OF SELF-CREATED SOCIETIES. 



[1794. 



sessing tLe first fortunes in the country, stand- 
ing in the ranks as private men, and marching 
day by day, with their knapsacks and haver- 
sacks at their backs, sleeping on straw with a 
single blanket in a soldier's tent, during the 
frosty nights which we have had, by way of 
exami)le to others. Nay, more, many young 
Quakers, of the first families, character, and 
property, not discouraged by the elders, have 
turned into the ranks and marched with the 
troops, 

" These things have terrified the insurgents, 
who liad no conception that such a spirit pre- 
vailed ; but while the thunder only rumbled at 
a distance, were boasting of their strength and 
wishing for and threatening the militia by 
turns ; intimating that the arms they should take 
from them would soon become a magazine in 
their hands." 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

In his speech on the opening of Congress, 
(November 19th), Washington, in adverting to 
the insurrection in Western Pennsylvania, did 
not hesitate to denounce " certain self-created 
societies " as "fomenters of it." After detail- 
ing its commencement and progress, lie ob- 
serves : " While there is cause to lament that 
occurrences of this nature should have dis- 
graced the name or interrupted the tranquillity 
of any part of our community, or should have 
diverted to a new application any portion of the 
public resources, there are not wanting real 
and substantial consolations for the misfortune. 
It has demonstrated, that our prosperity rests 
on solid foundations; by furnishing an addition- 
al proof that my fellow-citizens understand the 
true principles of government and liberty ; that 
they feel their inseparable union ; that, not- 
withstanding all the devices which have been 
used to sway them from their interest and duty, 
they are now as ready to maintain the author- 
ity of the laws against licentious invasions, as 
they were to defend their rights against usurpa- 
tion. It has been a spectacle, displaying to the 
highest advantage the value of republican gov- 
ernment, to behold the most and least wealthy 
of our citizens standhig in the same ranks as 
private soldiers ; preeminently distinguished 
by being the army of the constitution ; unde- 
terred by a march of three hundred miles over 
rugged mountains, by the approach of an in- 



clement season, or by any other discourage- 
ment. Nor ought I to omit to acknowledge 
the efiicacious and patriotic cooperation which 
I have experienced from the chief magistrates 
of the States to which my requisitions have 
been addressed. 

" To every description, indeed, of citizens, let 
praise be given ; but let them persevere in their 
afl:'ectionate vigilance over that precious depos- 
itory of American happiness, the Constitution 
of the United States. Let them cherish it, too, 
for the sake of those who, from every clime, 
are daily seeking a dwelling in our land. And 
when, in the calm moments of reflection, they 
shall have retraced the origin and progress of 
the insurrection, let them determine whether 
it has not been fomented by combinations of 
men, who, careless of consequences, and disre- 
garding the unerring truth, that those who 
arouse cannot always appease, a civil convul- 
sion, have disseminated from ignorance or per- 
version of facts, suspicions, jealousies, and ac- 
cusations of the whole government." 

This denunciation of the "self-created so- 
cieties " was a bold step, by which he was sure 
to incur their resentment. It was not relished 
by some members of the Senate, but the ma- 
jority gave it their approval. In the House, 
where the opposition party was most powerful, 
this passage of the President's speech gave rise 
to much altercation, and finally, the majority 
showed their disapprobation . by passing it over 
in silence in the address voted in reply. 

The "self-created societies," however, which 
had sprung up in various parts of the Union, 
had received their death-blow ; they soon be- 
came odious in the public eye, and gradually 
disappeared ; following the fate of the Jacobin 
clubs in France. 

It was with great satisfaction that Washing- 
ton had been able to announce favorable intel- 
ligence of the campaign of General Wayne 
against the hostile Indians west of the Ohio. 
That brave commander had conducted it with 
a judgment and prudence little compatible with 
the harebrained appellation he had acquired 
by his rash exploits during the Eevolution. i 
Leaving his winter encampment on the Ohio in f 
the spring (of 1794), he had advanced cau- r 
tiously into the wild country west of it ; skir- 
mishing with bands of lurking savages, as he t 
advanced, and establishing posts to keep up i 
communication and secure the transmission of 
'supplies. It was not until the 8th of August 
that he arrived at the junction of the rivers 



^T. 62.] 



WAYNE'S CAMPAIGN— HAMILTON EESIGNS. 



733 



All Glaize and Miami, in a fertile and populous 
region, where the Western Indians had their 
most important villages. Here he threw up 
some works, which he named Fort Defiance. 
Being strengthened by eleven hundred mounted 
volunteers from Kentucky, his force exceeded 
that of the savage warriors who had collected 
to oppose him, which scarcely amounted to two 
thousand men. These, however, were strongly 
encamped in the vicinity of Fort Miami, a Brit- 
ish post, about thirty miles distant, and far 
within the limits of the United States, and 
seemed prepared to give battle, expecting, pos- 
sibly, to be aided by the British garrison. 
Wayne's men were eager for a fight, but he, 
remembering the instructions of government, 
restrained his fighting propensities. In a let- 
ter to his old comrade Knox, Secretary of War, 
he writes, " Though now prepared to strike, I 
have thought proper to make the enemy a last 
overture of peace, nor am I without hopes that 
they will listen to it." 

His overture was ineffectual ; or rather the 
reply he received was such as to leave him in 
doubt of the intentions of the enemy. He ad- 
vanced, therefore, with the precautions he had 
hitherto observed, hoping to be met in the 
course of his march by deputies on peaceful 
missions. 

On the 20th, being arrived near to the en- 
emy's position, his advanced guard was fired 
upon by an ambush of the enemy concealed in 
a thicket, and was compelled to retreat. The 
general now ordered an attack of horse and 
foot upon the enemy's position ; the Indians 
were roused from their lair with the point of 
the bayonet ; driven, fighting for more than 
two miles, through thick woods, and pursued 
with great slaughter, until within gunshot of 
the British fort. " We remained," writes the 
general, " three days and nights on the banks 
of the Miami, in front of the field of battle, 
during which time all the houses and corn 
were consumed, or otherwise destroyed, for a 
considerable distance both above and below 
Fort Miami ; and we were within pistol-shot of 
the garrison of that place, who were compelled 
to remain quiet spectators of this general de~ 
vastation and conflagration." 

It was trusted that this decisive battle, and 
the wide ravages of villages and fields of corn 
with which it was succeeded, would bring the 
Indians to their senses, and compel them to 
solicit the peace which they had so repeatedly 
rejected. 



In his oflicial address to Congress, Washing- 
ton had urged the adoption of some definite 
plan for the redemption of the public debt. A 
plan was reported by Mr. Hamilton, 20th Jan- 
uary, 1795, which he had digested and prepared 
on the basis of the actual revenues, for the fur- 
ther support of public credit. The report em- 
braced a comprehensive view of the system 
which he had pursued, and made some recom- 
mendations, which after much debate were 
adopted. 

So closed Mr. Hamilton's labors as Secretary 
of the Treasury. He had long meditated a re- 
tirement from his post, the pay of which was 
inadequate to the support of his family, but had 
postponed it, first, on account of the accusations 
brought against him in the second Congress, 
and of which he awaited the investigation; 
secondly, in consequence of events which ren- 
dered the prospect of a continuance of peace 
precarious. But these reasons no longer oper- 
ating, he gave notice, on his return from the 
Western country, that on the last day of the 
ensuing month of January he should give in 
his resignation. He did so, and received the 
following note from Washington on the sub- 
ject : "After so long an experience of your pub- 
lic services, I am naturally led, at this moment 
of your departure from oflice (which it has al- 
ways been my wish to prevent), to review them. 
In every relation which you have borne to me, 
I have found that my confidence in your tal- 
ents, exertions, and integrity has been well 
placed. I the more freely render this testi- 
mony of my approbation, because I speak from 
opportunities of information which cannot de- 
ceive me, and which furnish satisfactory proof 
of your title to public regard. 

" My most earnest wishes for your happiness 
will attend you in your retirement, and you 
may assure yourself of the sincere esteem, re- 
gard, and friendship, of, dear sir, your affec- 
tionate," &c.* 

Hamilton's reply manifests his sense of the 
kindness of this letter. " As often as I may re- 
call the vexations I have endured," writes he, 
"your approbation will be a great and precious 
consolation. It was not without a struggle 
that I yielded to the very urgent motives 
which impelled me to relinquish a station in 
which I could hope to be in any degree instru- 
mental in promoting the success of an adminis- 
tration under your direction. * * What- 



* Writings, xi. 16. 



734 



KNOX RESIGNS— JAY'S TREATY ARRIVES FOR RATIFICATION. 



[1795. 



ever may be my destination hereafter, I entreat 
you to be persuaded (not the less from ray hav- 
ing been sparing in professions) that I shall 
never cease to render a just tribute to those 
eminent and excellent qualities, which have 
been already productive of so many blessings 
to your country ; that you Avill always have 
my fervent wishes for your public and personal 
felicity, and that it will be my pride to culti- 
vate a continuance of that esteem, regard, and 
friendship, of which you do me the honor to 
assure me. With true respect and affectionate 
attachment, I have the honor to be," &c.* 

Hamilton was succeeded in office by Oliver 
"Wolcott, of Connecticut, a man of judgment 
and ability, who had served as comptroller, 
and was familiar with the duties of the office. 

Knox likewise had given in his resignation 
at the close of the month of December. " After 
having served my countiy nearly twenty years," 
writes he to "Washington, " the greatest portion 
of which under your immediate auspices, it is 
with extreme reluctance that I find myself 
constrained to withdraw from so honorable a 
station. But the natural and powerful claims 
of a numerous family will no longer permit me 
to neglect their essential interests. In what- 
ever situation I shall be, I shall recollect your 
confidence and kindness, with all the fervor 
and purity of affection of which a grateful 
heart is susceptible." 

" I cannot suffer you," replies Washington, 
" to close your public service, without uniting 
with the satisfaction which must arise in your 
own mind from a conscious rectitude, my most 
perfect persuasion that you have deserved well 
of your country. 

"My personal knowledge of your exertions, 
whilst it authorizes me to hold this language, 
justifies the sincere friendship which I have 
ever borne for you, and which will accompany 
you in every situation of life ; being with affec- 
tionate regard, always yours," &c. 

There was always 'a kindly warmth in Wash- 
ington's expressions toward the buoyant Gen- 
eral Knox. Knox was succeeded in the war 
department by Colonel Timothy Pickering, at 
that time Postmaster-General. 

The session of Congress closed on the 8d of 
March, 1795. 



* ■Writings, xi. 16. 



CHAPTER XXYII. 

Washington had watched the progress of 
the mission of Mr, Jay to England, with an 
anxious eye. He was aware that he had ex- 
posed his popularity to imminent hazard, by 
making an advance toward a negotiation with 
that power ; but what was of still greater mo- 
ment with him, he was aware that the peace 
and happiness of his country were at stake on 
the result of that mission. It was, moreover, a 
mission of great delicacy, from the many intri- 
cate and difficult points to be discussed, and 
the various and mutual grounds of complaint 
to be adjusted. 

Mr. Jay, in a letter dated August 5th, 1794, 
had informed him confidentially, that the min- 
istry were prepared to settle the matters in 
dispute upon just and liberal terms ; still, 
what those terms, which they conceived to be 
just and liberal, might prove when they came 
to be closely discussed, no one could prog- 
nosticate. 

Washington hardly permitted himself to hope 
for the complete success of the mission. To 
' give and take,' he presumed would be the re- 
sult. In the mean time there were so many 
hot heads and impetuous spirits at home to be 
managed and restrained, that he was anxious 
the negotiation might assume a decisive form, 
and be brought to a speedy close. He was 
perjilexed too, by what, under existing circum- 
stances, appeared piratical conduct, on the part 
of Bermudan privateers, persisting in capturing 
American vessels. 

At length, on the 7th of March, 1795, four 
days after the close of the session of Congress, 
a treaty arrived which had been negotiated by 
Mr. Jay, and signed by the ministers of the two 
nations on the 19th of November, and was sent 
out for ratification. 

In a letter to Washington, which accompa- 
nied the treaty, Mr. Jay wrote : " To do more 
was impossible. I ought not to conceal from 
you that the confidence reposed in your per- 
sonal character was visible and useful through- 
out the negotiation." 

Washington immediately made the treaty a 
close study ; some of the provisions were per- 
fectly satisfactory ; of others, he did not ap- 
prove ; on the whole, he considered it a mat- 
ter, to use his own expression, of 'give and 
take,' and believing the advantages to out- 
weigh the objections, and that, as Mr. Jay al- 



JEt. 63.] 



RATIFICATION OF THE TREATY— POPULAR DISCONTENT. 



735 



leged, it was the best treaty attainable, he 
made up his mind to ratify it, should it be ap- 
proved by the Senate. 

As a system of predetermined hostility to 
the treaty, however, was already manifested, 
and efforts were made to awaken popular jeal- 
ousy concerning it, Washington kept its pro- 
visions secret, that the public mind might not 
be preoccupied on the subject. In the course 
of a few days, however, enough leaked out to 
be seized upon by the opposition press to ex- 
cite public distrust, though not enough to con- 
vey a distinct idea of the merits of the instru- 
ment. In fact, the people were predisposed to 
condemn, because vexed that any overtures had 
been made toward a negotiation, such overtures 
having been stigmatized as cowardly and de- 
grading. If it had been necessary to send a 
minister to England, said they, it should have 
been to make a downright demand of repara- 
tion for wrongs inflicted on our commerce, and 
the immediate surrender of the Western posts. 

In the mean time Jay arrived on the 28th of 
May, and found that during his absence in Eu- 
rope, he had been elected governor of the State 
of New York ; an honorable election, the re- 
sult of no eff'ort nor intrigue, but of the public 
sense entertained by his native State, of his 
pure and exalted merit. He, in consequence, 
resigned the office of Chief Justice of the United 
States. 

In the course of this month arrived Mr. Adet, 
who had been appointed by the French gov- 
ernment to succeed Mi*. Fauchet as minister to 
the United States. He brought with him the 
colors of France which the Convention had in- 
structed him to present as a testimonial of 
friendship, in return for the American flag 
which had been presented by Mr. Monroe, 
The presentation of the colors was postponed 
by him for the present. 

The Senate was convened by Washington on 
the 8th of June, and the treaty of Mr. Jay was 
laid before it, with its accompanying docu- 
ments. The session was with closed doors, 
discussions were long and arduous, and the 
treaty i;nderwent a scrutinizing examination. 
The twelfth article met with especial objec- 
tions. 

This article provided for a direct trade be- 
tween the United States and the British West 
India Islands, in American vessels not exceed- 
ing seventy tons burden, conveying the produce 
of the States or of the Islands ; but it prohib- 
ited tlie exportation of molasses, sugar, coifee. 



cocoa, or cotton, in American vessels, either 
from the United States or the Islands, to any 
part of the world. Under this article it was 
a restricted intercourse, but Mr. Jay considered 
the admission even of small vessels, to the trade 
of these islands, an important advantage to the 
commerce of the United States. He had not 
sufliciently adverted to the fact that, among 
the prohibited articles, cotton was also a prod- 
uct of the Southern States. Its cultivation 
had been but recently introduced there; so 
that when he sailed for Europe hardly suffi- 
cient had been raised for domestic consumption, 
and at the time of signing the treaty very little, 
if any, had been exported. Still it was now 
becoming an important staple of the South, and 
hence the objection of the Senate to this 'arti- 
cle of the treaty. On the 24th of June two- 
thirds of the Senate, the constitutional major- 
ity, voted for the ratification of the treaty, 
stipulating, however, that an article be added 
suspending so much of the twelfth article as 
respected the West India trade, and that the ) 
President be requested to open, without delay, ■ 
further negotiation on this head. l 

Here was a novel case to be determined. 
Could the Senate be considered to have ratified 
the treaty before the insertion of this new ar- 
ticle ? Was the act complete and final, so as 
to render it unnecessary to refer it back to that 
body ? Could the President put his final seal 
upon an act before it was complete? After 
much reflection, Washington was satisfied of 
the propriety of ratifying the treaty with the 
qualification imposed by the Senate. 

In the mean time the popular discontent 
which had been excited concerning the treaty 
was daily increasing. The secrecy which had 
been maintained with regard to its provisions 
was wrested into a cause of offence. Repub- 
lics should have no secrets. The Senate should 
not have deliberated on the treaty with closed 
doors. 

Such was the irritable condition of tlie pub- 
lic mind when, on the 29th of June, a senator 
of the United States (Mr. Mason of Virginia) 
sent an abstract of the treaty to be published 
in a leading opposition paper in Philadelphia. 

The whole country was immediately in a 
blaze. Beside the opposition party, a portion 
of the Cabinet was against the ratification. Of 
course it received but a faltering support, while 
the attack upon it was vehement and sustained. 
The assailants seemed determined to carry their 
point by storm. Meetings to oppose the rati- 



736 



OPPOSITION TO THE TKEATY— POPULAR CLAMORS. 



[1795. 



fication were held in Boston, New York, Phil- 
adelphia, Baltimore, and Charleston. The 
smaller towns throughout the Union followed 
their example. In New York, a copy of the 
treaty was burnt before the governor's 
house. In Philadelphia, it was suspended on 
a pole, carried about the streets, and finally 
burnt in front of tlie British minister's 
house, amid the shoutings of the populace. 
The whole country seemed determined, by 
prompt and clamorous manifestations of 
dissatisfaction, to make Washington give 
way. 

He saw their purpose ; he was aware of the 
odious points of view on which the treaty 
might justly be placed ; his own opinion was 
not particularly favorable to it ; but he was 
convinced that it was better to ratify it, in 
the manner the Senate had advised, and with 
the reservation already mentioned, than to 
suffer matters to remain in their present un- 
settled and precarious state. 

Before he could act upon this conviction a 
new difficulty arose to suspend his resolution. 
News came that the order of the British gov- 
ernment of the 8th of June, 1793, for the seiz- 
ure of provisions in vessels going to French 
ports, was renewed. Washington instantly di- 
rected that a strong memorial should be drawn 
up against this order ; as it seemed to favor a 
construction of the treaty which he was deter- 
mined to resist. While this memorial was in 
course of preparation-, he was called off to 
Mount Vernon. On his way thither, though 
little was said to him on the subject of the 
treaty, he found, he says, from indirect dis- 
courses, that endeavors were making to place 
it in all the odious points of view of which it 
was susceptible, and in some which it would 
not admit. 

The proceedings and resolves of town meet- 
ings, also, savoring as he thought of party preju- 
dice, were forwarded to him by express, and 
added to his disquiet. " Party disputes are now 
1 carried to such a length," writes he, " and truth 
I is so enveloped in mist and false representation, 
i that it is extremely difficult to know through 
what channel to seek it. This difficulty, to one 
who is of no party, and whose sole wish is to pur- 
sue with undeviating steps a path, which would 
lead this country to respectability, wealth, and 
happiness, is exceedingly to be lamented. But 
such, for wise purposes it is presumed, is the 
turbulence of human passions in party disputes, 
when victory more than truth is the palm con- 



tended for, that ' the post of honor is a private 
station. ' " * 

The opposition made to the treaty from 
meetings in different parts of the Union gave 
him the most serious uneasiness, from the effect 
it might have on the relations witli France and 
England. His reply (July 28th) to an address 
from the selectmen of Boston, contains the 
spirit of his replies to other addresses of the 
kind, and shows the principles wliich influenced 
him in regard to the treaty : 

"In every act of my administration," said 
he, " I have sought the happiness of my fellow- 
citizens. My system for the attainment of this 
object has uniformly been to overlook all per- 
sonal, local, and partial considerations ; to con- 
template th^ United States as one great whole ; 
to confide that sudden impressions, when er- 
roneous, tvould yield to candid reflection ; and 
to consult only the substantial and permanent 
interests of our country. 

" Nor have I departed from this line of con- 
duct, on the occasion which has produced the 
resolutions contained in your letter. 

" Without a predilection for my own judg- 
ment I have weighed with attention every ar- 
gument which has at any time been brought 
into view. But the constitution is the guide 
which I never can abandon. It has assigned 
to the President the power of making treaties 
with the advice and consent of the Senate. It 
was, doubtless, supposed that these two branches 
of government would combine, without pas- . 
sion, and with the best means of information, 
those facts and principles upon which the suc- 
cess of our foreign relations will always de- 
pend ; that they ought not to sxibstitute for 
their own conviction, the opinions of others, or 
to seek truth through any channel but that of 
a temperate and well-informed investigation. 

" Under this persuasion, I have resolved on ■ 
the manner of executing the duty before me. ', 
To the liigh responsibility of it, I freely submit, 
and you, gentlemen, are at liberty to make these ■ 
sentiments known as the grounds of my pro- 
cedure. While I feel the most lively gratitude 
for the many instances of approbation from i 
my country, I cannot otherwise deserve it, i 
than by obeying the dictates of my con- 
science." t 

The violence of the opposition increased. I 
Washington perceived that the prejudices 
against the treaty were more extensive than 



* Writiugs, xi. 40. 



t Writings. Sparks, xi. 42. 



^T. 63.] INCREASI^-G CLAMOR-FAUCHET'S INTERCEPTED DESPATCH. 



737 



was generally imagined. " How should it be 
otherwise," said he, " when no stone has been 
left unturned that could impress on the minds 
of the people the most arrant misrepresenta- 
tion of facts ; that their rights have not only 
been neglected, but absolutely sold; that there 
are no reciprocal advantages in the treaty ; that 
tlie benefits are all on the side of Great Britain ; 
and wliat seems to have had more weight with 
them tljuu all the rest, and to have been most 
pressed, tliat the treaty is made with the de- 
sign to oppress the Freucli, in opea violation of 
our treaty with that naliou ; and contrary, 
too, to every principle of gratitude and sound 
policy. " 

Never, during his administration, had he 
seen a crisis, in his judgment, so pregnant with 
interesting events, nor one from which, whether 
viewed on one side or the other, more was to 
be apprehended. 

If the treaty were ratified, the partisans of 
the French, " or rather," said he, " of Avar and 
confusion," would excite them to hostility ; if 
not ratified, there was no foreseeing the con- 
sequences as it respected Great Britain. It 
was a crisis, he said, that most oninently cahed 
upon the administration to be wise and tem- 
perate, as well as firm. The public clamor 
continued, and induced a reiterated examina- 
tion of the subject ; but did not shake his pur- 
pose. " There is hut one straight course,'''' said 
he, " and that is to seeh truth and pursue it 
steadily.'''' * 



CIIAPTEE XXVIII. 

Toe difficult and intricate questions pressing 
upon the attention of government left Washing- 
ton little mood to enjoy the retirement of 
Mount Vernon, being constantly in doubt 
whether his presence in Philadelphia were not 
necessary. In his letters to Randolph, he re- 
quested to be kept continually advised on this 
head. " While I am in office I shall never suf- 
fer private convenience to interfere Avith what 
I conceive to be my official duty." — '• I do not 
require more than a day's notice to repair to 
the seat of government." 

His promptness Avas soon jiut to the test. 
Early in August came a mysterious letter, 
dated July 31, from Mr. Pickering, the secre- 
tary of war. 

* See Letters to Edmund Randolph. Writings, xi.,pp. 
45-51. 

47 



" On the subject of the treaty," Avrites Pick- 
ering, " I confess I feel extreme solicitude, and 
for a spec'ial reason, Avhich can be comnnmi- 
cated to you only in person. I entreat, there- 
fore, that you will return Avith all convenient 
speed to the seat of government. In the mean- 
while, for the reason above referred to, I pray 
you to decide on no important political measure, 
in whatever form it may be presented to you. 
Mr. Wolcott and I (Mr. Bradford concurring) 
waited on Mr. Eandolph, and urged his writing 
to request your return. lie wrote in our pres^ 
ence, but we concluded a letter from one of u? 
also expedient. With the utmost sincerity T 
subscribe myself yours and my country's friend- 
This letter is for your OAvn eye alone." 

The receipt of this enigmatical letter induced 
Washington to cut short his sojourn at Mount 
Vernon, and hasten to Philadelphia. He ar- 
rived there on the 11th of August ; and on the 
same day received a solution of the mystery, 
A despatch written by Fauchet, the French 
minister, to his government in the precedin;.;' 
month of November, Avas placed in Washing, 
ton's hands, Avith a translation of it made by 
Mr. Pickering. The despatch had been found 
on board of a French privateer, captured by a 
British frigate, and had been transmitted to the 
ministry. Lord Grenville, finding it contained 
passages relating to the intercourse of Mr. Ran- 
dolph, the American secretary of state, Avith 
Mr. Fauchet, had sent it to Mr. Hammond, the 
British minister in Philadelphia. He had put 
it into the hands of Mr. Wolcott, the secretary 
of the treasury, who had shoAvn it to the sec- 
retary of Avar and the attorney-general ; and 
the contents had been considered so extraor- 
dinary as to call forth the mysterious letter en- 
treating tlie prompt return of Washington. 

The folloAving passages in Fauchet's inter- 
cepted despatch related to tlie Western insur- 
rection and the proclamation of Washington : 

" Tavo or three days before the proclamation 
was published, and of course before the cab- 
inet had resoh^ed on its measures, the secretary 
of state came to my house. All his counte- 
nance was grief. He i-equested of me a private 
couA'ersation. It was all over, he said to me ; 
a civil Avar is about to ravage our unhappy 
country. Four men, by their talents, their in- 
fluence, and their energy, may save it. But, 
debtors of English merchants, tliey Avill be de- 
prived of tlieir liberty if they take the smallest 
step. Could you lend them instantaneously 
funds to shelter them from English prosecution ? 



738 



CONDUCT OF RANDOLPH— HIS RESIGNATION OF OFFICE. 



[1795. 



This inquiry astonished me much. It was im- 
possible for me to make a satisfactory answer. 
You know my want of power and deficiency 
in pecuniary means." * * * " Thus, with 
some thousands of dollars, the Republic could 
have decided on civil war or peace. Thus 
the coiisciences of the pretended patriots of 
America hate already their jj^if^^-^^ — " What 
will be the old age of this government, if it is 
thus already decrepit ? " 

The perusal of the letter gave Washington 
deep perplexity and concern. He revolved the 
matter in his mind in silence. The predomi- 
nant object of his thoughts recently had been to 
put a stop to the public agitation on the sub- 
ject of the treaty ; and he postponed any new 
question of difficulty until decided measures had 
laid the other at rest. On the next day, there- 
fore (12th), he brought before the cabinet the 
question of immediate ratification. All the 
members were in favor of it excepting Mr. 
Randolph; he had favored Jt before the news 
of the British provision order, but now pro- 
nounced it unadvisable, until that order were 
revoked, and there should be an end of the 
war between France and England. This led to 
further discussion, and it was finally agreed to 
ratify the treaty immediately ; but to accom- 
pany the ratification with a sti'ong memorial 
against the provision order. The ratification 
was signed by Washington on the 18th of August. 

His conduct towards Randolph, in the in- 
terim, had been as usual, but now that the de- 
spatch of public business no longer demanded 
• the entire attention of the cabinet, he pro- 
ceeded to clear up the doubts occasioned by 
the intercepted despatch. Accordingly, on the 
following day, as Randolph entered the cabinet, 
Washington, who was conversing with Picker- 
ing and Wolcott, rose and handed to him the 
letter of Fauchet, asking an explanation of the 
questionable parts. 

Randolph appears to have been less agitated 
by the production of the letter, than hurt that 
the inquiry concerning it had not first been 
made of him in private. He postponed making 
any specific reply, until he should have time to 
examine the letter at his leisure ; and observed 
on retiring, that, after the treatment he had 
experienced, he could not think of remaining 
in oflice a moment longer. 

In a letter to the President the same day he 
writes : " Your confidence in me, sir, has been 
unlimited, and I can truly affirm unabused. 
My sensations, then, cannot be concealed, when 



I find that confidence so suddenly withdrawn, 
without a word or distant hint being previously 
dropped to me. This, sir, as I mentioned in your 
room, is a situation in which I cannot hold my 
present office, and therefore I hereby resign it. 

" It will not, however, be concluded from 
lience that I mean to relinquish the inquiry. 
No, sir, very far from it. I will also meet any 
inquiry ; and to prepare for it, if I learn there 
is a chance of overtaking Mr. Fauchet before 
he sails, I will go to him immediately. 

" I have to beg the favor of you to jjermit 
me to be furnished Vith a copy of the letter, 
and I will prepare an answer to it ; which I 
perceive that I cannot do as I wish, merely 
upon the few hasty memoranda which I took 
with my pencil. 

" I am satisfied, sir, that you will acknowl- 
edge one piece of justice to be due on the oc- 
casion ; which is, that until an inquiry can be 
made, the affair shall continue in secrecy under 
your injunction. For, after pledging myself for 
a more specific investigation of all the sugges- 
tions, I here most solemnly deny that any over- 
ture came from me, which was to produce mo- 
ney to me or any others for me ; and that in 
any manner, directly or indirectly, was a shil- 
ling ever received by me ; nor was it ever con- 
templated by me, that one shilling should be 
applied by Mr. Fauchet to any purpose rela- 
tive to the insurrection," 

Washington, in a reply on the following day, 
in. which he accepted his resignation, observes : 
" Whilst you are in pursuit of means to remove 
the strong suspicions arising from this letter, 
no disclosure of its contents will be made by 
me ; and I will enjoin the same on the public 
officers who are acquainted with the purport 
of it, unless something will appear to render an 
explanation necessary on the part of the gov- 
ernment, and of which I will be the judge." 

And on a subsequent occasion he writes : 
" No man would rejoice more than I to find 
that the suspicions which have resulted from 
the intercepted letter were unequivocally and 
honorably removed." 

Mr. Fauchet, in the mean time, having learnt 
previous to embarkation, that his despatch had 
been intercepted, wrote a declaration, denying 
tliat Mr. Randolph had ever indicated a will- 
ingness to receive money for jjersonal objects, 
and affirming that lie had no intention to say 
any thing in his letter to liis government, to the 
disadvantage of Mr. Randolph's character.* 

* Sparks' Writings of "Washington, xi. 90. 



JET. 63.] LVFAMOUS CHARGES AGAINST THE CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 



739 



Mr. Raudolph now set to work to prepare a 
pamphlet in explanation of his conduct, inti- 
mating to his friends, that in the course of his 
vindication, he would hring things to view 
which would affect Washington more than any 
thing which had yet appeared. * 

While thus occupied he addressed several 
notes to Washington, requiring information on 
various points, and received concise answers to 
all his queries. 

On one occasion, where he had required a 
particular paper, he published in the Gazette an 
extract from his note to Washington; as if 
fearing the request might be denied, lest the 
paper in question should lay open many confi- 
dential and delicate matters. 

In reply, Washington writes: "That you! 
may have no cause to complain of the with- 
holding of any paper, however private and 
confidential, which you shall think necessary in 
a case of so serious a nature, I have directed 
that you should have the inspection of my let- 
ter of the 22d of July, agreeably to your re- 
quest, and you are at full liberty to publish, 
without reserve, any and evevi/ private and 
confidential letter I ever wrote to you ; naj, 
more, every word I ever uttered to you or in 
your hearing, from whence you can derive any 
advantage in your vindication. I grant this 
permission, inasmuch as the extract alluded to 
manifestly tends to impress on the public an 
opinion, that something was passed between 
us, which you should disclose with reluctance, 
from motives of delicacy with respect to me. 
* * * That public will judge, when it comes 
to see your vindication, how far and how proper 
it has been for you to publish private and con- 
fidential communications which oftentimes have 
been written in a hurry, and sometimes with- 
out even copies being taken ; and it will, I 
hope, appreciate my motives, even if it should 
condemn my prudence, in allowing you the 
unlimited license herein contained." 

The merit of this unlimited license will be 
properly understood when it is known that at 
this time, Washington was becoming more and 
more the object of the malignant attacks of the 
press. The ratification of the treaty had opened 
the vials of party wrath against him. " His 
military and political character," we are told, 
" was attacked with equal violence, and it was 
averred that he was totally destitute of merit, 
either as a soldier or a statesman. He was 



* Writings, xi. 89. 



charged with having violated the constitution, 
in negotiating a treaty without the previous ad- 
vice of the Senate, and that he had embraced 
within that treaty subjects belonging exclu- 
sively to the legislature, for which an impeach- 
ment was publicly suggested. Nay more, it 
was asserted that he had drawn from the 
treasury, for his private use, more than the 
salary annexed to his oflice." * 

This last charge, so incompatible with the 
whole character and conduct of Washington, 
v.'as fully refuted by the late Secretary of the 
Treasury, who explained that the President 
never himself touched any part of the compen- 
sation attached to his office, but that the whole 
was received and disbursed by the gentleman 
who superintended the expenses of his house- 
hold. That the expenses at some times ex- 
ceeded, and at other times fell short of the 
quarter's allowance; but that the aggregate 
fell witliin the allowance for the year. 

At this time the General Assembly of Mary- 
land made a unanimous resolution to the fol- 
lowing effect : that " observing with deep con- 
cern, a series of efforts, by indirect insinuation 
or open invective, to detach from the first 
magistrate of the Union, the well-earned con- 
fidence of his fellow-citizens ; they think it 
their duty to declare, and they do hereby de- 
clare their unabated reliance on the integrity^ 
judgment, and 2yatr lot ism of the President of the 
United States." 

In a reply to the Governor of Maryland, 
Washington observed : " At any time the ex- 
pression of such a sentiment would have been 
considered as higlily honorable and flattering. 
At the present, when the voice of malignancy 
is so high-toned, and no attempts are left un- 
essayed to destroy all confidence in the consti- 
tuted authorities of this country, it is peculiarly 
grateful to my sensibility." * * * 

" I have long since resolved, for the present 
time at least, to let my calumniators proceed 
without any notice being taken of their invec- 
tives by myself, or by any others, with tny 
participation or knowledge. Their views, I 
dare say, are readily perceived by all the en- 
lightened and well-disposed part of the com- 
munity ; and by the records of my adminis- 
tration, and not by the voice of faction, I ex- 
pect to be acquitted or condemned hereafter." 

The vindication which Mr. Randolph had 
been preparing, appeared in December. In 



* See Marshall's Washington, vol. ii., p. 370. 



r40 



EANPOLrH'S VINDICATION— GEORGE WASHINGTON LAFAYETTE. 



[1795. 



this, he gave a narrative of the principal events 
relating to the case, his correspondence with 
the President, and the whole of the French 
minister's letter. He endeavored to explain 
those parts of the letter which had brought the 
purity of his conduct in question ; but, as has 
been observed, " he liad a difficult task to per- 
form, as he was obliged to prove a negative, 
and to explain vagne expressions and insinua- 
tions connected with his name in Faucliet's 
letter." * 

Fauchet himself furnished the best vindica- 
tion in his certificate above mentioned ; but it 
is difficult to reconcile his certificate with the 
language of his official letter to his government. 
We are rather inclined to attribute to miscon- 
ceptions and hasty inferences of tlie French 
minister, the construction put by liiin in his 
letter, on the conversation he had licld with 
Mr. Randolph. 

The latter injured his cause by the embit- 
tered feelings manifested in his vindication, and 
the asperity with which he spoke of Washing- 
ton there and elsewhere. He deeply regretted 
it in after life, and in a letter to the Hon. Bush- 
rod Washington, written in 1810, he says: "I 
do not retain the smallest degree of that feel- 
ing which roused me fifteen years ago, against 
some individuals. * * * jf j could now 
present myself before your venerated uncle, it 
would be my pride to confess my contrition, 
that I suffered my irritation, let the cause be 
Avhat it might, to use some of those expressions 
respecting him, Avhich, at this moment of in- 
difference to the ideas of the world, I wish to 
recall, as being inconsistent with my subsequent 
conviction. My life will, I hope, be sufficiently 
extended for the recording of my sincere opin- 
ion of his virtues and merit, in a style which is 
not the result of a mind merely debilitated by 
misfortune, but of that Christian philosophy on 
which alone I depend for inward tranqui]lity."t 

After a considerable interval from the resig- 
nation of Randolph, Colonel Pickering was 
transferred to the Department of State, and 
Mr. James McHenry was appointed Secretai-y 
of War. The office of Attorney-General be- 
coming vacant by the death of Mr. Bradford, 
was offered to Mr. Charles Lee of Virginia, 
and accepted by him on the last day of Novem- 
ber. 

During the late agitations, George Washing- 



* ISTote of Mr. Sparks. Wusliington'.s "Writings, xi. 90. 
t MarshaU's Life of "Washiuglou, 2d edition, vol. ii., 
note sx. 



ton Lafayette, the son of the General, had ar- 
rived at Boston under the name of Motier, 
accompanied by his tutor, M. Frestel, and had 
written to Washington apprising him of his 
arrival. It was an embarrassing moment to 
Washington. The letter excited his deepest 
sensibihty, bringing with it recollections of 
Lafayette's merits, services, and sufferings, and 
of their past friendship, and he resolved to be- 
come " father, friend, protector, and supporter" 
to his son. But he must proceed with caution ; 
on account of his own official character as Ex- 
ecutive of the United States, and of the position 
of Lafayette in regard to the French govern- 
ment. Caution, also, was necessary, not to 
endanger the situation of the young man him- 
self, and of his mother and friends whom he 
had left behind. Philadelphia would not be an 
advisable residence for him at present, until it 
was seen what opinions would be excited by 
his arrival ; as Washington would for some 
time be absent from the seat of government, 
while all the foreign functionaries were residing 
there, particularly those of his own nation. 
Washington sugge.sted, therefore, that he should 
enter for the present as a student at the Uni- 
versity in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and en- 
gaged to pay all the expenses for the residence 
there of himself and his tutor. These and other 
suggestions were made in a private, and confi- 
dential letter to Mr. George Cabot of Boston, 
Senator of the United States, whose kind ser- 
vices he enlisted in the matter. 

It was subsequently thought best that young 
Lafayette should proceed to New York, and 
remain in retirement, at the country house of 
a friend in its vicinity, pursuing his studies with 
his tutor, until Washington shoiald direct other- 
wise. 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

In his speech at the opening of the session 
of Congress in December, Washington presented 
a cheerful summary of the events of the year. 
" I trust I do not deceive myself," said he, 
" while I indulge the persuasion, that I have 
never met you at any period when, more than 
at present, the situation of our public affairs 
has afforded just cause for mutual congratula- 
tion, and for inviting you to join with me in 
profound gratitude to the Author of all good, 
for the numerous and extraordinary blessings 
we enjoy." 



^T. G3.] 



MEETING OF CONGRESS— WASHINGTON'S SPEECH. 



741 



And first he announced that a treaty had 
heen conclnded provisionally, by General 
Wayne, with the Indians north-west of the 
Ohio, by which the termination of the long, 
expensive, and distressing war with those tribes 
was placed at the option of the United States. 
"In the adjustment of the terms," said he, 
" the satisfaction of the Indians was deemed 
an object worthy no le^ of the pohcy than of 
the liberality of the tinited States, as the 
necessary basis of durable tranquiUity. This 
object, it is believed, has been fully attained. 
The articles agreed upon will immediately be 
laid before the Senate, for their considera- 
tion." * 

A letter from the Emperor of Morocco, re- 
cognizing a treaty which had been made with 
his deceased father, insured the continuance of 
peace with that poAver. 

The terms of a treaty with the Dey and re- 
gency of Algiers had been adjusted in a manner 
to authorize the expectation of a speedy peace 
in that quarter, and the liberation of a number 
of American citizens from a long and grievous 
captivity. 

A speedy and satisfactory conclusion was 
anticipated of a negotiation with the court of 
Madrid, " which would lay the foundation of 
lasting harmony with a power whose friend- 
ship," said Washington, " we have uniformly 
and sincerely desired to cherish." 

Adverting to the treaty Avith Great Britain 
and its conditional ratification, the result on the 
part of his Britannic Majesty was yet unknown, 
but Avhen ascertained, would immediately be 
placed before Congress. 

" In regard to internal affairs, every part of 
the Union gave indications of rapid and various 
improvement. With burdens so light as 
scarcely to be perceived ; with resources fully 
adequate to present exigencies ; with govern- 
ments founded on the genuine principles of ra- 
tional liberty ; and with mild and wholesome 
laws, was it too much to say that our country 
exhibited a spectacle of national happiness 
never surpassed, if ever before equalled ? " 

In regard to the late insurrection : " The 
misled," observed he, " have abandoned their 
errors, and pay the respect to our constitution 



* These preliminary articles were confirmed by a de- 
finitive treaty concluded on the 7th of August. Wayne 
received high testimonials of approbation both from Con- 
gross and the Tresident, and made a kiud of triumphal 
entry into Philadelphia amid the enthusiastic acclamations 
of the people. 



and laws which is due from good citizens to 
the public authorities. These circumstances 
have induced me to pardon generally the of- 
fenders here referred to, and to extend forgive- 
ness to those who had been adjudged to capital 
punishment." 

After recommending several objects to the 
attention of both Houses, he concludes by ad- 
vising temperate discussion and mutual forbear- 
ance wherever there was a difference of 
opinion ; advice sage and salutary on aU occa- 
sions, but particularly called for by the excited 
temper of the times. 

There was, as usual, a cordial answer from 
the Senate ; but, in the present House of 
Representatives, as in the last one, the opposi- 
tion were in the majority. In the response 
reported by a committee, one clause expressing 
undiminished confidence in the chief magistrate 
was demurred to ; some members affirmed, 
that, with them, it had been considerably 
diminished by a late transaction. After a 
warm altercation, to avoid a direct vote, the 
response was recommitted, and the clause ob- 
jected to modified. The following is the form 
adopted : " In contemplating that spectacle of 
national happiness which our country exhibits, 
and of Avhich you, sir, have been pleased to 
make an interesting summary, permit us to 
acknowledge and declare the very great share 
which your zealous and faithful services have 
contributed to it, and to express the affectionate 
attachment Avhich we feel for your character." 

The feelings and position of Washington with 
regard to England at this juncture, may be 
judged from a letter dated December 22d, to 
Gouverneur Morris, then in London, and who 
Avas in occasional communication with Lord 
Grenville. AVashington gives a detail of the 
various causes of complaint against the British 
government which Avere rankling in the minds 
of the American people, and Avhich Morris vras 
to mention, unofficially, should he converse 
with Lord Grenville on the subject, " I give 
you these details," Avrites he, " as evidences of 
the impolitic conduct of the British govern- 
ment towards these United States ; tliat it may 
be seen hoAV difficult it has been for the Execu- 
tive, under such an accumulation of irritating 
circumstances, to maintain the ground of neu- 
trality which had been taken ; and at a time 
when the remembrance of the aid we have re- 
ceived from France in the Revolution was fresh 
in every mind, and Avhile the partisans of that 
country were continually contrasting the aftec- 



742 



PRESENTATION OF FRENCH COLORS— ACTION ON THE TREATY. 



[1796. 



tions of that people with the unfriendly dispo- 
sition of the British government. And that, 
too, while their oion sufferings, during the war 
with the latter, had not heen forgotten. 

" It is well Icnown tliat peace has been (to 
borrow a modern phrase) the order of tlie day 
with me, since the disturbances in Europe first 
commenced. My policy has been, and will 
continue to be, while I have the honor to re- 
main in the administration, to maintain friendly 
terms with, but be independent of, all the 
nations of the earth ; to share in the broils of 
none ; to fulfil our own engagements; to supply 
the wants and be carriers for them all. * * * 
Nothing short of self-respect, and that justice 
which is essential to a national character, ought 
to involve us in war. 

:^ :(: :}: ^ ^ sf: ^ 

" By a firm adherence to these principles, 
and to the neutral policy which has been 
adopted, I have brought on myself a torrent 
of abuse in the factious papers of this country, 
and from the emnity of the discontented of aU 
descriptions. But having no sinister objects in 
view, I shall not be diverted from my course 
by these, nor any attempts which are, or shall 
be, made to withdraw the confidence of my 
constituents from me. I have nothing to ask ; 
and, discharging my duty, I have nothing to 
fear from invective. The acts of my adminis- 
tration will appear when I am no more, and 
the intelligent and candid part of mankind will 
not condemn my conduct without recurring to 
them." 

The first day of Jannary, being " a day of 
general joy and congratulation," had been ap- 
pointed by Washington to receive the colors 
of France sent out by the Committee of Safety. 
On that day they were presented by Mr, Adet 
with an address, representing, in glowing lan- 
guage, the position of France, " struggling not 
only for her own liberty, but for that of the hu- 
man race. Assimilated to, or rather identified 
with free people by the form of her government, 
she saw in them only friends and brothers. Long 
accustomed to regard the American people as 
her most faithful allies, she sought to draw 
closer the ties already formed in the fields of 
America, under the auspices of victory, over 
the ruins of tyranny." 

Washington received the colors with lively 
sensibility and a brief reply, expressive of the 
deep solicitude and high admiration produced 
by the events of the French struggle, and his 
joy that the interesting revolutionary move- 



ments of so many years had issued in the for- 
mation of a constitution designed to give per- 
manency to the great object contended for. 

In February the treaty with Great Britain, 
as modified by the advice of the Senate, came 
back ratified by the king of Great Britain, and 
on the last of the month a proclamation was 
issued by the President, declaring it to be the 
supreme law of the land. 

The opposition in the House of Representa- 
tives were oftended that Washington should 
issue this proclamation before the sense of that 
body had been taken on the subject, and denied 
the power of the President and Senate to com- 
plete a treaty without its sanction. They were 
bent on defeating it by refusing to pass the 
laws necessary to carry it into effect ; and, as a 
preliminary, passed a resolution requesting the 
President to lay before the House the instruc- 
tion to Mr. Jay, and the correspondence and 
other documents relative to the treaty. 

Washington, believing that these papers 
could not he constitutionally demanded, re- 
solved, he said, from the first moment, and 
from the fullest conviction of his mind, to 
7'esisl the 2>'>"inciple^ which was evidently in- 
tended to be established l>y the call of the 
House ; he only deliberated on the manner in 
which this could be done with the least bad 
consequences. 

After mature deliberation and with the as- 
sistance of the heads of departments and the 
Attorney-General, he prepared and sent in to 
the House an answer to their request. In this 
he dwelt upon the necessity of caution and 
secrecy in foreign negotiations, as one cogent 
reason for vesting the power of making treaties 
in the President, with the advice and consent 
of the Senate, the principle on which that body 
was formed, confining it to a small number of 
members. 

To admit a right in the House of Representa- 
tives to demand and have all the papers re- 
specting a foreign negotiation would, he ob- 
served, be to establish a dangerous precedent. 

" It did not occur to him," he added, " that 
the inspection of the papers called for, could 
be relative to any purpose under the cognizance 
of the House of Representatives, except that 
of an impeachment, which the resolution had 
not expressed. He had no disposition to with- 
hold any information which the duty of his 
station would permit, or the public good should 
require to be disclosed ; and, in fact, all the 
papers affecting the negotiation with Great 



^T. G4.J RUFUS KING— WASHINGTON'S VIEW OF THE POLITICAL CAMPAIGN. 743 



Britain had been laid before the Senate, when 
the treaty itself had been communicated for 
their consideration and advice." 

After various further remarks, he concludes : 
" As, therefore, it is perfectly clear to my un- 
derstanding that the assent of the House of 
Representatives is not necessary to the validity 
of a treaty ; as the treaty with Great Britain 
exhibits itself in all the objects requiring legis- 
iative provision ; and on these, the papers 
called for can throw no light ; and as it is essen- 
tial to the due administration of the govern- 
ment, that the boundaries fixed by the constitu- 
tion between the different departments, should 
be observed, a just regard to the constitution 
_ and to the duty of my ofiice, under all the cir- 
cumstances of this case, forbid a compliance 
■with your request." 

A resolution to make provision for carrying 
the treaty into effect, gave rise to an animated 
and protracted debate. Meanwhile, the whole 
country became agitated on the subject ; meet- 
ings were held throughout the United States, 
and it soon became apparent that the popular 
feeling was with the minority in the House of 
Representatives, who favored the making of the 
necessary appi'opriations. The public will 
prevailed, and, on the last day of April, the 
resolution was passed, though by a close vote 
of fifty-one to forty-eight. 

For some months past, Mr. Tlioraas Pinckney 
had been solicitous to be relieved from his post 
of Minister Plenipotentiary at London, but the 
doubtful issue of the above dispute, and the 
difficulty of finding a fit substitute for him, had 
caused delay in the matter ; for, as Mr, Hamil- 
ton observed : " The importance, to our security 
and commerce, of a good understanding with 
Great Britain, rendered it very important that 
a man able, and not disagreeable to that govern- 
ment, should be there." Such a man at length 
presented in Mr, Rufus King, of New York. 
He had vindicated the treaty with his pen in 
part of a series of papers signed Camillus; he 
had defended it by his manly and brilliant elo- 
quence in the Senate ; he was now about to 
quit his seat in that body. Hamilton, who 
knew him well, struck off his character admi- 
rably in a letter to the President. " Mr. King," 
writes he, " is a remarkably well-informed 
man, a very judicious one, a man of address, a 
man of fortune and economy, whose situation 
affords just grounds of confidence ; a man of 
unimpeachable probity where he is known, a 
firm friend of the government, a supporter of 



the measures of the President ; a man who 
cannot but feel that he has strong pretensions 
to confidence and trust." 

Mr. King was nominated to the Senate on 
the 19th of May, and his nomination was con- 
firmed. On the 1st of June, this session of 
Congress terminated. 

On the 12th of that month Washington, in a 
letter to Colonel Humphrey, then in Portugal, 
speaks of the recent political campaign : " The 
gazettes will give you a pretty good idea of the 
state of politics and parties in this country, and 
will show you, at the same time, if Bache's Au- 
rora is among them, in what manner I am at- 
tacked for persevering steadily in measures 
which, to me, appear necessary to preserve us, 
during the conflicts of belligerent powers, in a 
state of tranquillity. But these attacks, unjust 
and unpleasant as they are, will occasion no 
change in my conduct, nor will they produce any 
other effect in my mind than to increase the soli- 
citude which long since has taken fast hold of 
my heart, to enjoy, in the shades of retirement, 
the consolation of believing that I have ren- 
dered to my country every service to which 
my abilities were competent — not from pecu- 
niary or ambitious motives, nor from a desire to 
provide for any men, further than their intrin- 
sic merit entitled them, and surely not with a 
view of bringing my own relations into office. 
Malignity, therefore, may dart its shafts, but 
no earthly power can deprive me of the satis- 
faction of knowing that I have not, in the 
whole course of my administration, committed 
an intentional error." 

On the same day (June 12th) Jefferson, writ- 
ing from his retirement at Mouticello, to Mr. 
Monroe in Paris, showed himself sensitive to 
the influence of Washington's great popularity 
in countervailing party schemes. " Congress 
have risen," writes he. "You will have seen 
by their proceedings the truth of what I always 
observed to you, that one man outweighs them 
all in the influence over the people, who have 
supported his judgment against their own and 
that of their representatives. Republicanism 
must lie on its oars, resign the vessel to its 
pilot, and themselves to what course he thinks 
best for them." 

In Bache's Aurora of June 9tli, an anonymous 
article had appeared, disclosing queries pro- 
pounded by Washington, in strict confidence, 
to the members of the cabinet in 1793, as to 
the conduct to be observed in reference to 
England and France. As soon as Jefferson saw 



744 CORRESPONDENCE OF WASHINGTON AND JEFFERSON— MONROE RECALLED. [1796. 



this article he wrote to Washington (June 19th), 
disclaiming his having had any concern in that 
hreach of official trust. "I have formerly 
mentioned to you," observed he, " that from a 
very early period of my life, I had laid it down 
as a rule of conduct never to write a word for 
the public papers. From this I have never de- 
parted in a single instance." 

Jefferson further intimates a suspicion that a 
third party had been endeavoring to sow tares 
between him and Washington, by representing 
him (Jefferson) as still engaged in the bustle of 
politics, and in turbulence and intrigue against 
the government. 

This drew forth a noble reply from Washing- 
ton. " If I had entertained any suspicion be- 
fore," writes he, " that the queries, which have 
been published in Bache's paper, proceeded 
from you, the assurances you have given me of 
the contrary, would have removed them ; but 
the truth is, I harbored none. * * * 

" As you have mentioned the subject your- 
self, it would not be frank, candid, or friendly to 
conceal, that your conduct has been represented 
as derogating from that opinion I had conceived 
you entertained of me ; that to your particular 
friends and 'connections you have described, 
and they have denounced me as a person under 
a dangerous influence ; and that, if I would lis- 
ten more to some other opinions, all would be 
Avell. My answer invariably has been, that I 
had never discovered any thing in the conduct 
of Mr. Jefferson to raise suspicions in my mind 
of his insincerity ; that, if he would retrace my 
public conduct while he was in the administra- 
tion, abundant proofs would occur to him, that 
truth and right decisions were the sole object 
of my pursuit ; that there were as many in- 
stances within his own knowledge of my having 
decided against as in favor of the opinions of 
the person evidently alluded to ; and, moreover, 
that I w^as no believer in the infallibility of the 
politics or measures of any man living. In 
short, that I was no party man myself, and that 
the first wish of my heart was, if parties did 
exist, to reconcile them. 

" To this I may add, and very truly, that, 
until within the last year or two, I had no con- 
ception that parties would or even could, go 
the length I have been witness to ; nor did I 
believe until lately, that it was within the 
bounds of probability, hardly within those of 
possibility, that, while I was using my utmost 
exertions to establish a national character of 
our own, independent, as far as our obligations 



and justice would permit, of every nation of the 
earth, and wished, by steering a steady course, 
to preserve this country from the horrors of a 
desolating war, I should be accused of being 
the enemy of one nation, and subject to tlio in- 
fluence of another ; and, to prove it, that every 
act of my administration would be tortured, 
and the gi'ossest and most insidious misrepre- 
sentations of them be made, by giving one side 
only of a subject, and that, too, in such exagger- 
ated and indecent terms as could scarcely be 
applied to a Nero, a notorious defaulter, or 
even to a common pickpocket. But enough 
of this ; I have already gone further in the ex- 
pression of my feelings than I intended." 

Shortly after the recess of Congress another 
change was made in the foreign diplomacy. 
Mr. Monroe, when sent envoy to France, had 
been especially instructed to explain the views 
and conduct of the United States in forming 
tlie treaty with England ; and he had been am- 
ply furnished with documents for the purpose. 
From his own letters, however, it ajjpeared 
that he had omitted to use them. Whether 
this rose from undue attachment to France, 
from mistaken notions of American interests, 
or from real dislike to the treaty, the result 
was the very evil he had been instructed to 
prevent. The French government misconceiv- 
ed tlie view^s and conduct of the United States, 
suspected their policy in regard to Great Brit- 
ain, and when aware that the House of Kepre- 
sentatives would execute the treaty made by 
Jay, became bitter in their resentment. Symp- 
toms of this appeared in the capture of an 
American merchantman by a French privateer. 
Under these circumstances it was deemed expe- 
dient by Washington and his cabinet, to recall 
Mr. Monroe, and appoint another American 
citizen in his stead. 

The person chosen was Charles Cotesworth 
Plnckney of South Carolina, elder brother of 
the late minister to London. Immediately 
after this appointment, which took place in 
July, despatches were received from Mr. Mon- 
roe, communicating complaints which had been 
addressed to him, against the American gov- 
ernment, by M. De La Croix, French minister 
of exterior relations, and his reply to tlie same. 
His reply, though it failed to change the policy 
of the French Directory, was deemed able and 
satisfactory by the Executive, Soraewliat later 
came a letter from Mr. Monroe, written on the 
24th, by which it api)eared that the long and 
confidential letter written by Washington on 



^T. 64.] NEUTRAL POLICY OF WASHINGTON— HIS FAREWELL ADDRESSi 



745 



:.December 22d, and cited in a previous page of 
this chapter, had, by some chance, got into the 
.hands of the French Directory, and " produced 
.an ill effect." 

In a reply to Monroe, dated August 25th, 
Washington acknowledged the authenticity of 
the letter, "but I deny," added he, "that there 
is any thing contained in it that the French gov- 
ernment could take exception to, unless the 
.expression of an ardent wish that the United 
States miglit remain at peace with all the world, 
taking no part in the disputes of any part of it, 
should have produced this effect. I also gave 
it as my opinion, that the sentiments of the 
mass of the citizens of this country were in 
unison with mine." 

And in conclusion, he observes : " My con- 
duct in public and private life, as it relates to 
the important struggle in which the latter na- 
tion [France] is engaged, has been uniform from 
the commencement of it, and may be summed 
up in a few words. I have always wished well 
to the French revolution ; that I have always 
given it as my decided opinion, that no nation 
had a right to intermeddle in the internal con- 
cerns of another ; that eveiy one had a right 
to form and adopt whatever government they 
liked best to live under themselves ; and that, if 
this country could, consistenly with its en- 
gagements, maintain a strict neutrality, and 
thereby preserve peace, it was bound to do so 
by motives of policy, interest, and every other 
consideration, that ought to actuate a people 
situated as we are, already deeply in debt, and 
in a convalescent state from the struggle Ave 
have been engaged in ourselves. 

" On these principles I have steadily and 
uniformly proceeded, bidding defiance to calum- 
nies calculated to sow the seeds of distrust in 
the French nation, and to excite their belief of 
an influence possessed by Great Britain in the 
councils of this country, than which nothing is 
more unfounded and injurious." * 

Still the resentful policy of the French con- 
tinued, and, in October, they issued an arret 
ordering the seizure of British property found 
on board of American vessels, and of provisions 
bound for England — a direct violation of their 
treaty with the United States. 



* For the entire letter see Washington's Writings, 
xi. 164. 



CHAPTER XXX. 

The period for the presidential election was 
drawing near, and great anxiety began to be 
felt that Washington w^ould consent to stand 
for a third term. No one, it was agreed, had 
greater claim to the enjoyment of retirement, 
in consideration of public services rendered ; but 
it was thought the aftairs of the country would 
be in a very precarious condition should he re- 
tire before the wars of Europe were brought to 
a close. 

Washington, however, had made up his mind 
irrevocably on the subject, and resolved to an- 
nounce, in a farewell address, his intention of 
retiring. Such an instrument, it will be recol- 
lected, had been prepared for him from his own 
notes, by Mr. Madison, when he hud thought 
of retii'ing at the end of his first term. As he 
was no longer in confidential intimacy with 
Mr. Madison, he turned to Mr. Hamilton as his 
adviser and coadjutor, and appears to have con- 
sulted him on tiie subject early in the present 
year, for, in a letter dated New York, May 
10th, Hamilton writes : " Wlien last in Phila- 
delphia, you mentioned to me your wish that I 
should re-dress a certain paper which you had 
prepared. As it is important that a thing of 
this kind should be done with great care and 
at much leisure, touched and retouched, I sub- 
mit a wish that, as soon as you have given it 
the body you mean it to have, it may be sent 
to me." 

The paper was accordingly sent on the 15th 
of May, in its rough state, altered in oue part 
since Hamilton had seen it. " If you should 
think it best to throw the whole into a different 
form," writes Washington, "let me request, 
notwithstanding, that my draft may be return- 
ed to me (along with yours) with such amend- 
ments and corrections as to render it as perfect 
as the formation is susceptible of ; curtailed if 
too verbose, and relieved of all tautology not 
necessary to enforce the ideas in the original 
or quoted part. My wish is, that the whole 
may appear in a plain style ; and be handed to 
the public in an honest, unaffected, simple 
garb." 

Wo forbear to go into the vexed question 
concerning this address ; how much of it is 
founded on Washington's original " notes and 
heads of topics ;" how much Avas elaborated 
by Madison, and how much is due to Hamil- 
ton's recasting and revision. The whole came 



746 THE FAREWELL ADDRESS— WASHINGTON'S LAST SPEECH TO CONGRESS. [1796. 



under the supervision of Washington ; and the 
instrument, as submitted to the press, was in 
his handwriting, with many ultimate correc- 
tions and alterations. Washington had no 
pride of authorship •, his object always was to 
effect the purpose in hand, and for that he oc- 
casionally invoked assistance, to ensure a plain 
and clear exposition of his thoughts and inten- 
tions. Tlie address certainly breathes this spirit 
throughout, is in perfect accordance with his 
words and actions, and "in an honest, unaf- 
fected, simple garb," embodies the system of 
policy on which he had acted throughout his 
administration. It was published in Septem- 
ber, in a Philadelphia paper called the Daily 
Advertiser.'^ 

The publication of the address produced a 
great sensation. Several of the State legisla- 
tures ordered it to be put on their journals. 

" The President's declining to be again elect- 
ed," writes the elder Wolcott, " constitutes a 
most important epoch in our national aff'airs. 
The country meet the event with reluctance, 
but they do not feel that they can make any 
claim for the further services of a man who 
has conducted their armies through a successful 
war ; has so largely contributed to establish a 
national government ; has so long presided 
over our councils and directed the public ad- 
ministration, and in the most advantageous 
manner settled all national differences, and who 
can leave the administration where nothing but 
our folly and internal discord can render the 
country otherwise than happy." 

The address acted as a notice, to hush the 
acrimonioi^s abuse of him which the opposition 
was pouring forth under the idea that he would 
be a candidate for a renomination. " It will 
serve as a signal, like the dropping of a hat, for 
the party racers to start," writes Pisher Ames, 
" and I expect a great deal of noise, whipping 
and spurring." 

Congress formed a quorum on the 5th day of 
December, the first day of the session which 
succeeded the publication of the Farewell Ad- 
dress. On the Yth, Washington met the two 
Houses of Congress for the last time. 

In his speech he recommended an institution 
for the improvement of agriculture, a military 
academy, a national university, and a gradual 
increase of the navy. The disputes with France 
were made the subject of the following remarks : 



* Tlie rea.ler will fuul the entire Address in the Appen- 
dix to this volume. 



" While in our external relations some serious 
inconveniences and embarrassments have been 
overcome and others lessened, it is with much 
pain and deep regret I mention that circum- 
stances of a very unwelcome nature have lately 
occurred. Our trade has suffered and is suffer- 
ing extensive injuries in the West Indies from 
the cruisers and agents of the French Eepub- 
lic ; and communications have been received 
from its minister here which indicate the dan- 
ger of a further disturbance of our commerce 
by its authority ; and which are in other re- 
spects far from agreeable. It has been my con- 
stant, sincere, and earnest wish, in conformity 
with that of our nation, to maintain cordial 
harmony and a perfectly friendly imderstand- 
ing with that Republic. This wish remains 
unabated ; and I shall persevere in the endeav- 
or to fulfil it to the utmost extent of what shall 
be consistent with a just and indispensable re- 
gard to the rights and honor of our country ; 
nor will I easily cease to cherish the expecta- 
tion, that a spirit of justice, candor, and friend- 
ship, on the part of the Republic, wiU eventual- 
ly ensure success. 

" In pursuing this course, however, I cannot 
forget what is due to the character of our gov- 
ernment and nation; or to a full and entire 
confidence in the good sense, patriotism, self- 
respect, and fortitude of my countrymen." 

In concluding his address he observes, " The 
situation in which I now stand for the last time 
in the midst of the representatives of the peo- 
ple of the United States, naturally recalls the 
period when the administration of the present 
form of government commenced, and I cannot 
omit the occasion to congratulate you and my 
country on the success of the experiment, nor 
to repeat ray fervent supplications to the Su- 
preme Ruler of the universe and Sovereign 
Arbiter of nations, that his providential care 
may be still extended to the United States; 
that the virtue and happiness of the people may 
be preserved, and that the government which 
they have instituted for the protection of their 
liberties may be perpetual." 

The Senate, in their reply to the address, 
after concurring in its views of the national 
prosperity, as resulting from the excellence of 
the constitutional system and the wisdom of 
the legislative provisions, added, that they 
would be deficient in gratitude and justice did 
they not attribute a great portion of these ad- 
vantages to the virtue, firmness, and talents of 
his administration, conspicuously displayed ia 



^T. 65.] REPLY OF THE HOUSE— COMPLAINTS OF THE FRENCH MINISTER. 



747 



the most trying times, and on the most critical 
occasions. 

Kecalling his arduous services, civil and mili- 
tary, as well during the struggles of the revolu- 
tion as in the convulsive period of a later date, 
their warmest affections and anxious regards 
would accompany him in his approaching re- 
tirement. 

" The most eftectual consolation that can 
oflfer for the loss we are about to sustain, 
arises fi-om the animating reflection, that the 
influence of your example will extend to your 
successors, and the United States thus continue 
to enjoy an able, upright, and energetic ad- 
ministration." 

The reply of the House, after premising at- 
tention to the various subjects recommended to 
their consideration in the address, concluded 
by a warm expression of gratitude and admira- 
tion, inspired by the virtues and services of the 
President, by his wisdom, firmness, moderation, 
and magnanimity ; and testifying to the deep 
regret with which they contemplated his ni- 
tended retirement fi-om office. 

" May you long enjoy that liberty which is 
so dear to you, and to which your name will 
ever be so dear," added they. " May your own 
virtue and a nation's prayers obtain the hap- 
piest sunshine for the decline of your days, and 
the choicest of future blessings. For our coun- 
try's sake, and for the sake of republican lib- 
erty, it is our earnest wish that your example 
may be the guide of your successors ; and thus, 
after being tbe ornament and safeguard of the 
present age, become the patrimony of our de- 
scendants." 

Objections, however, were made to some 
parts of the reply by Mr. Giles, of Virginia. He 
was for expunging such parts as eulogized the 
present administration, spoke of the wisdom 
and firmness of Washington, and regretted his 
retiring from office. He disapproved, he said, 
of the measures of the administration with re- 
spect to foreign relations ; he believed its want 
of wisdom and firnmess had conducted the na- 
tion to a crisis threatening greater calamity 
than any that had before occurred. He did not 
regret the President's retiring from office. He 
believed the government of the United States 
was founded on the broad basis of the people, 
that they were competent to their own govern- 
ment, and the remaining of no man in office 
was necessary to the success of that govern- 
ment. The people would truly be in a calam- 
itous situation, if one man were essential to the 



existence of the government. He was convinc- 
ed that the United States produces a thousand 
citizens capable of filling the presidential chair, 
and he would trust to the discernment of the 
people for a proper choice. Though the voice 
of all America should declare the President's 
retiring as a calamity, he could not join in the 
declaration, because he did not conceive it a 
jnisfortune. He hoped the President would be 
happy in his retirement, and he hoped he would 
retire.* 

Twelve members voted for expunging those 
parts of the reply to which Mr. Giles had ob- 
jected. Among the names of these members 
we find that of Andrew Jackson, a young man, 
twenty-nine years of age, as yet Unknown to 
fame, and who had recently taken his seat as 
delegate from the newly admitted State of Ten- 
nessee. The vote in favor of the whole reply, 
however, was overwhelming. 

The reverence and affection ■ expressed for 
him in both Houses of Congress, and their re- 
gret at his intended retirement, were in unison 
with testimonials from various State legislatures 
and other public bodies, which were continual- 
ly arriving since the publication of his Farewell 
Address. 

During the actual session of Congress, Wash- 
ington endeavored to prevent the misunder- 
standings, which were in danger of being aug- 
mented between the United States and the 
French Government. In the preceding month 
of November, Mr. Adet, the French minister, 
had addressed a letter to the Secretary of 
State, recapitulating the complaints against the 
government of the United States made by his 
predecessors and himself, denouncing the insid- 
ious proclamation of neutrality and the wrongs 
growing out of it, and using language calculat- 
ed to inflame the partisans of France : a copy 
of which letter had been sent to the press for 
publication. One of the immediate objects he 
had in view in timing the publication, was sup- 
posed by Washington to be to produce an eti:ect 
on the presidential election ; his ultimate ob- 
ject, to establish such an influence in the coun- 
try as to sway the government and control its 
measures. Early in January, 1797, therefore, 
Washington requested Mr. Pickering, the Sec- 
retary of State, to address a letter to Mr. Pinck- 
ney, United States minister to France, stating 
all the complaints alleged by the French minis- 
ter against the government, examining and re- 



* See Mr. Giles' speecti, as reported iu the Aurora 
newspaper. 



748 JOHN ADAMS DECLARED PRESIDENT— SPURIOUS LETTERS DENOUNCED. [Il9l. 



viewing the Scamo, and accompanying the state- 
ment with a collection of letters and papers re- 
lating to the transactions therein adverted to. 

" From a desire," writes he, " that the state- 
ments be full, fair, calm, and argumentative, 
without asperity or any thing more irritating 
in the comments than the narration of facts, 
which expose unfounded charges and assertions, 
does itself produce, I have wished that the let- 
ter to Mr. Pinckney may be revised over and 
over again. Much depends upon it, as it relates 
to ourselves, and in the eyes of the world, what- 
ever may be the effect as it respects the gov- 
erning powers of France." 

The letter to Mr. Pinckney, with its accom- 
panying documents, Avas laid before Congress 
on the 19th of January (1797), to be transmit- 
ted to that minister. " The immediate object 
of his mission," says Washigton in a special 
message, " was to make that government such 
explanations of the principles and conduct of 
our own, as by manifesting our good faith, 
might remove all jealousy and discontent, and 
maintain that harmony and good imderstand- 
ing with tlie French Republic, which it has 
been my constant solicitude to preserve. A 
government which required only a knowledge 
of the truth to justify its measures, could but 
be anxious to have this fully and frankly dis- 
played." 

In the month of February the votes taken at 
the recent election were opened and counted 
in Congress ; Avhen Mr. Adams, having the 
highest number, was declared President, and 
Mr. Jefferson, having the next numbei", Vice- 
President ; their term of four years to com- 
mence on the 4th of March next ensuing. 

Washington now began to count the days 
and hours that intervened between him and 
his retirement. On the day preceding it, he 
writes to his old fellow-soldier and political 
coadjutor, Ilenry Knox : '' To the wearied trav- 
eller, who sees a resting place, and is bending 
his body to lean thereon, I now compare my- 
self ; but to be suffered to do this in peace, is 
too much to be endured by some. To misrep- 
resent my motives, to reprobate my politics, 
and to weaken the confidence which has been 
reposed in my administration, are objects wliich 
cannot be relinquished by those who will be 
satisfied with nothing short of a change in our 
political system. The consolation, however, 
which results from conscious rectitude, and the 
approving voice of my country, imequivocally 
expressed by its representatives, deprive their 



sting of its poison, and place in the same point 
of view, both the weakness and malignity of 
their efforts. 

" Although the prospect ofv retirement is 
most grateful to my soul, and I have not a wish 
to mix again in the great world, or to partake 
in its politics, yet I am not without my regrets 
at parting with (perhaps never more to meet) 
the few intimates whom I love, and among 
these, be assured, you are one. h: * * -pij^ 
remainder of my life, which in the course of 
nature cannot be long, will be occupied in rural 
amusements ; and though I shall seclude my- 
self as much as possible from the noisy and 
bustling world, none would, more than myself, 
be regaled by the company of those I esteem, 
at Mount Vernon ; more than twenty miles 
from which, after I arrive there, it is nyt likely 
that I shall ever be." 

On the morning of the 3d of March, the last 
day of his official career, Washington addressed 
a letter to the Secretary of State on the subject 
of the spurious letters,. heretofore mentioned,* 
first published by the British in 177(3, and sub- 
sequently republished during his administra- 
tion, by some of his political enemies. lie had 
suffered every attack on his executive conduct 
to pass unnoticed while he remained in public 
life, but conceived it a justice due to his char- 
acter solemnly to pronounce those letters a 
base forgery, and he desired that the present 
letter might be " deposited in the office of the 
Department of State, as a testimony to the 
truth to the present generation and to poster- 
ity." 

On the same day he gave a kind of farewell 
dinner to the foreign ministers and their wives, 
Mr. and Mrs. Adams, Mr. Jefferson, and other 
conspicuous personages of both sexes. " Dur- 
ing the dinner much hilarity prevailed," says 
Bishop AVhite, who was present. When the 
cloth was removed Washington filled his glass : 
" Ladies and gentlemen," said he, " this is the 
last time I shall drink your health as a public 
man; I do it with sincerity, wishing you all 
possible happiness." 

The gaiety of the company was checked in 
an instant ; all felt the importance of this leave- 
taking ; Mrs. Liston, the wife of the British 
minister, was so much affected that tears 
streamed down her cheeks. 

On the 4th of March, an immense crowd 
had gathered about Congress Hall. At eleven 



* Life of WasbingtOQ, vol. iii., Svo, pp. 360, 361. 



^T, 



65.] ACCLAMATIONS OF THE PEOPLE— WASHINGTOX AT MOUNT VERNON. 749 



o'clock, Mr. Jefferson took the oath as Vice- 
President in the presence of the Senate ; and 
proceeded with that body to the Chamber 
of the House of Representatives, which was 
densely crowded, many ladies occupying chairs 
ceded to them by members. 

After a time, Washington entered amidst 
enthusiastic cheers and acclamations, and the 
waving of handkerchiefs. Mr. Adams soon 
followed and was likewise well received, but 
not with like enthusiasm. Having taken the 
oath of office, Mr. Adams, in his inaugural ad- 
dress, spoke of his predecessor as one " who, 
by a long course of great actions, regulated by 
prudence, justice, temperance, and fortitude, 
had merited the gratitude of his fellow-citizens, 
commanded the highest praises of foreign na- 
tions, and secured immortal glory with poster- 
ity." 

At the close of the ceremony, as Washington 
moved toward the door to retire, there was a 
rush from the gallery to the corridor that 
threatened the loss of life or limb, so eager 
were the throng to catch a last look of one 
who had so long been the object of public ven- 
eration. When Washington was in the street 
he waved his hat in return for the cheers of 
the multitude, his countenance radiant with 
benignity, his gray hairs streaming in the wind. 
The crowd followed him to his door ; there, 
turning round, his countenance assumed a 
grave and almost melancholy expression, his 
eyes were bathed in tears, his emotions were 
too. great for utterance, and only by gestures 
could he indicate his thanks and convey his 
farewell blessing.* 

In the evening a splendid banquet was given 
to him by the principal inhabitants of Phila- 
delphia in the Amphitheatre, which was deco- 
rated with emblematical paintings. All the 
heads of departments, the foreign ministers, 
several officers of the late army, and various 
persons of note, were pi-esent. Among the 
paintings, one represented the home of his 
heart, the home to which he was about to 
hasten — Mount Vernon. 



CHAPTER XXXI. 

His official career being terminated, Wash- 
ington set off for Mount Vernon accompanied 
by Mrs. Washington, her grand-daughter Miss 



* From personal recollections of William A. Duer, late 
President of Columbia College. 



Nelly Custis, and George Washington Lafay- 
ette, with his preceptors. 

Of the enthusiastic devotion manifested tow- 
ards him wherever he passed, he takes the fol- 
lowing brief and characteristic notice: "The 
attentions we met with on our journey were 
very flattering, and to some, whose minds are 
differently formed from mine, woiild have been 
highly relished; but I avoided, in every in- 
stance where I had any previous notice" of the 
intention, and could, by earnest entreaties, pre- 
vail, all parade and escorts." 

He is at length at Mount Vernon, that haven 
of repose to which he had so often turned a 
wishful eye, throughout his agitated and anx- 
ious life, and where he trusted to pass quietly 
and serenely the remainder of his days. He 
finds himself, however, " in the situation of a 
new beginner; almost every thing about him 
required considerable repairs, and a house is 
immediately to be built for the reception and 
safe keeping of his military, civil, and private 
papers." " In a word," writes he, " I am al- 
ready surrounded by joiners, masons, and paint- 
ers, and such is my anxiety to be out of tlieir 
hands, that I have scarcely a room to put a 
friend into, or to sit in myself, without the 
music of hammers and the odoriferous scent of 
paint." 

Still he is at Mount Vernon, and as the 
spring opens, the rural beauties of the country 
exert their sweetening influence. In a letter 
to his friend Oliver Wolcott, who, as Secretary 
of the Treasury, was still acting on " the great 
theatre," he adverts but briefly to public affairs. 
" For myself," adds he, exultingly, " having 
turned aside from the broad walks of political 
into the narrow paths of private life, I shall 
leave it with those whose duty it is to consider 
subjects of this sort, and, as every good citizen 
ought to do, conform to Avhatsoever tlie ruling 
powers shall decide. To make and sell a little 
flour annually, to repair houses going fast to 
ruin, to build one for the security of my papers 
of a public nature, and to anuise myself in agri- 
cultural and rural pursuits, will constitute em- 
ployment for the few years I have to remain 
on this terrestrial globe. If, also, I could now 
and then meet tlie friends I esteem, it would 
fill the measure and add zest to my enjoy- 
ments ; but, if ever this happens, it must be 
under my own vine and fig-tree, as I do not 
think it probable that I shall go beyond twenty 
miles from them." 

And again, to another friend he indulges in 



750 



WASHINGTON AT MOUNT VERNON— LAWRENCE LEWIS. 



[1797. 



pleasant anticipations : " Eetired from noise 
myself and the responsibility attached to pub- 
lic employment, my hours will glide smoothly 
on. My best wishes, however, for the pros- 
perity of our country will always have the first 
I^lace in my thoughts; while to repair build- 
ings and to cultivate my farms, which require 
close attention, will occupy the few years, per- 
haps d^'s, I may be a sojourner here, as I am 
now in the sixty-fifth year of my peregrination 
through life." * 

A letter to his friend James McHenry, Sec- 
retary of War, furnishes a picture of his every- 
day life. " I am indebted to you," writes he, 
" for several unacknowledged letters ; but never 
mind that ; go on as if you had answers. You 
are at the source of information, and can find 
many things to relate, while I have nothing to 
say that could either inform or amuse a Sec- 
retary of War in Philadelphia. I might tell 
him that I begin my diurnal course with the 
sun ; that, if my hirelings are not in their 
places at that time, I send them messages of 
sorrow for their indisposition ; that, having put 
these wheels in motion, I examine the state of 
things further ; that the more they are probed 
the deeper I find the wounds which my build- 
ings have sustained, by an absence and neglect 
of eight years ; that, by the time I have ac- 
complished these matters, breakfast (a little 
after seven o'clock, about the time I presume 
you are taking leave of Mrs. McHenry) is 
ready ; that, this being over, I mount my horse 
and ride round my farms, which employs me 
until it is time to dress for dinner, at which I 
rarely miss seeing strange faces, come, as they 
say, out of respect to me. Pray, would not the 
word curiosity answer as well ? And how dif- 
ferent this from having a few social friends at 
a cheerful board ! The usual time of sitting at 
table, a walk, and tea bring me within the 
dawn of candle light ; previous to which, if not 
prevented by company, I resolve that, as soon 
as the glimmering taper supplies the place of 
the great luminary, I will retire to my writing 
table and acknowledge the letters I have re- 
ceived ; but when the lights are brought I feel 
tired and disinclined to engage in this work, 
conceiving that the next night will do as well. 
The next night comes, and with it the same 
causes for postponement, and so on. Having 
given you the history of a day, it will serve for 
a year, and, I am persuaded, you will not re- 



Letter to William Heath. Writings, xi. 199. 



quire a second edition of it. But it may strike 
you that in this detail no mention is made of 
any portion of time allotted for reading. The 
remark would be just, for I have not looked 
into a book since I came home ; nor shall I be 
able to do it until I have discharged my work- 
men; probably not before the nights grow 
longer, when possibly I may be looking in 
Doomsday Book." 

In his solitary rides about Mount Vernon 
and its woodlands, fond and melancholy 
thoughts w'ould occasionally sadden the land- 
scape as his mind reverted to past times and 
early associates. In a letter to Mrs. S. Fair- 
fax, now in England, he writes : " It is a mat- 
ter of sore regret when I cast my eyes toward 
Belvoir, which I often do, to reflect that the 
former inhabitants of it, with whom we lived 
in such harmony and friendship, no longer re- 
side there, and the ruins only can be viewed 
as the mementoes of former pleasures." 

The influx of strange faces alluded to in the 
letter to Mr. McHenry, soon became over- 
whelming, and Washington felt the necessity 
of having some one at hand to relieve him from 
a part of the self-imposed duties of Virginia 
hospitality. 

With this view^ he bethought him of his 
nephew Lawrence Lewis, the same who had 
gained favor with him by volunteering in the 
Western expedition, and accompanying General 
Knox as aide-de-camp. He accordingly ad- 
dressed a letter to him in which he writes : 
" Whenever it is convenient to you to make 
this place your home, I shall be glad to see 
you. * * 'i' As both your aunt and I are 
in the decline of life, and regular in our habits, 
especially in our hours of rising and going to 
bed, I require some person (fit and proper) to 
ease me of the trouble of entertaining company, 
particularly of nights, as it is my inclination to 
retire (and unless prevented by very particu- 
lar company, I always do retire) either to bed 
or to my study soon after candle light. In 
taking those duties (which hospitality obliges 
one to bestow on company) otf my hands, it 
w^ould render me a very acceptable service." * 
In consequence of this invitation, Lawrence 
thenceforward became an occasional inmate at 
Mount Vernon. The place at this time pos- 
sessed attractions for gay as well as grave, and 
was often enlivened by young company. One 
great attraction was Miss Nelly Custis, Mrs. 



* MS. Letter. 



-Et. 65.] MISS NELLY CUSTIS— WASHINGTON'S COUNSEL IN LOVE MATTERS. 



751 



"Washington's grand-danghter, who, with her 
brother George W. P. Cnstis, had been adopted 
by the General at their father's death, when 
they were quite cliildren, and brought up by 
him with the most affectionate care. He was 
fond of children^ especially girls ; as to boys, 
with all his spirit of command, he found them 
at times somewhat imgovernable. I can gov- 
ern men, would he say, but I cannot govern 
boys. Miss Nelly had grown up under the spe- 
cial eye of her grandmother, to whom she was 
devotedly attached, and who was particular in 
enforcing her observance of all her lessons, as 
well as instructing her in the arts of housekeep- 
ing. Slie was a great favorite with the Gen- 
eral ; Avhom, as we have before observed, she 
delighted with her gay whims and sprightly 
sallies, often overcoming his habitual gravity, 
and surprising him into a hearty laugh. 

She was now maturing into a lovely and at- 
tractive woman, and the attention she received 
began to awaken some solicitude in the Gener- 
al's mind. This is evinced in a half sportive 
letter of advice written to her during a tem- 
porary absence from Mount Vernon, when she 
was about to make her first appearance at a 
ball at Georgetown. It is curious as a speci- 
men of Washington's counsel in love matters. 
It would appear that Miss Nelly, to allay his 
solicitude, had already, in her correspondence, 
professed " a perfect apathy toward the youth 
of the present day, and a determination never 
to give herself a moment's uneasiness on ac- 
count of any of them." Washington doubted 
the firmness and constancy of her resolves. 
" Men and women," writes he, " feel the same 
inclination towards each other noio that they 
always have done, and which they will con- 
tinue to do, until there is a new order of things ; 
and you, as others have done, may find that the 
passions of your sex are easier raised than al- 
layed. Do not, therefore, boast too soon, nor 
too strongly of your insensibility. * * * Love 
is said to be an involuntary passion, and it is, 
therefore, contended that it cannot be resisted. 
This is true in part only, for like all things 
else, when nourished and supplied plentifully 
with aliment, it is rapid in its progress ; but let 
these be withdrawn, and it may be stifled in its 
birth, or much stinted in its growth. * * * 
Although we cannot avoid first impressions, 
we may assuredly place them under guard. 
* * * When the fire is beginning to kindle 
and your heart growing warm, propound these 
questions to it. Who is this invader ? Have I 



a competent knowledge of him ? Is he a man 
of good character ? A man of sense ? For be 
assured, a sensible woman can never be happy 
with a fool. What has been his walk in life ? 
* * * Is his fortune sufficient to maintain 
me in the manner I have been accustomed to 
live, and as my sisters do live ? And is he one 
to whom my friends can have no reasonable ob- 
jection ? If all these interrogatories can be sat- 
isfactorily answered, there will remain but one 
more to be asked ; that, however, is an impor- 
tant one. Have I sufficient ground to conclude 
that his affections are engaged by me ? With- 
out this the heart of sensibility will struggle 
against a passion that is not reciprocated." * 

The sage counsels of Washington, and the 
susceptible feelings of Miss Nelly, were soon 
brought to the test by the residence of Law- 
rence Lewis at Mount Vernon. A strong attach- 
ment for her grew up on his part, or perhaps 
already existed, and was strengthened by daily 
intercourse. It was favorably viewed by his 
uncle. Whether it was fully reciprocated was 
uncertain. A formidable rival to Lewis ap- 
peared in the person of young Carroll of Car- 
rollton, who had just returned from Europe, 
adorned with the graces of foreign travel, and 
whose suit was countenanced by Mrs. Washing- 
ton. These were among the poetic days of 
Mount Vernon, when its halls echoed to the 
tread of lovers. They were halcyon days with 
Miss Nelly, as she herself declared, in after 
years, to a lady, from whom we have the story : 
" I was young and romantic then," said she, 
" and fond of wandering alone by moonlight in 
the woods of Mount Vernon. Grandmamma 
thought it wrong and unsafe, and scolded and 
coaxed me into a promise that I would not 
wander in the woods again unaccompanied. 
But I was missing one evening, and was brought 
home from the interdicted woods to the draw- 
ing-room, where the General was walking up 
and down with Ins hands beliind him, as was 
his wont. Grandmamma, seated in her great 
arm-chair, opened a severe reproof." 

Poor Miss Nelly was reminded of her prom- 
ise, and taxed with her delinquency. She 
knew that she had done wrong — admitted her 
fault, and essayed no excuse ; but, when there 
was a slight pause, moved to retire from the 
room. She was just shutting the door when 
she overheard the General attempting, in a low 
voice, to intercede in her behalf. " My dear," 



» MS. Letter. 



752 



GEORGE WASHINGTON LAFAYETTE— ADDRESS TO MR. MONROE. 



[1Y9'7. 



observed he, " I would say no more — perhaps 
she was not alone." 

His intercession stopped Miss Nelly in her 
retreat. She re-opened the door and advanced 
up to the General with a firm step. " Sir," said 
she, " you brought me up to speak the truth, 
and when I told Grandmamma I was alone, I 
hope you believed I icas alone.'''' 

The General made one of his most magnani- 
mous bows. " My child," replied he, " I beg 
jour pardon," 

"We will anticipate dates, and observe that 
the romantic episode of Miss Nelly Custis ter- 
minated to the General's satisfaction ; she be- 
came the happy wife of Lawrence Lewis, as will 
be recorded in a future page. 

Early in the autumn, Washington had been 
relieved from his constant solicitude about the 
fortunes of Lafayette. Letters received by 
George W. Lafayette from friends in Hamburg, 
informed the youth that his father and family 
had been liberated from Olmutz and were on 
their way to Paris, with the intention of em- 
barking for America. George was disposed to 
sail for I'rance immediately, eager to embrace 
his parents and sisters in the first moments of 
their release. Washington urged him to defer 
liis departure until he should receive letters 
from the prisoners themselves, lest they should 
cross the ocean in different directions at the 
same time, and pass each other, which would 
be a great shock to both parties. George, how- 
ever, was not to be persuaded, and " I could 
not withhold my assent," writes Washington, 
" to the gratification of his wishes, to fly to 
the arms of those whom he holds most dear." 

George and his tutor, Mr. Frestel, sailed from 
New York on the 26th of October. Washing- 
ton writes from Mount Vernon to Lafayette : 
" This letter, I hope and expect, will be pre- 
sented to you by your son, who is highly de- 
serving of such parents as you and your amia- 
ble lady. 

" He can relate, much better than I can 
describe, my participation in your sufferings, 
my solicitude for your relief, the measures I 
adopted, though ineffectual, to facilitate your 
liberation from an unjust and cruel imprison- 
ment, and the joy I experienced at the news of 
its accomplishment. I shall hasten, therefore, 
to congratulate you, and be assured that no one 
can do it with more cordiality, with more sin- 
cerity, or with greater affection on the restora- 
tion of that liberty which every act of your 
life entitles you to the enjoyment of; and I 



hope I may add, to the uninterrupted possession 
of your estates, and the confidence of your 
country." 

The account Avhich George W. Lafayette had 
received of the liberation of the prisoners of 
Olmutz was premature. It did not take place 
until the 19th of September, nor was it until in 
the following month of February that the happy 
meeting took place between George and his 
family, whom he found residing in the chateau 
of a relative in Holstein. 



CHAPTER XXXII. 

Washington had been but a few months at 
Mount Vernon, when he received intelligence 
that his successor in office had issued a procla- 
mation for a special session of Congress. He 
was not long in doubt as to its object. The 
French government had declared, on the recall 
of Mr. Monroe, that it would not receive any 
new minister plenipotentiary from the United 
States until that power should have redressed 
the grievances of which the republic had com- 
plained. When Mr, Monroe had his audience 
of leave, Mr. Barras, the president of the Direc- 
tory, addressed him in terms complimentary to 
himself, but insulting to his country, " The 
French Eepublic hopes," said he, " that the 
successors of Columbus, of Raleigh, and of 
Penn, ever proud of their liberty, will never 
forget that they owe it to France. * * * In 
their wisdom, they will weigh the magnanimous 
benevolence of the French people with the art- 
ful caresses of perfidious designers, who meditate 
to draw them back to their ancient slavery. 
Assure, Mr. Minister, the good American people 
that, like them, we adore liberty ; that they 
will always have our esteem, and that they will 
find in the French people the republican gen- 
erosity which knows how to accord peace, as it 
knows how to make its sovereignty respected. 

" As to you, Mr. Minister Plenipotentiary, 
you have fought for the principles, you have 
known the true interests of your country. De- 
part with our regrets. We give up, in you, a 
representative of America, and we retain the 
remembrance of the citizen whose persona) 
qualities honor that title." 

A few days afterwards, when Mr, Charles 
Cotesworth Pinckney presented himself as 
successor to Mr. Monroe, the Directory refused 
to receive him, and followed up the indignity 



^T. 65.] 



FRENCH INDIGNITIES— THREE ENVOYS TO FRANCE. 



753 



by ordering him to leave the territories of the 
republic. Its next step was to declare applica- 
ble to American ships the rules in regard to 
neutrals, contained in the treaty which Wash- 
ington had signed with England. 

It was in view of these facts and of the cap- 
tures of American vessels by French cruisers, 
that President Adams had issued a proclamation 
to convene Congress on the 15th of May. In his 
opening speech, he adverted especially to what 
had fallen from Mr. Barras in Monroe's audience 
of leave. " The speech of the President," said 
he, " discloses sentiments more alarming than 
the refusal of a minister, because more dan- 
gerous to our independence and union ; and, at 
the same time, studiously marked with indig- 
nities towards the government of the United 
States. It evinces a disposition to separate the 
people from their government ; to persuade 
them that they have different affections, prin- 
ciples, and interests from those of their fellow- 
citizens, whom they themselves have chosen to 
manage their common concerns, and thus to 
produce divisions fatal to our peace. Such at- 
tempts ought to be repelled with a decision 
which shall convince France and the world, 
that we are not a degraded people, humiliated 
under a colonial spirit of fear, and sense of in- 
feriority, fitted to be the miserable instrument 
of foreign influence, and regardless of national 
honor, character, and interest." 

Still he announced his intention to institute 
a fresh attempt by negotiation, to effect an 
amicable adjustment of differences, on terms 
compatible with the rights, duties, interests, and 
honor of the nation, but in the mean time he 
recommended to Congress to provide effectual 
measures of defence. 

Though personally retired from public life, 
Washington was too sincere a patriot to be 
indifferent to public affairs, and felt acutely the 
unfriendly acts of the French Government, so 
repugnant to our rights and dignity. "The 
President's speech," writes he, " will, I con- 
ceive, draw forth, mediately or immediately, an 
expression of the public mind ; and as it is the 
right of the people that this should be carried 
into effect, their sentiments ought to be une- 
quivocally known, that the principles on which 
the government has acted, and which, from the 
President's speech, are likely to be continued, 
may either be changed, or the opposition that 
is endeavoring to embarrass every measure of 
the executive, may meet effectual discounte- 
nance. Things cannot and ought not to remain 
48 



any longer in their present disagreeable state. 
Nor, should the idea that the government and 
the people have different views, be suffered any 
longer to prevail at home or abroad ; for it is 
not only injurious to us, but disgraceful also, 
that a government constituted as ours is, should 
be administered contrary to their interest, if 
the fact be so." * 

In pursuance of the policy announced by Mr. 
Adams, three envoys extraordinary were ap- 
pointed to the French repubhc, viz. : Charles 
Cotesworth Pinckney, John Marshall, and El- 
bridge Gerry ; the two former federalists, the 
latter a democrat. The object of their mission, 
according to the President, was " to dissipate 
umbrages, remove prejudices, rectify errors, and 
adjust all differences by a treaty between the 
two powers." 

Washington doubted an adjustment of the 
differences. " Candor," said he, " is not a more 
conspicuous trait in the character of govern- 
ments than it is of individuals. It is hardly to 
be expected, then, that the Directory of France 
will acknowledge its errors and tread back its 
steps immediately. This would announce at 
once, that there has been precipitancy and in- 
justice in the measures they have pursued ; or 
that they were incapable of judging, and had 
been deceived by false appearances." 

About this time he received a pamphlet 
on the " Military and Political Situation of 
France." It was sent to him by the author. 
General Dumas, who, in the time of our revo- 
lution, had been an officer in the army of the 
Count de Rochambeau. "Your Excellency," 
writes Dumas, " will observe in it (the pamph- 
let) the effect of your lessons." Then speaking 
of his old military chief : "General Rocham- 
beau," adds he, "is still at his country seat 
near Vendome. He enjoys there tolerably 
good health considering his great age, and 
reckons, as well as his military family, amongst 
his most dear and glorious remembrances, that 
of the time we had the honor to serve under 
yoiu' command." 

Some time had elapsed since Washington had 
heard of his old companion in arms, who had 
experienced some of the melo-dramatic vicissi- 
tudes of the French revolution. After the ar- 
rest of the king ho had taken anew the oath 
of the constitution, and commanded the army 
of the north, having again received the baton 
of field marshal. Thwarted in his plans by the 



Letter to Thomas Pinckney. Writings, si. 202. 



754 



THEIR DEGRADING TREATMENT— WAR WITH FRANCE THREATENED. 



[1797. 



minister of war, he had resigned and retired to 
his estate near Vendome ; but, during the time 
of terror had been arrested, conducted to Paris, 
thrown into the conciergerie, and condemned 
to death. When the car came to convey a 
number of the victims to the guillotine, he was 
about to mount it, but the executioner seeing 
it full, thrust him back. "Stand back, old 
marshal," cried he, roughly, " your turn will 
come by and bye." (Retire toi, vieux marechal, 
ton tour viendra plus tard.) A sudden change 
in political affairs saved his life, and enabled 
him to return to his home near Vendome, 
where he now resided. 

In a reply to Dumas, which Washington for- 
warded by the minister plenipotentiary about 
to depart for France, he sent his cordial remem- 
brances to de Eochambeau. * 

The three ministers met in Paris on the 4th 
of October (1797) but were approached by 
Talleyrand and his agents in a manner which 
demonstrated that the avenue to justice could 
only be opened by gold. Their official reportt 
reveals the whole of this dishonorable intrigue. 
It states that Mr. Pinckney received a visit 
from Mr. Bellarni, the secret agent of Mr. Tal- 
leyrand, who assured him that Citizen Talley- 
rand had the highest esteem for Amei'ica and 
the citizens of the United States, and was most 
anxious for their reconciliation with France. 
With that view some of the most offensive pas- 
sages in the speech of President Adams (in May, 
1797) must be expunged, and a douceur of two 
hundred and fifty thousand dollars put at the 
disposal of Mr. Talleyrand for the use of the 
Directory, and a large loan made by America 
to France. 

On the 20th of October, the same subject was 
resumed in the apartments of the plenipoten- 
tiary, and, on this occasion, beside the secret 
agent, an intimate friend of Talleyrand was 
present. The expunging of the passages in the 
President's speech was again insisted on, and 
it was added that, after that, money was the 
principal object. " We must have money — a 
great deal of money ! " were his words. 

At a third conference, October 21st, the sum 



* The worthy de Rochambeau survived the storms of 
the Revolution. In 1803 he was presented to Napoleon, 
who, pointing to Berthier and other generals who had once 
served under his orders, said : " Marshal, behold your 
scholars." " The scholars have surpassed their master," 
replied the modest veteran. 

In the following year he received the cross of grand 
ctficer of the legion of honor, and a marshal's pension. 
He died full of years and honors, in 1807. 

t American State Papers, vols. iii. and iv. 



was fixed at 32,000,000 francs (6,400,000 dol- 
lars), as a loan secured on the Dutch contribu- 
tions, and 250,000 dollars in the form of a dou- 
ceur to the Directory. 

At a subsequent meeting, October 27th, the 
same secret agent said, " Gentlemen, you mis- 
take the point, you say notTiing of the money 
you are to gixe — you make no offer of money — 
on that point you are not explicit.'''' " We are 
explicit enough," replied the American envoys. 
" We will not give you one farthing ; and be- 
fore coming here, we should have thought such 
an offer as you now propose, would have been 
regarded as a mortal insult." 

On tins indignant reply, the wily agent inti- 
mated that if they would only pay, by way of 
fees, just as they would to a lawyer, who should 
plead their cause, the sum required for the pri- 
vate use of the Directory, they might remain 
at Paris until they should receive further orders 
from America as to the loan required for gov- 
ernment. * 

Being inaccessible to any such disgraceful 
and degrading propositions, the envoys re- 
mained several months in Paris unaccredited, 
and finally returned at separate times, without 
an official discussion of the object of their mis- 
sion, t 

During this residence of the envoys in Paris, 
the Directory, believing t\\Qpeo2ile of the United 
States would not sustain their government in a 
war against France, proceeded to enact a law 
subjecting to capture and condemnation neutral 
vessels and their cargoes, if any portion of the 
latter was of British fabric or produce, although 
the entire property might belong to neutrals. 
As the United States were at this time the great 
neutral carriers of the world, this iniquitous 
decree struck at a vital point in their maritime 
power. X 

When this act and the degrading treatment 
of the American envoys became known, the 
spirit of the nation was aroused, and war with 
France seemed inevitable. 

The crisis was at once brought to Washing- 
ton's own door. " You ought to be aware," 
writes Hamilton to him. May 19, "that in the 
event of an open rupture with France, the 
public voice will again call you to command 



* Sec Life of Talleyrand, by the Rev. Charles K. Mo- 
Harg, pp. 161, 162. 

t Marshall left France April 16th, 1798 ; Gerry on the 
26th of July. Pinckney, detained by the illness of hia 
daughter, did not arrive in the United States until early 
in October. 

% McHarg'8 Life of Talleyrand, 160. 



Mt. 65.] 



WASHINGTON APPOINTED COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF. 



755 



the armies of your country; and though all 
who are attached to you will, from attachment 
as well as public considerations, deplore an oc- 
casion which should once more tear you from 
that repose to which you have so good a right, 
yet it is the opinion of all those with whom I 
converse, that you will be compelled to make 
the sacrifice. All your past labors may de- 
mand, to give them efiicacy, this farther, this 
very great sacrifice." 

The government was resolved upon vigorous 
measures. Congress, on the 28th of May, au- 
thorized Mr. Adams to enlist ten thousand men 
as a provisional army, to be called by him into 
actual service, in case of hostilities. 

Adams was perplexed by the belligerent 
duties thus suddenly devolved upon him. How 
should lie proceed in forming an army ? Should 
he call on all the old generals who had figured 
in the revolution, or appoint a young set ? Mili- 
tary tactics were changed, and a new kind of 
enemy was to be met. " If the French come 
here," said he, " we will have to march with a 
quick step and attack, for in that way only they 
are said to be vulnerable." 

These and other questions he propounded to 
"Washington by letter, on the 22d of June. " I 
must tax you sometimes for advice," writes lie. 
" We must have your name, if you will in any 
case permit us to use it. There will be more 
efficacy in it than in many an army." 

And McHenry, the Secretary of War, writes, 
about the same time : " You see how the storm 
tliickens, and that our vessel will soon require 
its ancient pilot. WiU you — may we flatter 
ourselves, that, in a crisis so awful and impor- 
tant, you will — accept the command of all our 
armies? I hope you will, because you alone 
can unite all hearts and all hands, if it is pos- 
sible that they can be united." 

In a reply to the President's letter, Washing- 
ton writes, on the 4th of July : " At the epoch 
of my retirement, an invasion of these States 
by any European power, or even the proba- 
bility of such an event happening in my days, 
was so far from being contemplated by me, that 
I had no conception that that or any other oc- 
currence would arise in so short a period, which 
could turn my eyes from the shade of Mount 
Vernon. * * * j^ cagg of actual invasion, by 
a formidable force, I certainly should not in- 
trench myself under the cover of age and re- 
tirement, if my services should be required by 
! my country to assist in repelling it." 

And in his reply of the same date, to the 



Secretary of War, he writes : " I see, as you 
do, that clouds are gathering, and that a storm 
may ensue ; and I find, too, from a variety of 
hints, that my quiet, under these circumstances, 
does not promise to be of long continuance. 

* * * * * H: ^ 

" As my whole life has been dedicated to my 
country in one shape or another, for the poor 
remains of it, it is not an object to contend for 
ease and quite, when all that is valuable is at 
stake, further than to be satisfied that the 
sacrifice I should make of these, is acceptable 
and desired by my country." 

Before these letters were despatched he had 
already been nominated to the Senate (July 3d) 
commander-in-chief of all the armies raised or 
to be raised. His nomination was unanimously 
confirmed on the following day, and it was de- 
termined that the Secretary of War should be 
the bearer of the commission to Mount Vernon, 
accompanied by a letter from the President. 
" The reasons and motives," writes Mr. Adams 
in his instructions to the Secretary, " which 
prevailed with me to venture upon such a step 
as the nomination of this great and illustrious 
character, whose voluntary resignation alone 
occasioned my introduction to the office I now 
hold, were too numerous to be detailed in this 
letter, and are too obvious and important to 
escape the observation of any part of America 
or Europe. But as it is a movement of great 
delicacy, it will require all your address to com- 
municate the subject in a manner that shall be 
unofiensive to his feelings and consistent with 
all the respect that is due from me to him. 

" If the General should decline the appoint- 
ment, all the world will be silent and respect- 
fully assent. If he should accept it, all the 
world, except the enemies of this country, will 
rejoice." 

Mr. McHenry was instructed to consult 
Washington upon the organization of the army, 
and upon every thing relating to it. He was 
the bearer also of a letter from Hamilton. " I 
use the liberty," writes he, " which my attach- 
ment to you and to the public authorizes, to 
otFer you my opinion, that you should not de- 
cline the appointment. It is evident that the 
public satisfaction at it is lively and universal. 
It is not to be doubted that the circumstances 
will give an additional spring to the public mind, 
will tend much to unite, and will facilitate the 
measures which the conjunction requires." 

It was with a heavy heart that Washington 
found his dream of repose once more inter' 



756 ARRANGES FOR THREE MAJOR-GENERALS— HAMILTON SECOND IN COMMAND. [1797. 



rupted ; but his strong fidelity to duty would 
not permit him to hesitate. He accepted the 
commission, however, with the condition that 
he should not be called into the field until the 
army was in a situation to require his presence ; 
or it should become indispensable by the ur- 
gency of circumstances. 

" In making this reservation," added he, in 
his letter to the President, " I beg it to be un- 
derstood that I do not mean to withhold any 
assistance to arrange and organize the army, 
which you may think I can afl:brd. I take the 
liberty, also, to mention that I must decline 
having my acceptance considered as drawing 
after it any immediate charge upon the public ; 
or that I can receive any emoluments annexed 
to the appointment before entering into a situ- 
ation to incur expense." 

He made another reservation, through the 
Secretary of "War, but did not think proper to 
embody it in his public letter of acceptance, as 
that would be communicated to the Senate, 
which was, that the principal officers in the 
line and of the staff, should be such as he could 
place confidence in. 

As to the question which had perplexed Mr. 
Adams whether, in forming the army, to call 
on all the old generals or appoint a new set, 
Washington's idea was that, as the armies about 
to be raised were commencing de novo, the 
President had the right to make officers of citi- 
zens or soldiers at his discretion, availing him- 
self of the best aid the country afforded. That 
no officer of the old army, disbanded fourteen 
years before, could expect, much less claim, an 
appointment on any other ground than superior 
experience, brilliant exploits, and general celeb- 
rity founded on merit. 

It was with such views that, in the arrange- 
ments made by him with the Secretary of "War, 
the three Major-Gen erals stood, Hamilton, who 
was to be Inspector-General, Charles Cotes- 
worth Pinckney (not yet returned from Europe), 
and Knox : in which order he wished their 
commissions to be dated. The appointment of 
Hamilton as second in command was desired 
by the public, on account of his distinguished 
ability, energy, and fidelity. Pickering, in 
recommending it, writes : " The enemy whom 
we are now preparing to encounter, veterans 
in arms, led by able and active officers, and ac- 
customed to victory, must be met by the best 
blood, talents, energy, and experience, that our 
country can produce." "Washington, speaking 
of him to the President, says : " Although Col- 



onel Hamilton has never acted in the character 
of a general officer, yet, his opportunities as the 
principal and most confidential aid of the com- 
mander-in-chief, afforded him the means of 
viewing every thing on a larger scale than those 
whose attention was confined to divisions or 
brigades, who know nothing of the correspond- 
ences of the commander-in-chief, or of the 
various orders to, or transactions with, the gen- 
eral staff of the army. These advantages, and 
his having served with usefulness in the old 
Congress, in the general convention, and hav- 
ing filled one of the most important departments 
of government, with acknowledged abilities 
and integrity, have placed him on high ground, 
and made him a conspicuous character in the 
United States and in Europe. * * * 

" By some he is considered an ambitious man, 
and, therefore, a dangerous one. That he is 
ambitious, I shall readily grant, but it is of that 
laudable kind which prompts a man to excel in 
whatever he takes in hand. He is enterprising, 
quick in his perceptions, and his judgment 
intuitively great — qualities essential to a mili- 
tary character." 

Charles Cotesworth Pinckney was placed 
next in rank, not solely on account of his mili- 
tary qualifications, which were great, but of his 
popularity and influence in the Southern States, 
where his connections were numerous and pow- 
erful ; it being apprehended that, if the French 
intended an invasion in force, their operations 
would commence south of Maryland ; in which 
case it would be all important to embark Gen- 
eral Pinckney and his connections heartily in 
the active scenes that would foUow. 

By this arrangement Hamilton and Pinckney 
took precedence of Knox, an officer whom 
"Washington declared he loved and esteemed ; 
but he trusted the exigencies of the case would 
reconcile the latter to the position assigned to 
him. " "Viewing things in this light," writes he 
to Knox, July 16th, " I would fain hope, as we 
are forming an army anew, which army, if 
needful at all, is to fight for every thing which 
ought to be dear and sacred to freemen, that 
former rank will be forgotten, and, among the 
fit and chosen characters, the only contention 
will be who shall be foremost in zeal at this 
crisis to serve his country, in whatever situa- 
tion circumstances may place him." 

The reply of Knox, written in the glow of 
the moment, bespoke how deeply his warm im- 
pulsive feelings were wounded. " I yesterday 
received your favor," writes he, "which I 



JEt. 66.] 



KNOX AGGRIEVED— AN EXPLANATION. 



757 



opened with all the delightful sensations of 
aifection, which I always before experienced 
npon the receipt of your letters. But I found, 
on its perusal, a striking instance of that vicis- 
situde of human affairs and friendships, which 
you so justly describe. I read it with astonish- 
ment, which, however, subsided in the reflec- 
tion that few men know themselves, and there- 
fore, that for more than twenty years I have 
been actiJig under a perfect delusion. Con- 
scious myself of entertaining for you a sincere, 
active, and invariable friendship, I easily be- 
lieved it was reciprocal. Nay more, I flattei-ed 
myself with your esteem and respect in a mili- 
tary point of view. But I find that others, 
greatly my juniors in rank, have been, upon a 
scale of comparison, preferred before me. Of 
this, perhaps, the world may also concur with 
you that I have no just reason to complain. 
But every intelligent and just principle of soci- 
ety required, either that I should have been 
previously consulted in an arrangement, in 
which my feelings and happiness have been so 
much wounded, or that I should not have been 
dragged forth to public view at all, to make the 
comparison so conspicuously odious." 

After continuing in an expostulatory vein, 
followed by his own views of the probable 
course of invasion, he adds, toward the close 
of his letter, — " I have received no other noti- 
fication of an appointment than what the news- 
papers announce. "When it shall please the 
Secretary of "War to give me the information, I 
shall endeavor to make him a suitable answer. 
At present, I do not perceive how it can pos- 
sibly be to any other purport, than in the nega- 
tive." 

In conclusion, he writes : "In whatever situ- 
ation I shall be, I shall always remember with 
pleasure and gratitude, the friendship and con- 
fidence with which you have heretofore honor- 
ed me. 

" I am, with the highest attachment, &c." 

"Washington was pained in the extreme at 
the view taken by CTcneral Knox of the ar- 
rangement, and at the wound which it had 
evidently given to his feelings and his pride. 
In a letter to the President (25th Sept.), he 
writes : " "With respect to General Knox, I can 
say with truth there is no man in the United 
States with whom I have been in habits of 
greater intimacy, no one whom I have loved 
more sincerely, nor any for whom I have had 
a greater friendship. But esteem, love, and 
friendship can have no influence on my mind. 



when I conceive that the subjugation of our 
government and independence are the objects 
aimed at by the enemies of our peace, and when 
possibly our all is at stake." 

In reply to Knox, "Washington, although he 
thought the reasons assigned in his previous 
letter ought to have been sufficiently explana- 
tory of his motives ; went into long details of 
the circumstances under which the military ap- 
pointments had been made, and the important 
considerations which dictated them ; and show- 
ing that it was impossible for him to consult 
Knox previously to the nomination of the gen- 
eral oflicers. 

" I do not know," writes he, " that these ex- 
planations will afford you any satisfaction or 
produce any change in your determination, but 
it was just to myself to make them. If there 
has been any management in the business, it 
has been concealed from me. I have had no 
agency therein, nor have I conceived a thought 
on the subject that has not been disclosed to 
you with the utmost sincerity and frankness of 
heart. And now, notwithstanding the insinua- 
tions, which are implied in your letter, of the 
vicissitudes of friendship and the inconstancy 
of mine, I will pronounce with decision, that it 
ever has been, and, notwithstanding the un- 
kindness of the charge, ever will be, for aught 
I know to the contrary, warm and sincere." 

The genial heart of Knox was somewhat 
soothed and mollified by the " welcome and 
much esteemed letter of "Washington, in which," 
said he, " I recognize fully all the substantial 
friendship and kindness which I have invaria- 
bly experienced from you," Still he was tena- 
cious of the point of precedence, and unwilhng to 
serve in a capacity which would compromise 
his pride. "If an invasion shall take place," 
writes he, "I shall deeply regret all circum- 
stances which would insuperably bar my hav- 
ing an active command in the field. But if 
such a measure should be my destiny, I ^hall 
fervently petition to serve as one of your aides- 
de-camp, which, with permission, I shall do 
with all the cordial devotion and affection of 
which my soul is capable." 

On the ISth of October "Washington learnt 
through the Gazettes of the safe arrival of Gen-*" 
eral Pinckney at New York, and was anxious 
lest there should be a second part of the diffi- 
culty created by General Knox. On the 21st 
he writes again to Knox, reiterating his wish 
to have him in the augmented corps a major- 
crcneral. 



758 PINCKNEY ACCEPTS HIS APPOINTMENT— WASHINGTON'S KETKEAT INVADED. [1*798. 



" "We shall have either 720 war, or a severe 
contest with France ; in either case, if you will 
allow me to express my opinion, this is the 
most eligible time for you to come forward. 
In the first case, to assist with your coimsel 
and aid in making judicious provisions and ar- 
rangements to avert it ; in the other case, to 
share in the glory of defending your country, 
and, by making all secondary objects yield to 
that great and primary object, display a mind 
superior to embarrassing punctilios at so critical 
a moment as the present. 

" After having expressed these sentiments 
with the frankness of undisguised friendship, 
it is hardly necessary to add, that, if you should 
finally decline the appointment of Major-Gen- 
eral, there is none to whom I would give a 
more decided preference as an aide-de-camp, 
the oflfer of which is highly fiattering, honor- 
able, and grateful to my feelings, and for which 
I entertain a high sense. But, my dear General 
Knox, and here again I repeat to you, in the 
language of candor and friendship, examine 
well your own mind upon this subject. Do not 
unite yourself to the suite of a man, whom you 
may consider as the primary cause of what you 
call a degradation, with unpleasant sensations. 
This, while it is gnawing upon you, would, if I 
should come to the knowledge of it, make me 
unhappy ; as my first wish would be that my 
military family, and the whole army, should 
consider themselves a baud of brothers, willing 
and ready to die for each other." 

Before Knox could have received this letter, 
he had on the 23d of October, written to the 
Secretary of War, declining to serve under 
Hamilton and Piuckney, on the principle that 
" no oflicer can consent to his own degradation 
by serving in an inferior station." General 
Piuckney, on the contrary, cheerfully accepted 
his appointment, although placed under Hamil- 
ton, who had been of inferior rank to him in 
the last war. It was with the greatest pleas- 
ure he had seen that oflicer's name at the head 
of the list of major-generals, and applauded the 
discernment which had placed him there. He 
regretted that General Knox had declined his 
appointment, and that his feelings should be 
hurt by being outranked. " If the authority," 
adds he, " which appointed me to the rank of 
second major in the army, will review the ar- 
rangement, and place General Knox before me, 
I will neither quit the service nor be dissat- 
isfied." * 



Letter to the Secretary of War. 



CHAPTER XXXIII. 

Eaelt in November (1798) Washington left 
his retirement and repaired to Philadelphia, at 
the earnest request of the Secretary of War, to 
meet that public functionary and Major-Gener- 
als Hamilton and Piuckney, and make arrange- 
ments respecting the forces about to be raised. 
The Secretary had prepared a serieS of ques- 
tions for their consideration, and others were 
suggested by Washington, all bearing upon the 
organization of the provisional army. Upon 
these Washington and the two Major-Generals 
were closely engaged for nearly five weeks, at 
great inconvenience and in a most inclement sea- 
son. The result of their deliberations was reduc- 
ed to form, and communicated to the Secretary 
in two letters drafted by Hamilton, and signed 
by the Commander-in-chief. Not the least irk- 
some of Washington's task, in his present posi- 
tion, was to wade through volumes of applica- 
tions and recommendations for military appoint- 
ments ; a task which he performed with ex- 
treme assiduity, anxious to avoid the influence 
of favor or prejudice, and sensitively alive to 
the evil of improper selections. 

As it was a part of the plan on which he had 
accepted the command of the army to decline 
the occupations of the oflice until circumstances 
should require his presence in the field ; and as 
the season and weather rendered him impatient 
to leave Philadelphia, he gave the Secretary 
of War his views and plans for the charge and 
direction of military affairs, and then set out 
once more for Mount Vernon. The cares and 
concerns of ofiice, however, followed him to 
his retreat. " It is not the time nor the atten- 
tion only," writes he, " which the public duties 
I am engaged iu require, but their bringing upon 
me applicants, recommenders of applicants, 
and seekers of information, none of whom, per- 
haps, ai'e my acquaintances, with their servants 
and horses to aid in the consumption of my for- 
age, and what to me is more valuable, my time, 
that I most regard ; for a man in the country, 
nine miles from any house of entertainment, is 
differently situated from one iu a city, where 
none of these inconveniences are felt." 

In a letter, recently received from Lafayette, 
the latter spoke feelingly of the pleasure he 
experienced in conversing incessantly with his 
son George about Mount Vernon, its dear and 
venerated inhabitants, of the tender obligation, 
so profoundly felt, which he and his son had 



^T. 67.] CORRESPONDENCE WITH LAFAYETTE-A MARRIAGE AT MOUNT VERNON. 



759 



contracted towards him who had become a fa- 
ther to both. 

In the conclusion of his letter, Lafayette 
writes that, from the information he had re- 
ceived, he was fully persuaded that the French 
Directory desired to be at peace with the Uni- 
ted States. " The aristocratical party," adds 
he, " whose hatred of America dates from the 
commencement of the European revolution, 
and the English government, which, since the 
Declaration of Independence, have forgotten 
and forgiven nothing, will rejoice, I know, at 
the prospect of a rupture between two nations 
heretofore united in the cause of liberty, and 
will endeavor, by all the means in their power, 
to precipitate us into a war. * * h: * g^^^ 
you are there, my dear General, independent of 
all parties, venerated by all, and if, as I hope, 
your information lead you to judge favorably 
of the disposition of the French government, 
your influence ought to prevent the breach 
from widening, and should insure a noble and 
durable reconciliation." 

In his reply, Dec. 25th, "Washington says : 
" You have expressed a wish worthy of the 
benevolence of your heart, that I would exert 
all my endeavors to avert the calamitous effects 
of a rupture between our countries. Believe 
me, my dear friend, that no man can deprecate 
an event of this sort more than I should. * * 
You add, in another place, that the Executive 
Directory are disposed to an accommodation of 
all differences. If they are sincere in this de- 
claration, let them evidence it by actions ; for 
words, unaccompanied therewith, will not be 
much regarded now. I would pledge myself 
that the government and peoj^le of the United 
States will meet them heart and hand at a fair 
negotiation ; having no wish more ardent than 
to live in peace with all the world, provided 
they are suflfei-ed to remain undisturbed in their 
just rights." 

" Of the politics of Europe," adds he, in an- 
other part of his letter, " I shall express no 
opinion, nor make any inquiry who is right or 
who is wrong. I wish well to all nations and 
to all men. My politics are plain and simple. 
I think every nation has a right to establish that 
form of government under which it conceives 
it may live most happy ; provided it infringes 
no right, or is not dangerous to others ; and 
that no governments ought to interfere with 
the internal concerns of another, except for the 
security of what is due to themselves." 

Wasliington's national pride, however, had 



been deeply wounded by the indignities inflicted 
on his country by the French, and he doubted 
the propriety of entering into any fresh negoti- 
ations with them, unless overtures should be 
made on their part. As to any symptoms of an 
accommodation they might at present evince, 
he ascribed them to the military measures 
adopted by the United States, and thought 
those measures ought not to be relaxed. 

We have spoken in a preceding chapter of a 
love affair growing up at Mount Vernon be- 
tween Washington's nephew, Lawrence Lewis, 
and Miss Nelly Oustis, The parties had since 
become engaged, to the General's great satisfac- 
tion, and their nuptials were celebrated at 
Mount Vernon on his birthday, the 22d of Feb- 
ruary (1799). Lawrence had recently received 
the commission of Major of cavalry in the new 
army which was forming; and Washington 
made arrangements for settling the newly mar- 
ried couple near him on a part of the Mount 
Vernon lands, which he had designated in his 
will to be bequeathed to Miss Nelly. 

As the year opened, Washington continued 
to correspond with the Secretary of War and 
General Hamilton on the affairs of the provi- 
sional army. The recruiting business went on 
slowly, with interruptions, and there was delay 
in furnishing commissions to the officers who 
had been appointed. Washington, who was 
not in the secrets of the cabinet, was at a loss 
to account for this apparent torpor. " If the 
augmented force," writes he to Hamilton, " was 
not intended as an in terrorem measure, the 
delay in recruiting it is unaccountable, and 
baffles all conjecture on reasonable grounds." 

The fact was, that the military measures 
taken in America had really produced an effect 
on French policy. Efforts had been made by 
M. Talleyrand, through unofficial persons, to 
induce an amicable overture on the part of the 
United States. At length that wily minister 
had written to the French Secretary of Legation 
at the Hague, M. Pichon, intimating tliat what- 
ever plenipotentiary the United States might 
send to France to put an end to the existing 
differences between the two countries, would 
be undoubtedly received with the respect due 
to the representative of a free, independent, 
and powerful nation. M. Pichon communicated 
a copy of this letter to Mr. William Vans Mur- 
ray, the American minister in Holland, who 
forthwith transmitted it to his government. 
Mr. Adams caught at the chance for an extrica- 
tion from his belligerent difficulties, and laid 



(60 



NEW MISSION TO FRANCE— SOLICITUDE FOE, THE ARMY. 



[1799. 



this letter before the Senate on the 18th of 
February, at the same time nominating Mr. 
Murray to be minister plenipotentiary to the 
French Eepublic. 

Washington expressed his extreme surprise 
when the news of this unexpected event 
reached him, " But far, very far indeed," 
writes he, " was that surprise short of what I 
experienced the next day, when, by a very in- 
telligent gentleman immediately from Philadel- 
phia, I was informed that there had been no 
direct overture from the government of France 
to that of the United States for a negotiation ; 
on the contrary, that M. Talleyrand was play- 
ing the same loose and roundabout game he had 
attempted the year before with our envoys ; 
and which, as in that case, might mean any 
thing or nothing, as Avould subserve his pur- 
poses best." 

Before the Senate decided on the nomination 
of Mr. Murray, two other persons were associ- 
ated with him in the mission, namely, Oliver 
Ellsworth and Patrick Henry. The three en- 
voys being confirmed, Mr. Murray was instruct- 
ed by letter to inform the French Minister of 
foreign affairs of the. fact, but to apprise him 
that his associate envoys would not embark for 
Europe until the Directory had given assurance, 
through their Minister for Foreign Affairs, that 
those envoys would be received in proper form 
and treated with on terms of equality. Mr. 
Murray was directed at the same time to have 
no further informal communications with any 
French agent. 

Mr. Henry declined to accept his appoint- 
ment on account of ill health, and Mr. William 
Ricliardson Davie was ultimately substituted 
for him. 

Throughout succeeding months, Washington 
continued to superintend /rom a distance the 
concerns of the army, as his ample and minute 
correspondence manifests ; and he was at the 
same time earnestly endeavoring to bring the 
affairs of his rural domain into order. A six- 
teen years' absence from home, with short in- 
tervals, had, he said, deranged them consider- 
ably, so that it required all the time he could 
spare from the usual avocations of life to bring 
tjiem into time again. It was a period of in- 
cessant activity and toil, therefore, both mental 
and bodily. He was for hours in his study oc- 
cupied with his pen, and for hours on horse- 
back, riding the rounds of his extensive estate, 
visiting the various farms, and superintending 
and directing the works in operation. All this 



he did with unfailing vigor, though now in his 
sixty-seventh year. 

Occasional reports of the sanguinary conflict 
that was going on in Europe would reach him 
in the quiet groves of Mount Yernon, and 
awaken his solicitude. " A more destructive 
sword," said he, " was never drawn, at least 
in modern times, than this war has produced. 
It is time to sheathe it and give peace to man- 
kind." * 

Amid this strife and turmoil of the nations, 
he felt redoubled anxiety about the success of 
the mission to France. The great successes of 
the allies combined against that power ; the 
changes in the Directory, and the rapidity with 
which every thing seemed verging towards a 
restoration of the monarchy, induced some 
members of the cabinet to advise a suspension 
of the mission ; but Mr. Adams was not to be 
convinced or persuaded. Having furnished the 
commissioners with their instructions, he gave 
his final order for their departure, and they 
sailed in a frigate from Rhode Island on the 
3d of November. 

A private letter written by Washington 
shortly afterwards to the Secretary of War, 
bespeaks his apprehensions : " I have for some 
time past viewed the political concerns of the 
United States with an anxious and painful eye. 
They appear to me to be moving by ha.sty 
strides to a crisis ; but in what it will result, 
that Being, who sees, foresees, and directs all 
things, alone can tell. The vessel is afloat, or 
very nearly so, and considering myself as a 
passenger only, I shall trust to the mariners 
(whose duty it is to watch) to steer it into a 
safe port." 

His latest concern about the army was to 
give instructions for hutting the troops accord- 
ing to an idea originally suggested by Hamil- 
ton, and adopted in the revolutionary war. 
" Although I had determined to take no charge 
of any military operations," writes he, " unless 
the troops should be called into the field, yet, 
under the present circumstances, and consider- 
ing that the advanced season of the year will 
admit of no delay in providing winter quarters 
for the troops, I have willingly given my aid 
in that business, and shall never decline any 
assistance in my power, when necessary, to pro- 
mote the good of the service." t 



* Letter to William Vans Murray, 
t Washington's Writings, si. 463. 



^T. 67.] PLAN FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF HIS ESTATE— LETTER TO HAMILTON. 761 



CHAPTER XXXIV. 

WiXTKK had now set in, with occasional wind 
and rain and frost, yet Washington still kept 
up his active round of in-door and out-door 
avocations, as his diary records. He was in 
full health and vigor, dined out occasionally, 
and had frequent guests at Mount Vernon, and, 
as usual, was part of every day in the saddle, 
going the rounds of his estates, and, in his mil- 
itary phraseology, " visiting the outposts." 

He had recently walked with his favorite 
nephew about the grounds, showing the im- 
provements he intended to make, and had 
especially pointed out the spot where he pur- 
posed building a new family vault ; the old one 
being damaged by the roots of trees which had 
overgrown it and caused it to leak. " This 
change," said he, " I shall make the first of all, 
for I may require it before the rest," 

" "When I parted from him," adds the nephew, 
" he stood on the steps of the front door, where 
he took leave of myself and another. * * * 
It was a bright frosty morning ; he had taken 
his usual ride, and the clear healthy flush on 
his cheek, and his sprightly manner, brought 
the remark from both of us that we had never 
seen the General look so well. I have some- 
times thought him decidedly the handsomest 
man I ever saw ; and when in a lively mood, 
so full of pleasantry, so agreeable to all with 
whom he associated, that I could hardly real- 
ize he was the same "Washington whose dig- 
nity awed all who approached him." * 

For some time past Washington had been 
occupied in digesting a complete system on 
which his estate was to be managed for several 
succeeding years ; specifying the cultivation of 
the several farms, with tables designating the 
rotations of the crops. It occupied thirty folio 
pages, and was executed with that clearness 
and method which characterized all his busi- 
ness papers. This was finished on the 10th 
of December, and was accompanied by a letter 
of that date to his manager or steward. It is 
a valuable document, showing the soundness 
and vigor of his intellect at this advanced stage 
of his existence, and the love of order that 
reigned throughout his affairs. " My greatest 
anxiety," said he on a previous occasion, " is 
to have all these concerns in sucli a clear and 
distinct form, that no reproach may attach it- 



* Paulding's Life of Washingtoiij vol. ii., p. 196. 



self to me when I have taken my departure for 
the land of spirits." * 

It was evident, however, that full of health 
and vigor, he looked forward to his long-cher- 
ished hope, the enjoyment of a serene old age 
in this home of his heart. 

According to his diary, the morning on 
which these voluminous instructions to his 
steward were dated was clear and calm, but 
the afternoon was lowering. The next day 
(llth) he notes that there was wind and rain, 
and " at night a large circle round the moon.'''' 

The morning of the 12th was overcast. That 
morning he wrote a letter to Hamilton, heartily 
approving of a plan for a military academy, 
which the latter had submitted to the Secre- 
tary of War. " The establishment of an insti-. 
tution of this kind upon a respectable and ex- 
tensive basis," observes he, "has ever been 
considered by me an object of primary import- 
ance to this country ; and while I was in the 
chair of government I omitted no proper op- 
portunity of recommending it in my public 
speeches and otherwise, to the attention of the 
legislature. But I never undertook to go into 
a detail of the organization of such an academy, 
leaving this task to others, whose pursuit in 
the path of science and attention to the ar- 
rangement of such institutions, had better quali- 
fied them for the execution of it. * * * * 
I sincerely hope that the subject will meet 
with due attention, and that the reasons for its 
establishment which you have clearly pointed 
out in your letter to the secretary, will pre- 
vail upon the legislature to place it upon a 
permanent and respectable footing." He closes 
his letter with an assurance of " very great 
esteem and regard," the last words he was 
ever to address to Hamilton. About ten 
o'clock he mounted his horse, and rode out as 
usual to make the rounds of the estate. Tlie 
ominous ring round the moon, which he had 
observed on the preceding night, proved a fatal 
portent. " About one o'clock," he notes, " it 
began to snow, soon after to hail, and then 
turned to a settled cold rain." Having on an 
overcoat, he continued his ride without regard- 
ing the weather, and did not return to the house 
until after three. 

His secretary approached him with letters 
to be franked, that they might be taken to the 
post-office in the evening. Washington franked 
the letters, but observed that the weather was 



* Letter to James McHenry. "Writings, xi. 407. 



762 



WASHINGTON'S LAST HOURS— HIS FINAL INSTRUCTIONS. 



[1799. 



too bad to send a servant out witla them, Mr. 
Lear perceived that snow was hanging from his 
hair, and expressed fears that he had got wet ; 
but he rephed, " No, his great-coat had kept 
him dry." As dinner had been waiting for him 
he sat down to table without changing his 
dress. " In the evening," writes his secretary, 
" he appeared as well as usual." 

On the following morning the snow was 
three inches deep and still falling, which pre- 
vented him from taking his usual ride. He 
complained of a sore throat, and had evidently 
taken cold the day before. In the afternoon 
the weather cleared up, and he went out on the 
grounds between the house and the river, to 
mark some trees which were to be cut down. 
A hoarseness which had hung about him 
through the day grew worse towards night, 
but he made light of it. 

He was very cheerful in the evening, as he 
sat in the parlor with Mrs. Washington and Mr. 
Lear, amusing himself with the papers which 
had been brought from the post-office. When 
he met with any thing interesting or enter- 
taining, he would read it aloud as well as his 
hoarseness would permit, or he listened and 
made occasional comments while Mr. Lear read 
the debates of the Virginia Assembly. 

On retiring to bed, Mr. Lear suggested that 
he should take something to relieve the cold. 
"No," replied he, "you know I never take any 
thing for a cold. Let it go as it came." 

In the night he was taken extremely ill with 
ague and difficulty of breathing. Between two 
and three o'clock in the morning he awoke Mrs. 
Washington, who would have risen to call a 
servant ; but he would not permit her, lest she 
should take cold. At daybreak, when the 
servant woman entered to make a fire, she was 
sent to caU Mr. Lear. He found the general 
breathing with difficulty, and hardly able to 
utter a word intelligibly. Washington desired 
that Dr. Craik, M'ho lived in Alexandria, should 
be sent for, and that in the mean time Rawlins, 
one of the overseers, should be summoned, to 
bleed him before the doctor could arrive. 

A gargle was prepared for his throat, but 
whenever he attempted to swallow any of it, 
he was convulsed and almost suffocated. Eaw- 
lins made his appearance soon after sunrise, but 
when the general's arm was ready for the 
operation, became agitated. " Don't be afraid," 
said the general, as well as he could speak. 
Eawlins made an incision. " The orifice is not 
large enough," said Washington. The blood. 



however, ran pretty freely, and Mrs, Wash- 
ington, uncertain whether the treatment was 
proper, and fearful that too much blood might 
be taken, begged Mr. Lear to stop it. When 
he was about to untie the string, the general 
put up his hand to prevent him, and as soon as 
he could speak, murmured, " more — more ; " 
but Mrs. Washington's doubts prevailed, and 
the bleeding was stopped, after about half a 
pint of blood had been taken. . External ap- 
plications were now made to the throat, and 
his feet were bathed in warm water, but with- 
out aflfording any relief. 

His old friend. Dr. Craik, arrived between 
eight and nine, and two other physicians, Drs. 
Dick and Brown, were called in. Various 
remedies were tried, and additional bleeding, 
but all of no avail. 

" About half-past four o'clock," writes Mr. 
Lear, " he desired me to call Mrs. Washington 
to his bedside, when he requested her to go 
down into his room and take from his desk 
two wills, which she would find there, and 
bring them to him, which she did. Upon look- 
ing at them, he gave her one, which he ob- 
served was useless, as being superseded by the 
other, and desired her to burn it, which slie 
did, and took the other and put it into her 
closet. 

" After this was done, I returned to his bed- 
side and took his hand. He said to me : ' I 
find I am going, my breath cannot last long. 
I believed from the first, that the disorder would 
prove fatal. Do you arrange and record all 
my late military letters and papers. Arrange 
my accounts and settle my books, as you know 
more about them than any one else ; and let 
Mr. Eawlins finish recording my other letters 
which he has begun.' I told him this should 
be done. He then asked if I recollected any 
thing which it was essential for him to do, as 
he had but a very short time to continue with 
us. I told him that I could recollect nothing ; 
but that I hoped he was not so near his end. He 
observed, smiling, that he certainly was, and 
that, as it was the debt which we must all pay, 
he looked to the event with perfect resignation." 

In the course of the afternoon he appeared 
to be in great pain and distress from the diffi- 
culty of breathing, and frequently changed his 
posture in the bed. Mr. Lear endeavored to 
raise him and turn him with as much ease as 
possible. " I am afraid I fatigue you too 
much," the general would say. Upon being 
assured to the contrary, " Well," observed he 



^T. 67.] 



DEATH OF WASHINGTON— THE FUNERAL. 



7G3 



gratefully, " it is a debt we must pay to each 
other, and I hope when you want aid of this 
kind you will find it." 

His servant, Christopher, had been in the 
room during the day, and almost the whole 
time on his feet. The general noticed it in the 
afternoon, and kindly told him to sit down. 

About five o'clock hie old friend. Dr. Craik, 
came again into the room, and approached the 
bedside. "Doctor," said the general, "I die 
hard, but I am not afraid to go. I beheved, 
from my first attack, that I should not survive 
it— my breath cannot last long." The doctor 
pressed his hand in silence, retired from the 
bedside, and sat by the fire absorbed in grief. 

Between five and six the other physicians 
came in, and he was assisted to sit up in his bed. 
" I feel I am going," said he ; " I thank you for 
your attentions, but I pray you to take no more 
trouble about me ; let me go off quietly ; I 
♦ cannot last long," He lay down again; all 
retired excepting Dr. Craik. The general con- 
tinued uneasy and restless, but without com- 
plaining, frequently asking what hour it was. 

Further remedies were tried without avail 
in the evening. He took whatever was ofi'ered 
to him, did as he was desired by the physicians, 
and never uttered sigh or complaint. 

" About ten o'clock," writes Mr. Lear, " he 
made several attempts to speak to me before 
he could effect it. At length he said, ' I am 
just going. Have me decently buried, and do 
not let my body be put into the vault in less 
than three days after I am dead.' I bowed 
assent, for I could not speak. He then looked 
at me again, and said, ' Do you understand me ? ' 
I replied, ' Yes.' ' 'Tis well,' said he. 

" About ten minutes before he expired (which 
was between ten and eleven o'clock) his breath- 
ing became easier. He lay quietly ; he with- 
drew his hand from mine and felt his own pulse. 
I saw his countenance change. I spoke to Dr. 
Craik, who sat by the fire. He came to the 
bedside. The general's hand fell from his wrist. 
I took it in mine and pressed it to my bosom. 
Dr. Craik put his hands over his eyes, and he 
expired without a struggle or a sigh. 

" "While we were fixed in silent grief, Mrs. 
"Washington, who was seated at the foot of the 
bed, asked with a firm and collected voice, ' Is 
he gone ? ' I could not speak, but held up my 
hand as a signal that he was no more. ' 'Tis 
well,' said she in the same voice. ' All is now 
over ; I shall soon follow him ; I have no more 
trials to pass through,' " 



"We add from Mr. Lear's account a few par- 
ticulars concerning the funeral. The old family 
vault on the estate had been opened, the rub- 
bish cleared away, and a door made to close the 
entrance, which before had been closed with 
brick. The funeral took place on the 18th of 
December. About eleven o'clock tbe people 
of the neighborhood began to assemble. The 
corporation of Alexandria, with the militia and 
Free Masons of the place, and eleven pieces of 
cannon, "arrived at a later hour. A schooner 
was stationed off Mount Vernon to fire minute 
guns.. 

About three o'clock the procession began to 
move, passing out through the gate at the left 
wing of the house, proceeding round in front 
of the lawn and down to the vault, on the right 
wing of the house ; minute guns being fired at 
the time. The troops, horse and foot, formed 
the escort ; then came four of the clergy. Then 
the general's horse, with his saddle, holsters, 
and pistols, led by two grooms in black. The 
body was borne by the Free Masons and ofli- 
cers ; several members of the family and old 
friends, among the number Dr. Craik, and some 
of the Fairfaxes, followed as chief mourners. 
The corporation of Alexandria and numerous 
private persons closed the procession. The 
Eev. Mr, Davis read the funeral service at the 
vault, and pronounced a short address ; after 
which the Masons performed their ceremonies, 
and the body was deposited in the vault. 

Such were the obsequies of "Washington, sim- 
ple and modest, according to his own wishes ; 
all confined to the grounds of Mount "Vernon, 
which, after forming the poetical dream of his 
life, had now become his final resting-place. 

On opening the will which he had handed to 
Mrs. "Washington shortly before his death, it 
was found to have been carefully drawn up by 
himself in the preceding July ; and by an act 
in conformity with his whole career, one of its 
first provisions directed the emancipation of his 
slaves on the decease of his wife. It had long 
been his earnest wish that the slaves held by 
him in Ms own right should receive their free-- 
dom during his life, but he had found that it 
would be attended with insuperable difiiculties 
on account of their intermixture by marriage 
with the " dower negroes," whom it was not 
in his power to manumit under the tenure by 
which they were held. 

"With provident benignity he also made pro- 
vision in his will, for such as were to receive 
their freedom under this devise, but who, from 



764 PROCEEDINGS OF CONGRESS ON WASHINGTON'S DEATH— CONCLUSION. [1799. 



age, bodily infirmities, or infancy, might be un- 
able to support themselves, and he expressly 
forbade, under any pretence whatsoever, the 
sale or transportation out of Virginia, of any 
slave of whom he might die possessed. Though 
born and educated a slaveholder, this was all 
in consonance with feelings, sentiments, and 
principles which he had long entertained. 

In a letter to Mr. John F. Mercer, in Septem- 
ber, 1786, he writes ; " I never mean, unless 
some particular circumstances should compel 
me to it, to possess another slave by purchase, 
it being among my first wishes to see some plan 
adopted by which slavery in this country may 
be abolished by law." And eleven years after- 
wards, in August, 1797, he writes to his nephew, 
Lawrence Lewis, in a letter which we have had 
in our hands, " I wish from my soul that the 
legislature of this State, could see the policy of 
a gradual abolition of slavery. It might pre- 
vent much future mischief." 

A deep sorrow spread over the nation on 
hearing that "Washington was no more. Con- 
gress, which was in session, immediately ad- 
journed for the day. The next morning it was 
resolved that the Speaker's chair be shrouded 
with black : that the members and officers of 
the House wear black during the session, and 
that a joint committee of both Houses be ap- 
pointed to consider on the most suitable man- 
ner of doing honor to the memory of the man, 
" first in war, first in peace, and first in the 
hearts of his fellow-citizens." 

Public testimonials of grief and reverence 
were displayed in every part of the Union. 
Nor were these sentiments confined to the 
United States. When the news of Washing- 
ton's death reached England, Lord Bridport, 
who had command of a British fleet of nearly 
sixty sail of the line, lying at Torbay, lowered 
his flag half-mast, every ship following the 
example ; and Bonaparte, First Consul of 
France, on announcing his death to the army, 
ordered that black crape should be suspended 
from all the standards and flags, throughout 
the public service, for ten days. 



In the preceding volumes of our work, we 
have traced the career of Washington from 
early boyhood to his elevation to the presiden- 
tial chair. It was an elevation he had neither 
sought nor wished ; for when the independence 
of his country was achieved, the modest and 
cherished desire of his heart had been " to live 



and die a private citizen on his own farm ; " * 
and he had shaped out for himself an ideal 
elysium in his beloved shades of Mount Vernon. 
But power sought him in his retirement. The 
weight and influence of his name and character 
were deemed all essential to complete his work ; 
to set the new government in motion, and con- 
duct it through its first^erils and trials. With 
unfeigned reluctance he complied with the im- 
perative claims of his country, and accepted 
the power thus urged upon him : advancing to 
its exercise with diffidence, and aiming to sur- 
round himself with men of the highest talent 
and information whom he might consult in 
emergency ; but firm and strong in the resolve 
in all things to act as his conscience told him 
was " right as it respected his God, his coun- 
try, and himself." For he knew no divided 
fidelity, no separate obligation ; his most sacred 
duty to himself was his highest duty to his 
country and his God. ♦ 

In treating of his civil administration in this 
closing volume, we have endeavored to show- 
how truly he adhered to this resolve, and with 
what inflexible integrity and scrupulous regard 
to the public weal he discharged his functions. 
In executing our task, we have not indulged in 
discussions of temporary questions of contro- 
verted policy which agitated the incipient 
establishment of our government, but have 
given his words and actions as connected with 
those questions, and as illustrative of his char- 
acter. In this volume, as in those which treat 
of his military career, we have avoided rheto- 
rical amplification and embellishments, and all 
gratuitous assumptions, and have sought, by 
simple and truthful details, to give his charac- 
ter an opportunity of developing itself, and of 
manifesting those fixed principles ■ and that 
noble consistency which reigned alike through- 
out his civil and his military career. 

The character of Washington may want some 
of those poetical elements which dazzle and 
delight the multitude, but it possessed fewer 
inequalities, and a rarer union of virtues than 
perhaps ever fell to the lot of one man. Pru- 
dence, firmness, sagacity, moderation, an over- 
ruling judgment, an immovable justice, courage 
that never faltered, patience that n^ver wearied, 
truth that disdained all artifice, magnanimity 
without alloy. It seems as if Providence had 
endowed him in a preeminent degree with the 
qualities requisite to fit him for the high destiny 



* Writings, ix., p. 412. 



Mt. 67.] 



CONCLUSION. 



705 



he was called upon to fulfil — to conduct a 
momentous revolution which was to form an 
era in the history of the world, and to inaugu- 
rate a new and untried government, which, to 
use his own words, was to lay the foundation 
" for the enjoyment of much purer civil liberty, 
and greater public happiness, than have hither- 
to been the portion of mankind." 

The fame of Washington stands apart from 
every other in history ; shining with a truer 
lustre and a more benignant gloiy, "With us 
his memory remains a national property, where 
all sympathies throughout our widely-extended 
and diversified empire meet in unison. Under 



aU dissensions and amid all the storms of party, 
his precepts and example speak to us from the 
grave with a paternal appeal ; and his name — 
by all revered — forms a universal tie of broth- 
erhood—a watchword of our Union. 

" It will be the duty of the historian and the 
sage of all nations," wi'ites an eminent British 
statesman, (Lord Brougham,) " to let no occa- 
sion pass of commemorating this illustrious 
man ; and until time shall be no more, will a 
test of the progress which our race has made 
in wisdom and virtue, be derived from the 
veneration paid to the immortal name of Wash'- 
ington." 



APPENDIX. 



I. 

PORTRAITS OF WASHINGTON. 

[The following notices of the various representations of "Washiugton, -which have been prepared by the publisher 
for the illustrated edition of this work, are kindly furnished by Mr. n. T. Tuckekman, from a volume which 
he has now in press.] 



The earliest portraits of TVashington are more in- 
teresting, perhaps, as memorials than as works of art ; 
and we can easily imagine that associations endeared 
them to his old comrades. The dress (blue coat, scar- 
let facings, and underclothes) of the first portrait, by 
Peale, and the youthful face, make it suggestive of the 
first experience of the future commander, when, ex- 
changing the surveyor's implements for the colonel's 
commission, he bivouacked in the wilderness of Ohio, 
the leader of a motley band of hunters, provincials, and 
savages, to confront wily Frenchmen, cut forest roads, 
and encounter all the perils of Indian ambush, inclem- 
ent skies, undisciplined followei's, famine, and wood- 
land skirmish. It recalls his calm authority and prov- 
idential escape amid the dismay of Braddock's defeat, 
and his pleasant sensation at the first whistling of bul- 
lets in the weary march to Fort Necessity. To Charles 
Wilson Peale, we owe this precious relic of the chief- 
tain's youth. His own career partook of the vicissi- 
tudes and was impressed with the spirit of the revolu- 
tionary era ; a, captain of volunteers at the battles of 
Trenton and Germantown, and a State representative 
of Pennsylvania, a favorite pupil of West, an ingenious 
mechanician, and a warrior, he always cherished the 
instinct and the faculty for art ; and even amid the 
bustle and duties of the camp, never failed to seize 
auspicious intervals of leisure, to depict his brother 
oflBcers. This portrait was executed in 1772, and is 
now at Arlington House. 

The resolution of Congress by which a portrait by 
this artist was ordered, was passed before the occupa- 
tion of Philadelphia. Its progress marks the vicissi- 
tudes of the revolutionary struggle ; commenced in 
the gloomy winter and half-famished encampment at 
Valley Forge, in 1778, the battles of Trenton, Prince- 
ton, and Monmouth intervened before its completion. 
At the last place Washington suggested that the view 
from the window of the farm-house opposite to which 
he was sitting, would form a desirable back-ground. 
Peale adopted the idea, and represented Monmouth 
Court House and a party of Hessians under guard, 



marching out of it.* The picture was finished at 
Princeton, and Nassau Hall is a prominent object in 
the background ; but Congress adjourned without 
making an appropriation, and it remained in the art- 
ist's hands. Lafayette desired a copy for the King of 
France; and Peale executed one in 1779, which was 
sent to Paris ; but the misfortunes of the royal family 
occasioned its sale, and it became the property of the 
Count de Menou, who brought it again to this country, 
and presented it to the National Institute,' where it is 
now preserved. Chapman made two copies at a thou- 
sand dollars each ; and Dr. Craik, one of the earliest 
and warmest personal friends of Washington, their 
commissions as officers in the French War having been 
signed on the same day (1754), declared it a most 
faithful likeness of him as he appeared in the prime 
of his life.t 

There is a tradition in the Peale family, honorably 
represented through several generations, by public 
spirit and artistic gifts, that intelligence of one of the 
most important triumphs of the American arms was 
received by Washington in a despatch he opened while 
sitting to Wilson Peale for a miniature intended for 
his wife, who was also present. The scene occurred 
one fine summer afternoon ; and there is something 
attractive to the fancy in the association of this group 
quietly occupied in one of the most beautiful of the 
arts of peace, and in a commemorative act destined to 



* MS. Letter of Titian R. Peale to George Livermore, 
Esq. 

t PniLADELpniA, Feb. 4.— His Excellency General 
Washington set ofi" from this city to join the army in New 
Jersey. "During the coureie of his short stay, the only re- 
lief he has enjoyed from service since he first entered it, ho 
has been honored witli every mark of esteem, &c. The 
Council of this State being desirous of having his picture in 
full length, requested his sitting for that pui-pose, which 
he politelv complied with, and a striking likeness was 
taken by 'Mr. Peale, of this city. The portrait is to be 
placed in the council chamber. Don Juan Marrailes,_the 
Minister of France, has ordered five copies, four of which, 
we hear, are to be sent abroad. — Penn. Packet, Feb. 11, 
1779. Peale's first portrait was executed for Col. Alexan- 
der ; his last is now in the Bryan Gallery, New York. He 
painted one in 1770 for John Hancock, and besides that for 
New Jersey, others for Pennsylvania and Maryland. 



APPENDIX— WASHINGTON PORTRAITS. 



767 



gratify conjugal love and a nation's pride, with the 
progress of a war and the announcement of a victory 
fraught with that nation's liberty and that leader's 
eternal renown. 

The characteristic traits of Pealc's portraits of 
Washington now at the National Institute and Arling- 
ton House, and the era of our history and of "Washing- 
ton's life they embalm, make them doubly valuable in 
a series of pictorial illustrations, each of which, inde- 
pendent of the degree of professional skill exhibited, 
is essential to our Washingtonian gallery. Before 
Trumbull and Stuart had caught from the living man 
his aspect in maturity and age— the form knit to ath- 
letic proportions by self-denial and activity, and clad 
in the garb of rank and war, and the countenance open 
with truth and grave with thought, yet rounded with 
the contour and ruddy with the glow of early man- 
hood — was thus genially delineated by the hand of a 
comrade, and in the infancy of native art. Of the four- 
teen portraits by Peale, that exhibiting Washington as 
a Virginia colonel in the colonial force of Great Brit- 
ain, is the only entire portrait before the revolution 
extant.* One was painted for the college of New Jer- 
sey, at Princeton, in 1780, to occupy a frame in which 
a portrait of George the Third had been destroyed by 
a cannon ball during the battle at that place on the Sd 
of January, 1777. It still remains in the possession 
of the College, and was saved fortunately from the fire 
which a few years ago consumed Nassau Hall. Peale's 
last portrait of Washington, executed in 1783, he re- 
tained until his death, and two years since it was sold 
with the rest of the collection known as the " Peale 
Gallery," at Philadelphia. There is a pencil sketch 
also by this artist, framed with the wood of the tree in 
front of the famous Chew's house, around which cen- 
tred the battle of Germantown.t 

A few octogenarians in the city of brotherly love 
used to speak, not many years since, of a diminutive 
family, the head of which manifested the sensitive 
temperament, if not the highest capabilities of artistic 
genius. This was Robert Enop Pine. He brought to 
America the earliest cast of the Venus de Medici, 
which was privately exhibited to the select few — the 
manners and morals of the Quaker city forbidding its 
exposure to the common eye. He was considered a 
superior colorist, and was favorably introduced into 
society in Philadelphia by his acknowledged sympathy 
for the American cause, and by a grand project such 
as was afterwards partially realized by Trumbull ; that 
of a series of historical paintings, illustrative of the 
American Revolution, to embrace original portraits of 
the leaders, both civil and military, in that achieve- 
ment, including the statesmen who were chiefly instru- 
mental in framing the Constitution and organizing the 
Government. He brought a letter of introduction to 
the father of the late Judge Hopkinson, whose portrait 
he executed, and its vivid tints and correct resem- 



* A miniature, said to have Iseen painted in 1757, at the 
age of 25, has been engraved for Irving's W.ashinyton. 

t"The Editor of "the Cincinnari Enquirer v.-da l.itely 
shown a pencil sketch of General Washington, taken from 
life bv Charles Wilson Peale, in the year 1777. It was 
framed from a part of the elm-tree then standing in front 
of Chew's house, on the Germantown battle-ground, and 
the frame was made by a sou of Dr. Craley, of Revolution- 
ary fame." 



blance still attest to his descendants the ability of the 
painter. He left behind him in London, creditable 
p~ortraits of George the Second, Garrick, and the Duke 
of Northumberland. In the intervals of his business 
as a teacher of drawing and a votary of portraiture in 
general, he collected, from time to time, a large num- 
ber of " distinguished heads," although, as in the case 
of Ceracchi, the epoch and country were unfavorable 
to his ambitious project ; of these portraits the heads 
of General Gates, Charles Carroll, Baron Steuben, and 
Washington, are the best known and most highly 
prized. Pine remained three weeks at Mount Vernon, 
and his portrait bequeathes some features with great 
accuracy ; artists find in it certain merits not discov- 
erable in those of a later date ; it has the permanent 
interest of a representation from life, by a painter of 
established reputation ; yet its tone is cold and its ef- 
fect unimpressive, beside the more bold and glowing 
pencil of Stuart. It has repose and dignity. In his 
letter to Washington, asking his co-operation in the 
design he meditated. Pine says, "I have been some 
time at Annapolis, painting the portraits of patriots, 
legislators, heroes, and beauties, in order to adorn my 
large picture ; " and .he seems to have commenced his 
enterprise with sanguine hopes of one day accomplish- 
ing his object, which, however, it was reserved for a 
native artist eventually to complete. That his appeal 
to Washington was not neglected, however, is evident 
from an encouraging allusion to Pine and his scheme, 
in the correspondence of the former. " Mr. Pine," he 
says, " has met a favorable reception in this country, 
and may, I conceive, command as much business as 
he pleases. He is now preparing materials for liistor- 
ical representations of the most important events of 
the war."* Pine's picture is in the possession of the 
Hopkinson family at Philadelphia. The fac-simile of 
Washington's letter proves that it was taken in 1785. 
A large copy was purchased at Montreal, in 1817, by 
the late Henry Brevoort, of New York, and is now in 
the possession of his son, J. Carson Brevoort, at Bed- 
ford, L. I.t 

The profile likeness of Washington by Sa.\RPLESs, 
is a valuable item of the legacy which Art has be- 
queathed of those noble and benign features ; he evi- 
dently bestowed upon it his greatest skill, and there 
is no more correct facial outline of the immortal sub- 
ject in existence ; a disciple of Lavater would probably 
find it the most available side-view for physiognomical 
inference ; it is remarkably adapted to the burin, and 
has been once, at least, adequately engraved ; it also 
has the melancholy attraction of being the last portrait 
of Washington taken from life. 

One of Canova's fellow-workmen, in the first years 
of his artistic life, was a melancholy enthusiast, whose 
thirst for the ideal was deepened by a morbid tenacity 
of purpose and sensitiveness of heart; — a form of 
character peculiar to Italy; in its voluptuous phase 
illustrated by Petrarch, in its stoical by Alfieri, and in 
its combination of patriotic and tender sentiments by 
Foscolo's "Letters of Jacopo Ortis." The political 
confusion that reigned in Europe for a time, seriously 



* Sparks' Writings of Washington. 
t This portrait is now in the engraver's hands for the 
illustrated edition of this work. 



768 



APPENDIX— WASHINGTON PORTRAITS. 



interfered with tlie pursuit of art ; and tliis was doubt- 
less a great motive with Guiseppe Ceracchi for visit- 
ing America ; but not less inciting was the triumph 
of freedom, of which that land had recently become 
the scene — a triumph that so enlisted the sympathies 
and fired the imagination of the republican sculptor, 
that he designed a grand national monument, com- 
memorative of American Independence, and sought 
the patronage of the newly organized government in 
its behalf. Washington, individually, favored his de- 
sign, and the model of the proposed work received the 
warm approval of competent judges ; but taste for art, 
especially for grand monumental statuary, was quite 
undeveloped on this side of the Atlantic, and the re- 
cipient of Papal orders found little encouragement in 
a young republic, too busy in laying the foundation of 
her civil polity, to give much thought to any memori- 
als of her nascent glory. It was, however, but a ques- 
tion of time. His purpose is even now in the process 
of achievement. Washington's native State volunta- 
rily undertook the enterprise for which the general 
government, in its youth, was inadequate ; and it was 
auspiciously reserved for a native artist, and a single 
member of the original confederacy, to embody, in a 
style worthy of more than Italian genius, the grand 
conception of a representa^ve monument, with Wash- 
ington in a colossal equeArian statue as the centre, 
and the Virginia patriots and orators of the Revolu- 
tion, grouped around his majestic figure. Ceracchi, 
however, in aid of his elaborate project, executed the 
only series of marble portraitures from life of the re- 
nowned founders of the national government ; his busts 
of Hamilton, Jay, Trumbull, and Governor George Clin- 
ton, were long the prominent ornaments of the Academy 
of Fine Arts, in New York ; the latter, especially, was 
remarkable, both in regard to its resemblance to the 
original, and as a work of art. His most important 
achievement, however, was a bust of Washington, 
generally considered the most perfect representation 
of the man and the hero combined, after Stuart's and 
Houdon's masterpieces. It is in the heroic style, with 
a fillet. The fate of this valuable efSgy was singular. 
It was purchased by the Spanish Ambassador, as a 
gift to the Prince of Peace, then at the height of his 
power at Madrid ; before the bust reached Spain, Godoy 
was exiled, and the minister recalled, who, on his ar- 
rival, transferred it, unpacked, to Richard Meade, Esq., 
of Philadelphia, in whose family it remained until two 
years ago, when, at the administrators' sale of that 
gentleman's fine collection of paintings, it was pur- 
chased by Governeur Kemble, and can now be seen at 
his hospitable mansion, on the banks of the Hudson. 

The zeal of Ceracchi in his cherished purpose, is 
indicated by the assurance he gave Dr. Hugh William- 
son — the historian of North Carolina, and author of 
the earliest work on the American climate, and one of 
the first advocates of the canal policy — when inviting 
him to sit for his bust — that he did not pay him the 
compliment in order to secure his vote for the national 
monument, but only to perpetuate the " features of 
the American Cato." With characteristic emphasis, 
the honest Doctor declined, on the ground that pos- 
terity would not care for his lineaments ; adding that, 
" if he were capable of being lured into the support 



of any scheme whatever, against his convictions of 
right, wood, and not stone, ought to be the material of 
his image."* 

Baffled, as Ceracchi ultimately was, in the realiza- 
tion of hopes inspired alike by his ambition as a sculp- 
tor and his love of republican institutions, he carried to 
Europe the proud distinction of having taken the initia- 
tive in giving an enduring shape to the revered and then 
unfamiliar features of Washington. He executed two 
busts, one colossal, a cast of which was long in the New 
York Academy of Fine Arts. Impoverished, the dar- 
ling scheme of his life frustrated in America, and his 
own patriotic hopes crushed by the victories of Bona- 
parte in Italy, and his rapid advances towards impe- 
rial sway, the enthusiastic artist brooded, with intense 
disappointment, over the contrast between the fresh 
and exuberant national life, of which he had partaken 
here, and the vassalage to which Europe was again 
reduced. Napoleon and Washington stood revealed, 
as it were, side by side — the selfish aggrandizement of 
the one, who trampled on humanity under the prestige 
of military fame, and the magnanimity of the other, 
content to be the immaculate agent of a free people, 
after sacrificing all for their welfare. Imbued with 
the principles and a witness of the self-control which 
consummated our revolutionary triumph, Ceracchi be- 
held, with an impatience that caution only restrained, 
the steady and unscrupulous encroachment of Bona- 
parte on all that is sacred in nationality and freedom. 
Somewhat of the deep indignation and the sacrificial 
will that nerved the hand of Charlotte Corday, some- 
what of the fanaticism that moved the student-assassin 
of Kotzebue, and, perhaps, a little of the vengeful ire 
of Ravaillac, at length kindled the Italian blood of the 
sculptor. He became one of the most determined se- 
cret conspirators against the now established usurper. 
The memoirs of the time speak of his " exaggerated 
notions," his disdain of life, of the profound gloom that 
often clouded his soul, of the tears he alternately shed 
of admiration at the brilliant exploits of the conqueror, 
and of grief at the wrongs inflicted on the beautiful 
land of his nativity. " This man," says one fair 
chronicler of those exciting times, " has a soul of fire." 
A plot, which is stigmatized as nefarious, and, accord- 
ing to rumor, was of the Fieschi stamp, aimed at the 
life of Bonaparte, when First Consul, was finally dis- 
covered, and Ceracchi became legally compromised as 
one of those pledged to its execution. He was tried, 
boldly acknowledged his murderous intention, and was 
condemned to death. Among his fellow-conspirators 
were two or three republican artists with whom he 
had become intimate at Rome ; they were arrested at 
the opera, and daggers found upon their persons : the 
plot is designated in the annals of the time as the 
Arena Conspiracy. Ceracchi was a Corsican by birth ; 
and, from an ardent admirer, thus became the deadly 
foe of his great countryman ; and the gifted artist, the 
enthusiastic republican, the vindictive patriot, and the 
sculptor of Washington — perished on the scafibld. 

His bust gives Washington a Roman look, but has 
been declared to exhibit more truly the expression of 
the mouth than any other work. Those of Hamilton 



* Dr. Hosaok's Essays. 



APPENDIX— WASHINGTON POKTRAITS. 



and Gorernor Clinton, bj this artist, are deemed by 
their respective families, as correct as portraits, as 
they are superior as pieces of statuary. And this is 
I presumptive evidence in favor of the belief that Ce- 
j racchi's attachment to the heroic style did not serious- 
i| ly interfere with the general truth of his portraiture. 
I The design of a sfatne was, therefore, only realized 
on the arrival of Hounoy. The history of this sculptor 
IS a striking contrast to that of Ceracchi. A native of 
I Versailles, he flourished at an epoch remarkably pro- 
lific of original characters in all departments of letters 
I and art. Many of these, especially his own country- 
i men, have been represented by Eis chisel. He enjoyed 
j a long and prosperous existence, having survived the 
taste he initiated, and the friends of his youth, but 
maintaining a most creditable reputation to his death, 
which occurred in his eighty-eighth year. He rose to 
distinction by a new style, which appears to have ex- 
hibited, according to the subject, a remarkable sim- 
, plicity on the one hand, and elaboration on the other. 
An over-estimate of the effect of details marred his 
more labored creations ; but he had a faculty of catch- 
ing the air, and a taste in generalizing the conception, 
both of a real and fiinciful subject, which manifested 
unusual genius. There was an individuality about his 
best works that won attention and established his 
fame. Of the ideal kind, two were the subjects of 
much critical remark, though for different reasons. 
One of them was intended to exhibit the effect of cold 
—an idea almost too melo-dramatic and physical for 
sculpture, but quite in character for a Frenchman, 
aiming, even in his severe and limited art, at theatri- 
cal effect. The other was a statue of Diana— the object 
of numerous Ion mots, first, because it was ordered by 
Catharine of Russia, who, it was generally thought, 
had no special affinity with the chaste goddess ; and, 
secondly, on account of the voluptuous character given 
it by the artist, which procured for his Diana th'ename 
of Venus. Houdon's bust of Voltaire gained him re- 
nown at once in this department of his pursuit, and is 
a memorable example of his success. How various 
the characters whose similitudes are perpetuated by 
his chisel— Gluck and Buffon, Rousseau and D'Alem- 
bert, Mirabeau and Washington ! Jefferson, in behalf 
of the State of Virginia, arranged with Houdon at 
Paris, to undertake the latter commission ; and he ac- 
companied Dr. Franklin to the United States. He re- 
mained at Mount Vernon long enough to execute a 
model of Washington's head, and familiarize himself 
with every detail of his features and the traits of his 
natural language ; but that implicit fidelity, now evi- 
dent in the busts of our own leading sculptors, was not 
then in vogue, and the artists of the day were rather 
adepts in idealizing than in precise imitation of nature ; 
therefore, the result of Houdon's labors, though, in 
general, satisfactory, cannot be used with the mathe- 
matical exactitude, as a guide, which greater attention 
to minutite would have secured. There is a sketch by 
Stuart indicating some minute errors in the outline of 
Houdon's bust. On leaving, he presented Washington 
with the bas-relief which used to hang over his chair 
in the library at Mount Vernon. He completed the 
statue after his return to Paris, and in the diary of 
Gouverneur Morris is an entry noting his attendance 



769 



at the artist's studio, to stand for the figure of his il- 
lustrious friend, whom, before he became corpulent, 
he is said to have resembled. He alludes to the cir- 
cumstance as " being the humble employment of a 
mannikin;" and adds, "this is literally takincr the 
advice of St. Paul, to be all things to all men." ° The 
original cast of the head of this statue is still at Mount 
Vernon, and the statue itself is the cherished ornament 
of the Capitol at Richmond, and has been declared, by 
one of Washington's biographers, to be " as perfect a 
resemblance, in face and figure, as the art admits;" 
while, on the other hand, a critic of large and studious 
observation, who was well acquainted with the appear- 
ance of the original, says that, as a likeness, the head 
IS inferior to Ceracchi's bust. The costume is authen- 
tic, that Washington wore as commander-in-chief; it 
has been assailed with the usual arguments— its want 
of classical effect, and its undignified style ; but less 
conservative reasoners applaud the truth of the dra- 
pery, and the work is endeared as af\iithful and unique 
representation of the man— the only one from life, be- 
queathed by the art of the sculptor. " Judge Mar- 
shall," says Dr. Sparks in a letter to us, "once told 
me that the head of Houdon's statue at Richmond, seen 
at a point somewhat removed towards the side, from 
the front, presented as perfect a resemblance of the 
living man as he could conceive possible in mar- 
ble." 



Rembrandt Peale, when quite young, became the 
companion of his father's artistic labors. In compli- 
ment to the latter, Washington sat for a likeness to 
the novice of eighteen, who says the honor agitated 
more than it inspired him, and he solicited his father's 
intercession and countenance on the memorable oc- 
casion. Of the precise value of his original sketch it 
is difficult to form an accurate opinion, but the mature 
result of his efforts to produce a portrait of Washing- 
ton has attained a high and permanent fame. He 
availed himself of the best remembered points, and 
always worked with Houdon's bust before him. This 
celebrated picture is the favorite portrait of a large 
number of amateurs. It is more dark and mellowed 
in tint, more elaborately worked up, and, in some 
respects, more effectively arranged, than any of its 
predecessors. Enclosed in an oval of well-imitated 
stone fretwork, vigorous in execution, rich in color, 
the brow, ej-es, and mouth, full of character — altogether 
it is a striking and impressive delineation. That 
it was thus originally regarded we may infer from 
the unanimous resolution of the U. S. Senate, in 1832, 
appropriating two thousand dollars for its pur- 
chase, and from the numerous copies of the original, 
in military costume, belonging to the artist, which 
have been and are still ordered. Rembrandt Peale is 
said to be the only living artist who ever saw Wash- 
ington. In the pamphlet which he issued to authen- 
ticate the work, we find the cordial testimony to its 
fidelity and other merits of Lawrence Lewis, the eldest 
nephew of Washington : of the late venerable John 
Vaughan, of Bishop White, Rufus King, Charles 
Carroll, Edward Livingston, General Smith, Dr. James 
Thatcher, and Judge Cranch. Chief Justice Marshall 
says of it : "It is more Washington himself than any 
portrait I have even seen ; " and Judge Peters explains 



49 



770 



APPENDIX— WASHINGTON PORTRAITS. 



his approval by declaring, " I judge from its effect on 

my heart." 

******* 

No artist enjoyed the opportwaities of Coloxel 
Trumbull as the portrayer of Washington. As aide- 
de-camp he was familiar with his appearance in the 
prime of his life and its most exciting era. At the 
commencement of the Revolutionary struggle, this 
officer was among the most active, and essentially pro- 
moted the secure retreat of the American forces, under 
General Sullivan, from Rhode Island ; he, therefore, 
largely partook of the spirit of those days, came freely 
under the influence of Washington's character as it 
pervaded the camp, and had ample time and occasion 
to observe the Commander-in-Chief in his military 
aspect, and in social intercourse, on horseback, in the 
field, and at tlie hospitable board, in the councils of 
war, when silently meditating his great work, when 
oppressed with anxiety, animated by hope, or under 
the influence of those quick and strong feelings he so 
early learned to subdue. After Trumbull's resignation, 
and when far away from the scene of Washington's 
glory, he painted his head from recollection, so dis- 
tinctly was every feature and expression impressed 
upon his mind. In the autumn of 17S9 he returned 
from Europe, and began his sketches of the chiefs and 
statesmen of the Revolution, afterwards embodied in 
the pictures that adorn the Rotunda of the Capitol, 
and the originals of which, invaluable for their 
authenticity, may now be seen in the gallery at New 
Haven. Here is preserved the most spirited portrait 
of Washington that exists — the only reflection of him 
as a soldier of freedom worthy of the name, drawn 
from life. The artist's own account of this work is 
given in his memoirs : " In 1792 I was again in 
Philadelphia, and there painted the portrait of 
General Washington, now placed in the gallerj^ at 
New Haven, the best, certainly, of those that I painted, 
and the best, in my estimation, which exists in his 
heroic and military character. The city of Charleston, 
S. C, instructed Mr. W. R. Smi^^h, one of the repre- 
sentatives of South Carolina, to employ me to paint 
for them a portrait of the great man, and I undertook 
it con amore, as the commission was unlimited, mean- 
ing to give his military chai'actor at the most sublime 
moment of its exertion — the evening previous to the 
battle of Trenton, when, viewing the vast superiority 
of his approaching enemy, the impossibility of again 
crossing the Deleware or retreating down the river, 
he conceives the plan of returning by a night march 
into the country from which he had been driven, thus 
cutting off the enemy's communication and destroying 
the depot of stores at Brunswick." There is a singular 
felicity in this choice of the moment to represent 
Washington, for it combines all the most desirable 
elements of expression characteristic of the man. It 
is a moment, not of brilliant achievement, but of in- 
trepid conception, when the dignity of thought is 
united with the sternness of resolve, and the enthusi- 
asm of a daring experiment kindles the habitual mood 
of self-control into an unwonted glow. As the artist 
unfolded his design to Washington, the memory of 
that eventful night thrilled him anew ; he rehearsed 
the circumstances, described the scene, and his face 



was lighted up as the memorable crisis in his country's 
fate and his own career was renewed before him. He 
spoke of the desperate chance, the wild hope, and the 
hazardous but fixed determination of that hour ; and, 
as the gratified painter declares, "looked the scene." 
" The result," he says, " was, in my own opinion, 
eminently successful, and the General was satisfied." 
Whether the observer of the present day accedes to 
the opinion, that he " happily transferred to the canvas 
the lofty expression of his animated countenance, the 
resolve to conquer or perish ; " whether the picture 
comes up to his preconceived ideal of the heroic view of 
Washington or not, he must admit that it combines 
great apparent fidelity, with more spirit and the genius 
of action, than all other portraits. 

Although not so familiar as Stuart's, numerous good 
copies of Trumbull's Washington, some from his own, 
and others by later pencils, have rendered it almost as 
well known in this country. Contemporaries give it a 
decided preference ; it recalled the leader of the Ameri- 
can armies, the man who was " first in the hearts of his 
countrymen," ere age relaxed the facial muscles and 
modified the decisive lines of the mouth ; it was asso- 
ciated in their minds with the indignant rebuke at 
^Monmouth, the brilliant surprise at Trenton, and the 
heroic patience at Valley Forge ; it was the Washing- 
ton of their youth who led the armies of freedom, the 
modest, the brave, the vigilant and triumphant chief. 
Ask an elderly Knickerbocker what picture will give 
you a good idea of Washington, and he will confidently 
refer you, as the testimony his father has taught him, 
to Trumbull's portrait in the City Hall. When 
Lafiiyette first beheld a copy of this picture, in a 
gentleman's house in New Jersey, on his visit to this 
country, a few years before his death, he uttered an 
exclamation of delight at its resemblance. An 
excellent copy, by Vanderlyn, adorns the U. S. House 
of Representatives, for the figure in which, Geo. B. 
Rapalye, Esq., a highly respected citizen of New 
York, stood with exemplary patience, for many days, 
wearing a coat, perhaps the first specimen of American 
broadcloth, that had been worn by Washington. The 
air of the figure is as manly and elegant, the look as 
dignified and commanding, and the brow as practical 
in its moulding, as in Stuart's representation of him 
at a more advanced period ; but the face is less round, 
the profile more aquiline, the complexion has none of 
the fresh and ruddy hue, and the hair is not yet blanched j 
It is, altogether, a keener, more active, less thoughtful, 
but equally graceful and dignified mau. He stands in 
an easy attitude, in full uniform, with his hand on his 
horse's neck ; and the most careless observer, though 
ignorant of the subject, would recognize, at a glance, 
the image of a brave man, an intelligent officer, and ^ 
an honorable gentleman. The excellent engraving of j 
Durand has widely disseminated Trumbull's spirited , 
head of Washington. 

Although the concurrent testimony of those best \ 
fitted to judge, give the palm to Trumbull's portrait, j 
now in the gallery at New Haven, as the most faithful , 
likeness of Washington in his prime, this praise seems 
to refer rather to the general expression and air, than j 
to the details of the face. Trumbull often fiitled in . 
giving a satisfactory likeness ; be never succeeded in . 



APPENDIX— WASHINGTON PORTRAITS. 



rendering the complexion, as is obvious by comparing 
that ofliis picture in the New York City Hall with any 
or all of Stuart's heads ; the former is yellow, and 
gives the idea of a bilious temperament, while the 
latter, in every instance, have the florid, ruddy tint, 
which, we are assured, was characteristic of Washing- 
ton, and indicative of his active habits, constant 
exposure to the elements, and Saxon blood. The best 
efforts of Trumbull were his first, careful sketches ; 
he never could elaborate with equal effect; the collec- 
tion of small, original heads, from which his historical 
pictures were drawn, are invaluable, as the most 
authentic resemblances in existence of our revolution- 
ary heroes. They have a genuine look and a spirited 
air, seldom discoverable in the enlarged copies. 

" Washington," says Trumbull, in describing the 
picture, " is represented standing on elevated ground, 
on the south side of the Creek at Trenton, a little 
below the stone-bridge and mill. He has a recon- 
noitring glass in his hand, with which he is supposed 
to have been examining the strength of the hostile 
army, pouring into and occupying Trenton, which he 
has just abandoned at their appearance; and, having 
ascertained their great superiority, as well in numbers 
as discipline, he is supposed to have been meditating 
how to avoid the apparently impending ruin, and to 
have just formed the plan which he executed during 
the night. This led to the splendid success at Prince^ 
ton on the following morning ; and, in the estimation 
of the great Frederic, placed his military character on 
a level with that of the greatest commanders of ancient 
or modern times. Behind, and near, an attendant 
holds his horse. Every minute article of dress, down 
to the buttons and spurs, and the buckles and straps 
of the horse furniture, were carefully painted from the 
different objects." 

The gentleman who was the medium of this com- 
mission to Trumbull, praised his work ; but aware of 
the popular sentiment, declared it not calm and peace- 
ful enough to satisfy those for whom it was intended. 
With reluctance, the painter asked Washington, over- 
whelmed as he was with official duty, to sit for another 
portrait, which represents him in his every-day aspect, 
and, therefore, better pleased the citizens of Charles- 
ton. "Keep this picture," said Washington to the 
artist, speaking of the first experiment, " and finish 
it to your own taste." When the Connecticut State 
Society of Cincinnati dissolved, a few of the members 
purchased it as a gift to Yale College. 

Gilbert Stuart's most cherished anticipation when 
he left England for America, was that of executing a 
portrait of Washington. A consummate artist in a 
branch which his o\^n triumphs had proved could be 
rendered of the highest interest, he eagerly sought 
illustrious subjects for his pencil. This enthusiasm 
was increased in the present case, by the unsullied 
fame and the exalted European reputation of the 
American hero, by the greatest personal admiration of 
his character, and by the fact that no satisfactory 
representation existed abroad of a man whose name 
was identical with more than Roman patriotism and 
magnanimity. Stuart, by a series of masterly portraits, 
had established his renown in London, he had mingled 
in the best society ; his vigorous mind was cognizant 



771 

of all the charms that wit and acumen lend to human 
intercourse, and he knew the power which genius and 
will may so readily command. His own nature was 
more remarkable for strength than refinement- he 
was eminently fitted to appreciate practical talents 
and moral energy ; the brave truth of nature rather 
than her more delicate effects, were grasped and re- 
produced by his skill ; he might not have done justice 
to the ideal contour of Shelley, or the gentle features 
of Mary of Scotland, but could have perfectly reflected 
the dormant thunder of Mirabeau's countenance, and 
the argumentative abstraction that knit the brows of 
Samuel Johnson. He was a votary of truth in her 
boldest manifestations, and a delineator of character in 
its normal and sustained elements. The robust, the 
venerable, the moral picturesque, the mentally charac- 
teristic, he seized by intuition ; those lines of physiog- 
nomy which channelled by will the map of inward life, 
which years of consistent thought and action trace upon 
the countenance, the hue that, to an observant eye, 
indicates almost the daily vocation, the air suggestive 
of authority or obedience, firmness or vacillation, the 
glance of the eye, which is the measure of natural in- 
telligence and the temper of the soul, the expression 
[ of the mouth that infallibly betrays the disposition, 
the tint of hair and mould of features, not only attest- 
ing the period of life but revealing what that life has 
been, whether toilsome or inert, self-indulgent or 
adventurous, care-worn or pleasurable— these, and 
such as these records of humanity, Stuart transferred, 
in vivid colors and most trustworthy outlines, to the 
canvas. Instinctive, therefore, was his zeal to delineate 
Washington ; a man, who, of all the sons of fame, most 
clearly and emphatically wrote his character in deeds 
upon the world's heart, whose traits required no 
imagination to give them effect and no metaphysical 
insight to unravel their perplexity, but were brought 
out by the exigencies of the time in distinct relief, as 
bold, fresh, and true as the verdure of spring and the 
lights of the firmament, equally recognized by the 
humblest peasant and the most gifted philosopher. 

To trace the history of each of Stuart's portraits of 
Washington would prove of curious interest. One of 
his letters to a relative, dated the second of November, 
1794, enables us to fix the period of the earliest experi- 
ment. " The object of my journey," he says, " is only 
to secure a portrait of the President and finish yours." 
One of the succeeding pictures was bought from the 
artist's studio by Mr. Tayloe, of Washington, and is, 
at present, owned by his son, B. Ogle Tayloe, Esq. ; 
another was long in the possession of Madison, and is 
now in that of Gov. E. Coles, of Philadelphia. The 
full-length, in the Presidential mansion, at the seat of 
Government, was saved through the foresight and care 
of the late Mrs. Madison, when the city was taken by 
the British in the last war. Stuart, however, always 
denied that this copy was by him. Another portrait 
of undoubted authenticity was offered to and declined 
by Congress, a few years ago, and is owned by a Boston 
gentleman ; and one graced the hospitable dwelling of 
Samuel Williams, the London banker. For a long 
period artistic productions on this side of the water 
were subjects of ridicule. Tudor not inaptly called 
the New England country meeting-houses " wooden 



772 



APPENDIX— WASHINGTON PORTRAITS. 



lanterns;" almost every town boasted an architectural 
monstrosity popularly known as somebody's " folly ; " 
the rows of legs in Trumbull's picture of the Signing 
of the Declaration, obtained for it the sarcastic name, 
generally ascribed to John Randolph, of "the shin 
piece ; "and Stuart's full-length, originally painted for 
Lord Lansdowne, with one arm resting on his sword- 
hilt, and the other extended, was distinguished among 
artists by the title of the " tea-pot portrait," from the 
resemblance of the outline to the handle and spout of 
that domestic utensil. The feature, usually exagger- 
ated in poor copies, and the least agreeable in the 
original, is the mouth, resulting from the want of 
support of those muscles consequent on the loss of 
teeth, a defect which Stuart vainly attempted to 
remedy by inserting cotton between the jaw and the 
lips; and Wilson Peale more permanently, but not 
less inefl'ectually, sought to relieve by a set of artificial 
teeth. 

We have seen in western New York, a cabinet head 
cf Washington which bears strong evidence of Stuart's 
pencil, and is traced directly by its present owner to 
his hand, which was purchased of the artist and pre- 
sented to Mr. Gilbert, a member of Congress from 
Columbia County, New York, a gentleman who held 
the original in such veneration that he requested, on 
his death-bed, to have the picture exhibited to his 
fading gaze, as it was the last object he desired to be- 
hold on earth. The remarks of the latter artist indi- 
cate what a study he made of his illustrious sitter : 
" There were," he said, " features in his face totally 
difi'erent from what he had observed in any other 
human beifig ; the sockets of the eyes, for instance, 
were larger than what he ever met with before, and 
the upper part of the nose broader. All his features 
were indicative of the strongest passions ; yet, like 
Socrates, his judgment and great self-command made 
him appear a man of a different cast in the eyes of the 
world." The color of his eyes was a light grayish 
blue, but according to Mr. Oustis, Stuart painted them 
of a deeper blue, saying, " in a hundred years they 
will have faded to the right color." 

While Congress was in session at Philadephia, in 
1794, Stuart went thither with a letter of introduction 
to Washington, from John Jay. He first met his 
illustrious subject on a reception evening, and was 
spontaneously accosted by him with a greeting of 
dignified urbanity. Familiar as was the painter with 
eminent men, he afterwards declared that no human 
being ever awakened in him the sentiment of reverence 
to such a degree. For a moment, he lost his self- 
possession— with him an experience quite unprece- 
dented—and it was not until several interviews that 
he felt himself enough at home with his sitter to give 
the requisite concentration of mind to his work. This 
was owing not less to the personal impressiveness of 
"Washington— which all who came in contact with him 
felt and acknowledged— than to the profound respect 
and deep interest which the long anticipations of the 
artist had fostered in his own mind. He failed, proba- 
bly from this cause, in his first experiment. No por- 
trait-painter has left such a reputation for the faculty 
of eliciting expression by his social tact, as Stuart. 
He would even defer his task upon any pretext until 



he succeeded in making the sitter, as he said, " look 
like himself." To induce a natural, unconscious, and 
characteristic mood, was his initiative step in the exe- 
cution of a portrait. Innumerable are the anecdotes of 
his ingenuity and persistence in carrying out this habit. 
More or less conversant with every topic of general 
interest, and endowed with rare conversational ability 
and knowledge of character, he seldom failed to excite 
the ruling passion, magnetize the prominent idiosyn- 
crasy, or awaken the professional interest of the occu- 
pant of his throne, whether statesman, farmer, actor, 
judge, or merchant ; and his fund of good stories, narrat- 
ed with dramatic effect, by enchaining the attention or 
enlisting the sympathies, usually made the delighted 
listener self-oblivious and demonstrative, when, with 
an alertness and precision like magic, the watchful 
limner transferred the vital identity of his pre-occu- 
pied and fivscinated subject, with almost breathing 
similitude. In Washington, however, he found a less 
flexible character upon which to scintillate his wit and 
open his anecdotical battery. Facility of adaptation 
seldom accompanies great individuality ; and a man 
whose entire life has been oppressed with responsibility, 
and in whom the prevalent qualities are conscience and 
good sense, can scarcely be expected to possess humor 
and geniality in the same proportion as self-control 
and reflection. On the professional themes of agricul- 
ture and military science, Washington was always 
ready to converse, if not with enthusiasm, at least in 
an attentive and intelligent strain ; but the artillery of 
repartee, and the sallies of fancy, made but a slight 
impression upon his grave and reserved nature. He 
was deficient in language— far more a man of action 
than of words— and had been obUged to think too 
much on vast interests, to " carry America in his brain," 
as one of his eulogists has aptly said, to readily unbend 
in colloquial diversion. By degrees, however, the 
desirable relation was established bjitween himself and 
the artist, who, of seven^ portraits, justly gave the 
preference to the Lansdowne picture and the unfinished 
one now possessed by the Boston Athenseum. They, 
doubtless, are the most perfect representations of 
Washington, as he looked at the time they were exe- 
cuted, and will ever be the standards and resource of 
subsequent delineators. The latter, supposed by many 
to have been his original " study," engaged his atten- 
tion for months. The freshness of color, the studious 
modelling of the brow, the mingling of clear purpose 
and benevolence in the eye, and a through nobleness 
and dignity in the whole head, realize all the most 
intelligent admirer of the original has imagined— not, 
indeed, when thinking of him as the intrepid leader of 
armies, but in the last analysis and complete image of 
the hero in retirement, in all the consciousness of a 
sublime career, unimpeachable fidelity to a national 
trust, and the eternal gratitude of a free people. It is 
this masterpiece of Stuart that has not only perpet- 
uated, but distributed over the globe the resemblance 
of Washington. It has been sometimes lamented, that 
so popular a work does not represent him in the aspect 
of a successful warrior, or in the flush of youth ; but 
there, seems to be a singular harmony between this 
venerable image— so majestic, benignant, and serene 
-and the absolute character and peculiar example of 



APPENDIX— WASHINGTON PORTRAITS. 



773 



"Washington, separated from what was purely inciden- 
tal and contingent in his life. Self-control, endurance, 
dauntless courage, loyalty to a just but sometimes 
desperate cause, hope through the most hopeless crisis, 
and a tone of feeling the most exalted, united to habits 
of candid simplicity, are better embodied in such a 
calm, magnanimous, mature image, full of dignity and 
sweetness, than if portrayed in battle array or melo- 
dramatic attitude. Let such pictures as David's Napo- 
leon—with prancing steed, flashing eye, and waving 
sword— represent the mere victor and military genius ; 
but he who spurned a crown, knew no watchword but 
duty, no goal but freedom and justice, and no reward 
but the approval of conscience and the gratitude of a 
country, lives more appropriately, both to memory and 
in art, under the aspect of a finished life, crowned with 
the harvest of honor and peace, and serene in the con- 
summation of disinterested purpose. 

A letter of Stuart's which appeared in the New 
York Evening Pest, in 1853,* attested by three gentle- 
men of Boston, with one from Washington making the 
appointment for a sitting, proves the error long cur- 
rent in regard both to the dates and the number of 
this artist's original portraits. He there distinctly 
states that he never executed but three from life, the 
first of which was so unsatisfoctory that he destroyed 
it ; the second was the picture for Lord Lansdowne ; 
and the third, the one now belonging to the Boston 
Athenaeum. Of these originals he made twenty-six 
copies. The finishing touches were put to the one in 
September, 1795, and to the other, at Philadelphia, in 
the spring of 1790. This last, it appears by a letter of 
Mr. Custis, which we have examined, was undertaken 
against the desire of Washington, and at the earnest 

* Extract from article in N. Y. Evening Post, March 
15lk, 1853 :— 

It may set this question at rest to state, that Stuart 
himself has given an account of all the portraits of Wash- 
ington that he x^aiuted. 

A gentleman of Philadelphia has in his possession the 
originals of the following documents. [Edit. Post.]— 

Sir :— I am under promise to Mrs. Eingliam, to sit for j-ou to-morrow 
at. nine o'clocli, and wishing to linow if it be convenient to you tliat I 
should do so, and whether it shall be at your own house, (as she talked 
of the State-House.) I send this note to you to ask information. — I am, 
Sir, your obedient servt., 

GEO. WASHINGTON. 
Monday Evening, IKA April, 1796. 

This letter was endorsed in "Washington's handwrit- 
ing,— "Mr. Stuart, Chestnut Street." At the foot of the 
manuscript are the following certificates : — 

In looking over my papers to f.nd one that had the signature of 
George Washington, I found this, asking me when he should sit for his 
portrait, which is now owned by Samuel Williams, of London. I have 
thought it proper it should be his, especially as he owns the only original 
painting I ever made of Washington, except one I own myself. I paint- 
ed a third, but rubbed it out. I now present this to his" brother, Timo 
Williams, for said Samuel, 

Boston, 9lh of March, 1823. GT. STUART. 

Attest— J. P. Davis. 
W. Button. 
L. Baldwin. 
N. E. — Mr. Stuart painted in ye winter season his first portrait of 
Washington, but destroyed it. The next paindag was ye one uwacl by 
S. Williams ; the third Mr. S. now has — two only remain, as above stated. 

T. V. 

The picture alluded to in the above note of t}ie late 
Timo Williams, as hcnng thon in Mr. Stuart's posec.-sion, 
is the one now in the Boston Athcnasum ; and tii;it -wlLch 
belonged to the late Samuel Williams, Esq., alluded to in 
Mr. Stuart's note above quoted, is yet extant and owjied 
by the sou of an American gentleman, (Ju/m D. Lewis, 
Esq.,) who died in London some years since, where it still 
remains. Mr. Williams !iad paid for it at the sale of tlie 
per.-onal ett'ect.s of the Marquis of Lansdowne,— lo -whom 
it was originally pre.-?ented by Mr. Bingliam, of Phil.ide!- 
phia, — two thousand guineas. 

It is this portrait,'"full length and life size, from which 
the bad engTa\-ing was made by Heath, so mtmy copies of 
which are still to be seen in this country. 



solicitation of his wife, who wished a portrait from life 
of her illustrious husband, to be placed among the 
other family pictures at Mount Vernon. For this ex- 
press purpose, and to gratify her, the artist commenced 
the work, and Washington agreed to sit once more. 
It was left, intentionallj', unfinished, and when subse- 
quently claimed by Mr. Custis, who offered a premium 
upon the original price, Stuart excused himself, much 
to the former's dissatisfaction, on the plea that it was 
a requisite legacy for his children. Simultaneously 
with the Lansdowne portrait the artist executed for 
William Constable that now in the possession of his 
grandson, Henry E. Pierrepont, Esq., of Brooklyn, L. L 
Motives of personal friendship induced the artist to 
exert his best skill in this instance ; it is a fac-simile 
of its prototype, and the expression has been thought 
even more noble and of higher significance, more in 
accordance with the traditional character of the sub- 
ject, than the Athenseum picture. It has the eyes 
looking off, and not at the spectator, as in the latter. 
Mr. Constable, the original proprietor, was aide to 
General Washington ; and when Lafayette visited this 
country in 1824, upon entering the drawing-room at 
Brooklyn Heights, where the picture hangs, he ex- 
claimed, '• That is my old friend, indeed ! " Colonel 
Nicholson Fish, and General Van Rensselaer, joined in 
attesting the superior excellence of the likeness. 

The usual objection to Stuart's Washington is a 
certain feebleness about the lines of the mouth, which 
does not correspond with the distinct outline of the 
frontal region, the benign yet resolved eye, and the 
harmonious dignity of the entire head ; but this defect 
was an inevitable result of the loss of teeth, and their 
imperfect substitution by a false set. In view of the 
state of the arts in this country at the period, and the 
age of Washington, we cannot but congratulate our- 
selves that we have so pleasing and satisfactory a por- 
trait, and exclaim, with Leslie, " how fortunate it was 
that a painter existed in the time of Washington, who 
could hand him down looking like a gentleman ! " Dr. 
Marshall, brother of the Chief Justice, said that Wash- 
ington did not resemble Pine's portrait, when he knew 
him, that Wertmuller's had too French a look, another 
by Wertmuller had eyes too light, but that Stuart's 
was prodigiously " like." 

Opinions are quite diverse in regard to the Wert- 
muller portrait. There are many points of executive 
merit in the original not completely rendered in the 
engraving ; the air of the head, the grave and refined 
look, the well-arranged hair, neat ruffles, and old-fash- 
ioned coat, sprinkled at the shoulders with powder, at 
once gave the somewhat vague yet unmistakable im- 
pression of " the portrait of a gentleman." There is 
an expression of firmness and clear-sightedness, and 
an erect, brave attitude which reveals the soldier ; and 
there is more animation than we are accustomed to 
see in portraits of Washington. The latter trait is, 
probably that which led to the selection of this picture 
as an illustration to Irving's Biography. 

AnoLPnE UlricWeetsiuller was a devoted student 
of art, but his taste and style were chiefly formed un- 
der the influence of the old French Academy — and long 
before the delicate adherence to nature which now re- 
deems the best modern pictures of French artists, had 



774 



APPENDIX— WASHINGTON PORTRAITS. 



taken the place of a certain artificial excellence and 
devotion to mere effect. The career of this accom- 
plished painter was marked by singular vicissitudes; — 
a native of Stockholm, after preparatory studies there, 
he went to Paris, and remained several years acquiring 
both fame and fortune by his pencil ; the latter, how- 
ever, was nearly all lost by the financial disasters at 
the outbreak of the Revolution, and Wertmuller em- 
barked for America, and arrived in Philadelphia in 
1704. He was well received and highly estimated; 
Washington sat to him ; * in 1796 he returned to Eu- 
rope, but, after a brief period, the failure of a commer- 
cial house in Stockholm, in whose care he had placed 
his funds, so vexed him, that he returned to Philadel- 
phia, where he soon after exhibited his large and beau- 
tiful picture of " Danse " — which, while greatly admired 
for the executive talent it displayed, was too excep- 
tionable a subject to meet with the approbation of the 
sober citizens, whose sense of propriety was so much 
more vivid than their enthusiasm for art. Wertmuller 
soon after married a lady of Swedish descent, pur- 
chased a farm in Delaware county, Penn., and resided 
there in much comfort and tranquillity, until his death 
in 1812. His pictures were sold at auction ; and a 
small copy of the " Danse " brought $500 ; the original, 
some years after, being purchased in New York for 
three times that sum. In an appreciative notice of 
him, which appeared soon after his death in a leading 
literary journal, there is the following just reference 
to his portrait of Washington: "It has been much 
praised and frequently copied on the continent of Eu- 
rope ; but it has a forced and foreign air, into which 
the painter seems to have fallen by losing sight of the 
noble presence before him, in an attempt after ideal 
dignity." t 

Wertmuller was eminent in his day for miniatures 
and oil portraits. Our first knowledge of him was 
derived from the superb picture of Dana;, which, for 
some time, occupied a nook, curtained from observa- 
tion, in the studio of the late Henry luman, of New 
York, and it was exhibited in Washington City, thirty 
years ago. There was fine drawing and rich color in 
this voluptuous creation — enough to convey a high 
idea of the skill and grace of the artist. With this 
picture vividly in the mind, it is diihcult to realize 
that the chaste, subdued portrait of Washington was 
from the same hand. 

It was confidently asserted that Washington inva- 
riably noted in his diary his sittings to portrait paint- 
ers, and that no entry appears in reference to this 
jjicture. Its claim to originality was, therefore, ques- 
tioned. With the impatience of the whole subject, 
however, that Washington confessed at last, he may 
have ceased to record what became a penance ; and 
were the picture satisfactory in other respects, we 
should not be disposed to complain that it was skil- 
fully combined from other portraits. But, in our view, 
the engraving, at least, has intrinsic faults. It is 
neither the Washington familiar to observation as por- 
trayed, nor to fancy as idealized. There is a self-con- 
scious expression about the mouth, not visible in Stu- 
;'.it's or Trumbull's heads, and out of character with 



* See notice of 'WertinuUer in Analectic Magazine, 1815. 
t Analectic Magazine. 



itself; the eyebrows are raised so as to indicate either 
a supercilious or a surprised mood, both alien to Wash- 
ington's habitual state of mind ; it is impossible for 
the brows to be knit between the eyes, and arched over 
them at the same time, as in this engraving ; the eyes 
themselves have a staring look ; the animation so much 
wanted is here obtained at the expense of that serenity 
which was a normal characteristic of the man ; we miss 
the modesty, the latent power, the placid strength, so 
intimately associated with the looks as well as the na- 
ture of Washington ; the visage is too elongated ; 
compared with the Athenaeum portrait this picture has 
a commonplace expression ; it does not approach it 
in moral elevation ; we should pass it by in a gallery 
as the likeness of a gentleman and a brave officer, but 
not linger over it as the incarnation of disinterested, 
magnanimous, loyal courage, such as lent a certain 
unconscious, impressive, and superior aspect to Wash- 
ington, and divided him, by an infinite distance, from 
the mob of vulgar heroes. 

* * * 4f- * * 

The latest and most triumphant attempt to embody 
and illustrate the features, form, and character of 
Washington in statuary, was made by the late Ameri- 
can sculptor — Thomas Crawford. How well he stud- 
ied, and how adequately he reproduced the head of 
his illustrious subject, may be realized by a careful 
examination of the noble and impressive marble bust 
of Washington from his chisel, now in the possession 
of John Ward, Esq., of New York. Essentially, and 
as' far as contour and proportions are concerned, based 
upon the model of Houdon, — this beautiful and majes- 
tic effigy is instinct with the character of its subject, 
so that while satisfactory in detail as a resemblance 
caught from nature, it, at the same time, is executed 
in a spirit perfectly accordant with the traditional im- 
pressions and the distinctive ideas whence we derive 
our ideal of the man, the chieftain, and the patriot ; 
the moulding of the brow, the pose of the head, and 
especially the expression of the mouth, are not less au- 
thentic than effective. But the crowning achievement 
of this artist is his equestrian statue executed for the 
State of Virginia, and now the grand trophy and or- 
nament of her Capital. " When on the evening of his 
arrival, Crawford went to see, for the first time, his 
Washington in bronze at the Munich foundry, he was 
surprised at the dusky precincts of the vast area; sud- 
denly torches flashed illumination on the magnificent 
horse and rider, and simultaneously burst forth from a 
hundred voices a song of triumph and jubilee ; thus 
the delighted Germans congratulated their gifted 
brother and hailed the sublime work — tj'pical to them 
of American freedom, patriotism, and genius. The Ba- 
varian king warmly recognized its original merits and 
consummate effect ; the artists would suffer no inferior 
hands to pack and despatch it to the sea-side ; peas- 
ants greeted its triumphal progress ; the people of 
Richmond were emulous to share the task of conveying 
it from the quay to Capitol Hill ; mute admiration fol- 
lowed by ecstatic cheers, hailed its unveiling, and the 
most gracious native eloquence inaugurated its erec- 
tion. We might descant upon the union of majesty 
and spirit in the figure of Washington, and the vital 
truth of action in the horse, the air of command and 



APPENDIX— WASHINGTON'S FAREWELL ADDRESS. 



775 



of rectitude, the martial vigor and grace, so instantly 
felt by the popular heart, and so critically praised by 
the adept in sculpture cognizant of the difficulties to 
overcome, and the impression to be absolutely con- 
veyed by such a work in order to make it at once true 
to nature and to character ; we might repeat the dec- 
laration that no figure, ancient or modern, so entirely 
illustrates the classical definition of orator}', as con- 
sisting in action, as the statue of Patrick Henry, one 
of the grand accessories of the work — which seems in- 
stinct with that memorable utterance, " Give me lib- 
erty, or give me death ! " By a singular and affecting 
coincidence, the news of Crawford's death reached the 
United States simultaneously with the arrival of the 
ship containing this colossal bronze statue of Wash- 
ington — his " crowning achievement." In this work, 
the first merit is naturalness ; although full of equine 
ardor, the graceful and noble animal is evidently sub- 
dued by his rider ; calm power is obvious in the man ; 
restrained eagerness in the horse ; Washington's left 
hand is on the snafiie bridle, which is drawn back ; he 
sits with perfect ease and dignity, the head and face 
a little turned to the left, as if his attention had just 
been called in that direction, either in expectancy, or 
to give an order; he points forward, and a little up- 
wards ; the figure is erect, the chest thrown forward, 
the knees pressed to the saddle, the heel nearly be- 
neath the shoulder, and the sole of the foot almost 
horizontal. The seat is a military and not a hunting 
seat ; the horse is recognized by one acquainted with 
breeds, as "*a charger of Arab blood." 

* * * * * * 

His hands were large, as became one inured to 
practical achievement ; his forehead was of that square 
mould that accompanies an executive mind, not swell- 
ing at the temples, as in the more ideal conformation 
of poetical men ; a calm and benevolent light usually 
gleamed from his eyes, and they flashed, at times, with 
valorous purpose or stern indignation ; but they were 
not remarkably large as in persons of more fluency, 
and foretold Washington's natural deficiency in lan- 
guage, proclaiming the man of deeds, not words; 
neither had they the liquid hue of extreme sensibility, 
nor the varying light of an unsubdued temperament ; 



their habitual expression was self-possessed, serene, 
and thoughtful. There was a singular breadth to the 
face, invariably preserved by Stuart, but not always 
by Trumbull, who often gives an aquiline and some- 
what elongated visage: no good physiognomist can 
fail to see in his nose that dilation of the nostril and 
prominence of the ridge which belong to resolute and 
spirited characters; the distance between the eyes 
marks a capacity to measure distances and appreciate 
form and the relation of space ; but these special traits 
are secondary to the carriage of the body, and the ex- 
pression of the whole face, in which appear to have 
blended an unparalleled force of impression. When 
fully possessed of the details of his remarkable counte- 
nance, and inspired by the record of his career, we 
turn from the description of those who beheld the man 
on horseback, at the head of an army, presiding over 
the national councils, or seated in the drawing-room, 
to any of the portraits, we feel that no artist ever 
caught his best look, or transmitted his features when 
kindled by that matchless soul. If we compare any 
selection of engravings with each other, so inferior are 
the greater part extant, we find such glaring discrep- 
ancies, that doubts multiply ; and we realize that art 
never did entire justice to the idea, the latent signifi- 
cance, and the absolute character of Washington. 
There is dignity in Houdon's bust, an effective fiicial 
angle in the craj'on of Sharpless, and elegance, wisdom, 
and benignity in Stuart's head; but what are they, 
each and all, in contrast with the visage we behold in 
fancy, and revere in heart ? It has been ingeniously 
remarked, that the letters received by an individual 
indicate his character better than those he writes, be- 
cause they suggest what he elicits from others, and 
thereby furnish the best key to his scope of mind and 
temper of soul ; on the same principle the likeness 
drawn, not from the minute descriptions, but the vivid 
impressions of those brought into intimate contact 
with an illustrious character, are the most reliable 
materials for his portrait ; they reflect the man in the 
broad mirror of humanity, and are the faithful da- 
guerreotypes which the vital radiance of his nature 
leaves on the consciousness of mankind. 



11. 

WASHINGTON'S FAREWELL ADDRESS. 

[The original MS. of the Farewell AddresB, in Washington's handwriting, and with his revisions and alterations, hav- 
ing been purchased by James Lenox, Esq., of New York, that gentlemaa caused a few copies of it, with some 
illustrative documents, to be printed for private distribution. By permission of Mr. Lenox it is here reprinted, 
with the alterations, aud with his explanatory remarks.] 



PREFACE. 

This reprint of Washington's Farewell Address to the 
people of the United States, is made from the original man- 
uscript recently sold in Philadelphia by the Administrators 
of the late Mr. David C. Claypoole, in whose possession it 
had been from the date of its first publication. The paper 
is entirely in the autograph of Washington : no one ac- 
quainted with his handwriting can inspect it, and doubt 



for a moment the statements to that efl'ect made by Mr. 
Claypoole and Mr. Rawle. 

Upon examining the manuscript, it was found that, in 
addition to its importance as an historical document, aud 
its value from being in the autograph of Washington, it 
was of gre.it interest as a literary curiosity, and threw light 
upoil'the disputed question of the authorship of the Ad- 
dress. It clearly shows the process by which that paper 



77G 



APPENDIX— WASHINGTON'S FAREWELL ADDRESS. 



■was wrought into the form in which it was first given to 
the public ; and notes written on the -margin of passages 
and paragraphs, which have been erased, prove, almost 
beyond a doubt, that this draft was submitted to the judg- 
ir^crt of other persons. Such memoranda were unneces- 
sary either for Washington's own direction on a subsequent 
revision, or for the guidance of the priiUer ; but he might 
very naturally thus note tlie reasons which had led him to 
make the alterations before he asked the advice and opin- 
ion of his friends. It seems probable, therefore, that this 
is the very draft sent to General Hamilton and Chief Jus- 
tice Jay, as related in the letter of tlje latter. Some of the 
alterations, however, were evidently made during the writ- 
ing of the paper ; for in a few instances a part, and even 
the whole, of a sentence is struck out, which afterwards 
occurs in the body of the address. 

Mr. Claypoole's description of the appearance of the 
manuscript is very accurate. There are many alterations, 
corrections, and interlineations : and whole sentences and 
paragraphs are sometimes obliterated. All these, how- 
ever, have been deciphered without much trouble, and 
carefully noted. 

It was thought best to leave the text in this edition as 
it was first printed : only two slight verbal variations were 
found between the corrected manuscriiJt, and the common 
printed copies. All the interlineations and alterations are 
inserted in brackets [ ], and where, in any case, words or 
sentences have been struck out, either with or without 
corrections in the text to supply their place, these portions 
have been deciphered and are printed in notes at the foot 
of the page. The reader will thus be enabled to perceive 
at a glance the changes made in the composition of the ad- 
dress ; and if the draft made bj- General Hamilton, and 
read by him to Mr. Jay, should be published, it will be 
seen how far Washington adopted the modifications and 
suggestions made by them. 

When this preface was tlius far prepared for the press, 
an opportunity was afibrded, through the kindness of John 
C. Hamilton, Esq., to examine several letters which passed 
between Washington and General Hamilton relating to 
the Address, and also a copy of it in the handwriting of the 
latter. It appears from these communications that the 
President, both in sending to him a rough draft of the 
document, and at subsequent dates, requested him to pre- 
pare such an Address as he thought would be appropriate 
to the occasion ; that Washington consulted him particu- 
larly, and most minutely, on many points connected with 
it ; and that at different times General Hamilton did for- 
ward to the President three drafts of such a paper. The 
first was sent back to him with suggestions for its correc- 
tion and enlargement ; from the second draft thus altered 
and improved, the manuscript now printed may i^e sup- 
posed to have been prepared by Washington, and trans- 
mitted for final examination to General Hamilton and 
Judge Jay ; and with it the third draft was returned to the 
President, and may probably yet be found among his papers. 

The copy in the possession of Mr. Hamilton is probably 
the second of these three drafts : it is very much altered 
and corrected throughout. In com.paring it with that in 
Washington's autograpli, tlie sentiments are found to be 
the same, and the words used are very frequently identical. 
Some of the passages erased in the manuscript are in the 
draft : three paragraphs, viz. those on pages 50, 51, and 52, 
have nothing corresponding to them in the draft ; but a 
space is left in it, evidently for the insertion of addition.al 
matter. The comparison of these two papers is exceed- 
ingly curious. It is difficult to conceive liow two persons 
could express the same ideas in svibstantiallj" the same lan- 
guage, and yet with much diversity in the construction of 
the sentences, and the position of the words. 

L. 

New York, A2)ril 12, 1850. 



FAREWELL ADDRESS. 
Friends, axd Fellow-Citizens : 

The period for a new election of a Citizen, to ad- 
minister the Executive Government of the United 
States, being not far distant, and the time actually ar- 
rived, when your thoughts must be employed in desig- 
nating the person, who is to be clothed with that 
important trust [*], it appears to me proper, especially 
as it may conduce to a more distinct expression of 
the public voice, that I should now apprise you of the 
resolution I have formed, to decline being considered 
among the number of those, out of whom a choice is 
to be made. 

I beg you, at the same time, to do me the justice to 
be assured, that this resolution has not been taken, 
without a strict regard to all the considerations apper- 
taining to the relation, which binds a dutiful citizen to 
his country — and that, in withdrawing the tender of 
service which silence in my situation might imply, I 
am influenced by no diminution of zeal for your future 
interest, no deficiency of grateful respect for your past 
kindness ; but [am supported by] t a full conviction 
that the step is compatible with both. 

The acceptance of, and continuance hitherto in, the 
ofEce to which j"our suffrages have twice called me, 
have been a uniform sacrifice of inclination to the 
opinion of duty, and to a deference for Avhat appeared 
to be your desire. — I constantly hoped, that it would 
have been much earlier in my power, consistently with 
motives which I was not at liberty to disregard, to re- 
turn to that retirement, from which I had been reluc- 
tantly drawn. — The strength of my inclination to do 
this, previous to the last election, had even led to the 
preparation of an address to declare it to you; but 
mature reflection on the then perplexed and critical 
posture of our affairs with foreign Nations, and the 
unanimous advice of persons entitled to my confidence, 
impelled me to abandon the idea. — 

I rejoice that the state of j'our concerns, external 
as well as internal, no longer renders the pursuit of 
inclination incompatible with the sentiment of duty, 
or propriety ; and [am persuaded] J whatever partial- 
ity [may be retained] § for my services, [that] |1 in the 
present circumstances of our country [you] will not 
disapprove ray determination to retire. 

The impressions, [with] 1[ which I first [undertook]** 
the arduous trust, were explained on the proper oc- 
casion. In the discharge of this trust, I will only 
say that I have, with good intentions, contributed 
[towards] ft the organization and administration of the 
government, the best exertions of which a very fallible 
judgment was capable. Not unconscious, in the out- 
set, of the inferiority of my qualifications, experience 
in my own eyes, [perhaps] still more in the eyes of 
others, has [strengthened] 'H the motives to diffidence 
of myself; and every day the increasing weight of 
years admonishes me more and more, that the shade 
of retirement is as necessary to me as it will be wel- 
come. — Satisfied that if any circumstances have given 



* for another term t act under t that 

§ any portion of you may yet retain H even they 

t: under ** accepted tt to U not lessened 



APPENDIX— WASHINGTON'S FAREWELL ADDRESS. 



777 



peculiar value to my services, they were temporary, I 
have the consolation to believe, that, while choice and 
prudence invite me to quit the political scene, patriot- 
ism does not forbid it. ["•^] 

In looking forward to the moment, which is [in- 
tended] to terminate the career of my public life, my 
feelings do not permit me to suspend the deep acknowl- 
edgment [of] t that debt of gratitude which I owe 
to my beloved country, — for the many honors it has 
conferred upon me ; still more for the stedfast confi- 
dence with which it has supported me ; and for the 
opportunities I have thence enjoyed of manifesting my 
inviolable attachment, by services faithful and perse- 
vering, though [in usefulness unequal] I to my zeal. — 
If benefits have resulted to our country from these 
services, let it always be remembered to your praise, 
and as an instructive example in our annals, that [§] 
under circumstances in which the Passions agitated 
in every direction were liable to [mislead] || amidst 
appearances sometimes dubious, vicissitudes of fortune 
often discouraging — in situations in which not unfre- 
quently want of success has countenanced the spirit of 
criticism [the constancy of your support] was the es- 
sential prop of the efforts and [a] Tf guarantee of the 
plans by which they were effected. Profoundly pene- 
trated with this idea, I shall carry it with me to the 
grave, as a strong incitement to unceasing vows [**] 
that Heaven may continue to you the choicest tokens 
of its beneficence — that your union and brotherly 
affection may be perpetual — that the f^e^3 constitution, 
which is the work of your hands, may be sacredly 
maintained — that its administration in every depart- 
ment may be stamped with wisdom and virtue — that, 
in fine, the happiness of the people of these States, 
under the auspices of liberty, may be made complete, 
by so careful a preservation and so prudent a use of 
this blessing as will acquire to them the glory [ft] of 
recommending it to the applause, the affection, and 
adoption of every nation which is yet a stranger to it. 

Here, perhaps, I ought to stop. — But a solicitude 
for your welfare which cannot end but with my life, 
and the apprehension of danger, natural to that solici- 
tude, [urge me, on an occasion like the present, to 
offer] IX to your solemn contemplation, and to recom- 
mend to your frequent review, some sentiments which 
are the result of much reflection, of no inconsiderable 
observation [§§], and which appear to me all important 
to the permanency of your felicity as a people. — These 
will be offered to you with the more freedom as you 
can only see in them the disinterested warnings of a 



* May 1 also have that of knowing in my retreat, that 
the involuntary errors, I have probably committed, have 
been the sources of no serious or lasting mischief to our 
country. I may then expect to realize, without alloy, the 
eweet enjoyment of partaking, in the midst of my fellow- 
citizena, the benign influence of good laws under a free 
government ; the ever favorite object of my heart, and the 
liappy rev/ard, I trust, of our mutual cares, dangers and 
labours. 

In the margin opposite this paragraph is the following 
note in Washington's Autograph, also erased, "obliterated 
to avoid the imputation of aft'ccted modesty." 
t demanded by + unequal m usefulness 

§ the constancy of your support 
1! wander and fluctuate ' tuo 

** the only return I can henceforth make tr or satist.action 
tt encouraged by the remembrance of your indulgent 
reception of my sentiments on an occasion not dissimilar to 
tlie present, urge me to offer 
§§ and experience 



departing friend, who can [possibly] have no personal 
motive to bias his counsels. — [Nor can I forget, as an 
encouragement to it, your indulgent reception of my 
sentiments on a former aud not dissimilar occasion.] 

Interwoven as is the love of liberty with every 
ligament of your hearts, no recommendation of mine 
is necessary to fortify or confirm the attachment. 

The Unity of Government which constitutes you 
one people, is also now dear to j'ou. — It is justly so ; — 
for it is a main Pillar in the Edifice of your real inde- 
pendence ; [the support] of your tranquillity at home ; 
your peace abroad ; of your safety; [*] of your pros- 
perity [t] ; of that very Liberty which you so highly 
prize. — But, as it is easy to foresee, that from [difier- 
ent] X causes, and from different quarters, much pains 
will be taken, many artifices employed, to weaken in 
your minds the'conviction of this truth : — as this is the 
point in your [political] fortress against which the bat- 
teries of internal and external euemies will be most 
constantly and actively (though often covertly and in- 
sidiously) directed, it is of infinite moment, that you 
should properly estimate the immense value of your 
national Union to your collective and individual hap- 
piness ; — that you should cherish [§] a cordial, habit- 
ual, and immoveable attachment [to it, accustoming 
yourselves to think and speak of it as of the Palladium 
of your political safety and prosperity ; watching for its 
preservation with jealous anxiety ; discountenancing 
whatever may suggest even a suspicion that it can in 
any event be abandoned, and indignantly frowning 
upon the first dawning of every attempt to alienate any 
portion of our Country from the rest, or to enfeeble 
the sacred ties which now link together the ^>arious 
parts.] II — 

For this you have every inducement of sympathy 
and interest. — Citizens [by birth or choice of a common 
country] ,TI that country has a right to concentrate 
your affections. — The name of American, which be- 
longs to you, in your national capacity, must always 
exalt the just pride of Patriotism, more than any appel- 
lation [**] derived from local discriminations.— With 
slight shades of difference, you have the same Religion, 
Manners, Habits, and political Principles.— You have 
in a common cause fought and triumphed together.— 
The Independence and Liberty you possess are the 
work of joint councils and joint efforts— of common 
dangers, sufferings and successes. — 

But these considerations, however powerfully they 
address themselves to your sensibility, are greatly out- 
weighed by those which apply more immediately to 
your Interest.— Here every portion of our country finds 
the most commanding motives for carefully guarding 
and preserving the Union of the whole. 

The Forth in an [unrestrained] it intercourse with 



* in every relation t in every shape 

I v.arious § towards it 

II that you should accustom yourselves to reverence it 
as the Palladium of your political safety and prosjierity, 
adapting constantly your words and actions to that mo- 
mentous idea ; that you should watch for its preservation 
with jealous anxiety, discountenance whatever may sug- 
gest a suspicion that it can in any event bo abandoned ; 
and frown upon the first dawning of any attempt to alien- 
ate any portion of our Country from the rest, or to en- 
feeble the sacred ties which now link together the several 
parts. ^^ . ■, 

H of a common country by birth or choice ** to be 

tt unfettered 



778 



APPENDIX— WASHINGTON'S FAEEWELL ADDRESS. 



the South, protected by the equal Laws of a common 
government, finds in the productions of the latter [*] 
great additional resources of maritime and commercial 
enterprise — and precious materials of manufacturing 
industry. — The Scmth, in the same intercourse, bene- 
fiting by the agency of the jVorth, sees its agriculture 
grow and its commerce expand. Turning jjartly into 
its own channels the seamen of the Novtli, it finds its 
particular navigation envigorated ; — and while it con- 
tributes, in different ways, to nourish and increase the 
general mass of the national navigation, it looks for- 
ward to the protection of a maritime strength to which 
itself is unequally adapted.— The East, in a like inter- 
course with the West, already finds, and in the pro- 
gressive improvement of interior communications, by 
land and water, will more and more find, a valuable 
vent for the commodities which it brings from abroad, 
or manufoctures at home. — The West derives from the 
East supplies requisite to its growth and comfort, and 
what is perhaps of still greater consequence, it must 
of necessity owe the secure enjoyment of indispensable 
outlets for its own productions to the weight, influence, 
and the future maritime strength of the Atlantic side 
of the Union, directed by an indissoluble community 
of interest, as one Nation. [Any other] -j- tenure by 
which the West can hold this essential advantage, 
[whether derived] % from its own separate strength or 
from an apostate and unnatural connection with any 
foreign Power, must be intrinsically precarious. [§] 

[1] While [then] every part of our Country thus 
[feels] 1 an immediate and particular interest in 
Union, all the parts ** [combined cannot fail to find] 
in the united mass of means and efforts [ft] greater 
strength, greater resource, proportionably greater 
security from external danger, a less frequent inter- 
ruption of their peace. by foreign Nations; and, [what 
is] \X of inestimable value ! they must derive from 
Union an exemption from those broils and wars 
between themselves, which [so frequently] §§ afflict 
neighboring countries not tied together by the same 
government; which their own rivalships alone would 
be sufficient to produce ; but which opposite foreign 
alliances, attachments, and intrigues would stimulate 
and embitter. — Hence likewise they will avoid the ne- 
cessity of those overgrown Military establishments, 
which under any form of government are inauspicious 
to liberty, and which [are to be regarded] ||| as par- 
ticularly hostile to Republican Liberty : In this sense 
it is that your Union ought to be considered as the 
main prop of your liberty, and that the love of the 
one ought to endear to you the preservation of the 
other. 

These considerations speak a persuasive language 

to [every]T]T[ reflecting and virtuous mind,— [and] *** 

exhibit the continuance of the Union as a primary ob- 

"ject of Patriotic desire.— Is there a doubt whether a 

■ common government can embrace so large a sphere ? 



* many of the peculiar + the \ either 

§ liable every moment to be disturbed by the fluctuat- 
ing combination^ of the primary interests of Europe, wliich 
muKt be expected to regulate the conduct of the Nations 
of which it is composed. 

II And t; finds ** of it 

tt cannot fail to find W which is an advantase 
§§ inevitably mi there is reason to regard 

ItTf any *** they 



Let experience solve it.— To listen to mere speculation 
in such a case were criminal. — [We are authorized] * 
to hope that a proper organization of the whole, with 
the auxiliary agency of governments for the respective 
subdivisions, will afford a happy issue to the experi- 
ment. 'Tis well worth a fair and full experiment, [t] 
With such powerful and obvious motives to Union, 
[afiecting] % all parts of our country [§], while experi- 
ence shall not have demonstrated its impracticabilitj', 
there will always be [reason] 1 to distrust the patriot- 
ism of those, who in any quarter may endeavor to 
weaken its bands. [H] — 

In contemplating the causes which may disturb 
our Union, it occurs as matter of serious concern, 
that [any ground should have been furnished for char- 
acterizing parties by] ** Geograpldcal discriminations 
— Northern and Southern — Atlantic and Western; 
[whence designing men may endeavor to excite a be- 
lief that there is a real difference of local interests and 
views.] tt One of the expedients of Party to acquire 
influence, within particular districts, is to misrepre- 
sent the opinions and aims of other districts. — You 
cannot shield yourselves too much against the jealousies 
and heartburnings which spring from these misrepre- 
sentations ; — They tend to render alien to each other 
those who ought to be bound together by fraternal 
affection. — The inhabitants of our Western couutrj- 
have lately had a useful lesson on this [head.] JJ — They 
have seen, in the negotiation by the Executive, and in 



* 'Tis natural 

t It may not impossibly be found, that the spirit of 
party, the machinations of foreign powers, the corruption 
and aml^ition of individual citizens are more formidable 
adversaries to the Unity of our Empire than any inherent 
difficulties in the scheme. Against these the mounds of 
national opinion, national sympathy and national jealousy 
ought to be raised. 

I as § have II cause in the effect itself 

n Besides the more serious causes already hinted as 
threatening our Union, there is one less dangerous, but 
sulHciently dangerous to make It prudent to be upon our 
guard against it. I allude to the petulance of party differ- 
ences of opinion. It is not uncommon to hear the irrita- 
tions which these excite vent themselves in declarations 
that the difterent parts of the United States are ill affected 
to each other, in menaces that the Union will be dissolved 
by this or that measure. Intimations like these are as in- 
discreet as they are intemperate. Though frequently made 
with levity and without any really evil intention, they have 
a tendency to produce the consequence which they indi- 
cate. They teach the minds of men to consider the Union 
as precarious ; — as an object to which they ought not to at- 
tach their hopes and fortunes ; — and thus chill the senti- 
ment in its fa%-our. By alarming the pride of those to 
whom they are addressed, they set Ingenuity at work to 
depreciate the value of the thing, and to discover reasons 
of inditference towards it. This is not wise.— It will be 
much wiser to habituate ourselves to reverence the Union 
as the palladium of our national happiness ; to aceommo- 
date constantly our words and actions to that idea, and to 
discountenance wliatever may suggest a suspicion that it 
can in any event be abandoned. (In the margin opposite 
tlnn jjaragraph are the words, " Not important enough.'') 

** our parties for some time past hav e been too much 
characterized by 

tt These discriminations, the mere contrivance of 

the spirit of Party, (always dexterous to seize every handle 
by which the passions can be wielded, and too skilful not 
to turn to account the sympathy of neighbourhood), have 
furnished an argument against the Union as evidence of a 
real ditference of local interests and views ; and serve to 
hazard it by organizing larger districts of country, under 
the leaders of contending factions ; whoso rivalships, pre- 
judices and schemes of ambition, rather than the true in- 
terests of the Country, will direct the use of their influ- 
ence. If it be possible to correct this poison in the habit 
of our body politic, it is worthy the endeavours of the mod- 
erate and the good to efl'ect it, 
tt subject 



APPENDIX— WASHINGTON'S FAREWELL ADDRESS. 



779 



the unanimous ratification by the Senate, of the Treaty 
with Spain, and in the universal satisfaction at that 
event, throughout the United States, a decisive proof 
how unfounded were the suspicions propagated among 
them of a poUcy in the General Government and in 
the AtUmtic States unfriendly to their interests in re- 
gard to the Mississippi.— They have been witnesses to 
the formation of two Treaties, that with G. Britain, 
and that with Spain, which secure to them every thing 
they could desire, in respect to our foreign Relations 
towards confirming their prosperity.— Will it not be 
their wisdom to rely for the preservation of those ad- 
vantages on the Uniox by which they were procured ? 
— Will they not henceforth be deaf to those advisers, 
if such there are, who would sever them from their 
Brethren, and connect them with Aliens ?— 

To the efiicacy and permanency of your Union, a 
Government for the whole is indispensable. — No alli- 
ances, however strict, between the parts, can be an 
adequate substitute. — They must inevitably experience 
the infractions and interruptions which all alliances in 
all times have experienced. — Sensible of this momen- 
tous truth, you have improved upon your first essay, 
by the adoption of a Constitution of Government, bet- 
ter calculated than your former for an intimate Union, 
and for the efficacious management of your common 
concerns. This government, the offspring of our own 
choice, uninfluenced and unawed, adopted upon full 
investigation and mature deliberation, completely free 
in its principles, in the distribution of its powers, 
uniting security vrith energy, and containing within 
itself a provision for its own amendment, has a just 
claim to your confidence and your support. — Respect 
for its authority, compliance with its Laws, acquies- 
cence in its measures, are duties enjoined by the funda- 
mental maxims of true Liberty. The basis of our 
political systems is the right of the people to make and 
to alter their Constitutions of Government. — But the 
Constitution which at any time exists, 'till changed by 
an explicit and authentic act of the whole People, is 
sacredly obligatory upon all. — The very idea of the 
power and the right of the People to establish Govern- 
ment, presupposes the duty of every individual to obey 
the established Government. 

All obstructions to the execution of the Laws, all 
combinations and associations, under whatever plaus- 
ible character, with [the real] design to direct, con- 
troul, counteract, or awe the regular deliberation and 
action of the constituted authorities, are destructive of 
this fundamental principle, and of fatal tendency.— 
They serve to organize faction, to give it an artificial 
and extraordinary force— to put [*] in the place of the 
delegated' will of the Nation, the will of a party ;— 
often a small but artful and enterprising minority of 
the community ;— and, according to the alternate tri- 
umphs of different parties, to make the public adminis- 
tration the mirror of the ill-concerted and incongruous 
projects of faction, rather than the organ of consistent 
and wholesome plans, digested by common councils 
and modified by mutual interests.— However combina- 
tions or associations of the above description may 
now and then answer popular ends, [t] they are likely. 



t and purposes 



in the course of time and things, to become potent 
engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprin- 
cipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the 
People, and to usurp for themselves the reins of Gov- 
ernment; destroying afterwards the very engines 
which have lifted them to unjust dominion.— 

Towards the preservation of your Government and 
the permanency of your present happy state, it is 
requisite, not only that you steadily discountenance 
irregular opposition to its acknowledged authority, 
but also that you resist with care [the] spirit of inno- 
vation upon its principles however specious the pre- 
texts. — One method of assault may be to eflect, in the 
forms of the Constitution, alterations which will im- 
pair the energy of the system, [and thus to] t under- 
mine what cannot be directly overthrown. In all the 
changes to which you may be invited, remember that 
time and habit are at least as necessary to fix the true 
character of Governments, as of other human institu- 
tions — that experience is the surest standard, by 
which to test the real tendency of the exi.sting Consti- 
tution of a Country — that facility in changes upon the 
credit of mere hypothesis and opinion exposes to per- 
petual change, from the endless variety of hypothesis 
and opinion : — and remember, especially, that for the 
eflScient management of your common interests, in a 
country so extensive as ours, a Government of as much 
vigour as is consistent with the perfect security of 
Liberty is indispensable — Liberty itself will find in 
such a Government, with powers properly distributed 
and adjusted, its surest guardian. — [It is indeed little 
else than a name, where the Government is too feeble 
to withstand the enterprises of faction, to confine each 
member of the Society within the limits prescribed by 
the laws, and to maintain all in the secure and tran- 
quil enjoyment of the rights of person and property .]J 

I have already intimated to you the danger of 
Parties in the State, with particular reference to the 
founding of them on Geographical discriminations. — 
Let me now take a more comprehensive view, and 
warn you in the most solemn manner against the bane- 
ful effects of the Spirit of Party, generally. 

This Spirit, unfortunately, is inseparable from 
[our] § nature, having its root in the strongest passions 
of the [human] mind.— It exists under different shapes 
in all Governments, more or less stifled, controuled, 
or repressed ; but in those of the popular form it is 
seen in its greatest rankness, and it is truly their 
worst enemy. — [||] 

I Owing: to you as I do a frank and free disclosure of 
my heart, I shall not conceal from you the belief I enter- 
t.'iin, that your Government as at presenl constituted is far 
more likely to prove too feeble than too powerful. 

§ human . . ^ ,.„ ,. . 

II In Republics of narrow extent, it is not diincult tor 
tho^e who at any time hold the reins of Power, and 
command the ordinary public favour, to overturn the es- 
tablished [constitution]* in favour of their own agsran- 
dizement —The same thing; may likewise be too often ac- 
complished in such Republics, by partial combinations of 
men! who thoufli not in office, from birth, riches or other 
sources of d-i^tinction, have extraordinary influence and 
numerous [adlurents. ] t-By debauchini? the Military force, 
by surprisintr some commanding citadel, or by soine other 
sudden and unforeseen movement, the fate of the Kepulilic 
is decided.-But in Rei'iblics of large extent, usurpation 
can scarcely make its way through these avenues— the 
powers and" opportunities of resistance of a wide extenaed 

. order t retaiuera 



780 



APPENDIX— WASHINGTON'S FAREWELL ADDRESS. 



The alternate domination of one faction over an- 
other, sharpened by the spirit of revenge natural to 
party dissension, which in different ages and countries 
has perpetrated the most horrid enormities, is itself a 
frightful despotism. But this leads at length to a 
more formal and permanent despotism. — The disorders 
and miseries, which result, gradually incline the 
minds of men to seek security and repose in the ab- 
solute power of an Individual : and sooner or later the 
chief of some prevailing faction, more able or more 
fortunate than his competitors, turns this disposition 
to the purposes of his own elevation, on the ruins of 
Public Liberty. 

Without looking forward to an extremity of this 
kind, (which nevertheless ought not to be entirely out 
of sight), the common and continual mischiefs of the 
spirit of Party are sufficient to make it the interest and 
the duty of a wise People to discourage and restrain 
it.— 

It serves always to distract the Public Councils and 
enfeeble the Public administration. — It agitates the 
community with ill-founded jealousies and false alarms, 
kindles the animosity of one part against another, 
foments occasionally riot and insurrection. — It opens 
the door to foreign influence and corruption, which 
find a facilitated access [to the Government itself 
through the channels of party passions. Thus the 
policy and the will of one country, are subjected to 
the policy and will of another.] * 

There is an opinion that parties in free countries 
are useful checks upon the Administration of the 
Government, and serve to keep alive the Spirit of 
Liberty. — This within certain limits is probably true 
— and in Governments of a Monarchical cast. Patriot- 
ism may look with indulgence, if not with favour, 
upon the spirit of party. — But in those of the popular 
character, in Governments purely elective, it is a 
spirit not to be encouraged. — From their natural ten- 
dency, it is certain there will always be enough of 
that spirit for every salutary purpose, — and there 
being constant danger of excess, the effort ought to be, 
by force of public opinion, to mitigate and assuage it. 
— A fire not to be quenched ; it demands a uniform 
vigilance to prevent its bursting into a flame, lest, 
[instead of warming, it should] •)• consume. — 

It is important, likewise, that the habits of think- 
ing in a free country should inspire caution in those 
entrusted with its administration, to confine them- 
selves within their respective constitutional spheres ; 
avoiding in the exercise of the powers of one depart- 
ment to encroach upon another. — The spirit of en- 
croachment tends to consolidate the powers of all the 
departments in one, and thus to create, [X] whatever 
[the form of government, a real] § despotism.— A just 
estimate of that love of power, and [\\] proneness to 



and numerous nation, defy the succesBfnl efforts of the or- 
dinary Military force, or of any collections which wealth 
and patronage may call to their aid. — In such Republics, 
It is safe to assert, that the conflicts of popular factions are 
the chief, if not the only inlets, of usurpation and Tyranny. 

* through the channels of party passions. It frequently 
subjects the policy of our own country to the policy of some 
foreign country, and even enslaves the will of oiir Govern- 
ment to the will of some foreign Government. 

+ it should not only w.arm, hut 

t imder § forms, a 11 the , 



abuse it, which predominates in the human heart, is 
suflBcient to satisfy us of the truth of this position. — 
The necessity of reciprocal checks in the exercise of 
political power, by dividing and distributing it into 
difierent depositories, and constituting each the Guar- 
dian ' of the Public Weal [against] * invasions by the 
others, has been evinced by experiments ancient and 
modern ; some of them in our country and under our 
own eyes. — To preserve them must be as necessary as 
to instittite them. — If in the opinion of the People, the 
distribution or modification of the Constitutional 
powers be in any particular wrong, let it be corrected 
by an amendment in the way which the Constitution 
designates. — But let there be no change by usurpation ; 
for though this, in one instance, may be the instrument 
of good, it is the [customarj'] t weapon by which free 
governments are destroyed. — The precedent [X] must 
always greatly overbalance in permanent evil any 
partial or [transient] § benefit which the use [1] can at 
any time yield. — 

Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to 
political prosperity. Religion and morality are indis- 
pensable supports. — In vain would that man claim the 
tribute of Patriotism, who should labour to subvert 
these great Pillars of human happiness, these firmest 
props of the duties of Men and Citizens. — The mere 
Politician, equally with the pious man, ought to 
respect and to cherish them. — A volume could not 
trace all their connections with private and public 
felicity. — Let it simply be asked whc?e is the security 
for property, for reputation, for life, if the sense of 
religious obligation deseri the oaths, which are the in- 
struments of investigation in Courts of Justice? And 
let us with caution indulge the supposition that mo- 
rality can be maintained without religion. — Whatever 
may be conceded to the influence of refined education 
on minds of peculiar structure — reason and experience 
both forbid us to expect that national morality can 
prevail in exclusion of religious principle. — 

'Tis substantially true that virtue or morality is a 
necessary spring of popular government. — The rule 
indeed extends with more or less force to every species 
of Free Government. — Who that is a sincere friend to 
it, can look with indifierence upon attempts to shake 
the foundation of the fabric ? — 

[Promote thep as an object of primary importance, 
institutions for the general diffusion of knowledge. — 
In proportion as the structure of a government gives 
force to public opinion, it is essential that public 
opinion should be enlightened.] — "^ 

As a very important source of strength and security, 
cherish public credit.— One method of preserving it is 



* fi-om t usual and natural t of its use 

§ temporary II itself 

H Cultivate industry and frugality, as auxiliaries to good 
morals and sources of private and public prosperity.— Is 
there not room to rearet that our propensity to expense 
exceeds our means forlt ? Is there not more luxury among 
us and more ditl'usively, than suits the actual stage of our 
national progress ? Whatever may be the apology for lux- 
ury in a country, mature in the Arts which are its minis- 
tere, and the cause of national opulence — can it promote 
the advantage of a young country, almost wholly agricul- 
tural, in the infancy of the Arts, and certaiuly not in the 
maturity of wealth ? 

(Over this paragr.aph in the original a piece of paper is 
wafered,oa which the passage is written, as printed in the 
test.) 



APPENDIX— WASHINGTON'S FAREWELL ADDRESS 



781 



to use it as [sparingly] * as possible*: — avoiding occa- 
sions of expense by cultivating peace, but remember- 
ing also that timely disbursements to prepare for dan- 
ger frequently prevent much greater disbursements to 
repel it — avoiding likewise the accumulation of debt, 
not only by [shunning] t occasions of expense, but by 
vigorous exertions in time of Peace to discharge the 
debts which unavoidable wars may have occasioned, 
not ungenerously throwing upon posterity the burthen 
which we ourselves ought to bear. The execution of 
these maxims belongs to your Representatives, but it 
is necessary that public opinion should [co-operate.] % 
— To facilitate to them the performance of their duty, 
it is essential that you should practically bear in mind, 
that towards the payment of debts there must be 
Revenue — that to have Revenue there must be taxes — 
that no taxes can be devised which are not more or 
less inconvenient and unpleasant — that the intrinsic 
embarrassment inseparable from the selection of the 
proper objects (which is always a choice of difficulties) 
ought to be a decisive motive for a candid construction 
of the conduct of the Government in making it, and 
for a spirit of acquiescence in the measures for obtain- 
ing Revenue which the public exigencies may at any 
time dictate. — 

Observe good faith and justice towards all Na- 
tions. [§] Cultivate peace and harmony with all. — 
Religion and morality enjoin this conduct ; and can it 
be that good policy does not equally enjoin it? — It 
will be worthy of a free, enlightened, and, at no dis- 
tant period, a great nation, to give to mankind the 
magnanimous and too novel example of a People al- 
ways guided by an exalted justice and benevolence. — 
Who can doubt but that in the course of time and 
things, the fruits of such a plan would richly repay 
any temporary advantages which might be lost by a 
steady adherence to it? Can it be, that Providence 
has not connected the permanent felicity of a Nation 
with its virtue ? The experiment, at least, is recom- 
mended by every sentiment which ennobles human 
nature.— Alas ! is it rendered impossible by its 
vices ? 

In the execution of such a plan nothing is more 
essential than that [permanent, inverate] 1 antipathies 
ao-ainst particular nations and passionate attachments 
for others should be excluded ; and that in place of 
them just and amicable feelings towards all should be 
cultivated.— The Nation, which indulges towards an- 
other [an] :[ habitual hatred or [an] ** habitual fond- 
ness, is in some degree a slave. It is a slave to its ani- 
mosity or to its affection, either of which is sufiBcient 
to lead it astray from its duty and its interests.— An- 
tipathy in one Nation against another [tt] disposes 
each more readily to offer insult and injury, to lay hold 
of slight causes of umbrage, and to be haughty and in- 
tractable, when accidental or trifling occasions of dis- 
pute occur.— Hence frequent collisions, obstinate, en- 
venomed and bloody contests.- The Nation prompted 
by ill-will and resentment sometimes impels to War 



* Httle t avoiding ^ t coincide 

§ aid cultivate peace and harmony with all, for m pub- 
lic as well as in private transactions I am persuaded that 
honesty will always be found^to be the best pol.c)^ ^ 

I't^'bege'^s of course a similar sentimeut in that other 



the Government, contrary to [the best] * calculations 
of policy. The Government sometimes participates in 
the [national] propensity, and adopts through passion 
what reason would reject;— at other times it makes 
the animosity of the Nation subservient to projects of 
hostility, instigated by pride, ambition, and other sin- 
ister and pernicious motives. — The peace, often some- 
times perhaps the Liberty, of Nations has been the 
victim. — 

f So likewise a passionate attachment of one Nation -^; 

I for another produces a variety of evils. — Sympathy for 
the favourite nation facilitating the illusion of an 
imaginary common interest in cases where no rea\ 
common interest exists, and infusing into one [t] the 
enmities of the other, betrays the former into a par- 
ticipation in the quarrels and wars of the latter, with- 

;out adequate inducement or justification : It leads also 
to concessions to the favourite Nation of privileges 

"denied to others, which is apt doubly to injure the 
Nation making the concessions ; [J] by unnecessarily 
'parting with whai ought to have been retained, § and 
by exciting jealousy, ill-will, and a disposition to re- 

jtaliate in the parties from whom equal privileges are 

(Withheld; and it gives to ambitious, corrupted, or 

(deluded citizens (who devote themselves to the fa- 
jvourite Nation) facility to betray, or sacrifice the 
Interests of their own country without odium, some- 

'times even with popularity : — gilding with the ap- 
pearances of a virtuous sense of obligation, a com- 
mendable deference for public opinion, or a laudable 
zeal for public good, the base or foolish compliances 
of ambition, corruption, or infatuation. — 

As avenues to foreign influence in innumerable 
ways, such attachments are particularly alarming to 
the truly enlightened and independent patriot. — How 
many opportunities do they afford to tamper with 
domestic factions, to practice the arts of seduction, to 
mislead public opinion, to influence or awe the public 
councils '.—Such an attachment of a small and weak, 
towards a great and powerful nation, dooms the for- 
mer to be the satellite of the latter. 

Against the iusiduous wiles of foreign influence, 
[I conjure you to] believe me, [fellow citizens], ] the 

.jealousy of a free people ought to be [constantly] T! 
awake, since history and experience prove that foreign 

■ influence is one of the most baneful foes of Republican 
Government.— But that jealousy to be useful must be 

, impartial ; else it becomes the instrument of the very 
influence to be avoided, instead of a defence against 
it.— Excessive partiality for one foreign nation and 
excessive dislike of another, cause those whom they 

^'actuate to see danger only on one side, and serve to 
veil and even second the arts of influence on the other. 
—Real Patriots, who may resist the intrigues of the 
favourite, are liable to become suspected and odious ; 
while its tools and dupes usurp the applause and con- 
fidence of the people, to surrender their interests.—^ 
"The great rule of conduct for us, in regard to foreign -j 
Nations is, [in extending our commercial relations,] I si^/ 
to have with them as little FolUical connection as pos- - 
sible. So far as we have already formed engagements 



* its own 
§ 2dly 



t another 
11 my friends, 



I Istly 

T incessantly 



782 



APPENDIX— WASHINGTON'S FAREWELL ADDRESS. 



let them be fulfilled with [*] perfect good faith.— Here 
let us stop. — 

Europe has a set of primary interests, which to us 
have none, or a very remote relation. — Hence she 
must be engaged in frequent controversies, the causes 
of which are essentially foreign to our concerns. — 
Hence therefore it must be unwise in us to implicate 
ourselves by [t] artificial [ties] I in the ordinary vicis- 
situdes of her politics, [or] § the ordinary combinations 
and collisions of her friendships or enmities. 

Our detached and distant situation invites and ena- 
bles us to pursue a diSerent course. — If we remain 
one People, under au efiicient government, the period 
is not far oflT, when we may defy material injury from 
external annoyance ; when we may take such an atti- 
tude as will cause the neutrality we may at any time 
resolve [upon] | to be scrujiulously respected. — When 
I'H] belligerent nations, under the impossibility of mak- 
ing acquisitions upon us, will [not] lightly hazard the 
giving us provocation [**] ; when we may choose 
peace or war, as our interest guided by [ft] justice 
shall counsel.— 

Why forego the advantages of so peculiar a situa- 
tion?- — Why quit our own to stand upon foreign 
ground ? — Why, by interweaving our destiny with that 
of anj' part of Europe, entangle our peace and pros- 
perity in the toils of European ambition, rivalship, in- 
terest, humour or caprice ? — 

'Tis our true policy to steer clear of permanent al- 
liances [XX] with any portion of the foreign world ; — so 
far, I mean, as we are now at liberty to do it — for let 
me not be understood as capable of patronizing infidel- 
ity to [existing] §§ engagements, ([I hold the maxim no 
less applicable to public than to private afi'airs] |||, that 
honesty is [always] the best policy). — [I repeat it 
therefore let those engagements] 1[1[ be observed in 
their genuine sense. — But in my opinion it is unneces- 
sary, and would be unwise to extend them. — 

Taking care always to keep ourselves, by suitable 
establishments, on a respectably defensive posture, we 
may safely trust to [tem.porary] *** alliances for extra- 

X ordinary emergencies. 

^ Harmony, liberal intercourse with all nations, are 
recommended by policy, humanity and interest. — But 
even our commercial policj- should hold an equal and 
impartial hand : — neither seeking nor granting exclu- 
sive favours or preferences ; — consulting the natural 
course of things ; — diffusing and diversifying by gentle 
means the streams of commerce, but forcing nothing ; — 
establishing with Powers so disposed — in order to give 
to trade a stable course, to define the rights of our 
ilerchants and to enable the Government to support 
them — conventional rules of intercourse, the best that 
present circumstances and mutual opinion will permit; 
but temporary, and liable to be from time to time 
abandoned or varied, as experience and circumstances 
shall dictate; constantly keeping in view, that 'tis 
folly in one nation to look for disinterested favours 
[from] ttt another, — that it must pay with a portion of 



* oircumspection indeed, but with t an 

t connection § in II to oliscrvo TI neither of two 
**■ to tlirow our weight into the ojiposite scale 
1toui- tt intimate connections §§ pre-existing 

III! for I hold it to be as true in public as in private trans- 
actions 

Tili tlioso must *** occasional ttt at 



its independence for whatever it may accept under 
that character — that by such acceptance, it may place 
itself in the condition of having given equivalents for 
nominal favours and yet of being reproached with in- 
gratitude for not giving more. — There can be no great- 
er error than to expect, or calculate upon real favours 
from Nation to Nation. — 'Tis an illusion which experi- 
ence must cure, which a just pride ought to discard. 

In offering to you, my Countrymen, these counsels 
of an old and affectionate friend, I dare not hope the}' 
will make the strong and lasting impression, I could 
wish, — that they will controul the usual current of 
the passions or prevent our Nation from running the 
course which has hitherto marked the destiny of Na- 
tions. — But if I may even flatter myself, that they may 
be productive of some partial benefit; some occasional 
good ; that they may now and then recur to moderate 
the fury of party spirit, to warn against the mischiefs 
of foreign intrigue, to guard against the impostures of 
pretended patriotism, this hope will be a full recom- 
pense for the solicitude for your welfare, by which 
they have been dictated. — 

How far in the discharge of my oiEcial duties, I have 
been guided by the principles which have been delin- 
eated, the public Records and other evidences of my 
conduct must witness to You, and to the World. — To 
myself, the assurance of my own conscience is, that I 
have at least believed myself to be guided by them. 

In relation to the still subsisting War in Europe, my 
Proclamation of the 22d of April 1793 is the index to 
my plan. — Sanctioned by your approving voice and by 
that of Your Representatives in both Houses of Con- 
gress, the spirit of that measure has continually gov- 
erned me :— uninfluenced by any attempts to deter or 
divert me from it. 

After deliberate examination with the aid of the best 
lights I could obtain, [*] I was well satisfied that our 
country, under all the circumstances of the case, had 
a right to take, and was bound in duty and interest to 
take a Neutral position. — Having taken it, I deter- 
mined, as far as should depend upon me, to maintain 
it, with moderation, perseverance and firmness. — 

[The considerations which respect the right to %iold 
this conduct, [it is not necessary] t on this occasion 
[to detail.] I will only observe, that according to my 
understanding of the matter, that right, so far from 
being denied by the Belligerent Powers, has been vis- 
tually admitted by all. — ] J 



(* and from men diBagreeins? in their impressions of the 
origin, progrens, and nature of that war,) 

t some of them of a delicate nature, would he improp- 
erly the subiect of explanation. 

t The considerations which respect the right to hold 
this conduct, some of them of a delicate nature, would be 
improperly the subject of explanation on this occasion. I 
will barely observe that according to my understanding ol 
the matter, that right so far from being denied by any bel- 
ligerent Power, has been virtually admitted liy all.— 

This paragraph is then erased from the word "con- 
duct," and the following sentence interlined, " would be 
improperly the subiect of particular discussion on this oc- 
casion. I will barely observe that to me they appear to be 
warranted by well-established principles of the Laws of 
Nations as applicable to the nature of our alliance with 
France in connection with tlie circumstances of the War, 
and the relative situation of the contending Parties." 

A piece of paper is afterw.ards watered over both, on 
which the p.aragraph as it stands in the text is written, and 
on the margin is the following note : "This is the lirst 
draft, and it is questionable which of the two is to be pre- 
ferred." 



APPENDIX-PROCEEDINGS OF CONGRESS ON THE DEATH OF WASHINGTON. 



The duty of holding a neutral conduct may be in- 
ferred, without anything more, from the obligation 
which justice and humanity impose on every Nation, 
in cases in which it is free to act, to maintain inviolate 
the relations of Peace and Amity towards other Nations. 

The inducements of interest for observing that con- 
duct, will best be referred to your own reflections and 

experience. With me, a predominant motive has 

been to endeavour to gain time to our country to settle 
and mature its yet recent institutions, and to progress 
without interruption to that degree of strength and 
consistency, which is necessary to give it, humanly 
speaking, the command of its own fortunes. 

Though in reviewing the incidents of my Adminis- 
tration, I am unconscious of intentional error— I am 
nevertheless too sensible of my defects not to think it 
probable that I [may] have committed many errors. — 
[Whatever they may be I] * fervently beseech the Al- 
mighty to avert or mitigate [the evils to which they 
may tend.] f— I shall also carry with me the hope 



that my country will never cease to view them with 
indulgence ; and that after forty-five years of my life 
dedicated to its service, with an upright zeal, the 
faults of incompetent abilities will be consigned to 
oblivion, as myself must soon be to the mansions of 
rest, [t] 

Relying on its kindness in this as in other things, 
and actuated by that fervent love towards it, which is 
so natural to a man who views in it the native soil of 
himself and his progenitors for [several] § genera- 
tions ;— I anticipate with pleasing expectation that re- 
treat, in which I promise myself to realize, without 
alloy, the sweet enjoyment of partaking, in the midst 
of my fellow citizens, the benign influence of good 
Laws under a free Government,— the ever favourite 
object of my heart, and the happy reward, as I trust, 
of our mutual cares, labours and dangers.] 

Go. Washington. 



United States, i 
19t/i September, \ 



1796. 



III. 



PROCEEDINGS OF CONGRESS IN CONSEQUENCE OF TPIE DEATH OF 

WASHINGTON. 



SPEECH OF JOHN MAESHALL IN THE HOUSE 
OF EEPEESENTATIVES, AND EESOLUTIONS 
ADOPTED BY THE HOUSE, DECEMBER IOth, 

1799.^ 

!Mr. Speaker, 

The melancholy event, which was yesterday an- 
nounced with doubt, has been rendered but too certain. 
Our Washington is no more ! The hero, the patriot, 
and the sage of America ; the man on whom in times 
of danger every eye was turned, and all hopes were 
placed, lives now only in his own great actions, and in 
the hearts of an affectionate and afflicted people. 

If, Sir, it had even not been usual openly to testify 
respect for the memory of those whom Heaven has se- 
lected as its instruments for dispensing good to man, 
3'et such has been the uncommon worth, and such the 
extraordinary incidents, which have marked the life 
of him whose loss we all deplore, that the whole Amer- 
ican nation, impelled by the same feelings, would call 
with one. voice for a public manifestation of that sor- 
row, which is so deep and souniversal. 



* I deprecate the evils to which they may tend, and 

t them 

} May I without the charge of ostpntatioii add, that 
neither ambition nor interest has been the impelling cause 
of my actions— that I have never designedly misused any 
power conlidcd to me nor hesitated to use one, where I 
thought it could redound to your benefit ? May I wthout 
the appearance of affectation say, that the fortune with 
which I came into office is not bettered otherwise than by 
the improvement in the value of property which the quick 
progress and uncommon prosperity of our country have 
produced ? May I still further add without breach of del- 
icacy, that I shall retire without cause for a blush, with no 
sentiments alien to the force of those vows for the happi- 
ness of his country so natural to a citizen who sees in it 



More than any other individual, and as much as to 
one individual was possible, has he contributed to 
found this our wide-spreading empire, and to give to 
the western world independence and freedom. 

Having effected the great object for which he was 
placed at the head of our armies, we have seen him 
convert the sword into the ploughshare, and sink the 
soldier in the citizen. 

When the debility of our federal system had become 
manifest, and the bonds which connected this vast 
continent were dissolving, we have seen him the chief 
of those patriots who formed for us a constitution, 
which, by preserving the union, will, I trust, substan- 
tiate and perpetuate those blessings which our Revo- 
lution had promised to bestow. 

In obedience to the general voice of his country, 
calling him to preside over a great people, we have 
seen him once more quit the retirement he loved, and, 
in a season more stormy and tempestuous than war it- 
self, with calm and wise determination pursue the true 
interests of the nation, and contribute, more than any 



the native soil of his progenitors and himself for four gen- 
erations ? 

On the margin opposite this paragraph is the following 
note: "This paragraph may have the appearance of self- 
distrust and mere vanity.'' 

§ four 

II The paragraph beginningwith the words, " May I with- 
out the charge of ostentation add," ha\ing been struck out, 
the follomng note is written on the margin of that which 
is inserted in its place in the text : " Continuation of the 
paragraph preceding the last ondingwith the word ' rest.' " 

Ti The intelligence of the death of Washington had been 
received the preceding day, and the House immediately 
adjourned. The next morning Mr. Marshall addressed this 
speech to the House. 

\ 



784 APPENDIX— PROCEEDINGS OF CONGRESS ON THE DEATH OF WASHINGTON. 



other could contribute, to the establishment of that sys- 
tem of policy, which will, I trust, yet preserve our 
peace, our honor, and our independence. 

Having been twice unanimously chosen the chief 
magistrate of a free people, we have seeu him, at a 
time wlicu his re-election with universal suffrage could 
not be doubted, afford to the world a rare instance of 
moderation, by withdrawing from his station to the 
peaceful walks of private life. 

However the public confidence may change, and the 
public aflections fluctuate with respect to others, with 
respect to him they have, in war and in peace, in pub- 
lic and in private life, been as steady as his own firm 
mind, and as constant as his own exalted virtues. 

Let us, then, Mr. Speaker, pay the last tribute of re- 
spect and affection to our departed friend. Let the 
grand council of the nation display those sentiments 
which the nation feels. For this purpose I hold in my 
hand some resolutions, which I take the liberty of ofi'er- 
ing to the house. 

Eesolvtd, That this house will wait on the President, 
in condolence of this mournful event. 

Resolved, That the Speaker's chair be shrouded with 
black, and that the members and officers of the house 
wear black during the session. 

Resolved, That a committee, in conjunction with one 
from the Senate, be appointed to consider on the most 
suitable manner of paying honor to the memory of the 
man, first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts 
of his fellow-citizens. 



LETTER EEOM THE SENATE TO THE PEESIDENT 
OF THE UNITED STATES. 

23 December, 1799. 
Sir, 

The Senate of the United States respectfully take 
leave to express to you their deep regret for the loss 
their country sustains in the death of General George 
Washington. 

This event, so distressing to all our fellow-citizens, 
must be peculiarly heavy to you, who have long been 
associated with him in deeds of patriotism. Permit 
us. Sir, to mingle our tears with yours. On this occa- 
sion it is manly to weep. To lose such a man, at such 
a crisis, is no common calamity to the world. Our 
country mourns a father. The Almighty Disposer of 
human events has taken from us our greatest benefac- 
tor and ornament. It becomes us to submit with rev- 
erence to him " who maketh darkness his pavihon." 

With patriotic pride we review the life of our Wash- 
ington, and compare him with those of other countries 
who have been pre-eminent in fame. Ancient and 
modern times are diminished before him. Greatness 
and guilt have too often been allied ; but his fame is 
whiter than it is brilliant. The destroyers of nations 
stood abashed at the majesty of his virtues. It re- 
proved the intemperance of their ambition, and dark- 
ened the splendor of victory. The scene is closed, 
and we are no longer anxious lest misfortune should 
sully his glory ; he has travelled on to the end of his 
journey, and carried with him an increasing weight of 
honor ; he has deposited it safely, where misfortune 
cannot tarnish it, where malice cannot blast it. Fa- 



vored of Heaven, he departed without exhibiting the 
weakness of humanity. Magnanimous in death, the 
darkness of the grave could not obscure his bright- 
ness. 

Such was the man whom we deplore. Thanks to 
God, his glory is consummated. Washington yet lives 
on earth in his spotless example ; his spirit is in 
Heaven. 

Let his countrymen consecrate the memory of the 
heroic general, the patViotic statesman, and the virtu- 
ous sage. Let them teach their children never to for- 
get, that the fruits of his labors and his example are 
their inheritance. 



THE PEESIDENT'S ANSWER. 

23 December, 1T99. 
Gentlemen of the Senate, 

I receive with the most respectful and affectionate 
sentiments, in this impressive address, the obliging 
expressions of your regret for the loss our country has 
sustained in the death of her most esteemed, beloved, 
and admired citizen. 

In the multitude of my thoughts and recollections 
on this melancholy event, you will permit me to say, 
that I have seen him in the days of adversity, in some 
of the scenes of his deepest distress and most trying 
perplexities. I have also attended him in his highest 
elevation and most prosperous felicity, with uniform 
admiration of his wisdom, moderation, and constancy. 

Among all our original associates in that memorable 
league of this continent, in 1774, which first expressed 
the sovereign will of a free nation in America, he was 
the only one remaining in the general government. 
Although with a constitution more enfeebled than his, 
at an age when he thought it necessary to prepare for 
retirement, I feel myself alone, bereaved of my last 
brother, yet I derive a strong consolation from the 
unanimous disposition which appears in all ages and 
classes, to mingle their sorrows with mine on this 
common calamity to the world. 

The life of our Washington cannot suffer by a com- 
parison with those of other countries who have been 
most celebrated and exalted by fame. The attributes 
and decorations of royalty could only have served to 
eclipse the majesty of those virtues which made him, 
from being a modest citizen, a more resplendent lumi- 
nary. Misfortune, had he lived, could hereafter have 
sullied his glory only with those superficial minds, 
who, believing that character and actions are marked 
by success alone, rarely deserve to enjoy it. Malice 
could never blast his honor, and envy made him a 
singular exception to her universal rule. For himself, 
he had lived long enough to life and to glory ; for his 
fellow-citizens, if their prayers could have been an- 
swered, he would have been immortal ; for me, his 
departure is at a most unfortunate moment. Trusting, 
however, in the wise and righteous dominion of Provi- 
dence over the passions of men and the results of their 
actions, as well as over their lives, nothing remains 
for me but humble resignation. 

His example is now complete ; and it will teach wis- 
dom and virtue to magistrates, citizens, and men, not 
only in the present age, but in future generations, as 



APPENDIX— WASHINGTON'S WILL. 



785 



long as our history shall be read. If a Trajan found a 
Phny, a Marcus Aurelius can never want biographers, 
eulogists, or historians. 

John Adams. 



JOINT EES0LUTI0X8 ADOPTED BY BOTH 
HOUSES OF CONGRESS. 

Decemler IZd. Eesolved, by the Senate and House 
of Representatives of the United States of America, in 
Congress assembled, That a marble monument be 
erected by the United States at the Capitol of the city 
of Washington, and that the family of General Wash- 
ington be requested to permit his body to be deposited 
under it, and that the monument be so designed as to 
commemorate the great events of his military and 
political life. 

And he it further resolved, That there be a funeral 
procession from Congress Hall, to the German Lutheran 
Church, in memory of General George Washington, on 
Thursday the 26th instant, and that an oration be pre- 
pared at the request of Congress, to be delivered before 
both Houses that day ; and that the President of the 
Senate, and Speaker of the House of Representatives, 
be desired to request one of the Members of Congress 
to prepare and deliver the same. 



And he it further resolved, That it be recommended 
to the people of the United States, to wear crape on 
their left arm, as mourning, for thirty days. 

And be it further resolved, That the President of the 
United States be requested to direct a copy of these 
resolutions to be transmitted to Mrs. Washington, 
assuring her of the profound respect Congress" will 
ever bear for her person and character, of their con- 
dolence on the late afflicting dispensation of Provi- 
dence; and entreating her assent to the interment of 
the remains of General Washington in the manner 
expressed in the first resolution. 

Resolved, That the President of the United States be 
requested to issue his proclamation, notifying to the 
people throughout the United States the recommenda- 
tion contained in the third resolution. 

Deceviber 30th. Resolved, That it be recommended 
to the people of the United States to assemble, on the 
twenty-second day of February next, in such numbers 
and manner as may be convenient, publicly to testify 
their grief for the death of General George Washing- 
ton, by suitable eulogies, orations, and discourses, or 
by public prayers. 

And it is further resolved, That the President be re- 
quested to issue a proclamation for the purpose of 
carrying the foregoing resolution into effect. 



IV. 

WASHINGTON'S WILL. 



j In the Name op God, Amen : 

I I, George Washington, of Mount Vernon, a citizen 

'^'le United States, and lately President of the same, 

ordain, and declare this instrument, which 

Tiy own hand, and every page thereof 

^ame,* to be my last Will and 

.1 others. 

debts, of which there are but 
^ It ;. gnitude, are to be punctually and 

speedup ;.•;•' , , le legacies herein after bequeathed, 
are to be disc A as soon as circumstances will per- 
mit, and in the manner directed. 

Item. — To my dearly beloved wife, J^ri^a Washing- 
ton, I give and bequeath the use, profit, and benefit 
of my whole estate real and personal, for the term of 
her natural life, except such parts thereof as are spe- 
cially disposed of hereafter. My improved lot in the 
town of Alexandria, situated on Pitt and Cameron 
streets, I give to her and her heirs for ever ; as I also 
i«lo my household and kitchen furniture of every sort 
and kind, with the liquors and groceries which may 
be on hand at the time of my decease, to be used and 
disposed of as she may think proper. 

Item. — Upon the decease of my wife, it is my will 
and desire that all the slaves whom I hold in nuj own 
Tight shall receive their freedom. To emancipate 
them during her life would, though earnestly wished 

* In the origin.'il manuscript, George Washington's 
mame was written at the bottom of every page. 

50 



by me, be attended with such insuperable difficulties, 
on account of their intermixture by marriage with the 
dower negroes, as to excite the most painful sensa- 
tions, if not disagreeable consequences to the latter, 
while both descriptions are in the occupancy of the 
same proprietor ; it not being in my power, under the 
tenure by which the dower negroes are held, to manu- 
mit them. And whereas, among those who will re- 
ceive freedom according to this devise, there may be 
some, who, from old age or bodily infirmities, and 
others who, on account of their infancy, will be unable 
to support themselves, it is my will and desire, that 
all who come under the first and second description, 
shall be comfortably clothed and fed by my heirs 
while they live; and that such of the latter descrip- 
tion as have no parents living, or, if living, are un- 
able or unwilling to provide for them, shall be bound 
by the court until they shall arrive at the age of twenty- 
five years ; and in cases where no record can be pro- 
duced, whereby their ages can be ascertained, the 
judgment of the court, upon its own view of the sub- 
ject, shall be adequate and final. The negroes thus 
bound, are (by their masters or mistresses) to be 
taught to read and write, and to be brought up to 
some useful occupation, agreeably to the laws of the 
Commonwealth of Virginia, providing for the support 
of orphan and other poor children. And I do hereby 
expressly forbid the sale or transportation out of the 
said Commonwealth, of any slave I may die possessed 



786 



APPENDIX— WASHINGTON'S WILL. 



of, under any pretence whatsoever. And I do, more- 
over, most pointedly and most solemnly enjoin it upon 
my executors hereafter named, or the survivors of 
them, to see that this clause respecting slaves, and 
every part thereof, be religiously fulfilled at the epoch 
at which it is directed to take place, without evasion, 
neglect, or delay, after the crops which may then be 
on the ground are harvested, pai-ticularly as it respects 
the aged and infirm ; seeing that a regular and per- 
manent fund be established for their support, as long 
as there are subjects requiring it ; not trusting to the 
uncertain provision to be made by individuals. And 
to my mulatto man, Willicmi, calling himself William 
Lee, I give immediate freedom, or, if he should prefer it, 
(on account of the accidents which have befallen him, 
and which have rendered him incapable of walking, 
or of any active employment,) to remain in the situa- 
tion he now is, it shall be optional in him to do so ; in 
either case, however, I allow him an annuity of thirty 
dollars, during his natural life, which shall be inde- 
pendent of the victuals and clothes he has been accus- 
tomed to receive, if he chooses the last alternative ; 
but in full with his freedom, if he prefers the first; 
and this I give him, as a testimony of my sense of 
his attachment to me, and for his faithful services 
during the Revolutionary war. 

Item. — To the trustees (governors, or by whatsoever 
other name they may be designated) of the Academy 
in the town of Alexandria, I give and bequeath, in 
trust, four thousand dollars, or in other words, twenty 
of the shares which I hold in the Bank of Alexandria, 
towards the support of a free school, established at 
and annexed to, the said Academy, for the purpose of 
educating such orphan children, or the children of 
such other poor and indigent persons, who are unable 
to accomplish it with their own means, and who, in 
the judgment of the trustees of the said seminary, are 
best entitled to the benefit of this donation. The 
aforesaid twerity shares I give and bequeath in per- 
petuity ; the dividends only of which are to be drawn 
for and applied, by the said trustees for the time 
being, for the uses above mentioned ; the stock to re- 
main entire and untouched, unless indications of 
failure of the said bank should be so apparent, or a 
discontinuance thereof should render a removal of 
this fund necessary. In either of these cases, the 
amount of the stock here devised is to be vested in 
some other bank or public institution, whereby the 
interest may with regularity and certaint^y be drawn 
and applied as above. And to prevent misconception, 
my meaning is, and is hereby declared to be, that 
these twenty shares are in lieu of, and not in addition 
to, the thousand pounds given by a missive letter 
some years ago, in consequence whereof an annuity of 
fifty pounds has since been paid towards the support 
of this institution. 

Item. — Whereas, by a law of the Commonwealth of 
Virginia, enacted in the year 1785, the Legislature 
thereof was pleased, as an evidence of its approbation 
of the services I had rendered the public during the 
Revolution, and partly, I believe, in consideration of my 
having suggested the vast advantages which the com- 
munity would derive from the extension of its inland 
navigation under legislative patronage, to present me 



with one hundred shares, of one hundred dollars each, 
in the incorporated Company, established for the pur- 
pose of extending the navigation of James River from 
the tide water to the mountains; and also with fifty 
shares, of £100 sterling each, in the corporation of 
another company, likewise established for the similar 
purpose of opening the navigation of the River Poto- 
mac from the tide water to Fort Cumberland; the ac- 
ceptance of which, although the offer was highly 
honorable and grateful to my feelings, was refused, as 
inconsistent with a principle which I had adopted and 
had never departed from, viz., not to receive pecuniary 
compensation for any services I could render my coun- 
try in its arduous struggle with Great Britain for its 
rights, and because I had evaded similar propositions 
from other States in the Union ; adding to this refusal,^, 
however, an intimation, that, if it should be the pleas-* 
ure of the legislature to permit me to appropriate the 
said shares to public vses, I would receive them on 
those terms with due sensibility ; and this it having 
consented to in flattering terms, as will appear by a 
subsequent law, and sundry resolutions, in the most 
ample and honorable manner ; — I proceed, after this 
recital, for the more correct understanding of the case, 
to declare : that, as it has always been a source of 
serious regret with me, to see the youth of these 
United States sent to foreign countries for the purpose 
of education, often before their minds were formed, or 
they had imbibed any adequate ideas of the happiness 
of their own ; contracting too frequently, not only , 
habits of dissipation and extravagance, but principles 
unfriendly to republican government, and to the true | 
and genuine liberties of mankind, which thereafter . 
are rarely overcome ; for these reasons it has been my 
ardent wish to see a plan devised on a liberal scale, , 
which would have a tendency to spread systematic ^ 
ideas through all parts of this rising empire, thereby , 
to do away local attachments and State prejudices, as 
far as the nature of things would, or indeed ought to , 
admit, from our national councils. Looking anxiously . 
forward to the accomplishment of so desirable an ob- , 
ject as this is (in my estimation), my mind has not 
been able to contemplate any plan more likely to efffc* ^ 
the measure, than the establishment of a Univehsitt 
in a central part of the United States, to which the 
youths of fortune and talents from all parts thereof may , 
be sent for the completion of their education, in all the ^ 
branches of polite literature, in arts and sciences, in 
acquiring knowledge in the principles of politics and 
good government, and, as a matter of infinite import- ^' 
ance in my judgment, by associating with each other 
and forming friendships in juvenile years, be enabled . 
to free themselves in a proper degree from those local ^ 
prejudices and habitual jealousies which have just j| 
been mentioned, and which, when carried to excess,,, 
are never-failing sources of disquietude to the public ^ 
mind, and pregnant of mischievous consequences to j, 
this country. Under these impressions, so fully ^ 
dilated, 

Item.— I give and beqiwjath, in perpetuity, the fifty 
shares which I hold in the Potomac company, (under ^ 
the aforesaid acts of the Legislature of Virginia,) to- 
wards the endowment of a University, to be established j 
within the limits of the District of Columbia, under th« 



APPENDIX— WASHINGTON'S WILL. 



787 



auspices of the general government, if that government 
should incline to extend a fostering hand towards it ; 
and, until such seminary is established, and the funds 
arisi^ng on these shares shall be required for its sup- 
port, my further will and desire is, that the profit 
accuring therefrom shall, whenever the dividends are 
made, be laid out in purchasing stock in the bank of 
Columbia, or some other bank, at the discretion of my 
executors, or by the Treasurer of the United States for 
the time being under the direction of Congress, pro- 
vided that honorable body should patronize the meas- 
ure ; and the dividends proceeding from the purchase 
of such stock are to be vested in more stock, and so 
on, until a sum adequate to the accomplishment of the 
object is obtained ; of which I have not the smallest 
doubt, before many years pass away, even if no aid or 
encouragement is given by the legislative authority, or 
from any other source. 

Item.— The hundred shares which I hold in the 
James River Company, I have given and now confirm 
in perpetuity, to and for the use and benefit of Liberty 
Hall Academy, in the County of Rockbridge in the 
Commonwealth of Virginia. 

Hem. — I release, exonerate, and discharge the estate 
of my deceased brother, Samuel Washington, from the 
payment of the money which is due to me for the land 
I sold to Philip Pendleton, (lying in the county of 
Berkeley,) who assigned the same to him, the said 
Samuel, who by agi'cemcnt was to pay me therefor. 
And whereas, by some contract (the purport of which 
was never communicated to me) between the said 
Samuel and his son, Tliornton Washington, the latter 
became possessed of the aforesaid land, without any 
conveyance having passed from me, either to the said 
Pendleton, the said Samuel, or the said Thornton, and 
without any consideration having been made, by which 
neglect neither the legal nor equitable title has been 
alienated ; it rests therefore with me to declare my 
intentions concerning the premises ; and these are, to 
give and bequeath the said land to whomsoever the 
said Thornton Washington (who is also dead) devised 
the same, or to his heirs for ever, if he died intestate; 
exonerating the estate of the said Thornton, equally 
with that of the said Samuel, from payment of the 
purchase money, ^vhich, with interest, agreeably to the 
original contract with the said Pendleton, would 
amount to more than a thousand pounds. And where- 
as two other sons of ray said deceased brother Samuel, 
namely, George Steptoe Washington, and Lawrence 
Augustine Washington, were, by the decease of those 
to whose care they were committed, brought under 
my protection, and, in consequence, have occasioned 
advances on my part for their education at college and 
other schools, for their board, clothing, and other 
incidental expenses, to the amount of near five thou- 
sand dollars, over and above the sums furnished by 
their estate, which sum it may be inconvenient for 
them or their father's estate to refund ; I do for these 
reasons acquit them and the said estate from the pay- 
ment thereof, my intention being, that all accounts 
between them and me, and their father's estate and 
me, shall stand balanced. 

Item.—lhQ balance due to me from the estate of 
Bartholomew Dandridge, deceased, (my wife's brother,) 



and which amounted on the first day of October, 1795, 
to four hundred and twenty-five pounds, (as will appear 
by an account rendered by his deceased son, John 
Dandridge, who was the acting executor of his father's 
will,) I release and acquit from the payment thereof. 
And the negroes, then thirty-three in number, formerly 
belonging to the said estate, who were taken in exe- 
cution, sold, and purchased in on my account, in the 
year {blank), and ever since have remained in the ' 
possession and to the use of Mar;/, widow of the said 
Bartholomew Dandridge, with their increase, it is my 
will and desire shall continue and be in her possession, 
without paying hire, or making compensation for the 
same for the time past, or to come, during her natural 
life ; at the elxpiration of which, I direct that all of 
them who are forty years old and upwards shall receive 
their freedom ; and all under that age, and above six- 
teen, shall serve seven years and no longer ; and all 
under sixteen years shall serve until they are twenty- 
five years of age, and then be free. And, to avoid 
disputes respecting the ages of any of these negroes, 
they are to be taken into the court of the county in 
which they reside, and the judgment thereof, in this 
relation, shall be final andi'ecord thereof made, which 
may be adduced as evidence at any time thereafter if 
disputes should arise concerning the same. And I 
further direct, that the heirs of the said Bartholomew 
Dandridge shall equally share the benefits arising 
from the services of the said negroes according to 
the tenor of this devise, upon the decease of their 
mother. 

Item. — If Charles Carter, who intermarried with my 
niece Betty Leivis, is not suQiciently secured in the 
title to the lots he had of me in the town of Fredericks- 
burg, it is my will and desire, that my executors shall 
make such conveyances of them as the law requires to 
render it perfect. 

Item. — To my nephew, William Augustine Washing- 
ton, and his heirs, (if he should conceive them to be 
objects worth prosecuting), a lot in the town of Man- 
chester, (opposite to Richmond,) No. 2G5, drawn on 
my sole account, and also the tenth of one or two 
hundred acre lots, and two or three half-acre lots, in 
the city and vicinity of Richmond, drawn in partner- 
ship with nine others, all in the lottery of the deceased 
William Byrd, are given ; as is also a lot which I pur- 
chased of John Hood, conveyed by William Willie 
and Samvel Gordon, trustees of the said John Hood, 
numbered 139, iu the town of Edinburgh, in the County 
of Prince George, State of Virginia. 

jtem. — To my nephew, Bushrod Washington,* I 
give and bequeath all the papers in my possession 
which relate to my civil and military administration of 
the affairs of this country. I leave to him also such of 
my private papers as are worth preserving ; and at the 
decease of my wife, and before, if she is not inclined 
to retain them, I give and bequeath my library of 
books and pamlphets of every kind. 

Item.S.a,\'mg sold lands which I possessed in the 



* As General Washington never had .iny children, he 
eave the larger part of his propertyto his nephews .and 
niece«, and the children of Mrs. Waehiugtou's son by 
her first marriage. The principal heir was Biishrod 
Washington, eon of his brother John Augustme W ash- 
ingtou. 



788 



APPENDIX— WASHINGTON'S WILL. 



State of Pennsylvania and part of a tract held in equal 
right with George Clinton, late governor of New York, 
in the State of New York, my share of land and in- 
terest in the Great Dismal Swamp, and a tract of 
land which I owned in the County of Gloucester, — 
withholding the legal titles thereto, until the con- 
sideration money should be paid — and having more- 
over leased and couditioually sold (as will appear 
by the tenor of the said leases) all my lands upon 
the Great Kenhawa, and a tract upon Difficult Run, 
in the County of Loudoun, it is my will and direc- 
tion, that whensoever the contracts are fully and re- 
spectively complied with, according to the spirit, true 
intent, and meaning thereof, on the part of the pur- 
chasers, their heirs or assigns, that then, and in that 
case, conveyances are to be made, agreeably to the 
terms of the said contracts, and the money arising 
therefrom, when paid, to be vested in bank stock ; the 
dividends whereof, as of that also which is already vest- 
ed therein, are to inure to my said wife during her 
life ; but the stock itself is to remain and be sub- 
ject to the general distribution hereafter directed. 

Item,. — To the Earl of Buchan I recommit the " Box 
made of the Oak that sheltered the great Sir William 
Wallace, after the battle of Falkirk," presented to me 
by his Lordship, in terms too flattering for me to re- 
peat, with a request " to pass it, on the event of my 
decease, to the man in my country, who should appear 
to merit it best, upon the same conditions that have 
induced him to send it to me." Whether easy or not 
to select the man, who might comport with his Lord- 
ship's opinion in this respect, is not for me to say ; 
but, conceiving that no disposition of this valuable 
curiosity can be more eligible than the recommitment 
of it to his own cabinet, agreeably to the original 
design of the Goldsmiths' Company of Edinburgh, 
who presented it to him, and, at his request, consented 
that it should be transferred to me, I do give and 
bequeath the same to his Lordship ; and, in case of his 
decease, to his heir, with my grateful thanks for the 
distinguished honor of presenting it to me, and more 
especially for the favorable sentiments with which he 
accompanied it. 

Item. — To my brother Cliarles WasMngton, I give 
and bequeath the gold-headed cane left me by Dr. 
FravMin in his will. I add nothing to it because of 
the ample provision I have made for his issue. To the 
acquaintances and friends of my juvenile years, Laiv- 
renca Washingtoti and Robert Wafldngton, of Chotanck, 
I give my other two gold-headed canes, having ni}' 
arms engraved on them; and to each, as they will be 
useful where they live, I leave one of the spyglasses, 
which constituted part of my equipage during the 
late war. To my compatriot in arms and old and 
intimate friend, Dr. Craih, I give mj^ bureau (or, as 
the cabinet-makers call it, tambour secretary) and the 
circular chair, an appendage of my study. To Dr. 
David Stewart I give my large shaving and dressing 
table, and my telescope. To the Reverend, now Bryan, 
Lord Fail-fax, I give a Eible, in three large folio 
volumes, with notes, presented to me by the Right 
Reverend TiLOiims Wilson,, Bishop of Sodor and 
Mau. To General de Lafayttte I give a pair of finely- 
Ivrought steel pistols, taken from the enemy in the 



revolutionary war. To my sisters-in-law, Eannak 
WasMngton and Mildred Washington, to my friends, 
Eleanor Stuart, Hannah Washington, of Fairfield, and 
Elizabeth Washington, of Hayfield, I give each a 
mourning ring, of the value of one hundred dollars. 
These bequests are not made for the intrinsic value of 
them, but as mementos of my esteem and regard. To 
Tobias Lear I give the use of the farm, which he now 
holds in virtue of a lease from me to him and his de- 
ceased wife, (for and during their natural lives,) free 
from rent during his life ; at the expiration of which, it 
is to be disposed of as is hereinafter directed. To Sally 
B. Haynie, (a distant relation of mine,) I give and be- 
queath three hundred dollars. To Sarah Green, 
daughter of the deceased TJiomas Bishop, and to Ann 
Walker, daughter of John Alton, also deceased, I give 
each one hundred dollars, in consideration of the 
attachment of their fathers to me ; each of whom hav- 
ing lived nearly forty years in my family. To each of 
my nephews, William Avgustine WasJiington, George 
Lewis, George Steptoe. Washington, Busitrod WasJiing- 
ton, and Samuel Washington, I give one of the swords 
or couteaux, of which I may die possessed ; and they 
are to choose in the order they are named. These 
swords are accompanied with an injunction not to 
unsheath them for the purpose of shedding blood, ex- 
cept it be for self-defence or in defence of their coun- 
try and its rights ; and in the latter case, to keep them 
unsheathed, and prefer falling with them in their 
hands to the relinquishment thereof 

And now, having gone through these specific devices, 
with explanations for the more correct understanding 
of the meaning and design of them, I proceed to the 
distribution of the more important part of my estate, 
in manner following ; 

First. — To my nephew, Bnshrod Washington, and 
his heirs, (parti}' in consideration of an intimation to 
his deceased father, while we were bachelors, and he 
had kindly undertaken to superintend my estate during 
my military services in the former war between Great 
Britain and France, that, if I should fall therein. Mount 
Vernon, then less extensive in domain than at present, 
should become his property,) I give and bequeath all 
that part thereof, which is comprehended within the 
following limits, viz. Beginning at the ford of Dogue 
Run, near my Mill, and extending along the road, and 
bounded thereby, as it now goes, and ever has gone, 
since my recollection of it, to the ford of Little Hunt- 
ing Creek, at the Gum Spring, until it comes to a 
knoll opposite to an old road, which formerly passed 
through the lower field of Muddy-Hole Farm ; at which, 
on the north side of the said road, are three red or 
Spanish oaks, marked as a corner, and a stone placed ; 
thence by a line of trees, to be marked rectangular, to 
the back line or outer boundary of the tract between 
Thomson Mason and myself; thence with that lino 
easterly (now double ditching, with a post and rail 
fence thereon) to the run of Little Hunting Creek; 
thence with that run, which is the boundary between 
the lands of the late Humphrey Peahe and me, to the 
tide water of the said creek ; thence by that water to 
Potomac River ; thence with the river to the mouth of 
Dogue Creek ; and thence with the said Dogue Creek 
to the place of beginning at the aforesaid ford ; con- 



APPENDIX— WASHINGTON'S WILL. 



789 



taining upwards of four thousand acres, be the same 
more or less, together with the mansion-house, and all 
other buildings and improvements thereon. 

Secoxd. — In consideration of the consanguinity be- 
tween them and my wife, being as nearly related to 
her as to myself, as on account of the affection I had 
for, and the obligation I was under to, their father 
when living, who from his youth had attached himself 
to my person, and followed my fortunes through the 
vicissitudes of the late Revolution, afterwards devot- 
ing his time to the superintendence of my private con- 
cerns for many years, whilst my public employments 
rendered it impracticable for me to do it myself, there- 
by affording me essential services, and always perform- 
ing them in a manner the most filial and respectful ; for 
these reasons, I say, I give and bequeath to George 
Fayette Washington and Lawrence Augustine Wasldng- 
ton, and their heirs, my estate east of Little Hunting 
Creek, lying on the River Potomac, including the farm 
of three hundred and sixty acres, leased to Tobias Lear, 
as noticed before, and containing in the whole, by deed, 
two thousand and twenty-seven acres, be it more or 
less ; which said estate it is my will and desire should 
be equitably jmd advantageously divided between 
them, according to quantity, quality, and other circum- 
stances, when the youngest shall have arrived at the 
age of twenty-one years, by three judicious and disin- 
terested men ; one to be chosen by each of the brothers, 
and the third by these two. In the me.an time, if the 
termination of my wife's interest therein should have 
ceased, the profits arising therefrom are to be applied 
for their joint uses and benefit. 

Third. — And whereas it has always been my inten- 
tion, since my expectation of having issue has ceased, 
to consider the grandchildren of my wife in the same 
light as I do my own relations, and to act a friendly 
part by them ; more especially by the two whom we 
have raised from their earliest infancy, namely, 
Eleanor Parhe Custis and George Washington Parke 
Custis ; and whereas the former of these hath lately 
intermarried with Laivrence Lewis, a son of my deceased 
sister, Betty Lewis, by which the inducement to provide 
for them both has been increased ; wherefore, I give 
and bequeath to the said Lawrence Lewis, and Eleanor 
Parhe Liwis, his wife, and their heirs, the residue of 
my Mount Vernon estate, not already devised to my 
nephew, Bushrod Washington, comprehended with. 
in the following description, viz. All the land north 
of the road leading from the ford of Dogue Run to the 
Gum Spring as described in the devise of the other 
part of the tract to Bushrod Washington, until it comes 
to the stone and three red or Spanish oaks on the 
knoll ; thence with the rectangular line to the back 
line (between Mr. 2Iason and me) ; thence with that 
line westerly along the new double ditch to Dogue 
Run, by the tumbling dam of my Mill ; thence with 
the said run to the ford aforementioned. To which 
I add all the land I possess west of the said Dogue 
Run and Dogue Creek, bounded easterly and south- 
erly thereby ; together with the mill, distillerj-, and 
all other houses and improvements on the prem- 
ises, making together about two thousand acres, be it 
more or less. 

FouETH.— Actuated by the principle already men- 



tioned, I give and bequeath to Gem-ge Washington 
ParJce Custis, the grandson of my wife, and my ward, 
and to his heirs, the tract I hold on Four Mile Run, in 
the vicinity of Alexandria, containing one thousand 
two hundred acres, more or less, and my entire square, 
No. 21, in the city of Washington. 

Fifth.— All the rest and residue of my estate real 
and personal, not disposed of in manner aforesaid, in 
whatsoever consisting, wheresoever lying, and when- 
soever found, (a schedule of which, as far as is recol- 
lected, with a reasonable estimate of its value, is here- 
unto annexed,) I desire may be sold by my executors 
at such times, in such manner, and on such credits, 
(if an equal, valid, and satisfactory distribution of the 
specific property cannot be made without,) as in their 
judgment shall be most conducive to the interests of 
the parties concerned ; and the moneys arising there- 
from to be divided into twenty-three equal parts, and 
applied as follows, viz. To William Augustine Wash- 
ington, Elizabeth Spotswood,. Jane Tliornton, and the 
heirs of Ann Ashton, sons and daughters of my deceas- 
ed brother, Augustine Washington, I give and bequeath 
four parts ; that is, one part to each of them. To 
Fielding Lewis, George Lewis, Robert Lewis, Howell 
Lewis, and Betty Carter, sons and daughters of my de- 
ceased sister Betty Lewis, I give and bequeath five 
other parts ; one to each of them. To George Steptoe 
Washington, Lawrence Augustine Washington, Harriot 
Paries, and the heirs of Thornton Washington, song 
and daughters of my deceased brother, Samuel Wasli- 
ington, I give and bequeath other four parts; one to 
each of them. To Corbin Washington, and the heirs 
o{ Jane Washington, son and daugther of my deceased 
bi'other, JoJm Augustine Washington, I give and be- 
queath two parts ; one to each of them. To Samuel 
Washington, Frances Ball, and Mildred Hammond, 
son and daughters of my brother Charles Washington, 
i give and bequeath three parts ; one part to each of 
them. And to George Fayette Washington, Charles 
Augustine Washington, and Maria Washington, sons 
and daughter of my deceased nephew, George Angus- 
tine Washington, I give one other part ; that is, to each 
a third of that part. To Elizabeth L'arlce Law, Martha 
Parhe Peter, and Eleanor Parke Lewis, I give and 
bequeath three other jlarts ; that is, a part to each of 
them. And to my nephews, Bushrod Washington 
and Lawrence Lewis, and to my ward, the grandson of 
my wife, I give and bequeath one other part; that is a 
third thereof to each of them. And, if it should so hap- 
pen that any of the persons whose names are here euu- 
merated (unknown to me) should now be dead, or 
should die before mo, that in either of these cases, the 
heir of such deceased person shall, notwithstanding, 
derive all the benefits of the bequest in the same manner 
as if he or she was actually living at the time. And, by 
way of advice, I recommend it to my executors not to 
bo precipitate in disposing of the landed property, 
(herein directed to be sold,) if from temporary causes 
the sale thereof should be dull ; experience having fully 
evinced, that the price of land, especially above the 
falls of the river and on the western waters, has been 
progressively rising, and cannot be long checked in its 
increasing value. And I particularly recommend it to 
such of the legatees (under this clause of my will), as 



790 



APPENDIX— WASHINGTON'S WILL. 



can make it convenient, to take each a share of my 
stock in the Potomac Company in preference to the 
amount of what it might sell for; being thorouglily 
convinced myself that no uses to which the money can 
be applied, will be so productive as the tolls arising 
from this navigation when in full operation, (and thus, 
from the nature of things, it must be, ere long,) and 
more especially if that of tlie Shenandoah is added 
thereto. 

The family vault at Mount Vernon requiring repairs, 
and being improperly situated besides, I desire that a 
new one of brick, and upon a larger scale, may be 
built at the foot of what is commonly called the Vine- 
yard Enclosure, on the ground which is marked out ; 
in which my remains, with those of my deceased rela- 
tions (now in the old vault), and such others of my 
family as may choose to be entombed there, may be 
deposited. And it is my express desire, that my corpse 
may be interred in a private manner, without parade 
or funeral oration. 

Lastly, I constitute and appoint my dearly beloved 
wife, Martha Washington, my nephews, William 
Avgustine Washington, Bitshrod Washington, George 
Stei)toe Washington, Samuel Washington, and Laio- 
rence Lewis, and my ward, George Washington Parl-e 
Custis (when he shall have arrived at the age of twen- 
ty-one years), executrix and executors of this my will 
and testament ; in the construction of which it will be 
readily perceived, that no professional character has 
been consulted, or has had any agency in the draft ; 



and that, although it has occupied many of my leisure 
hours to digest, and to throw it into its present form, 
it ma}', notwithstanding, appear crude and incorrect ; 
but, having endeavored to be plain and explicit in all 
the devises, even at the expense of prolixity, perhaps 
of tautology, I hope and trust that no disputes will 
arise concerning them. But if, contrary to expectation, 
the case should be otherwise, from the want of legal 
expressions, or the usual technical terms, or because 
too much or too little has been said on any of the 
devises to be consonant with law, my will and direc- 
tion expressly is, ■ that all disputes (if unhappily any 
should arise) shall be decided by three impartial and 
intelligent men, known for their probity and good 
understanding, two to be chosen by the disputants, 
each having the choice of one, and the third by those 
two ; which three men, thus chosen, shall, unfettered 
by law or legal constructions, declare their sense of 
the testator's intention ; and such decision is, to all 
intents and purposes, to be as binding on the parties 
as if it had been given in the Supreme Court of the 
United States. 

In ttitness of all and of each of the i/iings herein con- 
lained, I have set my hatid and seal^ this ninth day 
of July, in the year one thousaiid seven hundred 
and ninety,* and of the Independence of the United 
States tlie twentyfourth. 

GEORGE WASHINGTON. 



* It appears that the testator omitted the word "nine." 



INDEX. 



Abercrombie, General— 
Bupersedea General Shirley, 
commander-in-chief, 
encamped at Lake George 
proceeds against Ticouderoga, 
falls back, 

attacks the French works, 
repulsed by Montcalm, 
superseded by Major-General 
Amherst, 
Abercbombie, Lieutenant-Colon- 
el, attacks American batteries, 
ACKLAND, Lady Harriet — 
■with Burgoyne's army, 
during the action, 
her distreBs, 
eeeks her husband, 
kind treatment of, 
subsequent history, 
AcKLAND, Major — 
commands the Grenadiers, 
wounded and taken prisoner, 
Bubsequent history (note), 
Adams, John — 
birth of American independence, 
at town meetings, 
on the General Congress, 
opposes petition to the king, 
on the choice of commander-in- 
chief, 
proposes "Washington as com- 
mander-in-chief, 
on the conduct of Washington, 
opposes Lee, and urges Ward as 

second in command, 
opposed to Lee and Gates, 
on the act of Massachusetts Gen- 
eral Court, 
to General Thomas on Schuy- 
ler's unpopularity, 
picture of festivities at head- 
quarters, 
on the defence of New York, 
member of the Board of War 

and Ordnance, 
on the Declaration of Independ- 
ence, 
its great importance, 
concerning sectional jealousies, 
on committee to confer with 

Lord Howe, 
at Washington's inauguration, 
on presidential etiquette, 
distrusts the French Revolution, 
on the office of Vice President, 
his " Discourses on Davila," 
on the British Constitution, 
concerniiiic Washington's judg- 
ment of Genet, 
to his wife on affairs, 
elected President, 
inaugural address, 
convenes Congress, 
address concerning French in- 
dignities, 
to Washington, asking advice, 
on the appointment of Washing- 
ton commander-in-chief, 
nominates minister to France, 



188 



Adams, Mrs. — 

to her husband on the appear- 
ance of Washington, 

description of General Lee, 

account of party at General 
Mifflin's, 

to her husband on the cannonade, 
Adams, Samuel— 

as moderator, 

proposes Mr. Duch6 as chaplain, 

to his wife about Mr. Duche, 

apprised of the movement of 
troops, 

irresolute as to commander-in- 
chief, 

excepted from proffered pardon, 

on the united conmiand of Schuy- 
ler and Gates, 

meets Washington atCambridge, 
Adams, Sir Thomas, 
Adet, Mr.— 

minister from France, 

presents the colors of France, 

complaints against the govern- 
ment of the United States, 
Agnew, Brigadier General— 

in the expedition against Dan- 
bury, 

killed at Germantown, 
Albany, panic at St. Clair's retreat, 
Allen, the fighting parson, 
Allkn, Ethan — 

at the head of the Green Moun- 
tain Boys, 

volunteers in the public cause, 

described, 

commands expedition to Ticon- 
deroga, 

proceeds to Shoreham, 

arrives at Shoreham, 

addresses his men, 

surprises Ticonderoga, 

expedition against St. Johns, 

returns to Ticonderoga, 

rivalry with Arnold, 

to Now York Congress, 

designs on Canada, 

to Trumbull, 

repairs to Congress, 

repairs to New York convention, 

to Trumbull on the invasion of 
(j^nada, 

superseded by Seth Warner, 

joins as a volunteer, 

to Trumbull, 

sent to reconnoitre, 

report to Schuyler, 

recruiting, 

to Montgomery on Canadian 
volunteers, 

meets Major Brown, 

decides to attack Montreal, 

taken prisoner, 

reception by General Prcscott, 

sent to England, 

to General Preseott, 

memory of, 

treatment by the British, 

exchanged for Colonel Campbell 

visits Valley Forge, 

leaves for home. 



Allen, Levi — 
to Washington on the treatment 
161 of Ethan Allen, 198 

103 project to effect liis release, 199 

Allen, William, 252 

202 Alton, John, Washington's ser- 
221 vant, taken ill, 64 

Ambuscade, engagement with the 

129 Boston, 720 

130 Amboy, disaffection of people, 243 

131 American Colonies — 
affection for the mother country 108 

140 resolve not to purchase British 

fabrics, 110 

147 American Army — 
149 besieging Boston, its nature, 150 

disposition of its forces, ' 150 
251 distribution of before Boston, 164 
678 condition and discipline, 164 

107 spirit of insubordination, 165 

camp described, 165 

735 strict discipline, 169 

739 scarcity of powder, 171 

critical condition, 171 

747 difficulty of tilling up, 197 

greatly weakened, 206 

lack of equipments, 206 

344 strength in and about New York, 228 
420 retreat from before Quebec, 231 
366 British description of, 288 

385 at New Brunswick, 303 

' contrasted with the British, 332 

marches through Philadelphia, 370 
144 described by a'Hessian, 415 

144 approach of winter, 433 

14-1 destitution of, 508 

pass through Philadelphia, 600 

144 discontent of, 627 

144 memorial to Congress, 627 

145 anonymous address, 628 
145 other anonymous papers, 628 
145 meeting ofofficers, 629 

145 addressed by Washington, 629 

146 resolutions of meeting, 638 
174 its breaking up described, 637 
174 contrastedVith the British, 638 

174 American Militia— 

175 fly before the British, 275 
175 cowardice of, 287 

175 signalize themselves, 330 
gallant exploits, 331 

176 American Prisoners, treatment 

177 of, 335, 336 

177 American Seamen, impressment 

178 of, 
182 Ames, Fisher— 
182 on the first Congress, 
182 debate on Jc tferson's report, 

on Washington's farewell ad- 

153 dress, 

154 Amesbvuy, a British spy, 
184 Amherst, M.ijor General— 
184 to reduce Louisburg, 
184 embarks, 

184 arrives at the bay of Gabarus, 

185 landing of troops, 
185 takes Louisburg, 
199 supersedes General Abercrom- 
45S bie, 

458 to advance against Ticonderoga 
458 and Crown Point, 



722 



673 
726 



746 
355 



INDEX. 



emliarks for Ticonderoga, 97 

repairs the works at Ticonderoga 

and Crown Point, 98 

consequences of his delay, 98 

further delay, 101 

again in the field, 102 

arrives at Montreal, 102 

Amherst, Captain, despatched to 
England with news of the cap- 
ture of Louisburg, 90 
Anderson, Ephraim— 
plan for destroying British ships, 256 
entertained by Congress, 256 
to the President of Congress on 
his progress, 256 
Andre, Major — 
and the Mischianza, 457 
aide-de-camp to Sir Henry Clin- 
ton, 487 
correspondence with Arnold, 530 
sketch of his life, 531 
attempted interview with Ar- 
nold, 532 
goes on board the Vulture, 533 
interview with Arnold, 533 
remains ashore all night, 533 
anxiety to escape, 534 
crosses to Verplanck's Point, 534 
stopped by patrolling party, 534 
approaches the Neutral Ground, 534 
parts with Smith, 534 
etopped by Paulding, 535 
arrested and searched, 536 
taken to North Castle, 536 
sent to Arnold, 536 
brought back, 536 
taken to Lower Salem, 536 
to Washington, 537 
amuses himself by sketching, 537 
propensity for caricature (note), 537 
taken to the Robinson House, 541 
sent to West Point, 541 
conversation with Major Tall- 

madge, 541 

his fate predicted, 642 

arrives at Tappan, 542 

frank confession, 543 

condemned as a spy, 543 

concerning Sir Henry Clinton, 543 
qualities of, 544 

execution postponed, 645 

afiectiug appeal to Washington, 545 
nature of his mission, 646 

British view of his case (note), 546 
his execution, 547 

burial, 547 

transferred to Westminster Ab- 
bey, 547 
sympathy in behalf of, 547 
Angbl, Colonel, in the fight at 

Springfield, 518 

Annapolis before the revolution 

(note), 107 

Anspachers arrive at New York, 352 
Arbcthnot, Admiral- 
arrival with troops, 493 
convoys expedition to South Car- 
olina, 495 
enters Charleston harbor, 511 
passes Fort Moultrie, 512 
squadron scattered by a storm, 586 
encounters the French fleet, 5S8 
Armstrong, Colonel John, com- 
mands expedition against Kit- 
tanning, 81 
Armstrong, Major General — 
to check the British, 390 
at Brandywine, S92 
posted at the Schuylkill, 396 
on Washington (note), 425 
author of anon.vnous papers, 631 
Armstrong, Captain- 
commands at Verplanck's Point 486 
pursues Colonel Coatos, 601 
fight at (Juiraby Creek, 602 
decoyed into an ambush, 689 
Armstrong, Major, attention to 

Mercer, 327 

Arnold, Benedict — 
arrives at Castleton, 144 

proposes the surprisal of Ticon- 
deroga and Crown Point, 144 
aspires to the command, 144 
serves as volunteer, 145 
desires to command Ticonde- 
roga, 145 

2 



is disappointed and protests, 145 
commands armed schooner, 145 
surprises St. Johns, 145 
rivalry with Ethan Allen, 174 
opinion of Allen, 174 
dilficulties withC^olonel Hinman, 175 
and the committee of inquiry, 175 
indignation, 176 
sets oft' for Cambridge, 176 
commands the expedition as lieu- 
tenant colonel, 181 
sets out for Canada, 181 
to Washington, on the expedi- 
tion, 183 
to Washington, on bis progress, 185 
toils of the expedition, 186 
obstacles to the expedition, 186 
perseverance, 193 
embarks on the Chaudiere, 193 
arrives at Point Levi, 194 
sudden apparition, 194 
at Point Levi, 202 
crosses to Wolfe's Cove, 203 
discovered by a boat from the 

Lizard, 203 

on the Heights of Abraham, 203 

obstacles before him, 203 

holds a council of war, 203 

demands a surrender, 204 

retires to Point aux Trembles, 204 

joined by Montfroniery, 206 
leads his division against St. 

Roque, 213 
wounded, 213 
assisted back to camp, 214 
determination and resources, 214 
gallant resolve, 214 
promoted to brigadier general, 230 
keeps up the blockade, 230 
difficulties, 230 
accident, 230 
obtains leave of absence, 230 
at Montreal, 234 
afi"air at the Cedars, 234 
council of war, ' 235 
exchange of prisoners, 235 
to Commissioners of (Jongress, 235 
joins Sullivan, 239 
commands flotilla at Ticon- 
deroga, 292 
at Valcour Island, 292 
his force, 293 
engages the British, 293 
escapes the enemy, 293 
overtaken, brave resistance, 294 
burns his vessels, 294 
arrives at Crown Point, 294 
passed over by Congress, 343 
to Washington on his non-pro- 
motion, 844 
reasons for, 344 
hastens to Danbury, 344 
takes post at Ridgcfield, 345 
throws up a breastwork, 345 
narrow escape, 345 
presses the enemy hard, 346 
made major-general, 346 
presented with a horse by Con- 
gress, 346 
declines the command of the 

Hudson, 351 
business with Congress, 351 
commands Philadelphia, 353 
volunteers to relieve Fort Schuy- 
ler, 383 
encourages Gansevoort, 387 
reinforced, <> 387 
to Gates, determination, 387 
success of his stratai,'cm, 387 
selects a camping ground, 400 
skirmishes with the enemy, 401 
impetuous attack, 402 
quarrel with Gates, 403 
indignant letter to Gates, 403 
tries to goad Gates on, 408 
rushes to the fight, 410 
desperate valor, 410 
storms Burgoyne's camp, 410 
wounded, 410 
to take command of Philadel- 
phia, 462 
unsettled accounts, 500 
command of Philadelphia, 500 
issues proclamation, 500 
style of living, 500 
disputes, 501 



attachment to Miss Shippen 501 
projects a settlement in New 

York, 501 

charges against, 501 

sets out for Albany, ] 501 

address to the public, 501 

appeal to Congress, 502 

exculpated by Congress, ' 502 

resigns hjs command, 502 

dissatisfaction with Congress, 502 
to Washington on the court- 
martial, 602 
marries Miss Shippen, 602 
application for a guard, 603 
tried by court-martial, 503 
sentenced to be reprimanded, 603 
reprimanded by Washington, 504 
projects an expedition, 504 
and the French minister, 509 
applies to rejoin the army, 509 
seeks the command of West 

Point, 522 

appointed to the command of 

West Point, 523 

treason of, 630 

correspondence with Sir Henry 

Clinton, 530 

desperate state of atfairs, 530 

takes command of West Point, 630 
head-quarters at the Robinson 

House, 530 

carries on secret correspondence 

with Andre, 630 

scheme of treachery, 531 

attempted interview with Andre, 532 
accompanies Washington, 532 

message to Colonel Robinson, 532 
interview with Andre, 633 

the bargain completed, 533 

returns to bead-quarters, 634 

arrival of Washington, 538 

hears of Andre's capture, 638 

flight, 538 

escapes to the Vulture, 539 

gives up his crew as prisoners of 

war, 539 

to Washington concerning his 

wife, 540 

certificate in behalf of Andre, 543 
to Washington, threatening re- 
taliation for Andre, 545 
rewarded by the British, 548 
address to the inhabitants of 

America, 548 

proclamation to the American 

army, 648 

letter from his mother (note), 649 
subsequent fortunes, 549 

commands British detachment, 663 
arrives in the Chesapeake, 568 

buccaneering ravages, 668 

takes post at Portsmouth, 569 

returns to New York, 596 

commands expedition against 

New London, 605 

attacks New London, 605 

ravages the town, 606 

Arnold, Mrs., hears of Arnold's 

ruin, 638 

interview with Washington, 541 

ordered to leave the State, 549 

her fortunes, 549 

AsGiLL, Captain Charles, 624 

Asgill, Lady, to the Count de 

Vergennes, 624 

Assistance, Writs of, 109 

Atlee, Colonel, retires before 

General Grant, 264 

forms an ambush and falls back 

on Lord Stirling, 264 

taken prisoner, 265 

Augusta ship of war burned, 423 



Babcock, Colonel, to Governor 
Cooke, on the agitations in 
New York, " 274 

operations of the enemj-, 274 

Bache's Aurora, 743 

Baird, Sir James, 481 

Baker, Remember, Ethan Allen's 

lieutenant, 144 

Balcarras, Lord, commands light 
infantry, 409 

defends the intrenchments, 410 



INDEX. 



at 



384 
384 

385 
385 

479 



Ball, Lieutenant Colonel, takes 

hostile message 1o Gates, 340 

Barbour, Major, carries message 

to Baron de Viomenil, 617 

Bard, Dr. Samuel, attends Wash- 
ington, g.jj 
Bakras, Count de, arrives at Bos- 
ton, 59, 
address to Mr. Monroe, 752 
Barren Hill, Lafayette stationed 

on, 457 

Barton, Colonel, captures Gen- 
eral Prescott, 367 
voted a sword and promoted, 367 
Bastille, key of, 688 
Batt's Hill, occupied by General 
Sullivan, 475 
action at, 475 
Baum, Lieutenant, commands ex- 
pedition against Bennington, 383 
Bets out from camp, — 
slow march, 
intrenches himself, 
defeated, 
Baylor, Lieutenant Colonel 
Old Tappan, 
surprised by Major General 
Grey, 479 
Baxter, Colonel, at Fort Wash- 
ington, 296 
killed, 296 
Beall, General, to secure Pine's 

Bridge, 288 

Beacgen, Captain de, 70 

Bedel, Colonel, in command at 
the Cedars, 234 

menaced by Captain Forster, 234 
repairs to Montreal for reinforce- 
ments, 234 
Bedford Pass neglected, 263 
Beefsteak (The) and Tripe Club, 25 
Bellarni, M., and the American 

envoys, 754 

Belt of Wampura, 30 

BemiB's Heights fortified, 400 

situation of, 401 

Bennington, expedition against, 379 

situation of, 383 

people on the alert, 384 

battle of, 385 

second battle, 386 

spoils of victory, 386 

Benson, Kgbert, commissioner to 

New York, 633 

Berkshire Committees acquit 

Schuyler, 232 

Bernard, Gov. Sir Francis, calls 
upon the General Court to re- 
scind their resolution, 114 
Bkrtuier, Marshal, 595 
Beville, General de, reconnoitres, 595 
Bienville, Celeron de, despatched 
with 300 men to the Ohio, 21 
orders the English traders to de- 
part, 21 
Bigain's Bridge secured by the 

British, .. 513 

Bied, Colonel, commands attack 

on Peekskill, 338 

retreat, 339 

Bishop, Washington's servant, 92 

Black (The) Hunter, 57 

Black rifle, 57 

Black Stock Hill, fight at, 560 

Blair, John, acting governor, 88 

judge of Supreme Court, 673 

Bland, Colonel, at Brandywine, 393 

Bland, Richard, delegate to the 

General (3ongress, 129 

Blockade of Boston, a play, 218 

Board of War modified, 432 

Boklen (The) Book, 6 

Bo.mpard, Captain, at New York, 720 
Bonaparte, on the death of Wash- 
ington, 764 
Bonner, Lieutenant Colonel, slain 

at Monmouth Court-house, 467 
Bordentown, public storehouses 

burned, 453 

BoscAWEN, Admiral, sails for 
Louisburg, 90 

receives a vote of praise by Par- 
liament, 90 
BosKiRK, Lieutenant Colonel, sur- 
prises EJizabethtown, 499 
Boston resibts payment of duties, 109 



demand for British goods di- 
minished, 
riot against stamp act, 
proceedings in regard to stamp 

militia demonstrations, 
convention held at, 
arrival of British forces, 
town meeting against the right 

of the king to send troops, 
refuses to quarter the troops, 
massacre, 
arrival of tea, 
destruction of tea, 
passage of the Boston Port 

Bill, 
general league recommended at 

town meeting, 
Port Bill carried into effect, 
excitement in, 
condition of, 
town meetings, 
rumored cannonading of, 
like a place besieged, 
besieged, 

arrival of British troops, 
feeling against the British in, 
in a state of siege, 
question of bombardment, 
preparations in the harbor, 
destitution and sickness. 



110 
112 

112 
114 , 
114 f 
114 



114 
114 

118 
124 

124 

125 

126 
126 
127 
129 
129 
134 
137 
149 
149 
165 
170 
189 
207 
218 
221 
223 
223 
224 
225 
225 



advances to attack Fort Du- 

quesne, 52 

reception of Captain Jack, 62 

his delay, 53 

solicitude for Washington, 63 

continued iHarch, 63 

deserted Indian camp, 63 
three stragglers shot and scalped, 63 



opening of bombardment, 
British prepare to evacuate, 
hurried preparations, 
evacuation, 

occupied by the Americans, 
after the siege, 

people of, project expedition 

against Penobscot, 491 
Boston frigate engagement with 

the Ambuscade, 720 
Boston massacre, 118 
Boston Port Bill, 125 
Boston tea party, 124 
Botetourt, Lord, Governor of 
Virginia, 116 
his manners, 116 
his promptness, lie 
his style and equipage, 116 
opening of the session, 116 
dissolves the House of Bur- 
gesses, 116 
conciliatory conduct, 117 
his death, lis 
Bottle Hill, Americans encamped 
at, 330 
alarm post, 481 
Boudinot, Elias, to Pres. Whar- 
ton, 433 
Bougainville, Db, detached to 
watch Wolfe's movements, 99 
arrives too late, 101 
retires, 101 
Bouquet, Colonel, stationed at 
R.aystown, 92 
attaches an ofiicer and men to 

Indian scouting parties, 93 
halt at Loyal Hannan, 94 
sends out a reconnoitring party, 94 
Bourlamarque dismantles Ticon- 
deroga and Crown Point, 97 
makes a stand at the Isle aux 
Noix, 97 
Braa.m, Van. (See Van Braam.) 
Bkaddock, Major General Ed- 
ward, appointed generalissi- 
mo of the colonial forces, 52 
his character, 52 
anecdotes of, 53 
lands at Hampton, 53 
proceeds to Alexandria, 54 
invites Washington to join his 

staff, 54 

holds a council, 55 

sets out from Alexandria, 57 

commencement of troubles, 57 

interview with Franklin, 58 

sets oft' for Will's Creek, 58 

arrives at Fort Cumberland, 58 

his discipline, 59 

treatment of Indians, 59 

to Governor MoiTis, 60 

his impatience and obstinacy, 60 

arrival of conveyances, 01 

leaves Fort Cumberland, 61 

asks the advice of Washington, 62 i 



difficulties of the march, 63 

precautions, 64 

encamps at Thicketty Run, 64 

sends scouts to Fort Duquesne, 64 
Bcarooyadi's sou killed by mis- 
take, 64 
admirable conduct, 64 
tardiness of his march, 65 
crosses the Monongnhcla, 65 
commencement ofthe battle, 66 
panic of the advanced guard, 67 
attempts to rally them, 67 
is wounded ; his despair, 67 
the route, 68 
reach the Gre.at Meadows, 68 
his death, dying requests, 69 
character, 69 
Bradford, William, attorney gen- 
eral, 725 
death of, 740 
Bradstreet, Lieutenant Colonel, 
secures a Seminole, 91 
expedition against Fort Fron- 

tenac, 91 

captures the fort, 91 

Brandywine (battle of the), can- 
nonading commenced, 393 
conflicting reports, 393 
desperate conflict, 395 
description of the retreat, 395 
Brandywine Creek, 392 
Brannan, Colonel, joins Marion, 560 
Brant, Mohawk Sachem, 160 
at Niiigara, 477 
depredations of, 551 
Breed's Hill, 152 
to be fortified, 152 
fortified, 152 
under the enemy's fire, 153 
Breton Club, 675 
Brevman, Colonel, to the rehef of 
Baum, 385 
arrives, and renews the battle, 3S0 
mortally wounded, 410 
Bridport, Lord, death of Wash- 
ington, 764 
Bright Lightning, 60 
British ministry, efforts to sup- 
press smuggling, 109 
manufactures, resolutions not to 

import, 110 

officers, their scornful spirit, 150 
troops at Boston, 164 

attack the court, 186 

plan of oper.ations, 207 

officers and their amusements, 218 
move against Dorchester 

Heights, 222 

postponed by a storm, 223 

retire, 223 

preparations for retreat from 

Boston, 223 

embarkation from Boston, 224 

designs against New York, 239 

plans for the attack 011 Long 

Island, 263 

crossing from Long Island, 274 

land at New York, 275 

repulse Americans, 275 

land at Throg's Neck. 283 

ships move up to Bourdett's 

Ferry, 286 

cross the Hudson above Fort Lee, 299 
view of aftairs, 305 

picket surprised, 322 

army contrasted with American, 332 
evacuate the Jerseys, 355 

invasion from Canada, 357 

fleet leaves New York, 309 

enters the Delaware, 370 

sails out of the Capes, 370 

enters the Chesapeake, 374 

Brodhead, Colonel, expedition 

against the Indians, 486 

Bromfield, Major, attack on Fort 

Griswold, 606 

Brooke, Judge, on Washington's 
hUarity, 649 

3 



INDEX. 



Brooke, General, meets Washing- 
ton at Cambridge, 678 
Brooklyn, defences of, 260 
Brooks, Lieutenant General, at- 
tacks Burgoyne's ^mp, 410 
joins Prescott, " 151 
Brown, Dr., attends Washington, 76? 
Brown, Lieutenant, brings flag of 
truce, 247 
recognition of Washington's 
rank, 247 
Brown, Major John, despatched 
into Canada, 177 
sent to reconnoitre, 181 
projects with Allen an attack on 

Montreal, 184 

and Maior Livingston take Fort 

Cham'blee, 191 

drives Colonel Maclean hack, 192 
successful feint, 212 

Brown, Colonel, surprises Ticon- 
deroga, 403 

threatens Diamond Island, 403 

Brown, Lieutenant Colonel, com- 
mands expedition to Augusta, 514 
Brudenell, Mr., accomjSanies 

Lady Ackland, 412 

Brunswick troops hired by Eng- 
land, ' 229 
BoFORD, Colonel, pursued by Tar- 
leton, 514 
rejects Tarleton's proposals, 515 
defeated by Tarleton, 515 
Bunker's Hill to be fortified, 151 
position of, 151 
works thrown up, 154 
advance of General Pigot, 154 
etl'ect of the American tire, 155 
advance of General Uowe, 155 
British chocked, 155 
second attack, 155 
British again retreat, 155 
spectators, 155 
tliird attack, 155 
Americans driven from the 

breastwork on the left, 156 

British advance with the bay- 
onet, 156 
American ammunition exhaust- 
ed, 156 
desperate struggle, 156 
American retreat, 156 
Stark, Reed, and Knowlton 

maintain their ground, 156 

Putnam endeavors to rally the 

troops, 156 

British take possession, 156 

resume, 157 

relative merits of the American 

officers, 157 

occupied by the British, 164 

Burgesses, (Va.) House of, con- 
vened, 37 
vote thanks to Washington and 

his officers, 47 

grant £20,000 for the public ser- 
vice, 52 
meetiiig called, 126 
Bullitt, Captain, brave conduct, 95 
promoted to Major, 95 
Bdrooynb, General, arrives at 
Boston, 149 
surprise, 149 
cannonading at Bunker's Hill, 155 
described, 104 
history of, 164 
accused by Junius, 164 
" The Maid of the Oaks," 164 
Walpole's witticism, 164 
" The Heiress " praised by Wal- 

pole, 164 

correspondence with Lee, 171 

proposes an intei-view with Lee, 172 
in Canada, 238 

pursues Sullivan, 239 

reported arrival at Quebec, 354 

plan of campaign, 357 

leaves St. Johns, 358 

on Lake Champlain, 358 

arrives at Crown Point, 359 

advancing, 360 

issues proclamation, 360 

fortifies Mount Hope, 303 

pursues the flotilla, 364 

moves towards the Hudson, 376 

reaches Fort Anne, 370 



feeling towards the Indians, 377 
murder of Miss McCrea, 377 

at Fort Edward, 378 

difliculties at, 379 

opposite Saratoga, 384 

hears of Baum's surrender, 386 

correspondence with Gates, 388 

dubious position, 398 

to Lord Germain on his pros- 
pects, 399 
silent preparations, 400 
moves across the Hudson, 400 
march of his army, 400 
encamps near Gates, 401 
plan of battle, 401 
attacked by Arnold, 402 
on the situation of the ladies, 402 
critical situation, 402 
news from Clinton, 403 
sends word to Clinton^ 403 
harassed by the Americans, 404 
within intrenchments, 408 
movement against Gates, 409 
prepares for battle, 409 
retreats to his camp, 410 
shifts his position, 411 
determines on retreat, 411 
at the burial of General Fraser, 411 
dismal retreat, 412 
concerning Lady Ackland, 412 
reaches Saratoga, 412 
destruction of Schuyler's pro- 
perty, 413 
calls a council of war, 413 
fortifies his camp, 413 
capitulates, 414 
terms of capitulation, 414 
number of troops, 415 
meeting with Gates, 415 
kind reception by Schuyler, 416 
question of embarkation, 450 
Burke, Judge, denounces the Cin- 
cinnati, 642 
Burke, Edmund, on the employ- 
ment of men-of-war as custom- 
house officers, 110 
on the state of affairs in Ame- 
rica, 329 
Burr, Aaron, a volunteer, 182 
Montgomery's aide-de-camp, 211 
on a reconnoitiMug expedition, 492 
Burton, Lieutenant Colonel, or- 
dered to advance, 66 
the detachments fall back upon 
him in confusion, 66 
Bush, Crean, 67 
Bushnell's stibmarine battery, 279 
BusKiRK, Major, 492 
Butler, Colonel, accompanies 

Wayne, 565 

Butler, Gen., reinforces Greene, 581 

at Guilford Court House, 582 

Bdtler, Major General, with 

General St. Clair, 696 

killed, 697 

Butler, Lieutenant Colonel, to 

intercept Colonel Bimcoe 598 

Butler, Colonel, at Oriskany, 380 
Butler, Colonel John, commands 
expedition against Wyoming, 477 
at Wintermoot's Fort, " 477 

battle of Wyoming, 478 

Butler, Colonel Kichard, sur- 
prises a party of Hessi.ans, 480 
Butler, Colonel Zebulon, in com- 
mand of Forty Fort, 477 
battle of Wyoming, 478 
Butlers of Tryon County, 160 
Butterfield, Major, surrenders 

the Cedars, 234 

Bryant, Lieutenant, at Throg's 

Neck, 2S3 

Byrd, Colonel, 89 

Byrd, Mr., visits the garrison, 254 

Byron, Admiral, arrives at New 

York, ■ 480 

tries to entrap D'Estaing, 480 



C 



Cadwalader, Colonel John, com- 
mands detachment of volun- 
teers, 311 
stationed at Bristol, 311 
prevented by the ice, 317 



dilemma, 320 

marches to Burlington, 320 

to Washington advising pursuit, 320 
sends in pursuit of Donop, 321 

at Crosswicks, 322 

Cadwalader, Lambert, 252 

at Fort Washington, 284 

posted in the outer lines, 296 

forced to retreat, 297 

Caldwell, Reverend James, the 
" rousing gospel preacher," 499 
his church burnt, 499 

Ills return home, 517 

in the fight at Springfield, 518 

Caldwell, Mrs., killed by the 
British, 517 

popular excitement, 518 

Callbeck, Mr., taken prisoner, 198 
to Washington, 198 

Calvert, Benedict, 123 

Cambridge, assembling of patriots, 134 
Camden, battle of, 527 

flight of American militia, 527 

Burnt by the British, 600 

Campbell, Colonel William, pur- 
sues Major Ferguson, 657 
in the battle of King's Mountain, 55S 
at Guilford Court House, 582 
at Eutaw Springs, 613 
charges the British, 614 
his death, 615 
Campbell, Colonel, orders a 're- 
treat, 213 
Campbell, Lieutenant Colonel, 
to attack Fort Montgomery, 406 
checked by the Americans, 406 
killed, 407 
thrown into jail, 334 
appeals to Washington, 334 
exchanged for Ethan Allen, 453 
to surprise New Tappan, 479 
sails for Georgia, 481 
lands his troops, 481 
defeats the Americans, 481 
takes Savannah, 481 
moderate conduct, 481 
detached against Augusta, 481 
Campbell, Lord, wounded at Sul- 
livan's Island, 265 
Campbell, Major, takes Ethan 

Allen prisoner, 184 

Campbell, Major, killed, 617 

Canada, campaign against, 85 

project of invasion, 170 

defences and disposition, 178 

force of the enemy in, 238 

expedition against projected, 439 

found impracticable, 443 

suspended by Congress, 444 

Lafayette's scheme against, 482 

Washington's opposition to, 482 

abandoned, 482 

Cape Breton to be reduced, 88 

Caramhe, Lieutenant Governor, 

apprised of Arnold's designs, 203 
Carleton, Colonel Guy, com- 
mands the grenadiers, 98 
commands the battery at the 

Isle of Orleans, 98 

persuades Indians to war against 

the Americans, 179 

amount of forces, 191 

emliarks from Montreal, 191 

attacked by Colonel Warner, 191 
retreats to Montreal, 191 

flics from Montreal, 194 

escapes in diguis*, 194 

arrives at Quebec, 204 

strength of force, 206 

treatment of Montgomery's mes- 
sengers, 211 
captures Dearborn and party, 213 
reinforced, 230 
makes a sortie, 230 
Americans retreat, 231 
treatment of Americans, 231 
plan of campaign, 292 
armament completed, 293 
takes possession of Crown Point, 294 
returns to Canada, 295 
to remain in Canada, 357 
arrives at New York, 625 
to Washintrton on peace, 625 
to Washington on negotiations 

for peace, . 626 

to Washington on peace. 631 



INDEX. 



preparation to evacuata Kew 

York, ' 632 

interview with Washington, 6;S 
evacuates New Yorlc, 637 

Cakleton, Major, captures Forts 

Anne and George, • 552 

Carlisle, Earl of, commissioner 

from Great Britain, 459 

state of Philadelphia, 459 

to George Selwyn, 460 

Carnes, Captain, discovers 

Ohampe's escape, 650 

Cabpenteb, Captain, joins Lord 

Stirling, 264 

Carrington, Lieut., at Quimly's 

Creek, 602 

Carroll, of Carrollton, and Miss 

Custis, 751 

Caswell, General, on the road to 
Camden, 525 

at the battle of Camden, 527 

Cedars, aflair at, 2.34 

Chadd's Ford, 392 

Chamberlaynb, Mr., asks ■Wash- 
ington to dinner, 92 
Champe, John, scheme to entrap 
Arnold, 550 
pretended desertion, 650 
enlists in Arnold's corps, 550 
failure of his plan, 551 
rewarded, 551 
Champlain, Lake, engagement, 293 
Idlled and wounded, 294 
Chapman, Colonel, 61 
Charleston fortified', 2-54 
joy at General Lee's arrival, 254 
expedition against, 495 
defences of, 505 
reinforced, 512 
strength of garrison, 512 
eummoned to surrender, 512 
Britisli batteries opened on, 512 
capitulates, 514 
loss in tlie siege, 514 
CharK'stown, arsenal sacked, 134 
burned, 155 
alarm during the play, 218 
Charlestown Neck, to ho seized 
by the Americans, 150 
reconnoitred, 151 
described, 151, 218 
Charlottesville, Tarleton enters, 597 
Cuastellox, Marquis do, arrives 
at Newport, 620 
introduced to Washington, 653 
description of his visit, 553 
reconnoissance, 595 
at Mount Vernon, COS 
anecdote of Mr. Secretary Nel- 
son, 616 
Cuatua.v, Lord, on the oiiposition 
of the colonists to the mutiny 
act, 113 
opinion of theGcner.al Congress, 132 
vain efforts in behalf of America, 139 
conciliatory bill, 139 
Chattcrton's Hill, military posi- 
tion, 286 
attack of the British, 2S7 
killed and wounded, 288 
Cheeseman, Capt., before Quebec, 212 
death, 212 
Clierry Valley, atrocities at, 484 
Chesapeake, expedition against, 486 
Chestnut Ilill, British encamped 

on, 432 

Chesterfield Court House, British 

maraud, 590 

Chestnut Neck, village destroyed 

by the British, 479 

Chew, Benjamin, mansion of, 417 

Chew's House, fortified by Mus- 

grave, 419 

Chetney, Thomas, 093 

Cuoisecl, Duke de, prediction, 118 

Choisy, General M. de, arrives 

with troops, 609 

crosses York River, 612 

skirmish with Tarleton, C12 

CnouiN, Major, at the American 

head-quarters, 472 

Chrlstopher, Washington's ser- 
vant, ~ 763 
Church, Dr. Benjamin, treason- 
able letter, 187 
Bantence, 187 



mitigation of sentence— death, 
Cincinnati, Society of, formed, 
popular je.alousy of, 
modification of its constitution, 
Cincinnati, Society of Massachu- 
setts, address to Washington, 
Clark, Colonel, joins Marion, 
Clarke, Colonel Elijah, on the 

retreat, 
Clermont, exploit of Col. Wash- 
ington, 
Cleveland, Colonel, in the battle 

of King's Mountain, 
Clinton, Charles, 
Clinton, George, conferences 
Washington, 
descent and career, 
on the .alert for the British, 
promptness in raising levies, 
sag.icious measures, 
visits Forts Constitution and 

Montgomery, 
arrival of reinforcement, 
to Washington on the patriot- 
ism of the country people, 
precautions against British 

ships, 
contemplates descent on Long 

Island, 
on military exigencies, 
st.ationed in the Highlands, 
safety of the Hudson, 
affair between Generals Lee and 

Ile.ith, 
commands the Highland forts, 

iiromoted, 
lis patriotism, 

to Washington on his defences, 

governor of New York, 

on tile alert, 

at Kingston, 

hastens to the Highlands, 

prepares for an attack, 

escape, 

measures to oppose the British, 

intercepts a letter from Bur- 
goyne to Clinton, 

reaches Kingston too late, 

wishes to strengthen the de- 
fences of the Hudson, 

finds money for Hamilton, 

takes the field, 

tour with Washington, 

summons state council at East 
Chester, 

at Harlem, 

enters New York, 

receives Washington at New 
York, 
Clinton, General J.ames, 
Clinton, J.aines, at the Highlands, 

descent and career, 

appointed to command Forts 
Montgomery and Constitution, 

the conspiracy in New York, 

put on the alert, 

in command of Fort Clinton, 

narrow escape, 

joins Sullivan, 

'in command of the Northern de- 
partment, 
Clinton, Sir Henry, arrives at 
Boston, 

joins Howe at Bunker's Hill, 

described, 

arrives at New York harbor 

interview with the mayor, 

departure, 

expedition to the South, 

lands at Long Island, S. C, 

constructs batteries, 

attempts to cross from Long 
Island, 

repulsed in another attempt, 

arrival at New York, 

lands on Long Island, 

at Flatlands, 

marches from Fl.atlands, 

secures the Bedford Pass, 

crosses from Long Island, 

advances against White Plains, 

awaits reinforcements, 

moves up the Hudson, 

lands at Verplanck's Point, 

plan of operations, 

crosses to Stony Point, 



inarches round the Dunderberg, 405 
divides his force, 406 

meets with opposition, 406 

letter to Burgoyne intercepted, 408 
project to capture, 453 

plan to entrap Lafayette, 457 

ordered to evacuate Philadel- 
phia, 459 
informs Washington of the ar- 
rival of commissioners, 460 
evacuates Philadelphia, 462 
dilatory movements, 462 
at Allentown, 462 
changes plan of route, 462 
changes the line of march, 463 
encamps ne.ar Monmouth Court 

House, 463 

battle of Monmouth Court 

House, 465 

falls back, 468 

silent retreat, 466 

arrives at Sandy Hook, 467 

arrives at Newport, 476 

returns to New York, 476 

sends troops into the Jerseys 

and Westchester County, 478 

sets on foot a naval expedition 

against St. Lucia, 481 

confined to pi-cdatory warfare, 486 
expedition up the Hudson, 487 

t.akes Stony Point, 487 

captures Fort Lafayette, 487 

returns to New York, 487 

desolating expedition against 

Connecticut, 487 

capture of Stony Point by 

Wayne, 490 

hastens up the Hudson, 490 

fortifies and garrisons Stony 

Point, 490 

returns to Philipsburg, 490 

concentrates his forces at New 

York, 493 

expedition to South Carolina, 495 
damage during the voyage, 505 

at Tybee bay, 505 

disembarks at St. John's Island, 505 



advance to Charleston 
on Charleston Neck, 
reinforced, 
fall of Charleston, 
garrisons South Carolina, 
issues a proclamation, 
sends expeditions into the inte- 
rior, 
embarks for New York, 
arrives at Now York, 
project against Rhode Island, 
changes his plan, 
correspondence with Arnold, 
releases Arnold's crew, 
to Washington claiming the re- 
lease of Andre, 
rejects exchange of Arnold for 

Andr6, 
sends commission relative to 

Andr6, 
detaches Arnold to Virginia 
proceedings on the revolt of 

Pennsylvania line, 
on the destruction of Cornwallis' 

batjgage, 575 

to Cornwallis for troops, 596 

licarsof the Virginia expedition, 605 
promised relief to Cornwallis, Oil 
tardy movements, 
refuses to deliver the murderer 

of Captain Huddy, 
recalled at his own request, 
Closter Dock, landing of British 
Clougu, Major, killed, 
Coates, Lieutenant Colonel, i 
Monk's Corner, 
decamps in silence, 
bold stand, 
Cot)l)lo Hill, fortified by Putnam, 199 
CocniiAN, Maj., expedition against 

tiie Onoudagas, 
Cochrane, Major, march from 

Savannah, 
Coffin, Major, put to flight, 
CoLBWUN, Colonel, watches the 

enemy, 
CoLDEN, Lieutenant Governor, re- 
tires into the fort, 
assailed I'y the mob. 



505 
506 
513 
514 
515 
515 



516 
516 
518 
522 
523 
530 
540 

542 

544 

545 
563 

566 



620 

023 
625 
299 
479 

601 
602 
C02 



485 



511 
613 



400 



112 
112 



INDEX. 



■burned in effigy, 112 

Cole, Colonel, 75 

Collier, Admiral Sir George, 
convoys expedition to tiie 
Chesapeake, 486 

expedition up the Hudson, 486 

convoys expedition against Con- 
necticut, 487 
contVrs with Sir Henry Clinton, 488 
arrives at the Penobscot, 491 
relieves the fort, 491 
Commissariiit, changes in, 372 
Commissioners, arrive from Great 
Britain, 459 
land at Philadelphia, 459 
letter to Congress, 460 
unsuccessful attempts at nego- 
tiation, 460 
embark for England, 400 
Committee of Arrangement, ap- 
pointed by Congress, 448 
report ou the sufferingB of the 
army, 448 
Comnnttee of Conference ■with 
Lord Howe, 272 
conference, 272 
Committee of Inquiry visit Ar- 
nold, 175 
their instructions, 170 
Committee of Safety, 137 
suspect a design on the maga- 
zine at Concord, 140 
urge the enlistment of troops, 143 
appoint Arnold Colonel, 144 
Conciliatory bills sent to Ame- 
rica, 455 
effect of, 456 
Concord, military stores collected 
at, 137 
expedition against, 140 
alarm of the people, 141 
exertions to remove and conceal 

the stores, 141 

advance of the British, 141 

take possession of the town, 141 
destroy the stores, 141 

British attacked, 141 

British retreat harassed by the 
Americans, 141 

Confederacy, ratification of the, 568 
Congress (General) recommended 
by the Virginia House of Bur- 
gesses, 125 
first meeting fixed upon, 126 
assembled, 130 
prayers, 130 
rumors that Boston had been 

cannonaded, 131 

opening speerhes, 131 

declaration of colonial rights, 131 
resolutions, 132 

state papers, 132 

held at New York, 132 

denounces the acts of Parlia- 
ment, 132 
address to the king and petition 

to Parliament, 132 

its discussion, 132 

masterly state papers, 132 

the second general, 140 

petition to the king moved, 146 

federal union formed, 146 

council of twelve, 146 

exercise their federated powers, 146 
retaliating decree, 146 

declare Massacliusetts absolved 

from the crown, 146 

adopt the army, 147 

elect Washington commander- 
in-chief, 148 
other military appointments, 148 
on the English generals, 103 
on General Howe, 103 
accept TiconderoL'a, 174 
determine to invade Canada, 176 
committee from, confer with 

Washington, 188 

order formation of a new army, 195 
to Schuyler on his proposed re- 
signation, 195 
order Schuyler to Tryon county, 214 
applaud Schuyler's conduct, 215 
divide the middle and southern 

colonies into two departments, 226 
enlistment act, 233 

establish a war office 233 

6 



243 
251 



274 

274 
278 

284 

311 

322 

334 
334 

339 
341 
346 
346 
350 



declare the United States free 
and independent, 243 

adopt the Declaration of Inde 
pendence, 

settle dispute between Schuyler 
and Gates, 

action on Lord Howe's over- 
tures, 

appoint a committee to confer 
with Lord Howe, 

leave the question of the aban- 
donment of New York to 
Washington's discretion 

forbid the destruction of New 
York, 

reorganizes the army, 

requests Washington to obstruct 
the Hudson, 

clothe Washington with addi- 
tional powers, 

invests Washington with dicta- 
torial powers, 

refuse to comply with Lee's re- 
quest, 

retaliatory measures, 

declines the resignation of 
Schuyler, 

reprimands Schuyler, 

make Arnold major-general, 

vote Arnold a horse, 

refuse to admit Gates to the floor, 

summon Schuyler and St. Clair, 371 

appoint Gates to the command 
of the northern department, 371 

proceedhigs of, at the battle of 
Brandywine, S95 

anonymous letter to, against 
Washington, 438 

refuse to treat with Great Brit- 
ain, 455 

recommend the pardoning of 
Tories, 455 

ratifies treaties with France, 456 

reception of the despatches of 
the British commissioners, 460 

reply to the commissioners, 

refuse to negotiate with John 
stone, 

approves the sentence of Lee, 

informs Washington of the ar 
ri\-:£l of the French fleet, ' 

approve of d'Estaing's conduct, 477 

approve Lafajelte's Canada 
scheme, 482 

deterioration of, 483 

vote a gold medal to Major Hen- 
ry Lee, 

financial difficulties, 

charges against Arnold, 

order court-martial on Arnold, 

cojifirms sentence against Ar- 
nold, 

jealousy of military power, 

appoint a committee to confer 
with Washington, 

appoint Gates "to the southern 
department, 

accepts Greene's resignation, 

rewards the captors of Andr 

order a court of inquiry into the 
conduct of Gates, 

new system for the organization 
and support of the army 

send Colonel Laurens to France, 564 

committee to meet Pennsylvania 
insurgents, 566 

appoints lieads of departments, 569 

rejoicings at the surrender of 
Yorktown, 

resolutions concerning Lafay 
ette, 

murder of Captain Huddy, 

proclamation concerning peace, 

resolution concerning the ser- 
vice of the soldiers, 

threatened liy mutineers, 

discharge of the army, 

resignation of Washington, 

its composition, 

reassembles, 

assumption of State debts dis- 
cussed, 

adopted, 

discords in, 

reassembles at Philadelphia, 

impost and excise bill, 



460 



471 



492 

497 
502 
502 

503 
508 

508 

520 
523 

547 

551 

552 



620 

622 
623 
631 

632 
635 
636 
639 
673 
681 

684 
685 
086 
090 
690 



assembhng of the second, 694 

apportionment bill, 69S 

assembles December, 1793, 722 

does justice to Washington, 723 

bill to increase naval force, 726 

Washington's denunciation of 

secret societies, "732 

response to Washington, 732 

reply to Washington's last ad- 
dress, 732 
authorizes the enlistment of a 
provisional army, 732 
Congress (Massachusetts) at Bos- 
ton, 137 
adjourn to Concord, 137 
assume supreme authority, 137 
remonstrate with Governor 

Gage, 137 

system and order, 137 

nominate general officers, 187 

Connecticut abets the opposition 
of Massachusetts, 130 

people march towards Boston, 135 
sends volunteers, 143 

Legislature of, favor the sur- 
prisal of Ticonderoga and 
Crown Point, 144 

committee appointed, 144 

Massachusetts and Rhode Island 

fit out armed vessels, 187 

troops desert, 197 

reception at home, 197 

trooiis described by Graydon 252 
by Washington, 252 

dingy regimentals, 253 

their composition, 253 

British expedition against, 487 

Connecticut Farms, sacked by the 

enemy. 
Conspiracy In New York, 
letter relative to, (note,) 
its ramifications. 
Constitution of the United States, 
formation of, 
opposition to. 
Continental Army. (See Ameri- 
can Army.) 
CoNTKECCEUR, Captain, surprises 

the fort, 
Contiibutions for the Continental 

Army, 520 

Convention of Virginia, at Wil- 
liamsburg, 128 
at Richmond, 139 
for considering and revising the 
federal system, 655 
Conway's Cabal, 423 
Conway, Gen., appointed briga- 
dier general, 
character of, 
in Washington's camp, 
gallant conduct, 
pretensions of, 
joins faction opposed to Wash- 

incton, 
corresjiondence with Gates, 
attempts at explanation, 
sends in his resignation, 
promoted, 
to be appointed to the Canada 

expedition, 439 

Lafayette's opinion of, 440 

to Washington on his letter, 441 
remains at Albany, 444 

downfall of, 4.'i4 

resignation accepted, 454 

fails to get reinstated, 454 

duel with Cadwalader, (note,) 454 
penitential letter to Washing- 
ton, (note,) 455 
subsequent history, (note,) 455 
Cook, James, in the expedition 
against Quebec, 98 
sounds the river, 99 
Copp's Ilill, British battery on, 131 
Corbie's Tavern, 240 
rendezvous of conspirators, 240 
CoRNPLANTEB, at the seat of gov- 
ernment, 691 
CoRKWALLis, Lord, arrival at New 
Y<n-k, 257 
binds on Lorig Island, 261 
.■idvances against ILand, 261 
]io.-ts for the night at Flatbush, 261 
leaves Flatbush with the rear- 
guard, 263 



516 
239 
241 
241 

656 
665 



38 



843 
343 
391 
396 
423 

423 
424 
425 
425 
433 



INDEX. 



crosBes the Hudson above Fort 
Lee, 299 
. inarches against Washington, 387 
at the Delaware, 387 
gives up the pursuit, 387 
at New York, 312 
resumes command in the Jer- 
seys, 322 
approaches the American forces, 323 
enters Trenton, 323 
repulsed by Washington, 323 
alarm at the escape of Washing- 
ton, 326 
pushes forward to Princeton, 326 
ari-ives at Brunswick, 326 
irksome position, 328 
to Washington, concerning Hes- 
sian prisoners, 329 
gains Washington's rear, 893 
advances to the attack, 394 
niai-clies into Pliiladelphia, 398 
purnues the Americans, 419 
takes Fort Mercer, 429 
eent into the Jerseys, 478 
in the expedition against South 

Carolina, 495 
completes the investment of 

Charleston, 514 

moves against Colonel Buford, 514 

approves of Tarletou's conduct, 515 

head- quarters at Charleston, 524 

at Camden, 526 

amount of force, 520 

Bends in pursuit of Sumter, 528 

vigorous measures, 555 

takes post at Charlotte, 556 

returns to South Carolina, 559 

takes post at Winnsborough, 559 
plan for invading NorthCarollna, 571 

pursues Morgan, 574 

at Ramsour's Mills, 675 

destroys his bagi;age, 575 

aftair at McGowan's Ford, 577 

encamped at Salem, 578 

amount of force, 578 

march to the Dan, 578 

retrograde movement, 579 

takes post at Hillsborough, 579 

proclamation, 579 

encamps near Alamance Creek, 581 
attacks the Americans at Wet- 

zell's Mill, 581 

battle of Guilford Court House, 582 

retreats to Cross Creek, 584 

number of troops, 581 

at Guilford Court House, 582 

retreats to Wilmington, 585 

perplexities, 586 

Bets oft" for Virginia, 586 

arrives at Petersburg, 591 

amount of force, 591 

renewed hope, 591 

movement against Lafayette, 596 

reinforced, 596 

pursues Lafayette, 597 

retrograde march, 598 

at Williamsburg, 598 

sets out for Portsmouth, 598 

takes post at Yoiktown, 607 

feeling of security, 607 

arrival of De Grasse, 60S 

retreat cut off, 608 

to Clinton on promised relief, 611 

draws within the town, 611 

to Clinton, critical situation, 618 

plan of escape, 618 

proposes a capitulation, 619 

capitulates, 619 

humiliation, 620 

treatment by the captors, 620 

sails for New York on parole, 621 

Corresponding Committees, 122 
CoRTLANDT, Van. (Se Van Cort- 

iandt.) 
Coryell's Ferry, Washington at, 369 
Council at Alexandria, 55 
Council of Indians at Logstown, 27 
Courtney, Captain, killed In ac- 
tion, V24 
Cow Boys, 534 
Cowpens, situation of, 573 
battle of, 573 
killed and wounded, 574 
spoils taken, 674 
Cox, Colonel, dispute vrlth Gene- 
ral Herkimer, 380 



shot down, 
Cragie, Andrew, (note,) 
Cragio House, (note,) 
Ckaik, Dr. James, 
advises Washington to retire to 

Mount Vernon, 
a visitor at Mount Vernon, 
accompanies Washington, 
at Mount Vernon, 
appointed to the Hospital De- 

jiartment, 
to Washington on his secret ene- 
mies, 
application to Washington, 
accompanies Washington, 
attends Washington, 
Crawford, Hugh, brings a mes- 
sage from the Miami tribes. 
Creeks, treaty with, 
Croghan, George, sent from Penn- 
sylvania to "treat with the In- 
dians, 
appointed commissioner, 
his reverses, 
to Governor Morris, 
enlists Indians and hunters, 
letter, 
arrives at Braddock's camp with 

Indians, 
dangers and escapes, 
Croton River, 

Crown Point, preparations 
against, 
to be reduced, 
expedition against, 
surprised by Seth Warner, 
abandoned, 

abandoned by the Americans, 
Ceuger, Lieutenant Colonel, com- 
mands expedition to the dis- 
trict of Ninety Six, 
commands at Ninety Six, 
CusTis, John Parke, his estate, 
CusTis, John Parke, Washing- 
ton's conduct towards, 
ch;tracter and education, 
in love, 
marriage, 
death of, 
CusTis, George W. P., accom- 
panies Mrs. Washington, 
CnsTis, Mrs. Martha, meeting 

with Washington, 
CnsTis, Miss, death of, 
CusTis, Eleanor, accompanies 
Mrs. Washington, 
accompanies Washington, 
described, 

halcyon days, anecdote, 
marries Lawrence Lewis, 
CuYLER, Yan Yost, 

in St. Leger's camp. 
Currency, derangement of, 

depreciation of, 
CusniNG, Mrs., to her husband, 
CusiiiNO, Mr., 

CusniNG, William, judge of Su- 
preme Court, 
administers the oath of office to 
Washington, 



Dagwortht, Captain, 76 

Dallas, Mr., interview with 

Genet, 717 

Danbnry, expedition against, 344 

destroyed by the British, 345 

Darke, Colonel, with General St. 

Clair, 696 

at St. Clair's defeat, 697 

Dartmouth, Lord, to General 

Gage, 136 

D'AuBRY, attempts to rehevo Fort 

Niagara, 97 

is defeated, 97 

Davidson, John, Indian inter- 
preter, 28 
Davidson, General, at McGowan's 

Ford, 576 

death of, 577 

Davie, Gener.al, and Greene, 600 

Davie, William Richardson, on 

mission to France, 766 



Davis, Reverend Samuel, appre- 
ciation of Washington, 72 
Dayton, Colonel Elias, takes 
Johnson Hall, 235 
retires before Knyphausen, 516 
f:dls in with General Maxwell, 516 
fight at Springfield, 518 
Deane, Mr., and French officers, 342 
Deane, Silas, returns to America, 471 
Dearrorn, Captain, captured by 

General Carleton, 
Dearborn, Major, receives Lady 

Ackl.and, 
De Barras, arrival at the Chesa- 
peake, 
noble conduct, 
De Berdt, Dennis, on the mission 

of Lord Howe, 
Deborre, General, 

resignation, 
Debt of the United States, 
He Buysson, aide-de-camp to Do 

Kalb, 
De pERiMois, at Ticonderoga, 
De Grasse, Count de, bound for 
the Ches.ipeake, 
arrives in the Chesapeake, 
urges Lafayette to attack York- 
town, 
action with British fleet, 
junction with De Barras, 
receives Washington, 
arrival of Admiral Digby, 
consents to remain, 
departure, 
De Heister, Lieutenant General, 
on Long Island, 
reaches Flatbush, 
cannonades Colonel Hand, 
advances against 'S^Tiiteplains, 
treatment of Lord Stirling, 
De Kalb, Baron, at Philadelphia, 374 
appointed major general, 423 

appointed to the Canada expedi- 
tion, 
sent to reinforce Lincoln, 
advance retarded, 
halts at Deep River, 
applications for aid, 
meeting with G.atcs, 
at the battle of Camden, 
death of, 
De la Croix, M., complaints 
against the American govern 
nient, 

Delancey, Lieutenant Governor, 55 
De Lancey, Oliver, recruiting on 

Long Island, 
Delancey, Colonel, loyalists, 

surprises Colonel Greene, 
Delaplace, Captain, surprised 
by Ethan Allen, 
sent prisoner to Hartford, 
Delawarcs, Shawnecs, and Min^ 

goes in council at Logstown, 
De Levi, takes post at Oswe- 
gatchie, 
rallies the French forces, 
approaches Quebec, 
lands at Point-au-Tremble, 
is attacked by Murray, 
repulses him, 

opens trenches before Quebec, 
retreat. 

Democratic Society, formation of, 718 
Democratic Societies, Washington 

concerning, 730 

Democrats, party formed, 691 

Denison, Colonel, at the battle of 

Wyoming, 478 

De Ramsey, commands the garri- 
son at Quebec, 101 
D'EsTATNo, Count, arrival with 
French fleet, 
to Washinirton on his arrival, 
correspondence with Washing' 

ton, 
plan of operations, 
off Point Judith, . 
opposite New])ort, 
arrival of Lord Howe's fleet, 
stands out to sea, 
mancDUvres of the fleets, 
return to Newport, 
to Sullivan on his intention of 
proceeding to Boston, 



213 



C09 
610 

247 
390 
396 
682 

527 
358 

004 
607 

609 
609 
609 
610 
610 
611 
621 

263 
263 
204 
287 
19 



440 
507 
525 
525 
525 
525 
527 
527 



678 



278 
592 
692 

145 
145 

27 

97 
101 
101 
101 
102 
102 
102 
102 



471 
471 

471 
472 
472 
473 
473 
473 
473 
474 



INDEX. 



protest of xVmerican officers, 474 
proceeds to Boston, 474 

to Congress, explanatory of his 

conduct, 477 

considerate letter from Wasli- 

ington, 477 

eails for the West Indies, 4S0 

proclamation to the French 

Canadians, 4S0 

arrival on the coast of Georgia, 493 
unsuccef sful siege of Savannah, 494 
wounded, 4ii4 

sails for France, 495 

Destopches, Chevalier, to send 
ships to the Chesapeake, 5S6 

encounters the Britith lleet, 6S8 

Deuxponts, Count de, ■wounded, 618 
De Vaudredil, fortifles himself 
at Montreal, 102 

threatened by General Amherst, 102 
capitulates, 102 

Dick, Dr., attends "Washington, 769 
Dickinson, drafts a petition to 
the king and an address to 
the peoxslc of Canada, 132 

Dickinson, General Philemon, 
gallant exploit of, 
to watcli the enemy, 
alarm signals, 
Dickinson, Major, slain at Mon- 
mouth Court House, 
DiESKAU, Baron de, takes post at 
Crown Point, 
mortally wounded, 
DiGBY, Admiral, on negotiations 

for peace, 
DiGGES, Mr.. 
DiNwiDDiE, Governor, 
calls upon the governors of the 
other provinces to make com- 
mon cause against the foe, 
convenes the Houseof Burgesses, 
to Washington, about Captain 

Mackay, 
orders Washington to- Will's 

Creek, 
his perplexities, 
refuses to give up tho French 

prisoners, 
efibrts to secure Indian allies, 
convenes the Assembly, 
conduct to Washington, 
unsatisfactory relations with 

Washington, 
his interference with Washing- 
ton, 
pique against Washington, 
ungracious reply to Washington, 
prejudice against Washington, 
conduct towards Washington, 
Bails for England, 
character. 
Dismal Swamp, 
Dismal Swamp Company, 
District of Columbia ceded to the 

United States, 
Dobbs' Ferry, British at, 

works thrown up, 
DoNOP, Count, at Long Island, 
storms the redoubt, 
crosses from Long Island, 
decoyed by Colonel Griflin. 
precipitate retreat, 
attacks Fort Mercer, 
repulsed, • 

death of, 
Donop's Yaeers surprised, 
Dorchester Heights, to be fortified, 
preparations to occupy, 
letters relative to, 
fortification of, 
effect on the British, 
cannonaded by the British, 
Druco.ur, Chevalier, in command 
of Louisburg, 
defence and surrender, 
Drummond's Pond, 
DuANE, Mr., controversy with 

Gates, 
Ddche, Mr., chaplain to the Gen- 
eral Congress, 
officiates, 
eftect of prayer, 
DucoDDRAY, Monsieur, 
DuER, William, to Schuyler, 
DuMAS, Count Matthew accompa- 



44 



Dies Washington, 537 

Washington's reception by tho 

people, 537 

on the French camp, 594 

to Washington with pamphlet, 753 
Dunbar, Colonel, 62 

his terror, 79 

Dundas, Colonel, accompanies Ar- 
nold, 563 
commands at Gloucester Point, 611 
foraging, 612 
capitulation of Yorktown, 619 
DcNMORE, Earl of. Governor of 

Virginia, 122 

lingers at New York, 122 

haughty bearing, 122 

friendly relations with Wash- 
ington, 122 
social position, 125 
dissolves the House of Bur- 
gesses, 125 
seizes Ihe military munitions of 

Virginia, 143 

timely concession, 143 

proclaims martial Law, 189 

exercises martial law, 200 

to Howe, proposing a servile war, 204 
AVashington's opinion of, 204 

DnNMOP.E, Lady, ball in honor of, 126 
DupLESsis, Captain Mauduit, at 
Fort Mercer, 421 

attentions to Count Donop, 422 

Dd Portail, General, urges the 
evacuation of Charleston, 513 

reconnoitres, 595 

Durham, Bishop of, his state and 

splendor, 5 

DcBKEE, Captain, joins Putnam, 143 



East India Company, affected by 
the tax on tea, 124 

ships largo quantities to the coj- 

onies, 124 

ships sent back unladen, 124 

Easton, James, in the expedition 

against Ticundcroga, 144 

Easton, Colonel, at Ticonderoga, 176 

Eaton, General, reinforces Greene, 5S1 

at Guilford Court House, 582 

EDEN,William, commissioner from 

Great Britain, 459 

disposition towards America, 459 

Edmonson, Captain, in command 

of Fort Pitt, 119 

Elizabethtowit, Livingston's ac- 
count of, 243 
surprised by the British, 499 
Elizabethtown Point, descent of 

British, 516 

Elliot, Lieutenant Governor, oji 

commission concerning Andr6, 545 
Ellsworth, in the mission to 

France, 760 

Emerson, Rev. William, descrip- 
tion of American camp, 165 
on the labors of the army, ICS 
discipline in camp, 108 
England prepares for military op- 
erations in America, 52 
plan of campaign, 52 
detains vessels bound for France, 722 
impressment of American sea- 
men, 722 
her infatuation, 134 
restrictive policv, 108 
English claims to the Ohio Valley, 19 
English oflicers and Indian 
squaws, 60 
luxurious habits, 61 
their baggage and camp equip- 
age, " 62 
liraverj", 67 
Enos, Colonel, leaves Arnold with 

his command, 193 

Erskine, General Sir William, on 
Long Island, 261 

urges a night attack, S23 

in the expedition against Dan- 
bury, 344 
drives back the Americans, S46 
Entaw Springs, battle of, 613 
Evans, Rev. Mr., anecdote of, 612 
EvEBETT, Edward, Washington on 



Dorchester Heights, 221 

EwiNG, Colonel, passage of British 

ships up the Hudson, 280 

EwiNG, General, prevented by the 

ice, 317 

Etre, Lieutenant Colonel, at New 

London, 605 

mortally wounded, 606 



Fairfax, Bryan, fox hunting, 114 

to Washington, advising a pe- 
tition, 127 
to Washington, on the resolu- 
tions, 128 
to Washington, in reply, 129 
effect of the b.attle ofLexington, 143 
visits Washington, 450 
to Washington, on his courtesy, 450 
subsequent history, (note,) 450 
Fairfax, Colonel, to Washington, 79 
Fairfax, George William, fox 
hunting, 106 
departs for England, 134 
in England, 642 
(note,) 650 
Fairfax, Thomas, Lord, his char- 
acter and history, 15 
his style of living, 19 
organizes a troop of horse, 72 
calls out the militia to defend 

Winchester, 72 

menaced by Indians, 78 

decides to remain, 79 

occupations, fox hunting, 106 

liunting, 114 

his last days, 642 

Fairfax, William, IC 

his counsels to Washington 45 

Fairfield destroyed by tho British, 488 
Fair Haven ravaged by the British, 476 
Fairlie, Major, anecdote, 649 

Falls of Montmorency, 99 

Falmouth destroyed by the British, 187 
Faneuil Hall, British troops quar- 
tered in, 114 
meetings at, 129 
Fauchet, Mr., succeeds Genet, 727 
intercepted despatch, 737 
exonerates Randolph, 738 
Faulkner, Captain, with General 

St. Clair, C90 

Fauquier, Francis, appointed to 

succeed Dinwiddle, 88 

Fauquier, Lieutenant Governor, 

dissolves the assembl}'. 111 

Federalist, The, 666 

Federalists spring up, 691 

Fellows, General, opposite Sara- 
toga Ford, 411 
opens fire on the British, 413 
Felton, Professor, correction of 

error, (note,) 166 

Fenno's Crazette, Adams' papers, 694 
Ferguson, Dr. Adam, secretaiy 
to commissioners from Great 
Britain, 459 

Ferguson, Major Pati'ick, com- 
mands expedition to Little Egg 
Harbor, 479 

massacres American infantry', 480 
niarcli from Savannah, 511 

described, 513 

on violence to women, 513 

detached to North Cai'olina, 555 
takes post at Gilbertown, 556 

issues an address, 557 

retreats, 557 

takes post on King's Mountain, 558 
defeated, 558 

Febmois, Brigadier General, ac- 
companies Gates, 341 
Fersen, Count, to hurry on the 

French troops, 610 

Fire-ships, sent to destroy Wolfe's 

fleet, 68 

Fishburn, Benjamin, nomination 
of, 671 

Washington's reasons for, 672 

Fishing in Virginia, 106 

Fishing Creek, defeat of Sumter, 528 
Fitzgerald, Colonel, at Prince- 
ton, 325 
FiTZHUGH, Colonel, 50 



INDEX. 



Flagg, Major, killed, 692 

Fleury, Louis, 391 

presented with a horse by Con- 
gress, S95 
Col, at Fort Mifflin, 426 
promoted, 427 
inspector, 452 
at the storming of Stony Point, 489 
Fontaiiiebleau, treaty of, 117 
Forbes, Brigadier General, to re- 
duce Fort Duquesne, 88 
detained at Philadelphia, 92 
respect for Washinttton, 94 
Forbes, Gilbert, conspirator, 240 
paid for arms, 240 
Foreign officers, applicants for ad- 
mission to the patriot army, 342 
embarrassments about, 342 
Forest, Captain, 316 
FOBSTER, Captain, besieges the 
Cedars, 234 
captures the post, 234 
Fort Anne captured, 551 
Fort Chambleo taken by Majors 

Brown and Livingston, 191 

Fort Clinton, its strength, 405 

attack of the British, 406 

captured, 406 

Fort Constitution, 236 

its garrison, 236, 271 

commanded by West Point, 291 

evacuated, 407 

Fort Cumberland, 49 

Fort Defiance, 363 

erected by ^Vaync, 783 

Fort Duquesne, its site, 29 

completed, 45 

Washington advises a rapid at- 
tack, 62 
report of scouts, 64 
to be reduced, 88 
abandoned by the French, 96 
name changed to Fort Pitt, 96 
Fort Edward, 75 
Fort Frontenac captured, 9'.l 
Fort George captured by Carleton, 551 
Fort George at Coram taken, 560 
Fort Griswold taken by the British, 606 
Fort Independence, 269 
abandoned, 290 
evacuated by the Americans, 407 
evacuated by the British, 416 
Fort Johnson, 254 
Fort Lafayette cannonaded, 487 
capitulates, 487 
Fort Lee, 284 
menaced, 256 
preparations to abandon, 299 
retreat from, 308 
Fort Loudoun, 82 
Fort Mercer, 417 
garrison of, 421 
Wasbingtou on importance of, 421 
attacked by Count Douop, 422 
garrison increased, 426 
taken by Cornwallis, 429 
Fort Mifflin, 417 
garrison of, 421 
repulses naval attack, ,422 
garrison increased, 426 
attacked by Howe, 426 
evacuated, 427 
Fort Montgomcrj', 236 
its garrison, 236 
the'chevaux-de-friso, 405 
stormed by the British, 406 
Fort Moultrie surrendered, 514 
Fort Motte, taken by Marion' and 

Lee, 600 

Fort Necessity, 44, 46 

capitulation of, 47 

Fort Niagara, besieged, 96 

surrenders, 97 

Fort Ninety Six, siege of, 600 

Fort Pitt, 96 

blockaded by Indians, 108, 119 

Fort Schuyler, invested by Colonel 

St. Leger, 379 

its strcntcth and garrison, 379 

summoned to surrender, 379 

news of relief, 380 

expt'ditioa against the Ononda' 

tras, 

Fori Stanwix, invested by Colonel 

St. Leger, 379 

Fort Washington, 236 



485 



chevaux-de-frise sunk near by 

strongly garrisoned, 

cannonade at, 

menaced, 

question of evacuating, 

summoned to surrender, 

amount of garrison, 

British attack, 

surrendered, 

number of prisoners (note). 
Fort Watson, taken by Lee and 

Marion, 
Fort William Henry, attacked by 
Montcalm, 

captured and destroyed, 
Forty Fort, Colonel Zebulon But 

ler in command of, 
Fox, opinion of George Johnstone, 459 
Fox-hunting in Virginia, 10,106 

FoY, Captain, secretary to Earl of 

Dunmore, 
France, treaty with the United 
States, 

ratified by Congress, 

rejoicing in United States, 

declares war against England, 

scarcity in, 

violates treaty with the United 
States, 

ii. dignities towards America, 

threatened war with, 
Francis, Colonel, 

in St. Clair's retreat, 

falls, 
Franklin, Benjamin, arrives at 
Fredericktown, 

opinion of Braddock and the ex- 
pedition, 

departs for Lancaster, 

sends conveyances to Braddock, 

o'iservatiou on Braddock's de- 
feat, 

in London, as American agent, 

before the House of Commons, 

on committee to confer with 
Wasliington, 

on committee to confer with 
Lord Howe, 

acquaintance with Howe, 

to Howe, referring to past ac- 
quaintance, 

and Lord Howe, anecdote, 

exertions for aid from France, 

anecdote, 
Fbaser, General, in the invasion 
from Canada, 

at Three Mile Point, 

in Ticonderoga, 

pursues the Americans, 

overtakes and attacks St. Clair's 
rear-guard, 

in the attack on Gates, 

commands the advance, 

shot down, 

dying request, 

death, 

burial of, 
Frazer, General, at Three Rivers, 238 

captures General Thompson, 238 
Frazier, John, an Indian trader, 

at Turtle Creek, 

at Venango, 

Washingtou with, 
Fraunces, Samuel, steward of the 

Presidential household 
Freemasons' Tavern, Washington's 

head-quarter;^, 330 

French claim tlie Ohio Valley, 19 

prepare for host ilitic<3, 24 

launch an armed vessel on Lake 
Erie, 24 

influence with Indians increas- 
ing, 27 

deserters, 29 

Creek, 31 

surprised by Washington, 41 

relax their vigilance, 49 

bravado, ^3 

at t ack Braddock' s advance guard, 66 

defeat Braddock, C6 

force engaged, "tO 

attack General Johnson's camp, (5 

menace Forts Ontario and Os- 
wego, ^■^ 

fire their camp and retreat. 



257 
284 
286 
290 
290 
296 
296 
296 
297 
298 

600 

86 
86 

477 



122 

455 
456 
456 
712 

722 

745 
753 
754 
364 
365 
365 

57 

57 
58 
68 

■70 
110 
113 

188 

272 
272 

272 
272 
622 
655 

358 
360 
364 
364 

365 
409 
409 
410 
411 
411 
411 



22 
28 
30 
35 

670 



defeated by regulars and Indians, 97 



during the war, 

fleet, arrival of, 

ott' Sandy Hook, 

otf Point Judith, 

return to Newport, 

scattered by a storm, 

arrive at Rhode Island, 

sail from Newport, 

oflicers, their camp, 

reception of Washington, 

troops cross to Stony Point 

move toward Virginia, 

pass through Philadelphia, 

revolution, 
Freneau, Philip, edit^ the National 
Gazette, 

and Hamilton, 
Frestel, M., arrives ■with George 
Washington Lafayette, 

departs from New York, 
Frothingiiam, Richard, jr., his- 
tory of the siege of Boston, 
(note,) 
Fry, Colonel, makes a treaty with 
the Delawares, Shawnees, and 
Mingoes, on behalf of Virginia, 
Fry, Colonel Joshua, 

death of, 



109 
471 
471 

472 
474 
474 
520 
588 
594 
694 
605 
605 
607 
676 

699 
705 

740 
752 



157 



Gabrouski, Count, in the expedi- 
tion to Fort Montgomery, 406 
his death, 407 
Gadsden, Col., commands Fort 

Johnson, 254 

Gadsden, Lieutenant Governor, 

in Charleston, 512 

Gage, General Thomas, 65 

crosses the Monongahela with 

the advance, 65 

wounded, 65 

to take command of the sieiie of 

Fort Niasjara, ' 97 

military commander of Massa- 
chusetts, 126 
history of, 126 
erroneous opinion of Americans, 120 
issues a proclamation, 127 
pcrpexities, 129 
at a loss how to act, 129 
on the feeling in Berkshire Coun- 
ty, 130 
on the General Congress, 130 
military measures, 134 
orders all munitions of war to 

Boston, 134 

fortifies Ijoston Neck, 134 

to Dartmouth, 134 

issues writs for a general election, 137 
countermands the v^rits, 137 

enters into explanations with the 

Assembly, 137 

critical situation, 137 

resolves to destroy the magazine 

at Concord, 140 

astonishment, 142 

issues a proclamation, 149 

astonishment at the fortifications 

on Breed's Hill, 152 

determines to carry the works, 153 
calls a council of war, 163 

in Bot^ton, 164 

correspondence with Washing- 
ton on treatment of prisoners, 172 
cnniuction with the burning of 

If'almouth) 188 

sails for England, 1S8 

to Lord Dartmouth, 188 

Gall, Brigadier General, com- 
mands redoubts, 409 
Gambier, Admiral, commands the 

British fleet, 476 

Gamble, Capt.ain, 335 

Gansevoobt, Colonel, commands 
Fort Schuyler, 379 

sends for succor, 382 

Garth, Brigadier General, expedi- 
tion against Connecticut, 487 
Gates, Horatio, 58 
before Fort Duquesne, 65 
at Mount Vernon, 138 
birth, 138 
education, 138 
serves under Cornwallis, 133 

9 



INDEX. 



captain of an independent com- 
pany of New York, 138 
in Braddock's campaign, 138 
with General Monekton in tbe 

Wertt Indies, 138 

at tlie capture of Martinico, 138 

despatclied to London, 138 

promotion, 138 

Bells out on lialf-pay, 138 

emigrates to Viri,niiia, 138 

purchases an estate, 138 

appearance and manners, 138 

receives the news of Lexington, 143 
appointed adjutant general, 148 

arrival in camp, 168 

services, 168 

estrangement from Washington, 168 
Bent to Congress with Canadian 

despatches, 232 

promoted, 232 

appointed to the command in 

Canada, 288 

question of command with Schuy- 
ler, 250 
arrives at Crown Point, 250 
at Ticonderoga, 250 
question of command settled, 251 
Btrengthcns his works, 294 
in New Jersey with reinforce- 
ments, 308 
joins Washington, 312 
declines to co-operate with Wash- 
ington, 313 
criticism of Washington, 314 
commands at Ticonderoga, 339 
disappointment, 339 
tendered the office of adjutant 

general, 340 

rejects the proposal, 340 

committee appointed to confer 

with him, 341 

to command at Ticonderoga, 341 
arrives at Albany, 341 

que^^tion of command, 347 

to Mr. Lovell on the command, 347 
petulant letter to Washington, 348 
to Mr. Lovell, charging Wash- 
ington with sectional partiali- 
ties, 349 
sets out for Philadelphia, 349 
before Congress, 350 
ordered to withdraw, 350 
on the alert for a command, 370 
urged for command of Northern 

Department, 371 

appointed by Congress, 371 

to Washington, in high spirits, 388 
conduct to Schuyler, 388 

correspondence with Burg03'ne, 388 
anecdote, (note,) 389 

at Bemis' Heights, 401 

provokes Arnold, 402 

jealou.sy of Arnold, 403 

quarrel with Arnold, 403 

bides his time, 409 

begin* the battle, 409 

plan of attack, 409 

sends to recall Arnold, 410 

in Burffoyne's camp, 411 

measures to insure a surrender, 411 
terms of BurgoynC'scapitulation, 414 
number of troops, 415 

humanity and forebear.ance, 415 

meeting with Burgoyne, 415 

appearance of his caiup, 415 

elation at his success, 424 

disrespect to Washington, 424 

indisposition to reinforce Wash- 
ington, 427 
presulent of the Board of War, 432 
in the ascendant, 436 
the Conway letter, 436 
penik'xities, 437 
to Wuihington on the Conway 

letter 437 

projects an invasion of Canada, 439 
correspondence with Washing- 
ton, 440 
at Yorktown, 440 
on Riark, 440 
to Washington on the Conway 

cdrrospondence, 440 

to Washington concerning Con- 
way, 442 
to Wilkinson about the Conway 
letter, 445 

10 



reconciliation with Wilkinson, 446 
to resume command of the 

Northern Department, 454 

sent to Danbury, 478 

to command the Southern De- 
partment, 520 
meeting with De Kalb, 525 
march to Camden, 520 
amount of force under, 526 
encounters Cornwallis, 527 
council of war, 627 
battle of Camden, 527 
retreats, 527 
proceeds towards Charlotte, 528 
makes a stand at Hillsborough, 529 
to Washington on his defeat, 529 
altered fortunes, 551 
collects his army at Hillsborough, 560 
advances to Charlotte, 561 
sympathizing letter from Wash- 
ington, 561 
change of feeling toward Greene, 561 
reception by the General As- 
sembly of Virginia, 561 
presides over committee of offi- 
cers, 629 

Genet, Edmund Charles, minis- 
ter to the United States, 712 
lands at Charleston, 713 
issues commissions for priva- 
teers, 713 
journey to Philadelphia, 713 
described, 713 
reception at Philadelphia, 713 
presents his letter of credence, 714 
diplomatic speech, 714 
takes umbrage, 715 
dissatisfaction with government, 716 
demands the release of two 

Americans, 716 

case of the Little Sarah, 717 

at New York, 721 

grievances of, 721 

complains of Jeffi?rson, 721 

appeal to the people, 722 

to Jefferson on enlistments, 726 

his recall, 727 

Gentlemen Associators, 81 

George II., anecdote, 43 

on Lord Howe, 226 

George III., plan of invasion, 357 

Georgia joins the league, 146 

expedition against, 481 

reduced to submission, 481 

Gerard, Monsieur, arrival of, 471 

Germain, Lord George, plan of in. 
vasion, 357 

on the surrender of Cornwallis, 621 

Germantown, Washington's camp 
at, 370 

situation of, 417 

battle of, 418 

Wayne's attack, 418 

Greene's attack, 419 

panic in the American army, 419 
loss on both sides, 419 

Washington on, 420 

Captaialleth on, 420 

Wavno on, 420 

eflcct of, 420 

English opinion of, 420 

elVect in France, 420 

eflect on the American army, 420 

Gerrv, Elbridge, anecdote of War- 
ren, 157 
suggested to accompany Gen. 

Lee, 172 

envoy to France, 753 

Gibbon, Lieutenant, leads forlorn 
hope at Stony Point, 489 

Giles, Mr., moves resolutions con- 
cerning Hamilton, 709 
speech concerning AVashington's 
administration, 747 

GiMAT, Lieutenant-Colonel, to lead 
the advance, 617 

Gist, Christopher, despatched to 
explore the Ohio, 21 

threatened by tr.aders, 22 

visits the Shawnees on the 

Scioto, 22 

his reception at Muskingum, 22 

arrives at IMqua, 22 

form.s an alliance with two Miami 

tribes, 22 

returns to the Shawnee town, 23 



is deterred from descending to 

Great Falls, 23 

returns across Kentucky, 2o 

arrives at his home on the banks 

of the Yadkin, 23 

his home has been desolated by 
Indians, but his family are 
saved, 23 

rejoins them, 23 

proceeds to survey the lands of 

the Ohio Comjiany, 24 

builds a fort at Slmrtee's Creek, 27 
commences a settlement near 

Laurel Hill, 27 

accompanies Washington, 28 

at Murdering Town, 34 

crosses the Allegany River, 35 

hands and feet frozen, 35 

joins Washington, 41 

sets off as scout, 64 

his report, 64 

to Washington, 77 

to cooperate with Rodney, 390 

skirmishes, 433 

Gloucester Point fortified, 611 

Glover, General, with Ma&r!t.oiiu- 
settjs regiment, 267 

harasses the British, 285 

crosses the Delaware, 315 

to reinforce Schuyler, 368 

to move to Red Bank, 429 

GoocH, Captain, takes t. message 
to Magaw, 29'J 

GouvioN," Colonel, reconnoitres 
the British posts, 553 

Grafton, Duke of, resigns, 118 

Graham, Sergeant, employed by 
Governor Tryon, 240 

Granby captured by Lee, 600 

Grant, Major, foolhardiness, 94 

defeated, 95 

misrepresentations of America, 139 
his braggart speech, 139 

Grant, General, on Long Island, 261 
drives in the picket, 263 

pushes Stirling, 265 

warns Rahl of the attack, 315 

commands expedition against St. 

Lucia, 4S1 

commands the right wing, 418 

<3-«aves, Admiral, connection with 
the burning of Falmouth, 188 

arrives at New York, 522 

off the capes of Virginia, 609 

action with De Grasse, 609 

bears away for New York, 609 

Gray's Elegy, anecdote of Wolfe, 100 

Gkaydon, Alex'r, at New York, 252 
characterizes MifUin, 252 

appearance of Maryland troops, 252 
Pennsylvania troops, 252 

Connecticut light horse, 252 

at the American camp, 356 

accovmt of Wayne, 357 

shabby clothing of the troops, 357 

Grayson, Colonel, reconnoitring, 267 
to Lee on crossing the Hudson, 299 

Great Tree, at the seat of gov- 
ernment, 091 

Great Britain, aggressive meas- 
ures towards the U. States, 727 
excitement on account of, 727 

treaty with ratified, 742 

Great Meadows, 41, 46 

affair of the, 47, 49 

Greene, Colonel Christopher, 
commands Fort Mercer, 421 

repulses Count Donop, 422 

receives thanks of Congress, 423 
surjirised by Delancey, 592 

death and history of, 592 

Greene, Nathaniel, appointed 
brigadier general, 148 

commanding Rh. Inland troops, 165 
birth and parentage, 165 

early education, 165 

military taste, 165 

addresses Washington, 165 

appearance and manner, 165 

under !Major General Lee, 169 

on the destruction of Falmouth, 188 
respect for Franklin, 188 

veneration for Washington, 191 

sympathizes with Washington, 206 
to Henry Ward on the disposi- 
tion to disband, 206 



INDEX. 



cheerfulness, 

stationed on Lon^ Island, 

pushes the works, 

meets Alexander Hamilton, 

becomes acquainted, 

at Brooklyn, 

illness, 

a soldier's yearnings for home, 

relative to abandoning New- 
York, 

on the retreat from New York, 
(note,) 

to Washington offering aid, 

promoted, 

attack on the British frigates, 

precautions against the enemy, 

to "Washington against abandon- 
ing Fort Washington, 

reinforces Fort Washington, 

reinforces Magaw, 

on the movements of Leo, 

ardor for the attack on Trenton, 

harasses the enemy's advance, 

at Morristown, 

despatched to Philadelphia, 

to repair to Red Bank, 

inspects the Highland forts, 

advances to the relief, 

desperate conflict, 

at the battle of Gcrmantown, 

on exploit of Lafayette, 

appointed quartermaster general, 

detached to flank the enemy, 

repulses the enemy, 

detached to the expedition 
against Rhode Island, 

on board of the French fleet, 

interview with D'Estaing, 

in command at Short Hills, 

fight at Springfield, 

difl3.culty with Oongress, 

resignation accepted, 

presides over board of general 
officers, 

meets the British commission- 
ers, 

ordered to West Point, 

appointed to command the south- 
ern army, 

arrives at Charlotte, 

deUcacy to Gates, 

to Washington on Gates, 

number of troops, 

military aphorisms, 

state of the countrj', 

reorganizes the army, 

at Cheraw Hills, 

to Washington on the state of 
the army, 

to Washington on the battle of 
the Cowpens, 

hastens to Morgan's camp, 

to Huger on Cornwallie's move- 
ments, 

his Fabian policy, 

disposition of his troops, 

Mrs. Steele, anecdote, 

at Guilford Court House, 

summons a council of war, 

amount of force, 

pushes for the Dan, 

masterly retreat, 

crosses the Dan, 

to Jefferson on his retreat, 

to Washington on the same, 

recrosses the Dan, 

at Troublesome Creek, 

reinforced,- 

number of troops, 

at Guilford, 

disposition of troops, 

battle of Guilford Court House, 

orders a retreat, 

to Washington on Clornwallis, 

pursues Cornwallis, 

at Deep Kiver, 

reduction of force, 

change of plans to Washington, 

to Lafayette on Cornwallis, 

discharges his militia, 

sets out for Camden, 

at Hobkirk's HiU, 

retreats before Lord Rawdon, 

on the Wateree, 

gloomy prospects, 

before the fortress of Ninety Six, 

51 



600 
600 
600 
601 

601 

603 
613 



retreats across the Saluda, 

to Washington on cavalry, 

pursued by Rawdon, 

on the Wateree, 

to Sumter urging active meas 

ures, 
from Washington concerning re 

inforcements, 
on the hills of Santeo, 
marches against Colonel Stuart, 61o 
battle of Eutaw Springs, 613 

resumes his position, 015 

follows Stuart, 615 

to Washington on the battle of 

Eutaw Springs, 615 

Washington inlhe dance, 049 

death of, 650 

Green Mountain Boys, 144 

fresh corps to be raised, 175 

elect Warner lieutenant colonel, 177 
arrival at camp, 1S2 

Greenway Court, 19 

menace'd by Indians, 78 

Gregg, Col., in quest of Indians, 384 
Grenville, George, advises Amer- 
ican taxation, 110 
dismissed from the Cabinet, 113 
explanation of British measures, 727 
Gkey, Major General Sir Charles, 
sent to surprise Wayne, 
presses the American troops, 
on a ravaging expedition, 
surprises Baylor's dragoons, 
raised to the peerage, 
Gridley, Colonel, commanding 
artillery, 

reconnoitres Charlesto-wn Neck, 151 
accompanies detachment for Bun- 
ker's Hill, 151 
plans fortifications, 152 
superintends fortification of Dor- 
chester Heights, 221 
Gridlet, Captain Samuel, com 

mands artillery. 
Griffin, Colonel, co-operates with 
Washington, 
decoys Donop, 
Gkiffith, Colonel, joins Washiiig. 

ton at New York, 
Guilford Court House, battle of, 
after the battle, 
loss on both sides, 



397 
419 
476 
479 
480 

150 



151 

314 

320 

271 

582 
583 
583 



Hackensack, American army at, 300 
Haff, James, confession, 241 

Hale, Colonel, gives way, 363 

death, 366 

Hale, Nathan, sketch of, (note,) 542 
Half Town, at the seat of gov- 
ernment, 691 
Halifiix intrenched by Kosciuszko, 579 
Halket, Sir Peter, 61 
Hall, Col., at McGowan's Ford, 577 
Hamilton, Governor, 21 
Hamilton, Brigadier General, in 
the invasion from Canada, 358 
command of Burgoyue's camp, 409 
Hamilton, Alexander, commands 
a provincial company, 242 
birth and early days, 242 
education, 243 
addresses a public meeting, 243 
captain of artillery, 243 
acquaintance with Gen. Greene, 253 
brings up the rear in the retreat, 268 
Interview with Washington, 270 
at the Raritan, 304 
on the situation of Cornwallis, 328 
rapid rise, 357 
despatched to Congress, 374 
mission to Gates, 424, 427 
concludes his mission, 428 
and Putnam's hobby-horse, 428 
emphatical letter to Putnam, 428 
on the reluctance of the troops, 428 
reasons against the abductiou of 

Sir Henry Clinton, 453 

on the decision of council of war, 462 
boards the French fleet, 472 

to Washington on the enemy, 517 
breakfasts with Arnold, 538 

learns of Arnold's treason, 539 

sent in pursuit of Arnold,; 539 



return to Washington with let- 
ters, 539 
describes interview between 

Washington and Mrs. Arnold, 541 
account of Arnold's conduct, 543 
at dinner with Chastellux, 854 

eulogium of Washington, 569 

misunderstanding with Wash- 
ington, 570 
dislike of the office of aide-do 

camp, 570 

ambitious for distinction, 571 

reconciliation with Washington, 571 
leads the advance on the re- 
doubts, 617 
enters the redoubts, 617 
at Washington's Inauguration, 662 
and the new constitution, 666 
on presidential etiqjuette, 668 
on the French revolution, 677 
report on the national debt, 682 
plan for its liquidation, 682 
opposition to, 682 
monarchical views, 684 
conversation with Jefferson, 684 
urges a national bank, 690 
on the British constitution, 700 
on monarchy and stock gam- 
bling, 703 
urges Washington to serve an- 
other term, 704 
attack on Jefferson, '705 
to Washington on dissension 

with Jefferson, 706 

on the French revolution, 714 

concerning French prizes, 710 

case of the Little Sarah, "717 

intention to resign, 719 

on war with Great Britain, 727 

recommends Jay, 728 

l)lan for the redemption of the 

public debt, 733 

sends in his resignation, 733 

to Washington on his resigna- 
tion, 734 
on Rufus King, 743 
to Washington, his farewell ad- 
dress, 746 
to Washington on threatened 

war with France, 754 

to Washington on his appoint- 
ment as commander-in-chief, 755 
second in command, 756 

Hammond, Mr., British minister, 

and Genet, 713 

Hampton, Colonel, 397 

Hampton, Colonel Henry, to watch 

Orangeburg, 601 

Hampton, Colonel Wade, at Dor- 
chester, 601 
before Charleston, 601 
at Eutaw Springs, 614 
rallies the cavalry, 614 
Hamtramck, Major, sent after de- 
serters, 695 
Hancock, John, president of the 
provincial congress, 137 
apprised of the movements of 

troops, 140 

president of Congress, 146 

ambition to be commander-in- 
chief, 147 
mortification, 147 
excepted from proffered pardon, 149 
invites Washington to be his 

guest, 233 

ordering Gates to the command 

of the northern department, 341 
invitation to Washington, 677 

observance of etiquette, 677 

reception of Washington, point 

of etiquette, 678 

waives the point, 678 

visit to Washington, 679 

Hand, Colonel, retreats before the 
enemy at (jraveseud, 261 

prepared for defense, 261 

watches the central road, 262 

holds the bridge at Throg's 

Neck, 283 

intercepts the Hessians, 317 

society of the Cincinnati, 633 

Hanging Rock successfully at- 
tacked by Sumter, 525 
Harcourt, Colonel, joins Howe, 285 
captures General Lee, 310 

11 



INDEX. 



Hardin, Col,, ecouring the coun> 
try, 613 

decoyed into an ambush, 689 

battle with Indians, 689 

Harmer, Brigadier General, leads 
an expedition against the In- 
dians, 689 
destroys Miami village, 689 
expedition reported to Congress, 691 
Harijage, Major, 402 
Harrison, Benjamin, delegated to 
the General Congress, 129 
on committee to confer with 

Washington, 188 

on the bombardment of Boston, 189 
member of the board of war and 
ordnance, 233 

Harrison, Colonel Robert IT., 

secretary to Washmgton, 189 

characterized, 330 

referee for exchange of prisoners, 333 
to Congress predicting the ene- 
my's repulse, 393 
appointment of, 673 
Hartshorn, Ensign, decoyed into 

an ambush, 689 

Haslet, Colonel John, joins Lord 
Stirling's brigade, 262 

statement of, 265 

attempt to take Rogers the ren- 
egade, 285 
publicly thanked, 285 
detached to Chatterton's Hill, 287 
killed at Princeton, 325 
Hay, Colonel, to "Washington on 
the protection of the High- 
lands, 249 
Hatiland, Colonel, crosses Lake 

Champlain, 102 

Hazard, postmaster, to Gates 
concerning Lee, 282 

on the Hessians, (note,) 329 

Hazel WOOD, Commodore, in the 
Delaware, 421 

receives thanks of Congress, 423 
Heath, General, takes command 
of the minute men, 142 

brings them to a halt, 142 

appointed brigadier general, 148 
to fortify Lechmere Point, 200 

despatched to New York, 227 

on the discipline of MifHin's 

troops, 260 

preparations to receive the 

enemy, 260 

retreat from Long Island, 269 

to keep guard on New York 
, island, 274 

landing of the British at Throg's 

Neck, " 2S3 

skilful distribution of his troops, 283 
appearance of the enemy at 

White Plains, 287 

the two armies at White Plains, 288 
American defences, 2SS 

to secure the Highlands, 290 

in command at the Highlands, 292 
described, 292 

refuses to obey Lee, 301 

to Washington for instructions, 302 
refuses to order troops for Lee, 306 
military punctilio, 30G 

on the conduct of Lee, 300 

to march into the Jerseys, 321 

advances towards New York, 327 
pompous summons to Fort In- 
dependence, 327 
rebuked by Washington, 328 
stationed in the Highlands, 495 
charmed with the French offi- 
cers, 521 
commands West Point, 604 
Henderson, Lieutenant Colonel, 
joins Greene, 013 
at Eutaw Springs, CIS 
severely wounded, 614 
Hendrick, Mohawk warrior, 

slain, 75 

Henfield, Gideon, case of, 718 

Henry, Patrick, introduces his 
resolutions. 111 

speech on his resolutions. 111 

anecdote. 111 

delegate to the General Con- 
gress, 129 
sets out for Philadelphia, 130 

12 



sectional distinctions, 130 

speech at the opening of the 

General Congress, 131 

opinion of Washington, 132 

speech before the Convention 

at Richmond, 139 

letter to against Washington, 439 
declines appointment , 760 

Herkimer, General, commands in 
Tryon County, 361 

at Oriskany, 380 

dispute with his officers, 380 

attacked by the enemy, 381 

wounded, 381 

death, 3S1 

Herrick, Colonel, at Bennington, 3S5 
Hertbcrn, William de, progeni- 
tor of the Washingtons, 6 
Hessians hired by England, 229 
in Canada, 229 
arrive in America, 257 
sanguinary fury, 265 
reinforce Howe, 2S(\ 
American opinion of, 312 
stationed at Trenton, "312 
captured by Washington, 817 
treatment, , 319 
plunder both sides, * 329 
described by Hazard, (note,) 329 
tactics, 385 
Heth, Captain, on the battle of 
Germantown, 420 
to Colonel Lamb, on the same, 420 
HiCKEY, Thomas, Washington's 
body guard, 240 
convicted and hanged, 241 
Highlands, state of defences, 404 
IIiLL, Lieutenant Colonel, attacks 

Colonel Long, 365 

Hinjiax, Colonel, to reinforce Ti- 

conderoga, 174 

arrives at 'J'joonderoga, 175 

difflcuUics with Arnold, 175 

in command of Ticonderoga, 177 

Hitchcock, Colonel, reinforces 

Cadwaladcr, 312 

Hobkirk's Hill, affair at, £99 

Holbourne, Admiral, demonstra- 
tion against Louisburg, 87 
Holmes, Rear- Admiral, 99 
Hood, Commodore, on the troubles 
in Boston, 114 
to Grenville on the sedition, 117 
HoTHAM, Commodore, convoj-s 
expedition against St. Lucia, 481 
takes a model of Washington, 646 
House of Representatives "on the 
public credit, 673 
opposition to Washington, 742 
makes provision for the treaty, 743 
re]3ly to Washington's last ad- 
dress, 747 
Howard, Major, retreating, 464 
Howard, Colonel, under Morgan, 562 
at the battle of the Cowpens, 573 
Howe, Lord, in the expedition 
against Ticonderoga, 90 
dies while leading the van, 60 
Howe, Admiral Lord, fondness 
for business, 230 
character and services, 226 
arrives at New York, 246 
proclamation of, 247 
comes as a mediator, 247 
sends flag of truce, 247 
sends General Sullivan on pa- 
role to Congress with over- 
tures, 271 
plan of compromise, 271 
to Franklin on re-imion of Great 

Britain and America, 272 

conference with Commissioners, 272 
and Frankhn, anecdote, 272 

conflagration in New York, 278 

issues proclamation, S05 

to Washington on the treatment 

of prisoners, 335 

gets his fleet into the Delaware, 417 
at Sandy Hook, 467 

brings his fleet to the relief of 

R. I., 473 

manoeuvres of the fleets, 473 

bears away to New York, 474 

return to England, 476 

Howe, General Robert, at Savan- 
nah, 481 



defeated by the British, 481 

Howe, Major General, quells mu- 
tiny, 568 
despatched to quell a tnutiny, 635 
Howe, Sir William, in the expe- 
dition against Quebec, 93 
ascends the heights of Abraham, 100 
arrives at Boston, 149 
lands with troops at Moulton's 

Point, 
reconnoitres the American 

works, 
sends for reinforcements, 
prepares for the assault, 
advances against the fence, 
troops thrown into confusion, 
makes a feint of attacking the 

fence, 
wounded, 
description of, 
reproached by Congress, 
intrenched, 
measures taken, 
issues proclamation, 
to Washington concerning 

Ethan Allen, 
measures to repress excesses, 
perplexed, 
declines attacking Dorchester 

Height, 
retreat from Boston, 
steers for Halifax, 
indolent disposition, 
arrives at New York, 
to his government on the state 

of affairs, 
plans for the battle of Long 

Island, 
accompanies division from Flat' 

lands, 
at Throg's Neck, 
lands on Pell's Point, 
at New Rochelle, 
postpones the assault, 
plan of attack on Fort Washing- 
ton, 
the attack, 

conduct of the seamen, 
hears of the capture of the Hes- 
sians, 
on the march, 

contrasted with Washington, 
to Washington concerning Lee, 333 
to Lord C-ermaine, relative to 

Lee, 333 

prepares to attack Peekskill, 338 
crosses to the Jerseys, 353 

Bailies from Brunswick, 
endeavors to draw Washington 

out, 
another attempt, 
evacuates the Jerseys, 
leaves New York, 
enters the Delaware, 
sails out of the chpes, 
lands from the fleet, 
issues proclamation, 
at Elkton, 

battle of Brandywino, 
neglects to pursue his advan- 
tage, 
pushes for Philadelphia, 
halts at Germantown, 
detaches a force against Billings- 
port, 
head-quarters, 

constructing redoubts on Prov- 
ince Island, 
attacks Fort Mifflin, 
expedition against Fort Mercer, 429 
preparing to drive Washington 

beyond the mountains, 
meditates attack on the Ameri- 
can camp, 
manasuvTcs, 
retires to Philadelphia, 
excesses of foraging parties, 
resignation accepted, 
the Mischianza, 
Hubbard, Colonel, at Bennington, 385 
Huddy, Captain Joseph, mur- 
dered in revenge for Philip 
While, 623 

Hudson River, defences of, 216 

strategetlcal position, 248 

defences, 279 



153 

153 
154 
154 
155 
155 

156 
156 
163 
163 
164 
189 
189 

198 
219 

222 

223 

224 
226 
220 
242 

242 

263* 

263 
285 
285 
285 



296 
296 
299 

322 
322 
332 



353 

354 
355 
355 
369 
370 
370 
389 
390 
391 
S93 

396 
398 
398 

417 
418 

426 
42(5 



432 

432 
432 
433 
453 
456 
456 



INDEX. 



British ships move up, 280 

new obstructions, 280 

opened for tlie British, 407 

HuGER, Brigadier General, at 
Monli's Corner, 512 

surprised by Tarleton, 513 

in command on the Pedee, 575 

at Guilford Court House, 578, 582 
HiTGHES, Colonel, ordered to im- 
press water-craft, 267 
Humphreys, Colonel, on prepara- 
tion for attacking the British 
posts, 553 
accompanies Washington to 

Mount Vernon, 60S 

to Washington on the troubles 

in Massachusetts, 654 

meets Washington, 655 

inauguration of Washington, 661 
Washington's first levee, anec- 
dote, 669 
Huntingdon, Colonel, hangs on 

the enemy's rear, 345 

Huntington, Major, 306 

Huntington, General, to join Var- 

num, 429 

on the destitution of the troops, 434 

society of the Cincinnati, 633 



Independence, dawning spirit of, 'iS 

Indian council at Logstowu, 27, 29 

Indian traders, described, ' 20 

Indian warfare, 477 

Indian war dance, 17 

Indians, leave Braddock, 61 

retreat, 74 

outrages of, 78 

troubles with, 119 

visit Washington at Cambridge, 178 

with Burgoyne, 376 

murder Miss McCrca, 377 

desert Burgoyne, 378 

described by a Hessian, 384 

oblige St. Leger to decamp, 387 

difficulties with, 688 

hostilities north of the Ohio, 722 

treaty with Wayne, 741 

Innes, Colonel, at Winchester, 44 

concerning the Indians, 61 

Iredell, James, judge of supreme 

court, 673 

Iroquois, stand aloof, 91 

Irvine, Colonel, taken prisoner, 238 

Irvine, James, Brigadier General, 

taken prisoner, 432 



Jack, Captain, commands hunt- 
ers, 57 
at Little Meadows, 62 
departs with his band. 62 
Jackson, Andrew, 747 
Jackson, Major, accompauies 

Washington, 677 

I Washington's reception at Bos- 
i ton, 678 

Jacobin Club, 680 

Jacobs, Captain, Indian sachem, 82 
killed, 82 

|i Jameson, Lieutenant Colonel, 
I sends papers found on Andro 

to Washington, 536 

informs Arnold of the capture of 
Andr6, 536 

Jay, John, drafts address to the 
people of Great Britain, 132 

and the conspiracy in New York, 239 
to Rutledge, 281 

to Gouverneur Morris, on the 

defence of New York, 281 

to Rutledge, concerning Lee, 282 
on the opposition to Washing- 
ton, (note,) 447 
approves of Arnold's plan of 

setttlement in New York, 501 

correspondence with Washing- 
ton, 653 
at the head of affairs, 6G6 
appointed chief justice, 673 
on republicanism, 683 
concerning Genet, 722 



envoy to Great Britain, 728 

progress of negotiations, 734 

his treaty with France, 734 

return to America, 735 

elected Governor of New York, 735 
Jefferson, Thomas, Arnold's in- 
vasion, 568 
correspondence with Washing- 
ton, 569 
escapes to Carter's Mountain, 597 
on Knox and Humphreys, 669 
anecdotes related by, 669 
sketch of character and opinions, 674 
in Paris, 674 
opinions on the new constitution, 674 
re-eligibility of the President, 674 
horror of kingly rule, 674 
on titles, 675 
Washington's election to the 

Presidency, 675 

on French politics, 675 

and the leading patriots, 675 

to Paine on the National As- 
sembly, 676 
on the French Revolution, 076 
appointed secretary of stale, 680 
arrives at New York, • 6S3 
impressions concerning the po- 
litical tone of society, 683 
conversation with Hamilton, 684 
remonstrates with Washington 

on ceremonials, 685 

discords in Congress, 086 

concerning Hamilfon, 686 

accompanies Washington to 

Rhode Island, 688 

opposed to a National Bank, 690 
rivalry with Hamilton, 690 

sympathy with the French rev- 
olution, 694 
hatred of royalty, 094 
intention of retirement, 699 
concerning Hamilton, 700 
appreciation of Hamilton, 700 
conversation between Hamilton 

and Adams, 700 

urging Washington not to retire, 702 
to Lafayette, suspicions, 703 

conversation with Washington 

on political matters, 703 

to Washington on dissensions 

with Hamilton, 707 

concerning Gouverneur Morris, 709 
on the atrocities of the French 

revolution, 710 

to Madison, on the war between 

England and France, 713 

to Madison on Genet's speech, 714 
conversation with Washington 

on attacks of the press, 715 

on Freneau's paper, 715 

concerning French prizes, 715 

relative to Washington's illness, 716 
case of the Little Sarah, 717 

concerning recall of Genet, 719 

intention to resign, 719 

interview with Washington, 719 
to Genet, announcing application 

for his recall, 721 

report on the state of trade, 724 

rebuke to Genet, 724 

retirement from office, 724 

at Monticello, 725 

character of Washington, 725 

on war with Great Britain, 727 

to Tench Coxe, from Monticello, 728 
to Monroe, on Washington's in- 
fluence, 743 
on breach of official trust, 743 
elected vice-president, 748 
talces the oath of office, 749 
Jeskakake, Shannoah sachem, 30 
Johnson family, power in New 
York, 159 
style of living, 160 
adherents, 160 
incite the Indians to hostility, 174 
Johnson, Colonel Guy, supports 

the royal cause, 160 

fortifies Guy's Park, 160 

holds an Indian council, 160 

doubtful intentions, 160 

at Montreal, 178 

contemplates hostilities, 235 

Johnson, Sir John, supports the 
royal cause, 160 



fortifies the family hall, 160 

fortifies Johnson Hall, 214 

prepares for hostilities, 214 

surrenders to General Schuyler, 215 
contemplates hostilities, 235 

retreats among the Indians, 235 

rumored to be in the field, 235 

contemplated inroad of, 354 

on his way to attack Fort Schuy- 
ler, 359 
depredations, 551 
Johnson, Sir William, 55 
expedition against Crown Point, 74 
defeats the French, 75 
erects Fort William Henry, 75 
made baronet and superintend- 
ent of Indian aflairs, 75 
joins Abercrombie, 91 
to attack Fort Niagara, 97 
conducts the siege, 97 
captures the fort, 97 
beforo^Montreal, 102 
influence with the Six Nations, 108 
concern at the difficulties, 159 
death, 159 
Johnson, of Maryland, nominates 
Washington commander-in- 
chief, 147 
Johnstone, George, commissioner 
from Great Britain, 459 
Fox's opinion of, 459 
on the state of Philadelphia, 459 
attemi^t to bribe General Reed, 460 
to Robert Morris, attempts at 
corruption, 4C0 
Joncaire, Captain, 23 
his history, 24 
appears at Logstown, 24 
addresses the chiefs, 24 
writes to the Governor of Penn- 
sylvania, 24 
interview with Washington, 30 
entertains Washington at sup- 
per, SO 
his diplomacy with the Indians, 31 
Jones, David, Lieutenant, and 

Miss McCrea, 377 

Jones, Honorable Joseph, letter 

on army grievances, 630 

JuMONViLLE, his death, 42 

instructions found upon him, 42 

Junius, description of Lord Bote- 
tourt, 116 



K 

Kelly, Maior, destroys bridge at 

Stony Brook, 325 

Kenb, Maj., letter to, intercepted, 186 
Kentucky admitted into the Union, 691 
Kbppel, Commodore, arrives with 
his squadron, 53 

furnishes cannon, 54 

Kiashuta, a Seneca sachem, 121 

King, Rufus, concerning Genet, 722 
character of, 743 

minister to Great Britain, 743 

King's Bridge to be fortified, 217 

reconnoitred by Washington, 236 
works at, 236 

fortified camp at, 276 

demonstration at, 629 

relinquished by the British, 637 

King's County Committee, accus- 
ing Schuyler, 231 
disaflectcd, 258 
King's Mountain, situation, 558 
battle of, 558 
its efiect, 559 
Kingston burnt by the British, 408 
Kingston, Lieutenant, bears a 

note to Gates, 414 

KiNLOCK, Captain, takes summons 

to Colonel Buford, 515 

Kip's B.aj', landing of British, 275 

anecdote of Washington, 275 

KiRKWooD, at Eutaw Springs, 614 
KiTCHEL, Anna, (note,) 498 

Kittanning taken and burned, 82 

Knowlton, Captain, joins Put- 
nam, 143 
leads a fatigue party, 151 
puts up a rampart, 154 
repulses General Howe, 155 
maintains his position, 156 



13 



INDEX. 



promoted to major, 169 

captures a British guard, 218 

to attack Staten Island, 2a6 

gallant affair at an outpost, 277 

wounded, 277 

death, 277 

Knox, Henry, offers to obtain ar- 
tillery and ordnance stores, 190 
account of, ICO 

instruction, 190 

sets off on his errand, 190 

to Washington concerning artil- 
lery and stores, 207 
arrival at camp, 219 
stentorian lungs, 315 
promoted, 330 
sent to Massachusetts, 337 
inspects the forts of the High- 
lands, 351 
objects to leave Chew's house 

garrisoned, 419 

accompanies Washington, 537 

described by Chastellux, 554 

despatched to the Eastern States, 5G6 
and Washington, anecdote, CIS 

moves patriotic resolutions, C30 

suggests the society of the Cin- 
cinnati, 633 
at Harlem, 637 
enters New York, 637 
parting with Washington, 63S 
to Washington concerning Mas- 
sachusetts insurgents, 653 
meets Washington, 655 
reception of Washington, 661 
at Washington's inauguration, 662 
officiates as Secretary of War, 666 
described, 667 
presidental etiquette, 669 
appointed Secretary of War, 672 
in favor of a national bank, 690 
sides with Hamilton, 690 
concerning French prizes, 715 
case of the Little Sarah, 717 
concerning recall of Genet, 719 
and Washington, anecdote, 719 
to Washington, resigning, 734 
position assigned to, 756 
to Washington on his appoint- 
ment, 757 
^to Washington on his reply, 757 
Knox, Lieutenant, leads forlorn 

hope at Stony Point, 489 

Knyphausbn, Genera], reinforces 
Howe, 285 

menaces Fort Washington, 290 

at Cecil Court House, 391 

attempts to cross Chadd's Ford, 394 
moves with the British van- 
guard, 464 
sent into Westchester County, 478 
left in command of New York, 495 
prepares for defence, 498 
sends expeditions against New- 
ark and Elizabethtown, 499 
plans descent into the Jerseys, 516 
passes through Elizabethtown, 516 
sack of Connecticut farms, 517 
presses on toward Morristown, 517 
halt before Springfield, 517 
retreat, 517 
indecision, 517 
assailed for the murder of Mrs. 

Caldwell, 518 

moves against Springtield, 518 

engages the Americans, 518 

retreat, 519 

Koscicszco, Thaddeus, joins the 
army, 343 

fortitics Bemis' Heights, 400 

advances to the Dan, 578 

intrenches Halifax, 579 



Lafatet'je, George Washington, 711 
arrives in America, " 740 

accompanies Washington, 749 

departs from New York, 752 

rejoins his familj-, 752 

Lafayette, Madame de, 711 

Lafayette, Marquis de, at Phila- 
delphia, 374 
offers letters of recommendation, 374 
his appeal, 374 



appointed major general, 374 

meets Washington, 374 

description of American army, 375 
modest reply to Washington, 375 
nature of his appointment, 375 

joins Sullivan's division, 393 

wounded, 394 

on Howe's neglect, 396 

to Washington, account of skir- 
mish, 431 
appointed to a division, 432 
proceeds to Yorktown, 440 
toasts the commander-in-chief, 440 
sets out for Albany, 440 
to Washington, anticipations, 440 
perplexities, 443 
to Washington on his troubles, 444 
returns to "Valley Forge, 444 
keeps watch in Philadelphia, 457 
encamps on Barren Hill, 457 
nearly surrounded, 458 
extricates himself, 458 
commands the advance, 463 
resigns command to Lee, 405 
detached to the expedition 

against Rhode Island, 472 

interview with D'Estaing, 474 

sets out for Boston to see D'Es- 
taing, 475 
returns to the American camp, 476 
brings off" the pickets and cover- 
ing parties, 476 
asks leave of absence, 482 
project for the conquest of Ca- 
nada, 482 
arrival at Boston, 508 
reaches the American camp, 508 
reception by Congress, 509 
despatched to the French com- 
manders, 521 
accompanies Washington, 537 
proposes exchange of Andro for 

Arnold, " 544 

commands the advance guard, 552 
attempted enterprise, 562 

anxious for action, 553 

in the camp of the Pennsyl- 

van\an mutineers, 566 

to Washington on Hamilton, 571 
in command of detachment, 5S7 

instructions, 587 

sets out on his march, 587 

further instructions, 587 

forced marches for Virginia, 588 
at the Head of Elk, 588 

arrives at York, 5S8 

marches to join Greene, 589 

saves Richmond, 590 

to Washington on Lund Wash- 
ington's compromise, 591 
refuses to correspond with Ar- 
nold, 596 
retires from before Cornwallis, 597 
assumes the aggressive, 597 
joined by Steuben, 598 
follows Cornwallis, 598 
retreats to Green Springs, 599 
account of his campaign, 599 
to Washington on the embarka- 
tion of the British, 603 
measures to cut off Cornwallis's 

retreat, 607 

to Washington, urging him to 

command, 607 

prevails on De Grasse to remain, 611 
to storm a redoubt, 617 

carries the works, 617 

false statement concerning, 

(note,) 617 

concerning Hamilton, 618 

asks leave of absence, 621 

to Congress with news of peace, 631 
at Mount Vernon, 643 

on the French revolution, 679 

to Washington on the same, 687 

to Washington presenting the 

key of the Bastille, 688 

on affairs in France, 693 

downfall of, 710 

prisoner at Rochefort 710 

on his way to Paris, 752 

correspondence with Washing- 
ton, 758 
La Force, accompanies Washing- 
ton, 31 
prowling about the country, 40 



Washington's opinion of, 
in Washington's power, 
kept in prison, 
his fortunes, 
Lake of the Dismal Swamp, 
Lamb, Colonel, arrives boforo St. 
Johns with artillery, 
before Quebec, 

effective lire from the ice bat- 
tery, 
relative to Aaron Burr, 
in the attack, 
wounded, 
assists Arnold, 
wounded, 

receives Washington at West 
Point, 
Lameth, Chevalier de, wounded 

in the attack, 
Langdon, President, offers pray- 
ers, 
Langlade, commands the Indians, 376 
Laurens, Col., duel with Lee, 470 
boards the French fleet, 
carries a protest to D'Estaing, 
informs Washington of affairs 

in Charleston, 
on Andre's fate, 
special minister to France, 
visits the camp of the Pennsyl- 
vania mutineers, 
arrives from France with the 

loan, 
capitulation of Yorktown, 
Laorbns, 'Mr., remits letter to 

Washington, 
Lauzun, Duke de, at Newport, 
to join the American Army, 
skirmish with Tarleton, 
Lawrence, Colonel, 
Lawrence, Colonel John, judge 

advocate general, 
Lawson, Genr, reinforces Greene, 

at Guilford Court House, 
Lear, Tobias, Washington's pri- 
vate secretary, 
on Washington's charactew, 
at the inauguration of Washing- 
ton, 
accompanies Washington, 
Washington's state coach, 
concerning St. Clair's defeat, 
Washington's illness, 
last hours of Washington, 
death of Washington, 
Learned, Colonel, receives flag of 

truce, 
Lechmere Point, fortified by Put 

nam, 
Ledtard, Colonel William, de 

fence of Fort Griswold, 606 

Lee, Arthur, in the treasury board, 668 

Lee, General Charles, at Boston, 134 

history, 

his birth, 

serves in America, 
adopted by the Mohawks, 
wounded at the battle of Ticon- 

deroga, 
at the siege of Fort Niagara, 
joins Amherst at Crown Point, 135 
at the surrender of Montreal, 135 
in Portugal, 135 

brave conduct," 136 

opposes the ministry, 135 

received by Frederick the Great, 135 
at Warsaw, 135 

accompanies the Polish ambas- 
sador to Constantinople, 136 
dangers and escapes, 136 
again in England, 136 
reception, 1.36 
censured liy a friend, 136 
embittered against the king and 

ministers, 136 

returns to Poland, 130 

hopes of active service, 136' 

major general in the Polish army, 136 
restless life, 139 

aflair of honor, 136; 

attacks upon the ministry, 136; 

advocates the cause of the colo- , 
nies, 13w 

visits America, 19g 

reputation, ISw 

to Edmund Burke, 137^ 



41 

42 

51 

51 

107 

183 
211 

211 
211 
213 
213 
346 
346 

538 

617 

151 



471 
474 

506 
548 
564 

666 

606 
619 

439 
621 
693 
612 
56 

543 

581 
582 

646 
647 

661 
677 
690 
697 
762 
762 
763 

223 

199 



135 
135 
135 
135 

135 
135 



14 



INDEX. 



at Mount Vernon, 138 

purchases an estate, 138 

cultivates the acquaintance of 

leading men, 138 

efficient in organizing the Mary- 
land militia, 138 
manners, 139 
fondness for dogs, 139 
to Adams, 139 
at Philadelphia, 147 
appointed major general, 148 
elected third in command, 148 
accepts appointment, 148 
sets out from Philadelphia, 158 
anecdote, 168 
description by Mrs. AdamSj 163 
Washington's military counsel- 
lor, 168 
commands left wing, 169 
strict discipline, 169 
profanity, 169 
correspondence with Burgoyne, 171 
declines an interview with Bur- 
goyne, 172 
on tlie bombardment of Boston, 189 
and Mrs. Adams, 202 
to Richard H. Lee, givipg his 

policy, 205 

sets^ut for Rhode Island, 205 

test oath, 205 

legislative censures, 205 

to Washington, relative to the 

defence of New York, 208 

at New Haven, 209 

military notions, 209 

reply to New York Committee 

of Safety, 209 

to Washington on recruiting suc- 
cess, 210 
on the disposition of New York, 210 
arrives at New York, 215 
to Washington, on a resolve of 

Congress, 215 

on the arrival of Sir Henry Clin- 
ton, 215 
characteristic menace, 216 
plans of defence, 216 
measures against Tories, 216 
defiance of Governor Tryon and 

Captain Parker, 217 

removal of cannon, 217 

strengthens New York, 217 

ordered to Canada, 217 

to Washington on affairs iu New 

York, 217 

contempt for titles, 218 

appointed to command the south- 
ern department, 226 
to Washington on his appoint- 
ment, 226 
sets out for the south, 236 
opinion of Washington, 227 
to Washington from the south, 227 
to Washington on Clinton's ex- 
pedition, 254 
foils Clinton, 254 
arrives at Charleston, 254 
to Washington on the condition 

of Charleston, 254 

encamps on Haddrell's Point, 254 
describes the attack on Sulli- 
van's Island, 254 
receives thanks of Congress, 255 
to Washington for cavalry, 255 
expected in camp, 282 
to President of Congress on the 

designs of the British, 282 

arrives in camp, 283 

to Gates on the meddling of 

Congress, 283 

arrives at White Plains, 286 

commands at Northcastle, 291 

to Washington on his position, 298 
allusion to Greene, 298 

to Reed explaining his projects, SCO 
to Bowdoin, plana and schemes, 301 
to Washington on removing 

troops across the Hudson, 301 

to Heath on his right to com- 
mand, 302 
to Reed disparaging Washing- 
ton, 303 
to Washington on his delay, 305 
interview with General Heath, 305 
question of authority, 306 
changes his mind, 306 



crosses the Hudson, laggard 

march, 306 

on military greatness, 307 

at Morristown, 308 

to Congress on liis plans, 308 

correspondence with Washing- 
ton, 308 
to Heath to forward troops, 308 
tardiness of his march, 308 
and the militia, 309 
to Gates dirparaging Washing- 
ton, 309 
captured by Colonel Harcourt, 309 
eftect of his loss, 310 
secret of his conduct, 310 
character of, 310 
treatment of, 332 
to Congress from New York, 334 
to Washington on the refusal of 

Congress, 334 

actual treatment of, 834 

diminished importance, 336 

to Washington on his captivity, 449 
exfl • i^ed for General Prescott, 458 
in command of a division, 461 

to Washington on the enemy's 

plans, 461 

opposed to attack, 461 

relinquishes the command of the 

advance to Lafayette, 463 

military punctilio, 463 

commands the advance, 463 

encamps at Englishtown, 463 

advances against the enemy, 464 
manoeuvre, 464 

retreat, 464 

angry meeting with Washington, 465 
battle of Monmouth Court 

House, 465 

conduct, 465 

cause of retreat, 466 

correspondence with Washing- 
ton, 467 
charges against, 468 
court-martiallcd, 468 
concerning Washington, 469 
sentenced, 469 
sentence approved by Congress, 469 
abuse of Washington, 469 
duel with Colonel Laurens, 470 
retires to his estate, 470 
style of living, 470 
queries political and military, 470 
insolent note to Congress, 470 
dismissed the service, 470 
to Congress, apologetic, 470 
his character, 470 
his death, 470 
his will, 470 
burial, 471 
his manuscripts, 471 
to Wavne applauding his cap- 
ture of Stony Point, 490 
caution to Gates, 5-0 
Lee, Charles, attorney general, 740 
Lee, Henry, " Light Horse Harry," S91 
repulses a surprise, 449 
promoted, 449 
surprises a party of Hessians, 480 
proposes an attack on Paulus 

Hook, 491 

sets out for Paulus Hook, 492 

surprises the post, 492 

diflicult retreat, 492 

rewarded with a gold medal by 

Congress, 492 

joins Washington, 517 

tight at Springtield, r,is 

concerning Arnold's consisiracy, 550 
escape of Champe, 550 

on the reception of Gates by the 

General Assembly of Virginia, 561 
crosses the Dan, 679 

affair with Pyle's loyalists, 580 

on Tarieton's escape, 580 

skirmish with Tarleton, 5S2 

at Guilford Court House, 582 

joins Marion, 599 

capture of Fort Watson, 630 

capture of Fort Mottc, 600 

captures Granby, 600 

exploits of, 601 

pursues Colonel Coatos, 601 

detached to operate with Cum- 

ter, 613 

at Eutaw Springs, CIS 



anecdote of Washington, 649 

communicates the death of 

Greene, 650 

to Washington on the presidency, 658 
commands the army, 731 

puts down the insurrection, 731 

Lee, Richard Henry, delegate to 
General Congress, 129 

speech before the General Con- 
gress, ISl 
drafts memorial to British colo- 
nies, 132 
urging Washington's presence 
in Virginia, 595 
Legislatures dissolved, 114 
Leitch, Major, commands Vir- 
ginia troops, 252 
joins Knowlton in an attack, 277 
wounded, 277 
death, 277 
Lempriere's Point, works thrown 

up, 512 

Leslie, Captain, killed at Prince- 
ton, 325 
Leslie, General, attack on Chat- 
terton's Hill, 287 
at Maiden Head, 323 
advancing to reinforce Cornwal- 

lis, 571 

at Guilford Court House, 582 

ordered to Portsmouth, 596 

Lewis, Colonel, 121 

Lewis, Major Andrew, 72 

taken prisoner, 95 

Lewis, Major George, attends on 

Mercer, 327 

Lewis, Lawrence, aide-de-camp to 

Morgan, 730 

invited to Mount Vernon, 750 

aflectionfor Miss Custis, 751 

marries Miss Custis, 759 

Lewis, Robert, Washington's 

agent, 694 

Lexington, battle of, 140 

loss of Americans and British, 142 

Liberty Tree, 129 

Light House Point, surprised by 

Wolfe, 90 

Lincoln, General, contemplates 
descent on Long Island, 279 

at Bennington, 374 

at Manchester, 378 

to Schuyler on Stark's victory, 385 
joins Gates, 403 

wounded, 411 

commands the southern depart- 
ment, 481 
unsuccessful siege of Savannah, 494 
to Washington in his pei-plexity, 505 
strengthens Charleston, 505 
remains within the citj', 506 
to Washington on the unwilling- 
ness of troops to remain, 511 
replies to summons to surrender, 512 
in favor of evacuating Charles- 
ton, 513 
skirmish with the British, 594 
grand reconnoisance, 595 
opens the first parallel before 

Yorktown, 615 

receives the submission of ,the 

royal army, 619 

returns north with the army, 621 
LipPENCOTT, Captain, hangs Cap- 
tain Huddy, 623 
tried and acquitted, 624 
LisTON, Mrs., at Washington's 

farewell dinner, 743 

Little Egg Harbor, expedition 

against, 479 

Little Meadows, 40 

Braddook's expedition encamped, 61 

Little Sarah, case of, 716 

Little Turtle decoys Colonel 

Hardin into an aml)Ush, 689^ 

Lively ship of war fires ou Breed's 

Hill, 152 

Livingston, Brockholst, in corre- 
spondence with Schuyler, 399 
to Schuyler on the prospect of a 
battle, 400 
Livingston, Major, and Major 

Brown take Fort Chamblee, 191 
drive Colonel Maclean back, 192 

Livingston, Colonel, joins Schuy- 
ler, 3SS 

15 



INDEX. 



carmonades the Vulture, 533 

Livingston, Henry Brockliolat, 
on the Btate of aftairs at Ti- 
conderoga, 360 

Livingston, Peter R., 280 

Livingston, Peter Van Burgh, ad- 
dress to Washinston, 160 
Livingston, Judge Robert R., ITS 
suggests Arnold as commander 

of West Point, 522 

at the inauguration of "Wash- 
ington, C62 
Livingston, Walter, in the treas- 
ury board, 666 
Livingston, William, Brig. Gen., 2-13 
sends word of the British plans, 2G1 
to Washington, 304 
Logstown, Council of Indians 

at, 27, 29, 120 

London Chronicle, remarks on 

General Burgoyne, 218 

Long, Colonel, commands the bat- 
teaux, 364 

arrives at Fort Anne, 305 

retreats to Fort Edward, 365 

Long Island, battle of, 260 

landing of the British, 261 

Britisi occupy Flatbush, 261 

reinforced by Hessians, 262 

De Heister reaches Flatbush, 263 
plan of the British, 263 

nocturnal march, 263 

occupy the Bedford pass, 263 

Cen. Grant engages Lord Stir- 
ling, 264 
Sir Henry Clinton turns the 

American left, 264 

Sullivan's division defeated, 264 

Lord Stirling surrounded, 265 

forbearance of the British, 266 

killed and wounded, 266 

fatal neglect, 266 

retreat from, 268 

described by a witnees, 268 

midnight gun, 208 

Long Island tradition, 269 

alarm of the British, 269 

in possession of the British, 269 

Loudon, Earl of, 77 

implied censure of Washington, 84 
arrives at Albany, 84 

in winter quarters, Ro 

reception of Washington, 86 

sets sail for Halifax, 86 

joins Admiral Holboumo at 

Halifax, 87 

returns to New York, !w 

relieved from command, 8s 

Louisburg to be attacked, 86 

another attempt to be made, SS 

invested, 89 

captured, 90 

LovEL, General, commands expe- 
dition against Penobscot, 491 
at first repulsed, but efl'ects a 

landing, 491 

besieges the fort, 491 

sends for reinforcements, 491 

disastrous retreat, 491 

LovELL, James, to Gates on the 
command, 347 

to Gates on his position, 349 

to Gates, 429 

invocation to Gates, 432 

Lowantica Valley, S30 

Loyalists in the revolution, 279 

Luzerne, Chevalier de la, visits 
Washington, 494 

and Arnold, 509 

requests ships to oppose Ar- 
nold, 586 
b.anquet to the officers, 60S 
to Washington on the position 
of Lafayette, 0S7 
Lyman, General, 74 
Lynch, Thomas, on committee to 
confer with Washington, iss 
on the bombardment of Boston, 1S9 



McCall, Major, at the battle of 

the Cowpens, 573 

McCrea, Jane, 377 

murdered by Indians, S77 



its effect, 378 

the story of her murder, (note,) 378 
McDouoALL, General, strength- 
ens Heath's position, 283 
in command at Chatterton's 

Hill, 283 

at Morristown, 321 

commands at Peekskill, 338 

fires the barracks and retires, 338 
commands at Peekskill, 350 

commands in the Highlands, 453, 481 
joins Gates, 478 

commands at West Point, 487 

death of, C51 

McDowell, Colonel, in the battle 

of King's Mountain, 558 

McGiLLivBAY, represents the 

Creeks, C85 

McGowan's Ford, affair at, 577 

McGowan's Pass, relinquished by 

the British, 637 

McHenrt, Major James, break- 
fasts with Arnold, 538 
secretary of war, 740 
to Washington on the command 
of the army, 755 
McLane, Captain Allen, brings 
word of intended attack, 432 
attacks the enemy's van, 432 
routs the picket guard, 453 
expedition against Paulus Hook, 491 
McLeod, Captain, attempt to sur- 
prise Jefferson, 597 
McPherson, Major, to intercept 
Simcoe, 598 
skirmish with Captain Shank, 598 
Mackay, Captain, 44 
arrives at Washington's camp, 45 
Mackenzie, Captain Robert, to 

Washington, 133 

Maclean, Colonel, and his High- 
land emigrants, 191 
driven back by Majors Brown 

and Livingston, 192 

at Quebec, 203 

loyalty, 204 

Madison, James, member of Con- 
gress, C67 
ceremonials of the government, 684 
remonstrates with Washington 

on his intention to retire, 700 

prepares a valedictory address 

fur Washington, 702 

debate on Jefferson's report, 725 
Magaw, Colonel, 252 

commands Fort Washington, 284 
cannonades the British frigates, 286 
in favor of holding Fort Wash- 
ington, 295 
refuses to surrender, 296 
disposition for defence, 296 
Majoribanks, Major, at Eutaw 

Springs, 614 

falls back, 614 

Maliiedy, Col., at Eutaw Springs, 613 
Manchester, British maraud, 590 

Manchester, Duke of, compares 
the conduct of Clinton and 
Dunmore, 216 

remarks on siege of Boston, 225 

Manly, Captain, captures muni- 
tions of war, 197 
Marbois, Barbe, 494 
Marion, Francis, his character, 5.59 
bye names, 559 
pursued by Tarleton, 560 
capture of Fort Watson, 600 
captureof Fort Motte, 600 
attack on Colonel Coatos, 602 
controls the lower Santee, 013 
joins Greene, 613 
at Eutaw Springs, 613 
Markoe, Captain, escorts Wash- 
ington, 157 
MAKsri, Rev. John, letter relative 

to plot in New York, (note,) 241 
Marshall, Judge, on Lee's re- 
treat, 469 
envoy to France, 753 
Mar;h:i's Vineyard ravaged by the 

British, 476 

Martin, Colonel, 79 

Maryland, Gener.al Assembly, con- 

lidence in Washington, 739 

Maryland troops described, 169 

sharpshooting, 169 



described by Graydon, 252 

Mason, Mr., divulges terms- of 

treaty, 735 

Mason, George, friend of Wash- 
ington, 113 
to W'ashington on non-importa- 
tion, 115 
drafts plan of association for the 
non-importation and use of 
British goods subject to duty, 115 
Massachusetts, General Court of, 
advise a Congress, 112 
petition the king for relief, 114 
urge the other colonial Legisla- 
tures to join for redress, 114 
refuse to rescind the resolution, 114 
protest against military occupa- 
tion, 117 
refuse to transact business, 117 
transferred to Cambridge, 117 
resolution against a standing 

army, 117 

refuse to provide for the troops, 118 
prorogued, 118 

Assembly recommend a Gene- 
ral Congress, 125 
general election, 137 
semi-belligerent state of affairs, 137 
Congress of, raise troops, , 143 
prep.are to receive Washington, 161 
send a deputation to meet Wash- 
ington, 161 
address of welcome to General 

Lee, 161 

number of troops, 165 

their destitution, 166 

AVashington's apology, 166 

liberality, 167 

asks for troops, 169 

Rhode Island and Connecticut 

lit out armed vessels, 187 

passes an act for litting out 

armed vessels, 
insurrection, 
quelled, 
Mathew, General, in the attack 
on Fort Washington, 
expedition against the Chesa- 
peake, 
takes Portsmouth, 
ravages the neighborhood, 
Matdews, Colonel, taken pri- 
soner, 420 
Mathews, John, on committee to 

confer with Washington, 508 

Matson's Ford, Lafayette posted 

on, 458 

Matthews, David, mayor of New 

York, apprehended, 239 

detained for trial, 240 

Mawhood, Colonel, at Princeton, 324 

attacks Mercer, 

retreats towards Trenton, 

Maxwell, General, at Morris 

town, 

commands light troops, 

skirmish with the British, 

engages the enemy's vanguard, 392 

sent to the Jerseys, 458 

ordered to harass the enemy, 462 

Maynards, Judge, 25 

Meade, Colonel, Washington's 

aide-de-camp, 330 

Mecklenburg, spirit of the inhabit- 
ants, 556 
Meigs, CJoIonel, enterprise against 
Sag-Harbor, 346 
struck while attempting to sup- 
press a mutiny, 
Mercer, Captain George, Wash- 
ington's aide-de-cani]), 
Mercer, George, declines to act 

as distriimtor of stnmps, 
Mercer, Hugh, account of, 
arrives at Fort Cumberland 

wounded, 
with Colonel Armstrong, 
wounded, 
accompanies Washington on a 

tour of inspection, 
a visitor at Mount Vernon, 
disciplines militia, 
about marching to Williams- 
burg, 143 
madebrigadier general, 243 
joins the army, 243 



ISS 
653 
655 

297 

486 
486 
486 



324 
325 

321 
390 
391 



510 
76 



112 

58 



82 
104 

las 



16 



INDEX. 



appointed to a command, 243 

on the abandonment of New 

York, 273 

conversation with "Washington 

on resistance, 305 

leads the advance on Princeton, 324 
encounters Colonel Mawhood, 324 
wounded, 324 

death, 327 

character, 327 

MiDDLETON, Cornet, sent in pur- 
suit of Champe, 550 
MiFFLTN, General, urges Lee's ap- 
pointment as second in com- 
mand, . 14S 
aide-de-camp to \yashington, 107 
secretary to Washington, 1S9 
suggests a name for the captur- 
ed mortar, 197 
Adjutant General, manners and 

entertainments, 202 

promoted, 232 

encamped near Kingshridge, 236 
characterized by Graydon, 252 

discipline of his troops, 260 

arrives with troops, 267 

observes movement among the 

British ships, 267 

premature retreat, 268 

returns to the lines, 268 

retreats in safety, 269 

sent to Philadelphia for aid, 300 

at Philadelphia, 307 

supports the claims of Conway, 423 
opposition to Washington, 423 

membfer of the Board of War, 432 
to Gates on Conway's letter, 430 
meets Washington, 655 

receives Washington, 659 

case of the Little Sarah, 716 

Miles, Colonel, commands battal- 
ion, 252 
at Brooklyn, 262 
Militia system, its inefficiency, 82 
organization of,iu Massachusetts, 137 
Ministerial array, 147 
Minute men rally under General 
Heath, 142 
form a camp, 143 
MiuEPOix, Marquis de, 52 
Mischianza in honor of Sir Wm. 

Howe, 238 

Mississippi, navigation of, 065 

MoNCKTON, Brigadier, in the expe- 
dition against Quebec, 98 
commands battery at Point Levi, 93 
wounded, 101 
MoNCKTON, Colonel, killed in an at- 
tack on Wayne, 466 
burial, 4Q7 
Monk's Corner, Brigadier-General 
Hugor at, • 512 
surprised by Tarloton, 513 
Monmouth Court House, battle of, 405 
killed and wounded, 467 
Monro, Colonel, in command of 

Fort William Henry, 86 

Monroe, James, in the advance 
against Trenton, 316 

takes two cannon, 316 

remonstrates against Hamilton, 728 
minister to Fi-ance, 729 

reception in France, 729 

ropalled, 744 

to Washington on an intercept- 
ed letter, 745 
address to by M. Barras, 752 
Montcalm, his operations, 85 
takes Oswego, 85 
returns in triumph to Montreal, 85 
again takes the (lold, 86 
attacks Fort William Henry, 86 
captures and destroys it, S6 
returns to Canada, 87 
prepares his defence, 91 
repulses Abercronilne, 91 
in command of Quebec, 93 
abandons his intrencliments, 100 
sends for reinforcements, 100 
advances against Wolfe, 100 
receives his death wound, 101 
to General Towusend, 101 
to De Ramsay, 101 
his death, 101 
Montgomery, Rich'd, at the land- 
ing before Louisburg, 89 I 



appointed brigadier-general, 148 
at Ticouderou:a, 1 78 

birth and services, 178 

emigrates to New York and 

mlirricB, 178 

appointed brigadier-general, 178 
appearance and manners, 178 

embarkation for the Isle aux 

Noix, 179 

invests St. Johns, 1S3 

• presses the siege of St. Johns, 191 
to Carlton on the treatment of 

prisoners, 191 

takes St. Johns, 192 

treatment of prisoners, 192 

proceeds to Montreal, 192 

takes Montreal, 194 

prepares to descend the St. Law- 
rence, 194 
to Schuyler on insubordination 

of troops, 194 

annoyances, 194 

intention to resign, 195 

joins Arnold, 208 

arrives before Quebec, 210 

plan of attack, 210 

strength of force, SIO 

on Arnold and his troops, 210 

summons Quebec to surrender, 211 
to Carleton, 211 

]ii'opares to attack, 211 

efforts to incite the inhabitants, 211 
anecdote, 211 

project of an escalade, 211 

plait of attack, 212 

the attack, 212 

leads his men, 212 

surprises the picket, 212 

death, 212 

burial, 214 

MoNTGOMERT, Major, attack on 

Fort Griswold, 606 

MosTocR, Andrew, acts as inter- 
preter, 21 
accompanies Adjutant Muse, 44 
Montreal, capitulates to Amherst, 102 
taken by Montgomery, 194 
MoNTRESOR, Captain, enters the 
deserted American works, 269 
bearer of flag to Washington, 278 
Morgan, Daniel, arrives at camp, 169 
in the attack on Quebec, 213 
takes command, 213 
carries two batteries, 213 
hemmed in, brave defence and - 

surrender, 214 

exchanged, 27S 

recommended to the command 

ofa rifle regiment, 278 

mans the lines, 280 

sent to fight the Indians, 373 

attacks the enemj'. 



eflect of his corps on the enemy, 402 
to attack Burgoj'ne, 409 
harasses the enemy, 410 
to reinforce Maxwell, 462 
to Charlotte, 561 
detached to South Carolina 562 
on his way to Ninety Six, 572 
retreats from Tarleton, 572 
at the Cowpons, 572 
reasons for selecting, 573 
disposition of troojis, 673 
battle of the Cowpens, 573 
spoils taken, 574 
pushes for the Catawba, 574 
crosses the Catawba, 575 
approach of Cornwallis, 575 
pushes for the Yadkin, 577 
correspondence with Washing- 
ton, 730 
loft with detachment, 731 

Morocco, treaty with, 666 

Morris, Capt., wins Miss Philipse, 78 

wounded at Sullivan's Island, 255 

Morris, Governor, appoints com- 
missioners, 53 
at Alexandria, 55 
to Croghan, 56 

Morris, Gouverneur, on Gates, 388 

on Pennsylvania, 448 

on the French crisis, C75 

differs from Jefierson, 675 
to Washington ou the French 

revolution, 676 

on the iame, 6S7 



to Washington on Lafayette, 687 
to Washington on affairs in 

France, 693 

minister to France, 709 

representation of afl'airs in 

France, 710 

concerning Lafayette and the 

Reign of Terror, 710 

relative to Louis XVI., 711 

on the successes of France, 711 

to Jefierson ou Genet, 712 

recalled, 729 

Morris, Robert, sends money to 
Washington, 321 

patriotic exertions, 593 

entertains Washington, 606 

Morris, Colonel Roger, 276 

Morristown, its position, S30 

sufferings of the American army 
at, 497 

MoTHB, Admiral de Bois de la, 

arrives at Louisburg, 87 

Moulder, Captain, at Princeton, 325 
MouLTiiiE, Colonel William, com- 
mands at Sullivan's Island, 254 
glorious defence, 255 

receives thanks of Congress, 255 
proclamation, 726 

Mount Defiance, strategetical posi- 
tion, 250 
Mount Hope, fortified by Bur- 

goyne, 363 

Mount Independence, evacuated, 363 
Mount Vernon, named in honor of 
Admiral Vernon, 12 

quiet disturbed, 54 

situation of, 103 

assumes a military tone, 138 

in danger, 200 

saved from ravage, 590 

revisited by Washington, 608 

MowAT, Lieutenant, destroys Fal- 
mouth, 187 
MoYLAN, Col., and Wilkinson, 446 
Muhlenberg, Gen., near Suffolk, 588 
encounters Gen. Phillips, 590 
Mulgrave, Major, to embark, 222 
Murdering Town, 34 
Murray, JBrigadier, with Wolfe, 98 
detached to operate against ship- 
ping above Quebec, 90 
breaks the French centre, 101 
attacks De Levi, 10: 
is repulsed, lo: 
retreats into Quebec, lo: 
desperate condition, 10: 
arrival of a British fleet, i 10 
ordered to advance against Mon- 
treal, 102 
ascends the river, 102 
Murray, William Vans, minister 

to Franco, 760 

MuRijAY, Mrs., anecdote, 275 

Muse, Major, teaches Washing- 
ton the art of war, 25 
arrives in camp, 44 
charged with cowardice, 48 
obtains grant of land (note), 121 
MusGRAVE, Colonel, encamped, 418 
take's post in Chew's House, 419 
Muskingum, 22 
Mutiny of American troops, 510 



N 



Nash, General, kUled at German- 
town, 420 
National Bank, 690 
National Gazette, edited by Philip 

Freneau, 699 

Navigation Laws, 108 

Nelson, Gen. Thomas, opposes 

Arnold, 569 

called on for troops, 607 

patriotism, 611 

another proof, 616 

Nelson, Mr. Secretary, anecdote, 616 

Neutral ground, 534 

Nevil, Gen., house of, assailed, 729 

Newark surprised by the British, 499 

New Bedford ravaged by the 

British, 476 

New England resists the project 
of taxation, 110 

continues the disuse of tea, 118 



17 



INDEX. 



army, its situation, 146 

New Hampshire Bends volunteers, 143 
grants, 144 

New Haven taken by the British, 487 
New Jersey, oi^iniou of the revo- 
lution, 304 
prison ship, 'Soii 
militia turn out with alacrity, 354 
troops, discontent of, 4S4 
Legislature of, satisfies the 

troops, 485 

invaded by Rnj-phausen, 516 

evacuated, 519 

troops, mutiny of, 567 

New London, expedition against, G05 
taken by Arnold, 605 

New Orleans, COS 

Newport, situation of, 472 

Newtown, battle at, 47S 

New York resents the attempt 
against the independence of 
the judiciary, 109 

proceedings in regard to stamp 

act, 112 

resists the mutiny act, 113 

powers of Governor and Assem- 
bly suspended, 113 
at the revolution, 159 
events in, 174 
in a panic at Lee's approach, 209 
adverse influences in, 215 
arrival of Sir Henry Clinton, 215 
its eftects, 215 
letters descriptive of, 228 
batteries at, (note,) 202 
alarm of conspiracy, 239 
arrival of British troojjs, 241 
further arrivals, 241 
popular joy at the declaration of 

independence, 244 

destruction of the statue of 

George III., 244 

arrival of more ships, 244 

panic of the people, 245 

convention at White Plains, 245 

arrival of Lord Howe, 246 

station secret committee in New 

York, 246 

military measures, 248 

arrival of a hundred sail, 257 

forces collected in and about, 257 
convention order out levies, 258 

panic and distress, 261 

terror of the inhabitants, 264 

question of its destruction, 270 

letters of British officers relative 

to, 270 

British ships come opposite, 270 

question of abandonment, 273 

left by Congress to the discretion 

of Washington, 274 

agitations in, 274 

more ships move up the Sound, 274 
evacuated by Putnam, 275 

conflagration in, 278 

ascribed to American incendi- 
aries, 278 
Committee of Safety, to Wash- 
ington on the defence of the 
Highlands, 280 
in perturbation on account of 

French fleet, 472 

bay frozen over, 498 

scarcity of food and fuel, 498 

reduction of, meditated, 509 

to be attacked, 593 

failure of intended attack on, 594 
alarm in, 623 

preparations to evacuate, 033 

evacuated, 637 



excitement concerning the French 



war, 

Niagara, expedition against, 
rallying place for Indians, Tories, 
&c., 

Nichols, Colonel, at Benning- 
ton, 

Nicholson, John, Indian inter- 
preter, 

Nicholson, Commodore, recep- 
tion of Washington at Now 
York, 

Nicola, Colonel Lewis, extraordi- 
nary letter of, 

NoAiLLES, Viscount de, capitula- 
tion of Yorktown, 

18 



Non-importation Associations, ef- 
fect on British commerce, 118 
Nooks Hill, attempt to fortify, 67 
North, Lord, premier, 118 
repeals duties except on tea, 118 
on the right of taxation, 118 
bill favoring the export of tea, 124 
surrender of Cornwallis, 020 
North Carolina to be invaded, 524 
the people and country, 524 
North Church used for fuel, 189 
Norwalk devastated by the Brit- 
ish, 488 



O 



Ogden, Capt. Aaron, concerning 
the exchange of Arnold for 
Andre, 544 

Ogden, Colonel Matthias, project 
to capture Prince William 
Henry, 623 

O'Hara, General, at the Yadkin, 577 
surrenders the garrison of York- 
town, 620 
Ohio Company, formation of, 20 
despatch ChristojiherGist to ex- 
plore the Ohio, 21 
estalilish a trading company at 
Will's Creek, 24 
Ohio Tribes incensed at the French, 27 
Ohio, expedition to the; 119 
Old South Church, desecration of, 189 
Oldham, Colonel, with St. Clair, 696 
killed, 697 
Olney, Mrs., and Washington, 649 
Onondagas, settlement destroyed 

by the Americans, 485 

Oriskany, battle of, 3S0 

killed and wounded, 381 

Orme, Capt. Robert, liopes of suc- 
cess, 54 
to Washington, 54 
Osgood, Samuel, in the treasury 

board, 666 

Oswald, secretary to Arnold in 
the attack on Quebec, 213 

leads forlorn hope, 213 

marches to Danbury, S44 

at Monmouth Court House, 465 

Otis, James, against writs of as- 
sistance, _ 109 



Paine, Mr., * 147 

Paine, Thomas, 286 

on Washington's retreat across 

the Jerseys, 311 

moral qualities of Washington, 311 
to Washington on the key of the 

Bastille, 688 

Rights of Man reprinted, 694 

Palfrey, Colonel William, substi- 
tutes an original prayer, 201 
Palmer, Edmund, a spy, 373 
Paris, treaty of peace signed at, 462 
Paris, Colonel, dispute with Her- 
kimer, 380 
killed by Red Jacket, 381 
Parker, Colonel, debate on Jefl'er- 

son's report, 725 

Parker, Daniel, commissioner to 

New York, 633 

Parker, Commodore Hyde, expe- 
dition against Georgia, 481 
Parker, Sir Peter, attacks Sulli- 
van's Island, 254 
is repulsed, 255 
burns the Act;eon, 255 
Parliament taxes America, 110 
imposes fresh duties on Ameri- 
can imports, 113 
extends the mutiny act to Amer- 
ica, 113 
importuned by British mer- 
chants, 118 
passes the Boston Port Bill, 125 
other acts to the injury of Bos- 
ton, 125 
Parsons, Gen., sent to Peekskill, 356 
at West Point, 453 
Patterson, Colonel, interview 

with Wasliington, 247 



Patterson, Brigadier General, 

moves from Savannah, 
Paulding, John, and Andre, 
Paulus Hook, situation of, 

carried by Major Lee, 

relinquished by the British, 
Peabodt, Nathaniel, on commit- 
tee to confer with Washington, 
Peekskill, attack on, 
Pellew, Edward, Lord Exmouth, 

on Lake ChamplaLn, 
Pendleton, Edmund, delegate to 
the General Congress, 

sets out for Philadelphia, 

against Washington as command- 
er-in-chief, 
Pennsylvania troops described, 

sharpshooting, 

described by Gray don. 

Legislature of, remonstrate 
againstthe army going into 
winter quarters, 

troops, their grievances, 

revolt, 

march towards Philadelphia, 

at Princeton, 

British emissaries in camp, 

accept propositions oflered, 

mutiny of. 

Council of, offer to Washington, 

insurrection in, 

quelled, 
Penobscot, Bay of, British fort at, 

expedition against, 
Percy, Lord, advances to reinfdrce 
Colonel Smith, 

continues the retreat, 

conduct of soldiers, 

sharp skirmishing, 

narrow escape, 

failure of ammunition, 

to lead the attack against Dor- 
chester Heights, 

on Long Island, 

leaves Flatlands in Clinton's di- 
vision, 

attacks the American lines, 

to reinforce Howe, 

menaces Fort Washington, 
Peters, Richard, secretary to 
Governor Morris, 

in camp, 

secretary to board of war and 
ordnance, 
Peters, Judge, receives Washing- 
ton, 
Petersburg ravaged by the British, 
Perouney, Chevalier de, 
Philadelphia during the battle of 
Braudywine, 

strength of the British, 

question of attack on, 

British defences, 

British army described, 

number of British in, 

preparations to evacuate, 

evacuated by the British, 
Philipsb, Miss Mary, 
Phillips, General, commands ar- 
tillery, 

fortiiies Sugar Hill, 

demurs to the expedition against 
Bennington, 

in the attack on Gates, 

covers Burgoyne's retreat, 

visits Baroness do Riedesel, 

sails from New York, 

arrives at Portsmouth, 

marauds the country, 

regains Petersburg, 

death of, 
Phipps' Farm, battery erected on, 
Phoinix ship of war sails up the 
Hudson, 

move up near Fort Montgomery, 

and Rose retreat, 
Piankeshas, king of, 

interview with the French am- 
bassadors, 
PiCHON, M.jtoWm. Vans Murray, 
Pickens, General, crosses the Dan, 

aftair with Pyle's loyalists, 

joins Greene, 

at Eutaw Springs, 
Pickering, Colonel Timothy, with 
the Essex militi:i. 



511 
535 
491 
492 
637 



338 

294 

129 
130 

147 
169 
169 

252 



435 
5G4 
564 
565 
506 
567 
567 
635 
640 
729 
731 
491 
491 

141 

142 
142 
142 

142 
142 

222 
Ltil 

203 

28'j 
2SS 
290 

56 
59 



6C0 
590 

47 

S95 

430 
430 
430 
448 
457 
tfOl 
462 



358 
863 

883 
409 
410 

414 
589 
590 
690 
590 
591 
200 

245 
249 
259 
23 



759 
579 
580 
613 
613 



INDEX. 



quartermaster-general, 624 

Becretary of war, 734 

to Washington urging his return, 737 
Becretary of state, 740 

recommends Hamilton as second 
in command, 756 

PiEL, Lieutenant, character of 

Rahl, 31S 

account of treatment of Hessian 
prisoners, 319 

Pierce, Leigh, anecdote of Wash- 
ington, 655 
PiGOT, Gen., ascends Breed's Hill, 154 
orders a retreat, 154 
PiGOTT, General Sir Robert, com- 
mands at Rhode Island, 
amount and disposition of 
force, 
Pilgrims, 

PiNCKNET, Colonel, commands 
Fort Moultrie, 
cannonades the British fleet, 
withdraws with part of the gar- 
rison from Fort Moultrie, 
PiKCKNET, Mr., concerning Brit- 
ish aggressions, 
PiNOKNEY, Charles Cotesworth, 
minister to France, 
dismissed by tlie French Gov- 
ernment, 
envoy to France, 
appointed major general, 
his acceptance. 
Pine's Bridge, 
Piqua, Indian town, 
PiTOAiRN, Major, sent forward to 
Concord, 
enters Lexington, 
orders tho American j'eomanry 

to disperse, 
puts them to flight, 
slain at Bunker's Hill, 
Pitt, William, administration, 
Pittsburg, embryo city, 
Plains of Abraham, 
taken possession of by Wolfe, 
battle, 

victory of the English., 
PoMEROT, Seth, nominated general 
officer, 
appointed brigadier general, 
in favor of occupying Charles 

ton heights, 
sharpshooting, 
attempts to rally the troops, 
Pontiac's war, 

PoNTiAC and Colonel Croghan, 
Poor, Gen., to attack Burgoyue, 

attacks the enemy, 
PoRTEKFiELD, Colouel, commands 
Virginia troops, 
joins Gates, 
mortally wounded. 
Port Royal Island, landing of 

Tarleton, 505 

Portsmouth, expedition against, 588 
PoSBY, Major, at the storming of 

Stony Point, 489 

Potomac river, 106 

Powder, scarcity of, 171 

PowEL, brigadier general, in the 

invasion from Canada, 
Prayers in Washington's camp, 
Pkbscott, Colonel William, 
to fortify Bunker's Hill, 
leave Cambridge, 
crosses tho Neck, 
ascends Bunker's Hill, 
anxiety, 

inspires confidence, 
sends for reinforcements. 



472 

472 
109 



506 
512 



512 

727 
744 



752 
753 
756 
758 
288 
22 

140 
140 

140 
141 
157 

88 
119 

98 
100 
100 
101 

137 
148 

150 
156 
156 
108 
119 
409 
409 

525 
526 
526 



358 
45 
151 
151 
151 
151 
151 
152 
152 
DDii^oi^i iv=ii..Lv.x^^^.^...o, 153 

tenders the command to Warren, 154 
encourages his men, 155 

orders a retreat, 156 

services at Bunker's Hill, ", 157 
at Throg's Neck, 283 

Pkescott, General, and Ethan 

Allen, 1S5 

confined in jail, _ 199 

commands British forcee in 

Rhode Island, 366 

exchanged for Lee, 458 

Preston, Major, in command of 

St. Johns, 183 

manful resistance, 191 

capitulates, 192 



Pbevost, Genera], ordered to at- 
tack Georgia, 481 
takes Suubm-y, 481 
arrives at Savannah and takes 
command, 481 
Prevost, Bishop, 662 
Pride AUX, Brigadier General, to 
attack Fort Niagara, 97 
embarks at Oswego, 96 
besieges Fort Niagara, 97 
is killed, 97 
Prince William Henry, project 

to capture, 622 

Princeton, British forces assem- 
bled at, 322 
action at, . 325 
killed and wounded, 325 
Pringle, Captain, conducts Brit- 
ish armament on Lake Cham- 
plain, 293 
engages Arnold, 293 
draws ofif for the night, 293 
Prisoners, exchange of, 332 
Province Island, fortified by Gen. 

Howe, 426 

PcLASKi, Count, a volunteer, 391 

obtains a command, 430 

infantry massacred by Fei'guson, 479 
PusAz, Hugh de, Bishop of Dur- 
ham, his wealth and retinue, 6 
prepares to join the crusade, 
but is induced to remain, 7 

PoTNAM, Captain, despatched to 

Cambridge, 154 

Pdtnam, Israel, detached to re- 
connoitre, 90 
at Boston, 134 
his history, 134 
hearsof the battle of Lexington, 135 
in command of a regiment, 143 
appointed major general, 148 
in command of Connecticut 

troops, 150 

in favor of occupying Charles- 
town heights, 150 
opinion of American soldiers, 151 
joins Prescott, 151 
advises fortifying Breed's HiU, 152 
asks for reinforcements, 153 
arrives at the redoubt, 153 
words with Prescott, 153 
orders a breastwork on Bunker's 

Hill, 153 

suggests a novel rampart, 153 

rallies the reinforcements, 155 

attempts to rally the troops, 156 

a leading spirit at Bunker's Hill, 157 
at Prospect Hill, 104 

his merits, 167 

complimented by Washington, 168 
commands the centre, 168 

and his female prize, 186 

christens the captured mortar, 197 
takes possession of Cobble Hill, 199 
fortifies Leohmere Point, 199 

anecdote of, 200 

treats his men to an exploit, 218 
ready to attack Boston, 222 

appointed to command in New 

York, 227 

military rule, 227 

military devices, 256 

to Gates on tho British force, 256 
in command of Long Island, 262 
crosses to Long Island, 262 

in favor of abandoning New 

York, 273 

to be stationed in New York, 274 
retreat from New York, 275 

described by Col. Humphreys, 275 
traditional anecdote, 275 

loss in the retreat, 275 

at McGowan's Pass, 276 

commands troops in the Jerseys, 290 
takes command of Philadelphia, 307 
ordered to Princeton, 330 

amount of force, 330 

stratagem to conceal his weak- 
ness, 330 
to command the Hudson, 351 
on the alert, 373 
to Sir Henry Clinton on Edmund 

Palmer, 373 

force at Peekskill, 404 

to Clinton on the designs of tho 
enemy, 404 



to Clinton on the movements of 

the enemy, 405 

prepares for an attack, 405 

outmanceuvred by Sir Henry 

Clinton, 407 

to Washington on the move- 
ments of "the British, 407 
desires to attack New York, 427 
his "hobby-horse," 428 
goes to Connecticut on private 

matters, 453 

near West Point, 478 

at West Point, 479 

comniands at Danbury, 481 

at Smith's Clove, 487 

seconds the resolutions of Knox, 630 
Putnam, Colonel Rufus, directs 

the works about Kingsbridge, 236 
Pyle, Colonel, defeated by Lee 
and Pickens, 580 



a 

Quaker Hill occupied by the Brit- 
ish, 413 

Quebec, its situation, 98 

capitulates, 101 

alarm caused by Arnold, 204 

besieged by Montgomery, 211 

the assault, 212 

arrival of reinforcements, 230 

blockade raised, 231 

QuiNCY, Josiah, at town meetings, 129 



Rahl, Colonel, attack on Chatter- 
ton's Hill, 287 
attack on Fort Washington, 296 
drives in Colonel Rawlings, 297 
in command of Trenton, 312 
described, 312 
reconnoitres the banks of the 

Delaware, 313 

warned of the attack, 315 

alarm at an outpost, 315 

relaxes his vigilance, 315 

bewildered by the attack, 317 

rash charge, 317 

wounded, 317 

taken prisoner, 317 

his character, 318 

dying request, 318 

death and burial, 318 

Ramsey, Colonel, at Monmouth 

Court House, 465 

Randolph, Edmund, nominated 
attorney general, 673 

opinions and presence, 673 

opposed to a national bank, _ 690 
to Washington, urging a continu- 
ance of office, 705 
concerning French prizes, 715 
succeeds Jefferson as secretary 

of state, 725 

Fauchet's despatch, 737 

correspondence with Washing- 
ton, 738 
resigns, 738 
his vindication, 739 
to Bushrod Washington, his con- 
trition, 740 
Randolph, Peyton, heads a com- 
pany of volunteers, 81 
elected moderator, 117, 126 
delegate to General Congress, 129 
president of second Congress, 146 
return to Virginia Assembly, 146 
Randolph, of Tuckahoe, and his 

horse Shakespeare, 104 

Rank of officers, 51 

Rapelyb, Mrs., betrays the Amer- 
icans, 2G9 
Rawdon, Lord, 406 
embarks from New York, 506 
at Camden, 524 
concentrates his forces at Cam- 
den, 526 
on the American yeomanry, 559 
aftair at Hobkirk's Hill, 599 
evacuates Camden, 600 
enters Ninety-Six, 600 
pursues Grant, 600 
at Orangeburg, 600 

19 



INDEX. 



departs for Europe, 603 

RAWLiNGS,Colouel, at Fort Wash- 

ington, 296 

driven in by Rahl, 297 

Rawlins bleeds M^'ashington, 7C2 

Red Hook, battery erected at, 200 

cannonaded, 264 

Red Jacket at Oriskany, 381 

Reed, Colonel Joseph, ordered to 

assist Frescott, 153 

repulses General Ilowe, 155 

maintains his position, 156 

Washington's eecrctarj-, 168 

remonstrance of friends, 168 

on scarcity of powder, 171 

on reserve of ammunition, 180 

departs for Philadelphia, 189 

meets Lieutenant Brown, 247 

recognition of Washington's 

rank, 247 

declines to receive the letter, 247 
on sectional jealousies, 252 

on the policy of remaining in 

New York, 257 

relative to Clinton's arrival at 

New Tork, 257 

on the British, 257 

on Putnam's happiness, 262 

to his wife, 270 

on the awkward position of the 

army, 270 

concerning desertions, 271 

to his wife, anxieties, 274 

reports a skirmish, 277 

insolence of British troops, 277 

to his wife, from Harlem 

Heights, 281 

opposed to holding Fort Wash- 
ington, 295 
to Lee, disparaging to Washing- 
ton, "" 299 
despatched to Burlington, 300 
rebuke from Washington, 301 
reconciliation, (note,) 304 
on Washington's return to 

Princeton, 306 

Btationed at Bristol, 311 

marches to Bordentown, 320 

to Washington from Trenton, 321 
sends in pursuit of Donop, 321 

Burprises a British picket, 322 

scours the country, 327 

appeal to Washington, 353 

to Gates, comparing exploits, 430 
to Wharton, relative to attack 

on Philadelphia, 431 

narrow escape of, 433 

on keeping the field, 434 

reply to Johnstone, 460 

drafts proclamation for Arnold, 500 
to Greene, on Arnold's conduct, 601 
president of the executive coun- 
cil of Pennsylvania, 501 
increased powers, 511 
revolt of the Pennsylvania line, 566 
arrives at Princeton, 566 
propositions to the troops, 567 
Reign of Terror, commencement 

of, 710 

Reparti, Captain, 32 

Republicans, party formed, 691 

Revolution commenced, 143 

trials of the, 497 

Reynell, Lieutenant, 402 

Rhode Island, sends volunteers, 143 

troops, their fine condition, 165 

Massachusetts and Connecticut 

fit out armed vessels, 187 

(proper,) situation of, 472 

plan of attack, . 473 

siege abandoned, 475 

retreat from, 475 

evacuated by the British, 493 

RicnAKDSON, Colonel, joins Wash- 
ington at New York, 271 
Richmond in Arnold's possession, 569 
RiEDESLL, Baron, in Canada, 238 
in the invasion from Canada, 358 
attacks St. Clair's rear-guard, 305 
demurs to the expedition against 

Bennington, 383 

in the attack on Gates, 409 

covers Burgoyne's retreat, 410 

RiEDESEL, Baroness de, with 

Burgoyne's army, 399 

account of movement, 399 

20 



dines in camp, 410 

during the battle, 411 

describes burial of General Fra- 

ser, 411 

exposed to the horrors of war, 413 
scarcity of water, 414 

reception by Schuyler, 416 

Rifle dress, origin of, 93 

RiKER, Lieutenant, 195 

Robertson, General, communi- 
cates with General Howe, 223 
Robertson, Lieutenant General, 
on commission concerning 
Andre, 545 
to Washington on Andre, 545 
Robinson, Colonel Beverly, and 
Washington, 77 
in the attack against Fort Mont- 
gomery, 406 
connection with Arnold's trea- 
son, 532 
attempted interview, 532 
to Washington, interceding for 

Andre, 540 

accompanies commission, 645 

Robinson, Speaker, thanks Wash- 
ington on behalf of the colony, 103 
objects to Patrick Henry's reso- 
lutions, 111 
RocHAMBEAU, Couut de,espected, 508 
arrives at Newjiort, 520 
past history, 620 
to Vergennes on the state of 

affairs, 520 

his troops, 521 

informs Washington of ships to 

be sent to the Chesapeake, 586 
arranges plan of campaign with 

Washington, 587 

interview with Washington, 593 
arrival with troops, 593 

at Dobbs' Ferry, 594 

reconnoitres, 595 

awkward predicament, 596 

breaks up nis camp, 604 

visits West Point with Wash- 
ington, 605 
pecuniary assistance, 006 
accompanies Washington, 008 
addresses the Gatinais grena- 
diers, 617 
at Williamsburg, 621 
at Verplanck's Point, 626 
retrospect of, 722 
RocHEFODCAULD, Liancourt, and 

Louis XVL, 676 

Rockaway Bridge, Washington at, 518 
Rocky Mount attacked by Sum- 
ner, 525 
RoDNET, to advance against the 

British, 390 

Rogers, Colonel Robert, the rene- 
gade, 279 
at Mamaroneck, 285 
RoMiLLT, Sii Thomas, on Arnold's 

conduct, (note,) 548 

Rose, ship of war, saUa up the 
Hudson, 245 

moves up near Fort Montgom- 
ery, 249 
and "Phcenix retreat, 259 
Ross, Major, capitulation of York- 
town, 619 
RuGELEY, Colonel, taken by Col- 
onel Washington, 562 
Rush, Dr. Benjamin, at Mercer's 

deathbed, 327 

Russell, Lieut. Colonel, takes 

command of Fort Mifllin, 426 

RuTLEDGE, Edward, member of 
the board of war and ordnance, 233 
on committee to confer with 

Lord Howe, 272 

clothed with dictatorial powers, 506 
endeavors to rouse the militia, 512 
to Washington imploring aid for 
South Carolina, 563 

RuTLEDGE, John, judge of su- 
preme court, 073 



Sackville, Lord George, and 

' General Lee, 136 

Sag Harbor, expedition against, 346 
Saltonstall, Commodore, con- 



voys expedition against Penob- 
scot, 
Saratoga occupied by Burgoyne, 
Sargent, Colonel, estimate of St. 

Clair's loss, 
Saunders, Admiral, 
Savage Mountain, 
Savannah besieged by D'Estaing 
and Lincoln, 

besiegers repulsed, 

killed and wounded, 
ScA.MiiEL,Colonel Alexander, mis- 
take, 

vigilant guard over Andre, 

capture and death, 
ScARooTADi accompanies the half- 
king, 

arrives in camp, 

at Braddock's camp, 

taken by the French, 

Ills release, 

son killed by mistake, 

remains true to the English, 

accounts for Braddock's defeat, 

opinion of British soldiers, 
Schuyler, Philip, appointed ma- 
jor general, 

sets out from Philadelphia, 

his origin and education, 

in the old French war, 

in the expedition against Ticon- 
deroga, 

delegate to Congress, 

sympathy with Washington, 

recollections with Lee, 

letters from, 

ordered to Ticonderoga, 

arrives at Ticonderoga, 

to Washington, picture of a 
frontier post, 

complaints to Washington, 

to Washington, 

to Washington on invasion of 
Canada, 

repairs to Albany, 

to Washington recommending 
the employment of savages, 

toWashingtononthe expedition 
to Quebec, 

returns to Ticonderoga, 

illness, 

arrives at the Isle aux Noix, 

sends Allen and Brown to recon- 
noitre, 

skii-mish before St. Johns, 

information of the fort, 

return to the Isle aux Noix, 

arrival of reinforcements, 

prepares to invest St. Johns, 

illness, 

return to Ticonderoga, . 

meets Colonel Warner, 

on Allen's imprudence, 

to Washington on his annoy- 
ances, 

to Washington on the Canada 
expedition, 

to Congress on the conduct of 
troops, 

indignation, 

high-minded rebuke, 

intention to retire, 

to Congress, 

to Washington, 

annoyance from sectional preju- 
dice, 

to Washington on the disasters 
in Canada, 

urges reinforcements for Canada, 214 

besieges and captures Sir John 
Johnson, 215 

conduct applauded by Congress, 215 

prejudice against, 231 

dcrnands a court of inquiry, 232 

question of command with Gates, 250 

to Washington concerning the 
command, 

arrives at Crown Point, 

at Ticonderoga, 

returns to Albany, 

question of command settled, 

on the security of the Northern 
department, 

direction of affairs, 

asks a court of inquiry, 

tenders his resignation, 



491 
412 

697 
99 
61 

494 
494 
494 

268 
643 
611 

41 
44 
69 
62 
62 
64 
74 
74 



148 
157 
157 
158 

15S 
158 
15S 
158 
174 
176 
176 

177 

177 
177 

178 
17S 

179 

179 
170 
179 
179 

182 
182 
182 
182 
182 
182 
182 
182 
182 
185 

185 

191 

195 
195 
195 
195 
195 
190 

196 

214 



250 
250 
250 
251 
251 

337 
339 
£39 
339 



INDEX. 



resignation not accepted, 

to Congress on its resolve, 

misunderstaudiuga with Con- 
gresB, 

reprimanded by Congress, 

in Philadelphiia, 

takes his seat in Congress, 

services at Philadelphia, 

on the point of resigning, 

report of committee of inquiry, 

memorial to Congress, 

reinstated in his command, 

reception at Albany, 

on fortifj'ing Mount Independ- 
ence, 

enforces cleanliness, 

at Ticonderoga, 

hastens to Fort George, 

to Congress on the invasion from 
Canada, 

to Washington, with St. Clair's 
letter, 

hopeful Jetters, 

to General Herkimer, 

to Washington on the evacua- 
tion of Ticonderoga, 

throws up works on Moses 
Creek, 

to Washington on the enemy's 
movements, 

slanders against, 

desires a serutiiij', 

summoned to Congress, 

cause of prejudice against, 
(note,) 

retires to Fort Miller, 

takes post at Stillwater, 

appeals for reinforcements, 

recalled to attend court of in- 
quiry, 

Bends relief to Gansevoort, 

moves from Stillwater, 

to Duane on the appointment 
of Gates, 

to Lincoln on Stark's victory, 

to Stark on his victory, 

means augmenting, 

returns to Albany, 

promotes the success of the 
campaign, 

benevolent condnct, 

on committee to confer with 
Washington, 

to Arnold on Wasliington's dis- 
position, 
ScHuyLER, Mrs., anecdote, 
SooTT, Captain, wounded at Sul- 
livan's Island, 
Scott, General Charles, expedi- 
tion against Indians, 
Seat of Government, 
Sectional jealousies, Washington 
to Schuyler, 

John Adams on, 

Washington's general order 
upon, 

Washington relative to, 
Sbvier, Colonel, in the battle of 

King's Mountain, 
Seymour, Colonel Thomas, com- 
mands Connecticut light- 
horse, 

to Washington, for a discharge 
of troops, 

to Gov. Trumbull, explanatory, 
Shank, Captain, skirmish with 

McPherson, 
Sharpe, Governor, 

furnishes waggons, 
Shaw, Captain, society of the Cin- 

cinn.ati, 
Shaw, Major, to his father, 

Washington and the army, 
Shee, Colonel, 

Shbldurn-e, M.ajor, and detach- 
ment captured, 
Shelby, Colonel, in the battle of 

King's Mountain, 
Shenandoah, Valley of, 

ravaged by Indians, 
She jjQis instigates outrages on the 
colonists, 

at Kittanning, 
Shepard, Colonel, wounded, 
Sherman, Roger, member of the 
board of war and ordnance, 



558 



introduces Gates to Congress, 

at Washington's inauguration, 
Shingis, chief of the Delawares, 

blockades Fort Pitt, 
Shippen, Edward, 
Shippen, Miss Margaret, 
Shirley, Governor of Massachu- 
setts, 
SniRtEY, William, to Gov. Morris, 
Shirley, Gen., expedition against 
Niagara, 

referred to on a point of rank, 

plan of campaign, 

recalled to Kngland, 
Short Hills, Washington postedat, 
Shkeve, Colonel, retreating, 

in the fight at Springfield, 
SnuLDHAM, Admiral, 
Shurtee's Creek, 

SiLLiMAN, Gea., rouses the coun- 
try, 

joined by Arnold and Wooster, 
Silver Heels in Braddock's 

camp, 
SiMCOB, Colonel, accompanies Ar- 
nold, 

devastates Westham, 

deceives Steuben, 

ravages, 

skirmish with Butler, 
Sireuil, Captain de, slain, 
Skene, Colonel, joins Burgoyne, 

suggests an expedition to Ben- 
nington, 

to accompany the expedition, 
Skenesborough, arrival of flotilla 

from Ticonderoga, 
Skinners, 

Slavery, Washington concerning, 
Smallwood, Colonel, 

equipment of his battalion, 

reinforces Washington, 

bravery of his macaronis, 

wounded, 

to co-operate with Rodney, 

his new militia, 

stationed on the Catawba, 
Smith, Joshua Hett, delivers Ar- 
nold's letter to Col. Robinson, 

takes Andre ashore, 

accompanies Andr6, 

parts with AndrS, 

seuf a prisoner to West Point, 

acquitted. 
Smith, Lieut. Col, commands ex- 
pedition against Concord, 

sets out on his march, 

people rising, 

sends for reinforcements, 

sends M.ajor Pitcairn forward, 

arrives at Lexington, 

enters Concord, 

retreats on Boston, 

harassed by the Americans, 

reinforced by Lord Percj', 
Smith, Lieut. Col. Samuel, com- 
mands Fort Mifflin, 

receives thanks of Congress, 

on the defence of Fort Mifflin, 

disabled, 

voted a sword by Congress, 
Smith, Lieutenant, killed while 

bearing flag. 
Smith, William, the historian, on 

Cage, 
SiMiTH, Chief Justice, William, on 

commission concerning Andre, i 
Smith, WiUiam S., comniissioner 

to New York, 
Soldiers' claims, 

adjusted, (note,) 
South Carolina, invasion of, 

condition and population, 

^■mptoms of revolt, 

lower part described, 
Spain and the Mississippi, 
Specht, Brigadier General, in 
command of Burgoyne's camp, 
Spencer, Joseph, appointed briga- 
dier general, 

ofl'ended on a question of rank, 

at Roxbury, 

at Harlem, 
Spicer, Major, at Brandywine, 
Spotswood, CJolonel Alexander, 
forms Washington's guard. 



349 


Springfield, N. J., American 




662 


troops at, 


517 


29 


fight at, 


518 


108 


burned by the British, 


519 


501 


St.amp Act projected, 


110 


501 


its p.assage. 


110 




first opposition to. 


110 


55 


preparations to enforce it, 


112 


61 


popular agitation. 


112 




repealed. 


113 


74 


Stanislaus, King, makes Genera 




76 


Lee his aide-de-camp, 


136 


77 


friendship for General Lee, 


136 


77 


Stanwix, (Jolonel, 


86 


517 


Stark, John, carries the alarm. 


142 


464 


arrives with troops from New 




618 


Haven, 


150 


223 


to reinforce Prescott, 


153 


27 


arrives at Bunker's Hill, 


154 




anecdote. 


154 


344 


repulses General Howe, 


155 


345 


maintains his position. 


156 




leads the advance guard. 


310 


59 


at Bennington, 


374 




appeal to his patriotism. 


382 


563 


at Bennington, 


384 


569 


serves on his own responsibility 


384 


597 


insubordination. 


384 


598 


sallies out and meets the enemy 


384 


598 


attacks Baum, 


385 


618 


defeats Baum, 


385 


376 


to Lafayette, 


443 




forage in Westchester county. 


555 


379 


Staten Island, British throwing up 




383 


works. 


243 




treachery of the people. 


243 


364 


St. Clair, Colonel, detached to 




534 


Three Rivers, 


237 


704 


takes command of Ticonderoga 


349 


252 


announces the aj^pearance of the 




252 


enemy. 


355 


258 


to Schuyler on Burgoyne's force. 


359 


266 


on desperate state of Ticonde- 




287 


roga, 


359 


390 


his garrison, 


360 


397 


evacuates Ticonderoga, 


361 


561 


calls a councU of war, 
evacuates Ticonderoga anc 


363 


533 


Mount Independence, 


363 


533 


his retreat. 


364 


534 


attacked by General Fraser, 


365 


534 


reaches Fort Edward, 


366 


541 


summoned to Congress, 


371 


547 


insinuations against, 

in the camp of the Pennsylvania 


550 


140 


mutineers. 


566 


140 


sent to reinforce Greene, 


621 


140 


receives Washington, 


660 


140 


at Washington's inauguration. 


662 


140 


commands Indi.an expedition, 


692 


141 


cautioned by Washington, 


692 


141 


his army. 


695 


141 


ch.ar.acter and equipment. 


695 


141 


on his march. 


695 


141 


desertions. 


605 




his encampment. 


696 


421 


surprised by Indians, 


696 


423 


conduct in the battle, 


097 


426 


flight of. 


697 


258 


reach Fort Jefferson, 


697 


427 


arrives at Fort Washington, 


697 




asks for a court of inquiry. 


701 


419 


resigns his commission, 
exculpated by House of Repre- 


701 


126 


sentatives, 
St. Claie, Sir John, precedes 


701 


545 


Braddock, 


53 




to Governor Morris, 


53 


633 


engages waggons and horses. 


54 


119 


his wrath at Fort Cumberland, 


56 


121 


in the advance to Fort Duquesne 


65 


495 


orders Washington to Williams- 




504 


burg, 


92 


524 


Steele, Mrs. Elizabeth, and Gene- 




525 


ral Greene, 


578 


666 


Stephens, Colonel Adam, joins 






Washington, 


38 


409 


promoted by Washington, 


44 




with Washington, 


72 


148 


at Princeton, 


304 


167 


at the battle of Germantown, 


419 


109 


dismissed, 


432 


276 


Sterling, (Jolonel, lands at Fort 




393 


Washington, 


297 




at Princeton, 


304 


343 


mortally wounded. 


516 



21 



INDEX. 



Bteuben, Baron, arrival in camp, 450 
his history, 461 

to Washington, on his desire to 

serve America, 451 

proceeds to Congress, 451 

appointed inspector general, 451 
disciplines the army, 452 

anecdotes of, 452 

character and habits, 452 

eflect of his discipline, 4C5 

to preside over court of inquiry, 551 
commands in Virginia, 568 

opposes Arnold, 569 

at York, 588 

obliged to withdraw, 590 

deceived by Simcoe, 597 

opens second parallel before 

Yorktown, 616 

society of the Cincinnati, 633 

at Washington's inauguration, 662 
Stevens, General, joins Gates, 526 
at the council of war, 527 

at the battle of Camden, 527 

takes charge of Morgan's pris- 
oners, 575 
at Guilford Court Ilouse, 582 
orders a retreat, 582 
Stewart, Captain, assists Brad- 
dock, 67 
accompanies Braddoclc, 68 
Stewart, Colonel, at Monmouth 
Court House, 465 
accompanies Wayne, 565 
Stewart, Colonel, at Guilford 

Court House, 583 

Stickney, Colonel, at Bennington, 385 
Stirling, Lord, in command at 
New York, 227 

report on the condition of the 

Highlands, 236 

moves against General Grant, 2G4 
holds him in check, 264 

attacks Cornwallis, 265 

surrenders himself, 266 

exchanged, 278 

resolves to entrap Rogers, 285 

to cross at King's Ferry, 290 

crosses the Hudson, 291 

falls back on Trenton, 387 

at Matouchiu Church, 355 

driven in by Cornwallis, 355 

in favor of attacking Philadel- 
phia, 430 
correspondence with Wilkinson * 

on the Conway letter, 445 

appeases the honor of Wilkin- 
son, 446 
at Monmouth Court House, 465 
encamps at the New Bridge, 492 
unsuccessful descent on Staten 

Island, 498 

retreats to Elizabethtown, 499 

St. Johns, Canada, expedition 
against, 145 

surprised by Arnold, 145 

General Schuyler appears be- 
fore it, 182 
invested by Montgomery, 183 
its resistance, 183 
capitulates, 192 
St. Johns Island, landing of Sir 

Henry Clinton, 505 

St. Leger, Colonel, to make a 

diversion, 358 

invests Fort Schuyler, 379 

summons it to surrender, 379 

tries to intimidate the garrison, 382 

makes regular approaches, 3S2 

presses the siege, 387 

obliged to decamp, 387 

St. Luc commands Indians, 376 

reputation, 384 

St. Lucia, expedition against, 481 

Stobo, Captain, left as hostage, 47 

letter from Fort Duquesne, 49 

imprisoned in Quebec, 52 

his escape, 52 

obtains grant of land, (note,) 121 

Stockwell, Lieutenant, guides 

Col. Willett, 382 

Stoddart, Capt., and Wilkinson, 445 
Stoningtou cannonaded, 186 

Stony Point, landing of the Brit- 
ish, 405 
being fortified, 486 
taken by the British, 487 

22 



position of, 488 

garrison of, 488 

plan of attack, 488 

stormed by the Americans, 489 

killed and wounded, 490 

conduct of the Americans, 490 

evacuated and destroyed Ijy the 

Americans, 490 

fortified and garrisoned by the 
British, 490 

St. Pierre, Chevalier Legardeur 
de, reception of Washington, 31 
gives Washington his reply to 

Gov. Dinwiddle, 32 

his reply to Governor Dinwid- 
dle, 36 
comm.ands Canadians and In- 
dians, 75 
slain, 75 
Stringer, Doctor, dismissed, 340 
St. Simon, Marquis, lands with 
troops, 608 
embarks his troops, 021 
Stdart, Col., joins Lord Rawdon, 600 
encamps on the Congaree, 603 
moves to Eutaw Springs, 613 
battle of Eutaw Springs, 613 
decamps, 615 
retreats to Monk's Corner, 615 
Stuart, Doctor, to Washington on 
sectional interests, 682 
to Washington on ceremonials, 685 
Sugar Hill commands Ticonder- 
oga, 363 
fortified by the British, 363 
Sugar House, 336 
Sulgrave, " Washington's Manor," 

described, 9 

Sullivan, General, under Major 
General Lee, 169 

sent to Portsmouth, 188 

desp.atched to New York, 227 

despatched to Canada, 229 

takes command, 237 

to Washington, hopeful, 237 

mistakes the enemy's force, 238 

to Washington on Thonjpson's 

expedition, 238 

retreats, 239 

joined by Arnold, 239 

embarks for Crown Point, 239 

requests leave of absence, _ 250 
tenders his resignation, ^ 251 

in temporary command, 201 

reconnoitres, 264 

retreats, 264 

taken prisoner, 265 

at Vealtown, 309 

hastens to join Washington, 310 

joins Wasiiington, 312 

ordered to advance and charge, 316 
attacks Trenton, 316 

at Morristown, 330 

behind the Sourland Hills, 354 

to advance to the Highlands, 350 
joins Washington, 390 

attempt to surprise the enemy, 390 
at Brandywine, 393 

at the battle of Germantown, 419 
describes Washington at Ger- 
mantown, 420 
to attack Rhode Island, 472 
moves from Providence, 473 
occupies abandoned works, 473 
before Newport, 473 
at Honeyman's Hill, 474 
protest against D'Estaing's pro- 
ceeding to Boston, 474 
general order on the departure 

of the French fleet, 474 

retreats to Batt's Hill, 475 

commands expedition against 

the Indians, 4^85 

battle at Newtown, 4S5 

laj's the Indian country waste, 486 
thanked by Congress, 486 

retires from the ser\ice, 486 

Hamilton's talent for finance, 569 
Sullivan's Island fortified, 254 

battle of, 254 

bravery of troops, 255 

British .account, 255 

deficiency of powder, 255 

enemy repulsed, 255 

loss of the Americans, 255 

Sumner, Gen., at Eutaw Springs, 613 



gives way," CH 

Sumter, Thomas, character and 
services, 524 

chosen leader, 525 

attacks the British at Rocky 

Mount, 525 

successful attack on Hanging 

Rock, 525 

sends to Gates for reinforce- 
ments, 526 
reduces redoubt onthe Wateree, 527 
surprised by Taiieton, 529 
again in the field, 560 
menaces the British posts, 560 
fight at Black Stock Hill, 560 
detached to scour the country, 601 
pursues Colonel Coatcs, 601 
attack on Colonel Coates, 602 
rejoins Greene, 603 
Sutherland, Major, commands at 

Paulus Hook, 492 

Symonds, Colonel, joins Stark, 385 



Talbot, Captain, at Fort Mifflin, 426 
wounded, 427 

Talleyrand and the American 
envoys, 754 

amicable overtures, 759 

Tallmadge, Major, and Andre, 536 
escorts Andre to the Robinson 

House, 541 

fascinated by Andre, 541 

conversation with Andre, 541 

predicts Andre's fate, 642 

to Colonel Webb, commiser- 
ating Andr6, 544 
account of Andre's execution, 547 
successful exploit, 555 

Tanacharisson, a Seneca chief, 21 
accompanies Washington to the 

French post, 30 

letter to Washington, 41 

prepares for battle, 43 

opinion of white men's warfare, 48 
his death, 48 

Tarleton, Lieutenant Colonel 
Banastre, on the expedition to 
South Carolina, 504 

description of, 505 

obtains horses for his dragoons, 505 
joins General Patterson, 512 

surprises General Hugo's camp, 513 
surprises Americans at Laneau's 

Ferry, 513 

pursues Colonel Buford, 514 

butchery at Waxhaw, 515 

his excuse, 515 

pursues Sumter, 528 

surprises Sumter, 529 

in quest of Marion, 560 

fight at Black Stock Hill, 560 

sent in quest of Morgan, 572 

at Pacolet, 572 

battle of the Cowpens, 573 

detached to Beattie's Ford, 576 

surprise at Tarrant's Tavern, 577 
recruiting expedition, 580 

recalled to Hillsborough, 580 

skirmish with Lee, 582 

in Virginia, 697 

skirmish with the French, 612 

Tarrant's Tavern, militia sur- 
prised by Tarleton, 577 

Tash, Colonel, ordered toFishkill, 281 

Tate, Captain, under Morgan, 562 

Taxation of American colonies, 109 

Ten Brobck, General, 388 

arrives on the field, 410 

Ternant, M., inspector, 451 

Ternay, Chevalier dc, to com- 
mand French fleet, 508 
arrives at Newport, 520 

Thayer, commands Fort MifBin, 426 
evacuates the Fort, 426 

Thicketty Run, Braddock en- 
camps at, 64 

Thomas, John, appointed briga- 
dier genei-al, 148 
commands the right wing, 150 
fortifies Roxbury Neck, 164 
oftended on a question of mnk, 167 
at Roxbury. 169 
sets out for Dorchester Heights, 221 



INDEX. 



reinforcpil, 222 

commands in Canada, 226 

promotion, 226 

head-quarters at Albany, 226 

arrives at Quebec, 230 

sends a tire-ship, 230 

prepares to retreat, 230 

at Point Deschambault, 231 
retreats to the mouth of the 

Sorel, 237 

illness and death, 237 

Thompson, Brig. Gen., despatched 

to Canada, 229 

at the moutli of the Sorcl, 237 

preparing' to retreat, 237 

captured at Three Rivers, 238 

Thompson, Colonel, at Sullivan's 

Island, 254 

repulses Sir Henry Clinton, 254 

receives thanks of Cont;ress, 254 

Three Mile Run, skirmish at, 432 

Throg'e^ Neck, position of, 282 

landing of the British , 283 

Ticonderoga, to be reduced, 88 

dismantled, 97 

expedition against, 144 

surprised by Ethan Allen, 145 

strength of garrison, 177 

preparations for defence, 292 

threatened, 354 

approach of Burgoyne, 359 

thickening alarms, 360 

enemy advancing, 3G0 

evacuated, 361 
Burgoyne fortifies Mount Hope, 363 

invested, 303 

commanded by Sugar HiU, 363 

evacuated, 363 

effects of evacuation, 366 

surprised by Colonel Brown, 403 

evacuated by the British, 416 

TiLGHMAN, Colonel Tench, on Gen- 
eral Lee, 284 
rival generalship, 289 
enemy at Dobbs' Ferry, 289 
to R. R. Livingston, relative to 

Greene, 298 

Washington's aide-de-camp, 330 

AVa><hiiigton's festive gayeij', 644 

death of, 661 

Tilly, M. de, detached to the 

Chesapeake, 586 

failure of the enterprise, 687 

TowNSEND, Brigadier, in the expe- 
dition to Quebec, 98 
sent against Montcalm, 100 
in command, 101 
advances to meet De Bougain- 
ville, 101 
and General Lee, 136 

Travelling in 1756, 77 

Treasury, secretary of the, impor- 
tance of the post, 672 

TREAT,Capt., killed at Fort Mifflin, 426 

Treaty with France, 455 

ratitied by CoDgreas, 456 

reioicings in the United States, 456 
! - _ - - ... - ^o^ 

735 
735 
735 
736 

27 
28 
36 
39 



with England (Jay's), 

debated in the Senate, 

ratified, 

public outcry against, 

Washington concerning, 
Trent, Captain William, sent to 
expostulate with the French, 

returns home unsuccessful, 

despatched to the frontier, 

his behavior, 
Trenton, in command of Col. Rahl, 312 

projected attack on, 

alarm at an outpost, 

march of American troops, 

picket driven in, 

the attack, 

surrender of the Hessians, 

number of prisoners. 
Triplet, Captain, under Morgan, 562 
Troup, Major, 348 

Truman, Captain, with General 

St. Clair, 696 

Trumbull, Colonel John, aide-de- 
camp to Washington, 167 

his duties, 167 

selects site for a fort, 250 

arrives from Europe, 679 

message from Lafayette to Wash- 
ington, 679 



Trumbull, Jonathan, patriotism, 166 
to Washington, 166 

asks protection for New London, 170 
to Washington on desertion of 

Connecticut troops, 
aids General Lee, 
concerning Schuyler and Gates, 
patriotism of, 
Trumbull, Joseph, appointed com- 
missary general, 
to Gates concerning Schuyler, 
to Gates concerning Lee, 
accusing Schuyler, 
resigns, 
Trton, Governor, absent in Eng- 
land, 160 
in New York harbor, 160 
reception in New York, 161 
letter concerning, 228 
in New York bay, 228 
conspiracy in New York, 239 
oflers bounty to recruits, 240 
on colonial loyalty, (note,) 242 
conducts an expedition against 

Danbury, 344 

lands at Canepo Hill, 344 

destroys Danbury, 345 

commences the retreat, 345 

intrenched at Ridgefield, 345 

reaches Canepo Hill, 346 

sends Lord North's bills to Wash- 
ington, 455 
commands expedition against 

Connecticut, 487 

lands near New Haven, 487 

takes New Haven, 487 

destroys Fairfield, 4S8 

devastates Nonvalk, 488 

TupPER, Colonel, attacks the Rose 
and Phoenix, 257 

bravery of the Americans, 257 

Turtle Bay cannonaded, 274 

TuTTLE, Rev. Joseph F., anec- 
dotes, (note,) 498 



United Colonies, 146 



Valley Forge, march to, 434 

disposition of the army, 434 

condition of the troops, 448 

described by British historian, 448 
amount of American troops, 457 
Van Braam, Jacoli, Washington's 
fencing master, 25 

accompanies Washington as in- 
terpreter, 28 
made captain, 38 
recommended by Washington for 

promotion, 44 

treats with the French, 47 

left as hostage, 47 

accused of treachery, 48 

imprisoned in Quebec, 52 

escape and recapture, 52 

sent to England, 52 

obtains grant of land, 121 

to Washington, relating his his- 
tory, 641 
Van Cortlandt, Pierre, to Gen- 
eral Lee, 209 
patriotic zeal, 248 
family (note), 249 
joins Schuyler, 388 
Van Rensselaer, General, drives 

back the marauders, 651 

Van Schaick, Colonel, 361 

expedition against the Ononda- 
gas, 485 

Van Wart, Isaac, and Andre, 635 
and the death of Andre, 647 

Varick, Colonel, in correspond- 
ence with Schuyler, 399 
fears Burgoyne will decamp, 400 
to Schuyler, on Burgoyne's sur- 
render, 414 
Varnum, General, 356 
reinforces Washington, 421 
at Red Bank, 426 
on the destitution of the troops, 434 
meets Washington, 655 



407 

487 

30 



102 
420 



624 



405 
486 

46 

49 

98 

587 
617 
617 

24 
41 



59 



Vaughan, General, to move up the 
Hudson, 

expedition up the Hudson,' 
Venango, 

Verge'nnes, Count de, prediction 
concerning the American col- 
onies, 
on the battle of Germantown, 

solicits the liberation of Capt. 
AsgiU, 

Vermont admitted into the Union, 691 
Verplanck's Point, landing of the 
British, 

fort erected on, 
Villiers, Captain de, sallies from 
Fort Duquesne, 
his account of the afiair at Great 
Meadows, 
Vincent, Earl St., in the expedi- 
tion against Quebec, 
Viomenil, General, the Baron de, 
embarked, 

to storm a redoubt, 

carries the redoubt, 
Virginia divided into military dis- 
tricts. 

House of Burgesses convened, 

vote thanks to Washington and 
his oificers, 

grant j620,000 for the public ser- 
vice, 

recruits, their appearance and 
discipline, 

troops, eflective mode of fighting, 67 

Legislature, reform the militia 
laws, 

Assembly, vote measures of re- 
lief, 

troops, gallant conduct, 

aristocratical days, 

style of living, 

love of horses, 

estate, a little empire, 

Legislature, their proceedings, 

sympathy with the patriots of 
New England, 

address to the king, 

dissolved by Lord Botetourt, 

adjourn to a private house, 

Peyton Randolph moderator, 

pledge themselves not to use or 
import taxed British goods, 

public discontents, 

JBoard of Commissioners, 

renewed public irritation, 

Legislature, call the Earl of Dun- 
more to account, 

prorogued by the governor, 

convened, 

corresponding committee, 

aristocracy. 

Legislature in session, 

splendid opening, 

indignation at the Boston port 
bill, 

protest against obnoxious acts of 
Parliament, 

appoint a day of fasting and 
prayer, 

dissolved, 

adjourn to the Raleigh tavern, 

resolutions. 



76 

80 
95 
103 
104 
104 
104 
116 

116 

117 
117 
117 
117 

117 
118 
119 
122 

122 
122 
122 
125 
125 
125 
125 

125 

125 

125 
125 

125 

_„ „..„, 125 

recommend a General Congress, 125 
meeting called, 137 

military preparations, 137 

Bocond convention at Richmond, 139 
in combustion, 143 

troops described, 169 

sharpshooting,' 169 

General Assembly of, conduct 

toward Gates, 
defenceless state, 
Assembly, reception of Wash- 
ington, 
appropriation to Washington, 
Van Dechow, Major, and Colonel 
Rahl, 
mortally wounded. 



561 
568 



644 
645 



313 
317 



W 

Wadworth, Colonel, resigns, 498 

Wainwood, Mr., intercepts a trea- 
sonable letter, 180 
Walcott, Col., referee for ex- 
change of prisoners, 333 

23 



INDEX. 



Waldeceers join General Howe, 285 
Wales, Judtre, on the bombard- 
ment of Boston, 189 
Walker, Capt., interprets for 

Steuben, 452 

Walker, Thomas, and General 

Prescott, (note,) X99 

Wallace, Captain, piratical rep- 
utation, 1,^6 
harasses Rhode Island, 205 
before New York, 245 
Wallace, Sir James, to go up the 

IIudHou, 4Q'^ 

Walpole, Horace, opinion of 
Washington, 47 

anecdotes of Braddoek, 53 

satirical remark on Braddoek' s 

delay, 65 

on Granville, 110 

on Lord Botetourt, 116 

and Horatio Gates, 138 

on Burgoyne's plays, 164 

concerning General Gage, 188 

on Lord Howe, 226 

Walpole, Sir Robert, on Ameri- 
can taxation, I09 
Wando, works thrown up, 512 
Ward, Arteraas, nominated gen- 
eral officer, 137 
commands American camp, 143 
his services, I43 
sustained in Congress, 147 
appointed major general, 148 
elected second in command, 148 
head-quarters at Cambridge, 150 
disposition of troops, 150 
doubts the expediency of occu- 
pying Charlestown Heights, 150 
reinforces Prescott, 153 
commands right wing, 169 
enters Boston, 224 
Ward, Henry, transmits treason- 

able letter to General Greene, 186 
WAR^■ER, Seth, Ethan Allen's 
Lieutenant, I44 

in the expedition against Ticon- 

deroga, I44 

surprises Crown Point, 145 

repairs to Congress, I75 

repairs to New York Convention, 175 
elected Lieutenant Colonel, 177 

arrives at cnnip, 182 

detached to mtercept relief, 183 

attacks General Carleton, 192 

in St. Clair's retreat, 365 

at Manchester, SSi 

joins Stark, 384 

arrives at the scene of action, 386 
Warren, Dr. Joseph, member of 
Committee of Safety, 140 

gives the alarm, 140 

arrives from Boston, 142 

doubts the expediency of occu- 
pying Charlestown JSeights, 150 
arrives at the heights, 154 

noble conduct, I54 

declines the command, 154 

death, 156 

public loss, 157 

Washington, modifications of the 

name, g 

Washington, Augustine, father 
of George, born, 10 

marries Jane Butler, and after- 
wards Mary Ball, 10 
his death, 12 

Washington, George, genealogy of 5 
birth of, 10 
the house of his boyhood, 11 
his early education, 11 
his martial spirit, H 
school exercises, 12 
physical strength, 13 
his code of morals and manners, 13 
influence of soldiers' tales, 14 
obtains a midshipman's warrant, 14 
relinquished on his mother's re- 
monstrance and returns to 
Bchool, 14 
studies and exercises, 14 
echool-boy passion, 14 
attempts at poetry, 14 
appearance and character at six- 
teen, j5 
letters to friends, 16 
engaged as surveyor, 16 

24 



expedition beyond tho Bine 

Ridge, 10 

life in the wilderness, 17 

completes his surveys and re- 
turns home, 18 
appointed public surveyor, 18 
appointed adjutant general, 25 
prepares himself for his new du- 
ties, 25 
accompanies Lawrence to the 

West Indies, 25 

arrives at Barbadoes, 25 

witnesses a dramatic perform- 
ance for the first time, 25 
attacked with small-pox, 25 
recovery, 25 
returns to Virginia, 26 
appointed executor of his broth- 
er Lawrence's will, £6 
chosen to negotiate with tho In- 
dians, 28 
his instructions, 28 
departs on his mission, 28 
arrives at Wills' Creek, 28 
meets Mr. Gist, whom he en- 

g-iges, 28 

his description of the countri', "9 
invites Shingis, chief of tho t)el- 
awares, to the council at Logs- 
town, 29 
arrives at Logstown, 29 
interview with the half-king, 29 
meets the Indians in couneJl, 29 
first lesson in Indian diplomacy, 30 
sets out for the French post, 30 
arrives at Venango, so 
meets Captain Joncaire, 30 
at supper with Joncaire, SO 
sets out from Venango, 31 
reaches the French fort, 31 
his reception, 31 
communication with the French 

officers, 32 

takes observations of the fort, 

&c., 32 

prepares to return, 32 

receives the reply of the Cheva- 
lier de St. Pierre to Gov. Din- 
widdle, 33 
reaches Venango, 33 
sets out from Venango home- 
ward, S3 
severe cold, travel on foot, 33 
arrives at Murdering Town, 34 
engages an Indian guide to Shan- 

nopins Town, 34 

treachery of the guide, 34 

crosses the Alleghany River, im- 
minent peril, 35 
arrives at Frazier's, 35 
appeases the anger of Queen Al- 

iquippa, 35 

reaches Williamsburg, 35 

his conduct through the expedi- 
tion, 36 
made lieutenant colonel, 37 
on recruiting service, 37 
sets out with two companies to 

tho fork of the Ohio, 38 

toilful march to Wills' Creek, 38 
calls a council of war, 39 

writes to Governor Dinwiddle, 39 
at Little Meadows, 40 

arrives at the Youghiogeny 

River, 40 

remonstrates against the insufS- 

cient pay, 40 

his motives of action, 40 

explores the river in a canoe, 40 

letter from the half-king, 41 

rumors of advancing French, 41 

takes a position at tho Great 

Meadows, 41 

interview with the half-king, 41 

surprises the French, 41 

letters to Governor Bidwiddie, 42 
expects to be attacked, 43 

his military excitement, 43 

whistling of bullets, 43 

to Croghan for supplies, 44 

to Governor Dinwiddle in behalf 

ofVanBraam, 44 

to Governor Dinwiddle in refer- 
ence to Captain Mackay's com- 
pany, 44 
deUvers presents to the Indians, 45 



receives tho name of Connotau- 

carius, 
to Governor Dinwiddle about 

French prisoners, 
to Governor Dinwiddle concern- 
ing Capt. Mackay, 
resumes his march to Redstone 

Creek, 
retreats, 

reaches Great Meadows, 
strengthens Fort Necessity, 
deserted by the Indians, 
attacked by French and Indians, 
capitulates to the French, 
destroys military stores, 
returns to Williamsburg, 
receives a vote of thanks, 
to WilUam Fairfax about Cro- 
ghan and Montour, 
rejoins his regiment, 
from Governor Dinwiddle or- 
dering an advance to Wills' 
Creek, 
his objections to the project, 
leaves the service, 
is urged by Governor Sharpe to 

continue, 
his reply, 
visits his mother, 
takes up his abode at Mount Ver- 
non, 
his excitement at the military 
preparations under Braddoek, 
desires to join as a volunteer, 
is invited to join Braddock's 

staff, 
accepts tho appointment, 
resists the appeals of his mother, 
arrives at Braddock's head-quar- 
ters, 
his reception, 
his predictions, 
horses disabled, 
sent for the military chest, 
notions of frugality outraged by 
officers of Braddock's expedi- 
tion, 
counsels Braddoek, 
personal example, 
his disappointment with their 

movements, 
illness, 
rests at the great crossings of 

the Youghiogeny, 
from Captain Morris, 
rejoins Braddoek, 
cordial reception, 
delighted with the appearance 

of the army, 
in battle, 

danger and preservation, 
sent to Colonel Dunbar's camp 

for aid, 
returns with supplies, 
reads the funeral service over 

Braddoek, 
reaches Fort Cumberland, 
to his mother and brother, 
at Mount Vernon, 
to Augustine, 

prepares for the public safety. 
Lis willingness to serve his 

countiy, 
declines to solicit the command, 
to his mother, 

appointed commander-in-chief, 
popularity among trials and re- 

^•erses, 
fixes his head-quarters at Win- 
chester, 
panic at Winchester, 
his difficulties, 
"insolence of the people," 
increased alarms, 
ludicrous result, 
appreciation of Indi.on aid, 
disciplines his troops, 76 

questions of precedence, 76 

Bets out for Boston, 77 

his equipment, 77 

aristocr.itical order for clothes, 77 
the journey, 77 

interview with Governor Shirley, 77 
disappointment in not being put 
upon the regular establish- 
ment, 77 



45 

45 

45 

45 
46 
46 
46 
46 
47 
47 
47 
48 
48 

48 
49 



CS 



INDEX. 



return to New York, 

meets Miss Mary Philipee, 

admiration of her, 

return to Virginia, 

repairs to Winchester, 

inhabitants in dismaj', 

appealed to for protection, 

to Governor Din^tiddie, 

attacked by the press, 

his indignation, 

opposes the plan of defence de- 
vised by Gov. Dinwiddle, 

plan proposed, 

recommendations with respect 
to military laws, 

superintends the measures taken 
for frontier security, 

tour of inspection, 

the irregulars, 

cross purposes with Governor 
Dinwiddle, 

to Mr. Speaker Robinson, 

asks permission to visit Phila- 
delphlEi, 

to Lord Loudon in vindication 
of his conduct, 

his reception by Lord Loudon, 

stationed at Winchester, 

misunderstanding witii Dinwid- 
die, 

appeal to Dinwiddle, 

illness, 

retires to Mount Vernon, 

state of health, 

to Colonel Stanwix, 

improved health, 

resumes command of Fort Lou- 
don, 

eatisfiiction at the decision to re- 
duce Fort Duquosne, 

to Colonel Stanwix, 

to Major Halket, 

orders out the militia, 

sets off for Williamsburg, 

meets Miss Martha Custis, 

is smitten, 

courtship, 

engatcement, 

military conference, 

arrives at Winchester, 

ordered to Fort Cumberland, 

alters the military dress, 

annoyed by Indians, 

efficiency of Indian scouts, 

discountenances a project of Col. 
Bouquet, 

proposed as representative to 
the House of Burgesses, 

elected and chaired, 

hears of Amherst's success, 

to Colonel Bouquet, 

remonstrates against opening a 
new road, 

ordered to Raystown, 

to Governor Faucjuier, 

given command of a division, 

arrives before Fort Duquesne, 

occupies the ruins of Fort Du- 
quesne, 

resigns his commission, 

marricri Mrs. Custis, 

at the " White House," 

takes his seat in the IIouso of 
Burgesses, 

first ellbrt, 

intrusted with the care of the 
property of Mr. Custis's cliil- 
dreh, 

intimates a desire to visit Eng- 
land, 

happiness in retirement, 

vestryman, 

deportiTicnt in Church, 

his fortune, 

horses, 

dogs, 

riding equipments, (note,) 

management of his estate, 

business habits, 

the reputation of his brand, 

domestic habits, 

treatment of negroes, 

anecdote, 

his new plough, 

fox-hunting, 

hunting dinners, 



hunting memoranda, (note,) 106 
fishing and sliooting, 106 

defiant oysterman, 106 

duck shooting, 106 

chastises a poacher, 106 

aquatic recreations, 106 

visits to Annapolis, 107 

amusements, 107 

dancing, 107 

domestic life, 107 

project to drain Dismal Swamp, 107 
in the House of Burgesses, 110 

Stamp Act discussed, 110 

to Francis Dandridge on the 

Stamp Act, 111 

management of his estate. 111 

conduct towards his wife's son. 111 
letters to London agents. 111 

on the Stamp Act, 113 

life at Moinit Vernon, 114 

to George Mason on non-impor- 
tation, 115 
introduces resolutions of non-use 

and importation, 
on Botetourt, 
expedition to the Ohio, 
arrives at Fort Pitt, 
meets Colonel Croghan, 
intei'view with Indian chiefs, 
embarks on the Ohio, 
voyage down the river, 
lands at Mingotown, 
arrives at Ca])tema Creek, 
visits Kiashuta, a Seneca sa- 
chem, 
encamps at the mouth of the 

Great Kanawha, 
visited by an old sachem, 
escape at Braddock's defeat, 
return home, 
to Colonel Muse, 
attends the Assembly, 
friendly relations with Lord 

Dunmore, 
aflliction at the death of Miss 

Custis, 
guardianship of John Parke 

Custis, 
opposed to premature marriage, 
accompanies John P. Custis to 

New York, 
to President Cooper, 
to Jonathan Boucher on prema- 
ture tr.avel, (note,) 
to Benedict Calvert on prema- 
ture marriage, (note,) 
intimacy with Lord Dunmore, 
attends meeting at Williams- 
burg, 
presides at a political meeting, 
chairman of committee on reso- 
lutions, 
to Bryan Fairfax on a petition 

to the Throne, 
reports patriotic resolutions, 
delegate to General Convention, 
to Fairfax, 
on non-importation, 
presents resolutions to the Con- 
vention, 
enthusiasm, 

delegate to the General Con- 
gress, 
to Bryan Fairfax, 
sets out for Philadelphia, 
during prayer in the General 

Congress, 
to Captain Mackenzie on inde- 

poiidcnoe, 
returns to Mount Vernon, 
reviews military companies, 
visit of Lee and Gates, 
fox-hunting, 

attends convention at Rich- 
mond, 
one of a committee to prepare 

for war, 
ofters to command a company, 
concerning the retreat from Con- 
cord, 
hears of the affair at Lexington, 
to Gcoi-ge William Fairfax, 
hopes of a reconciliation, 
chairman of committees on mili- 
tary aflairs, 
urged as commander-in-chief. 



modesty, 147 

opposed, 147 

elected commander-in-chief, 148 
acceptance, 148 

to his wife, 148 

to his brother, 149 

receives his commission, 149 

hcau ideal of a commander, 149 

sets out from Philadelphia, 157 

harmony with Schuyler, 158 

news of the battle of Bunker's 

Hill, 159 

determines to intrust Schuyler 
with the command of New 
York, 160 

at Newark, 160 

reply to President Livingston's 

address, 160 

instructions to Gen. Schuyler, 161 
leaves New York, 161 

at the American camp, 161 

elFect of personal appearance, 161 
to Governor Trumbull, 162 

portraits of, (appendix,) 162 

takes command of the army, 163 
visits the American posts, 163 

at Prospect Hill, 164 

reconnoitres the British posts, 164 
opinion of American troops, 165 

to the President of Congress, 166 
requests a supply of money, 163 

advises hunting shirts for the 

troops, 166 

apology for Massachusetts 

troops, 166 

head-quarters, (note,) 166 

style of living in camp, 167 

friendship for Joseiih Reed, 168 
summons council of war, 168 

improves the defences, 108 

compliments Gen. Putnam, 163 

distribution of the army, 169 

respect for religion, 169 

declines to detach troops, 170 

reply to General Assembly of 

Massachusetts, 170 

rci)ly to Gov. of Conn. 170 

distresses Boston, 170 

scarcity of powder, 171 

to Gov. Cooke, 171 

arrival of supplies, 171 

poverty in ammunition, 171 

correspondence with Gen. Gage 

on the treatment of prisoners, 172 
confines British officers in jail, 173 
revokes the order, 173 

to Schuyler recommending pa- 
tience, 177 
reception of Indians, 179 
to Schuyler, 179 
to Schuyler recommending the 

attack of Quebec, 179 

endeavors to bring on an engage- 
ment, 180 
on the reluctance of the British 

to eng.age, 180 

apprehension of a winter's cam- 
paign, 180 
suramoiiB a council, ISO 
to President of Congress, 180 
detaches troops for the expedi- 
tion against Canada, 181 
to Arnold on the conduct of the 

expedition, 181 

to Arnold concerning Lord 

Chatham's son, 181 

opinionof Gen. Wooster, 182 

concern at Schuyler's illness, 182 
to Schuyler concerning Arnold, 183 
solicitude for Arnold, 183 

on Allen's imprudence, 185 

to Schuyler about Arnold, 185 

treasonable letter, 186 

orders the equipment of vessels, 187 
on the destruction of Falmouth, 188 
measures of retaliation, 190 

to Gov. Trumbull on the seiz- 
ure of Tories, 190 
orders Gen. Sullivan to seize 

public enemies, 190 

want of artillery and ordnance 

stores, 190 

to the President of Congress on 

the re-enlistment of troops, 190 
to the same on the want of pub- 
lic spirit, 191 

25 



INDEX. 



to Reed, 191 

confidence In Arnold, 193 

to Schuyler on Arnold and the 

conquest of Canada, 195 

to Scliuyler on his resigning, 196 
Bummoiis a council to provide 

for defence of the lines, 197 

to Gov. Trumbull on the deser- 
tion of Connecticut troops, 197 
arrival of captured munitions, 197 
orders restoration of pillage, 198 
to Gen. Howe on the treatment 

of Ethan Allen, 198 

to Congress concerning Allen, 198 
to Levi Allen, 199 

prepares to bombard Boston, 199 
correspondence with Lund 

"Washington, 200 

asks Mrs. Washington to join 

him at camp, 200 

to Lund Washington on his af- 
fairs, 200 
directions concerning Mount 

Vernon, 201 

to Reed on invitations to dinner, 201 
attentions to General Court, 201 
relieved from his perplexity, 201 
religious duties, 201 

quells a brawl, 202 

to Arnold concerning capture of 

Quebec, 204 

on Lord Dunmore, 204 

to Gov. Cooke on Lee's proceed- 
ings in Rhode Island, 205 
appeals to the soldiers' patriot- 
ism, 205 
cheering news from Canada, 206 
strength of the army, 206 
to Reed on the critical state of 

the army, 206 

anxious vigils, to Reed, 207 

to Reed concerning attack on 

Boston, 207 

from Knox, 207 

apprehensions for the safety of 

New York, 208 

auUiorizes Lee to carry out his 

plans, 209 

despatches from Schuyler, 210 

to Schuyler on the death of 

Montgomery, 214 

solicitude about New York, 215 
to Lee relative to Tories, 216 

to Lee on Capt. Parker's pas- 
sivity, 217 
anxiety to attack Boston, 218 
to Reed, confidential, 219 
to Reed in favor of attacking 

Boston, 219 

proposes an attack in council, 219 
arrival of Knox, 219 

active measures, 220 

public gloom, • 220 

plan of operations, 220 

fortifies Dorchester Heights, 221 
effect on the enemy of the fortifi- 
cation of Dorchester Heights, 222 
address to his troops, 222 

communication from the " select 

men " of Boston, 223 

enters Boston, 225 

on Howe's retreat, 225 

throws up works on Fort Hill, 225 
national applause, 225 

receives a vote of thanks— gold 
medal commemorative of the 
evacuation of Boston, 225 

on the destination of the British, 225 
to Lee on hia appointment to 
command the Southern de- 
partment, 226 
on the character of Lee, 227 
sends detachments to New York, 228 
arrives at New York, 228 
to the committee of safety, 228 
occupations, 228 
to Congress on the defence of 

Canada and New York, 229 

secret designs of the enemy, 229 
to Schuyler on aflfairs in Canada, 231 
to Schuyler on charges against, 232 
sends Gates to Congress, 232 

summoned before Congress, 232 
general orders, 232 

instructions to Putnam, 233 

leaves New York, 233 

26 



guest of Hancock, 233 

conferences with Congress, 233 

conferences with George Chnton, 233 
afiairs in Canada, 235 

to Schuyler concerning Indians, 236 
to Augustine — bloody prosiiects, 236 
reconnoitres Kingsbridge, 236 

reply to Sullivan, 237 

to Congress on Sullivan, 237 

conspiracy in New York, 240 

arrival of British troops, 241 

general orders, 241 

calls upon the troops to prepare 

for a momentous conflict, 242 

concerning Amboy and Staten 

Island, 243 

joy at the declaration of inde- 
pendence, 244 
causes it to be read at the head 

of each brigade, 244 

censures the destruction of the 

statue of George III., 244 

to Clinton on the safety of the 

Highlands, 245 

advises precautions against the 

Tories, 246 

British recognition of his rank, 247 
receives Col. Patterson, 247 

declines the letter to George 

Washington, Esq., 248 

conduct applauded, 248 

sectional jealousies, 251 

on Connecticut light-horse, 252 

to Gov. Trumbull on the Con- 
necticut troops, 253 
concerning Connecticut light- 
horse, 253 
to Schuyler on Sir Peter Par- 
ker's repulse, 256 
general order concerning Sir 

Peter Parkers repulse, 256 

general order relative to section- 
al jealousies, 257 
to the army on the observance of 

the Sabbath and blasphemy, 258 
to Mercer for reinforcements, 258 
gener.al orders on the approach 

of the struggle, (note,) 259 

preparations for the conflict, 259 
paternal cares, 259 

plans of defence, 260 

landing of the British on Long 

Island, 261 

sends reinforcements to Brook- 
lyn, 261 
-exhortation to the troops, 201 
concerning the burning of New 

York, 261 

urges the removal of the helpless, 262 
crosses to Brooklyn, 202 

instructions to Putnam, 262 

reinforces Long Island, 262 

visits Brooklyn, 203 

returns to New York, 263 

at Brooklyn, 264 

American left turned, 264 

prepares to retreat, 268 

plan of retreat, 208 

and Gen. Mifflin's premature re- 
treat, 268 
successful retreat, 209 
to President of Congress on dis- 
tressed situation of the army, 269 
question of destroying New 

York, 270 

removes the sick and wounded, 270 
concerning desertions, 271 

to President of Congress on the 

intentions of the enemy, 273 

defensive policy, 273 

question of abandoning New 

York, 273 

plan adopted, 274 

prepares for evacuation, 274 

baggage removed to King's 

Bridge, 274 

British crossing the river, 274 

rage at the cowardice of the 

troops, 275 

perilous situation, 275 

head-quarters, 276 

fortifies the approaches to his 

camp, 270 

on the conduct of his troops, 276 
interview with Hamilton, 276 

successful skirmish, 277 



general orders, reference to 

Knowlton, 277 

on the reorganization of the 

army, 278 

exchange of prisoners, 278 

uncertainty of the enemy's in- 
tentions, 279 
ceaseless vigilance, 279 
reconnoitrings, 279 
to Congress on the safety of the 

Highlands, 281 

measures taken, 281 

accident on board his yacht, 282 
enemy lands at Throg's Neck, 282 
reconnoitres Throg'a Neck, 282 

throws up works, 283 

receives Lee, 283 

council of war, 284 

forms four divisions of the army, 284 
at White Plains, 285 

offers reward for troopers, 285 

movement of the eneni J', 286 

dr.aws his troops into Wliite 

Plains, 286 

situation of the camp, 286 

reconnoitring, 287 

British advance, 287 

sick and wounded removed, 288 
strengthens his position, 288 

condition of troops, 288 

shifts position to Northcastle, 289 
British retire, 289 

to Gen. Wm. Livingston, inten- 
tions of the enemy, 289 
advises the evacuation of Port 

Washington, 290 

ad\ ises removal of stores from 

Fort Lee, 290 

disposition of troops, 290 

instructions to Lee, 291 

to Peekskill, 291 

visits the Highland posts, 291 

reconnoissance, 291 

to Lee respecting new levies, 291 
leaves Heath in command of the 

Highlands, 292 

intelligence from the Northern 

army, 292 

crosses the Hudson, 295 

arrives at Fort Lee, 295 

question of abandoning Fort 

Washington, 295 

urges the increase of ordnance 

and artillery, 295 

attack on Fort Washington, 297 
Hessian crvtelties, anecdote, 297 
sends a message to Magaw, 297 

surrender of Fort Washington, 297 
to Lee on the defence of the 

Highlands, 297 

to Autfustineon the loss of Fort 

Washington, 298 

gloomy anticipations, 298 

arrives at Fort Lee, 299 

retreats from Fort Lee, 299 

crosses the Hackensack river, 299 
to Leo ordering him to cross the 

Hudson, 290 

further retreat, 300 

Lee to Col. Reed, 300 

correspondence with Leo on 

crossing the Hudson, 301 

to Lee on his delay, 302 

retreats to New Brunswick, 303 
Lee's letter to Reed, 303 

to Reed, enclosing letter of Lee, 303 
concerning Reed, (note,) 304 

at Trenton, 304 

to Congress explaining his re- 
treat, 304 
indomitable spirit, 305 
at Trenton, 306 
returns to Princeton, 306 
crosses the Delaware, 307 
to Congress on the enemy's 

plans, 307 

to Lee on the peril of Philadel- 
phia, 307 
amount of force, 307 
to Trumbull hopefully, 307 
to Loe, urging speed, 308 
retreat across the Jerseys, 310 
moral qualities, 311 
to Augustine on Lee's capture, 311 
to Augustine on the critical state 
of affairs, 311 



CTDEX. 



granted new powers, Sll 

recruitment of the army, 311 

medita.tee a. coup de main, 312 

disposition of the enemy, 312 

pliin of attack, 314 

to Col. Reed concerning the pro- 
jected attack on Trenton, 314 
to Reed relative to the time 

chosen, 314 

from Gates, 314 

crosses the Delaware, 316 

pushes forward to Trenton, 315 

march of troops, • 316 

hurst of indignation, 316 

anecdote, 316 

advances with the artillery, 317 

captures tlio Hessians, 317 

imminent hazard, 318 

visits Rabl, 318 

described by Hessian officer, 319 
by another, 319 

follows up the blow at Trenton, 321 
troops begin to cross the Dela- 
ware, 321 
re-enlistments, 321 
to Robert Morris for money, 322 
invested with dictatorial powers, 322 
acknowledgment to Congress, 322 
critical situation, 323 
takes position on the Assun- 

pink, 323 

during the attack, 323 

desperate situation, 323 

bold expedient, 323 

council of war, 324 

determines to attack Princeton, 324 
the army begins its march, 324 

at Princeton, 325 

rallies the troops, 325 

anecdote, 325 

loss of Gen. Mercer, 325 

pushes for Morristown, 326 

orders Putnam to Ciosswicks, 327 
to Heath concerjiing the ene- 
my's panic, 327 
to Heath repeating orders, 327 
to Maj. Gen. Lincoln ordering 

an advance on New York, 327 
triumphant close of the cam- 
paign, 
the American Fabius, 
to Cornwallis relative to Hes- 
sians, 
his encampment, 
prohibits plundering, 
counter-proclamation, 
has the troops inoculated, 
• paternal care and sympathy, 
contrasted with Howe, 
discourages vice and immoral 

ity> 
to Sir William Howe proposing 

an exchange for Lee, 333 

on the treatment of prisoners, 333 
concerning treatment of Colonel 

Campbell, 334 

to Congress on retaliation, 334 

to Robert Morris on the same, 335 
to Howe on the prison ships, 335 
calls for reinforcements, 337 

to Governor Cooke on the neces- 
sity of union, 337 
iirs;es the reinforcement of 

Schuyler, 337 

on sectional jealousies, 337 

critical situation, 338 

orders troops to Peekskill, 388 

designs of the enemy, 338 

to Gales on the adjutant gene- 

ralsiiip, 341 

on foreign oiBcers, 342 

reprehends distinctions among 

tlie troo)^8, 343 

forms a guard, 343 

questions of rank, 343 

to Henry Lee on Arnold's pro- 
motion, 343 
to Arnold explaining his non- 
promotion, 344 
to Congress on injustice to Ar- 
nold, 346 
publicly thanks Colonel Meigs, 346 
concerning Schuyler, 347 
rebukes Gates, 348 
to MoDougall on the fortifica- 
tions of the Hudson, 350 

52 



328 

328 

329 
330 
331 
331 
331 
331 
332 

332 



to Greene on the forts, S51 

his foresight, 351 

oflers Arnold the command of 

the Hudson, 351 

to McDougall describing Put- 
nam, 351 
to Dr. Craikon his appointment, 352 
at Middlebrook, 352 
amount of force, 352 
to Patrick Henry giving warn- 
ing, 352 
strengthens his position, 353 
uncertainty of British move- 
ments, 353 
reply to Reed's appeal, 354 
on Burgoyi.e's reported designs, 364 
speculations on the enemy's 

movements, 355 

to Clinton and Putnam order- 
ing out troops, 356 
evacuation of Ticonderoga, 361 
reiiiforees Schuyler, 361 
news of St. Clair, 362 
to Schuyler on St. Clair, 362 
to Sir William Howe proposing 

to exchange Prcscott for Lee, 367 
to Trumbull on the treatment of 

Prescott, 367 

sends Arnold to Schuyler, 367 

to Schuyler hopefully, 367 

cautions, 368 

to Schuyler on the enemy's force, 368 
plans to harass Burgoyue, 368 

a delusive letter, 369 

sets out for the Delaware, 369 

to Gates on Howe's movements, 369 
moves to Germantown, 370 

orders and counter orders, 370 

to Putnam relative to Connecti- 
cut, 370 
declines to nominate command- 
er for the Northern Depart- 
ment, 371 
regret at the removal of Schuy- 
ler, 371 
soothing counsels, 372 
news of British fleet, 373 
to Putnam to be on the alert, 373 
sends Colonel Morgan to fight 

the Indians, 373 

reinforces Gates, 373 

force in Burgoyne's rear, 374 

makes the acquaintance of La- 
fayette, 374 
on foreign appointments, 375 
marches through Philadelphia, 375 
at Wilmington, 376 
to Putnam on Stark's victory, 386 
enemy lauding, 390 
reconnoitres, 390 
risk of capture, 390 
determines to risk a battle, 391 
- stirring appeal to the army, 392 
changes position, 392 
position of the army, 892 
battle of Brandywine, 393 
profits by Howe's inactivity, 396 
retreats to Germantown, 396 
mancEUvres of the r.rmies, 396 
at Warwick Furnace, 396 
to Putnam for reinforcements, 398 
to Gates for Morgan's corps, 398 
rests at Pott's Grove, 398 
to Trumbull on tho taking of 

Philadelphia, 398 

amount of force, 417 

advaiices to Sklppack Creek, 417 
to Congress on Howe's situation, 417 
determines to attack the British 

camp, 4-17 

plan of attack, 418 

conduct in the battle of German- 
town, 420 
to Congress on the battle, 420 
remains at Perkiomen Creek, 421 
reinforced, 421 
at White Marsh, 421 
intercepts supplies, 421 
the importance of Fort Mercer, 421 
to Richard Henry Lee on the 

promotion of Conway, 423 

to Gates on tho surrender of 

Burgoyne, 424 

to Conway on his letter to Gates, 425 
to Patrick Henry, apology for 
his army, 425 



to Thomas Wharton for aid, 

(note,) 426 

in want of reinforcements, 426 

instructions in regard to the 

forts, 426 

loss of Fort Mifflin, 427 

hopes to keep Red Bank, 427 

reprimands Putnam, 429- 

intrigues agair.pt, 429 

Fort Mercer taken, 429 

arrival of reinforcements, 420 

advising the sinking of the 

American vessels, 430 

reconiiOitres Philadelphia, 430 

opportunity for a brilliant blow, 431 
council of war, 431 

on the promotion of Lafayette, 431 
camp menaced by Howe, 432 

skirmishes, 433 

encourages his troops, 433 

tho enemy retire, 433 

to Congress on threatened at- 
tack, 433 
approach of winter, 433 
winter-quarters, 434 
arrival at Valley Forge, 434 
destitution of troops, 434 
in vindication, 435 
exercises his authority, 436 
to Congress on the consequences, 436 
retrospect of 1777, 436 
to Gates on the Conway letter, 438 
to Laurens on the conduct of his 

enemies, 438 

correspondence with Gates, 440 

searching reply to Gateo's ex- 
planation, 441 
closing note to Gates, 442 
foraed letters, 442 
to General Henry Lee on the 

forged letters, 443 

to Landon Carter on the same, 443 
introduction to forged letters, 443 
Canada expedition, 443 

to Lafayette, consoling, 444 

to Patrick Henry on \he cabal, 447 
party opposed to Washiuglou, 

(note,) 447 

reforms in the army, 448 

destitution in camp, 448 

situation described, 448 

to Captain Leo on his exploit, 449 
recommends Captain Lee for 

promotion, 449 

to General Leo on his exchange, 449 
arrival of Mrs. Washington, 450 
better times, 450 

arrival of Bryan Fairfax, 450 

to Bryan Fairfax on their friend- 
ship, • 450 
arrival of Baron Steuben, 450 
promotion of Green,e, 452 
project to capture Sir Henry 

(jlinton, 453 

circular on plan of next cam- 
paign, 454 
to Congress on forming a sys- 
tem, 454 
downfall of Conway, 454 
sends Lord North's bills to Con- 
gress, 455 
to Governor Tryon enclosing 

resolutions of Congress, 455 

rejoiciiigs at Valley Forge, 456 

council of war determines on de- 
fensive measures, 456 
American force, 457 
solicitude for Lafayette, 458 
to Congress on Ethan Allen, 458 
preyares to decr.mp, 459 
sends Sir Henry Clinton's letter 

to Congress, 460 

amount of force under, 461 

to Lee, admonitory, 461 

council of war, 461 

Philadelphia evacuated, 462 

pursues the enemy, 462 

crosses the Delaware at Cory- 
ell's Ferry, 462 
council opposed to a general ac- 
tion, 462 
determines to attack the army, 462 
perplexed to satisfy Lee 463 
resolves u^ion an attack, 463 
orders Lee to wr.tch the enemy, 463 
orders Lee to attack, 463 

27 



INDEX. 



sets forward to the attack, 464 

retreat of American troops, 464 

meets Colouel Shreve and Major 

Howard retreating, 464 

angry meeting with Lee, 465 

checks the retreat, 465 

dispositions for battle, 465 

battle of Monmouth Court 

House, . 465 

retreat of the enemy, 466 

fliaroh to Brunswick, 467 

halts at Paramus, 467 

correspondence with General 

Lee, 467 

puts Lee under arrest, 468 

conduct in relation to Lee, 468 

on Lee's abuse, 469 

magnanimity in regard to Lee, 471 
arrival of French fleet, 471 

correspondence with Count D'Ea- 

taing, 471 

plan of operations, 472 

encamps at White Plains, 472 

orders Sullivan to prepare for a 

descent upon Rhode Island, 472 
to John Augustine on the fail- 
ure of the expedition against 
Rhode Island, 476 

anxiety as to its eft'ects, 476 

to D'Lstaing on his failure, 476 

enemy's movements, 478 

strengthens the Highlands, 478 

moves his camp to Fredericks- 
burg, 478 
moves to Fishkill, 479 
distribution of troops, 481 
head-quarters near Middlebrook, 481 
plan of alarm signals, 481 
opposes Lafayette's Canada 

scheme, 482 

in Philadelphia, 483 

on the deterioration of Congress, 483 
to Colonel Harrison on the de- 
cline of public spirit, 483 
disgust at the neglect of Con- 
gress, 483 
policy of the next campaign, 484 
unjust retaliation on the In- 
dians, 484 
discontent of Jersey troops, 484 
acts as a mediator, 484 
address to the ofiicers, 485 
replj' of the officers, 485 
to General Maxwell on the de- 
termination of his ofBcers, 485 
apprehends an expedition against 

the Highlands, 486 

measures for the protection of 

West Point, 487 

removes to New Wir.dsor, 487 

detaches General Heath to act 
against the British in Con- 
necticut, 488 
plans the recapture of Stony 

Point and Fort Lafayette, 488 

proposes the storming of Stony 

Point io Wayne, 488 

plan of surprisal, 488 

evacuates Stony Point, 490 

at West Point, 490 

expedition against Penobscot, 491 
on the surprise of Paulus Hook, 492 
on the capture of Stony Point 

and Pauius Hook, 492 

furthers the defences of the Hud- 



son, 



492 



to Edmund Randolph for infor- 
mation of affairs, 493 
to Dr. Cochran describing style 

of living, 493 

reception of the Chevalier de la 

Luzerne, 494 

to Lafayette, 494 

chaiige of plans, 495 

sends troops to the South, 495 

to President Reed for aid, 497 

on the destitution of the troops, 497 
calls upon the counties for sup- 
plies, 498 
to Colo^jel Ogden, to regard the 

rights of the people, 498 

bay of New York, frozen over, 498 
projects a descent on Staten 

Island, 498 

Arnold's government of Phila- 
delphia, ^00 

28 



good opinion of Arnold, 600 

instructions to Arnold, 500 

sympathy with Arnold, 602 

reprimand to Arnold, 504 

soJicitude for the safety of the 

Southern States, 604 

on the safety of Charleston, 506 

to Congress, on his situation, 606 
reinforces Lincoln, 507 

steadfastness of mind, 607 

to Baron Steuben on his difficul- 
ties, 507 
to Congress, on military reforms, 507 
committee appointed to consult 

with, 608 

to Lafayette on his return, 508 

reception of Lafayette, 608 

to Lafayette, on the reduction of 

New York, 509 

reduction of the army, 510 

mutiny in camp, 510 

to Pres. Reed, for relief, 610 

endeavors to rouse Congress, 611 
surrender of Charleston, 616 

supplies West Point, 516 

in position at Short Hills, 517 

watches Knyphausen, 517 

sets off towards Ponypton, 618 

enemy move against Springfield, 618 
applies to the State Legislature 

for aid, 520 

congratulates the army on the 

arrival of French troops, 521 

his line of conduct, 522 

crosses the Hudson, 522 

interview with Arnold, 522 

withdraws his forces, 523 

interposes in the difficulty be- 
tween Greene and Congress, 623 
on the derangement of the com- 
missariat, 523 
the reverse at Camden, 529 
on militia and regular troops, 629 
to Gates on the battle of Camden, 629 
prepares to proceed to Hartford, 529 
crosses to Verplanck's Point, 532 
interview with French officers, 637 
returns to head-quarters, 537 
reception by the people, 537 
detained at Fishkill, 538 
ride to the Robinson House, 538 
arrives at the Robinson House, 638 
at West Point, 538 
hears of Arnold's treason, 539 
sends in pursuit of Arnold, 539 
letters from Arnold and Colonel 

Robinson, 540 

to Colonel Wade, urging vigi- 
lance, 640 
to General Greene, to proceed to 

King's Ferry, 640 

to Colonel Jameson, to prevent 

Andre's escape, 640 

interview with Mrs. Arnold, 541 
Andre brought to the Robinson 

House, 541 

to Greene on the custody of An- 
dre and Smith, 541 
refers the case of Andr6 to a 

board of general officers, 643 

tij Sir Henry Clinton, concern- 
ing Andr6, 544 
Andre's appeal, 545 
eulogium on the captors of An- 
dre, 548 
on Arnold's address, 648 
opinion of Arnold, 648 
to Governor Reed on Amold'c 

conduct, 548 

strengthens West Point, 549 

takes post at Prakeness, 550 

plan to capture Arnold, 550 

failure of Champe's design, 651 

appoints Greene to command the 

Southern army, 651 

confidence in Greene, 651 

state of the army, 662 

to Gen. Sullivan on the state of . 

the country and army, 652 

to Lafayette on his desire for 

action, 653 

preparations to attack the Brit- 
ish posts, 553 
his horsemanship, 553 
personal appearance, 655 
his character, 655 



at New Windsor, 65-5 

to Franklin on his disappoint- 
ment, 563 
necessitous state of the country, 563 
instructions to Colonel Laurens, 564 
revolt of the Pennsylvania line, 564 
to Wayne on the revolt, 565 
disafiection in the army, 667 
suppresses mutiny of Jersey 

troops, 567 

articles of confederation, 668 

heads of departments formed, 669 
eulogium on Hamilton, 569 

misunderstanding with Hamil- 
ton, 670 
to Lafayette on Hamilton, 571 
reconciliation with Hamilton, 571 
to Greene on the battle of Guil- 
ford Court House, 584 
on the destruction of Arnold's 

corps, 586 

instructions to Lafayette, 587 

to Steuben on Arnold, 587 

sets out for New York, 587 

to I>afayette on Cornwallis, 587 

at Newport, 587 

arranges plan of campaign with 

Rochambeau, 587 

to Lafayette on the sailing of the 

French fleet, 588 

returns to New Windsor, 588 

to Greene on the chance of re- 
inforcements, 588 
to Colonel Laurens on the fail- 
ure of the Portsmouth expedi- 
tion, 589 
anxiety for Greene, 589 
orders Lafayette to join Greene, 689 
to Lund Washington on his con- 
duct towards the enemy, 591 
force on the Hudson, 591 
death of Colonel Greene, 592 
arrival of Count de B.aiTas, 592 
interview with Rochambeau, 693 
number of force, 593 
plan of operations, 593 
to Gov. Clinton on his designs, 593 
march to King's Bridge, 694 
failure of the enterprise, 694 
at Dobbs' Ferry, 594 
to Lee on his plans, 695 
reconnoitres the British posts, 595 
at King's Bridge, 695 
awkward predicament, 596 
to Lafayette on the effect of the 

reconnoissance, 696 

disappointment as to reinforce- 
ments, 663 
to the Eastern States, 603 
to Lafayette on the arrival of 

the Count de Grasse, 604 

determines to command the ex- 
pedition, 604 
crosses to Haverstraw, 604 
visits West Point with Rocham- 
beau, 606 
move toward Virginia, 605 
to Noah Webster on the Virgin- 
ia expedition (note), 605 
welcome at Philadelphia, 606 
concern about De Grasse, 607 
to L.afayette on Cornwallis, 607 
arrival of the Count I>f Grasse, 608 
reaches the head of Elk, 608 
to De Grasse on Cornwallis, 608 
at Baltimore, 608 
revisits Mount Vernon, 608 
pushes on to Williamsburg, 608 
hurries on the troops, 610 
on board the French fleet, 610 
plan of operations, 610 
arrival of Admiral Digby, 610 
threatened departure of the 

French fleet, 610 

armv drawn up at Beaver Dam 

Creek, 611 

strength of forces, 611 

anecdote, 612 

despatches from Greene, 612 

to Greene on the battle of Eu- 

taw Springs, 615 

fires the first gun against York- 
town, 616 
witnesses the storming of the re- 
doubts, 618 
anecdote, 619 



INDEX. 



and Knox, anecdote, 618 

surrender of Yorktown, 619 

and General O'Hara, 620 

on the victory, 620 

reinforces General Greene, 621 

dissointion of combined armies, 621 
at Eltham, 621 

death of John Parke Custis, 621 
proceeds to Mount Vernon, 622 

to Greene on the improvement 

of the victory, 622 

to Lafayette on the next cam- 
paign, 622 
reception by Congress, 622 
policy of the ensuing campaign, 622 
bold project of Coluuel Ogdeu, 623 
to Greene on retaliation, 623 
murder of Captain Huddy, 623 
demand on Sir Henry Clinton, 623 
the case of Capt. Asgill, 624 
case of Colonel Webb, (note,) 624 
at Newburg, 625 
continues his precautions, 625 
arrival of Sir Guy Carleton, 625 
propositions of peace, 625 
discontent in the army, 625 
letter from Colonel Nicola, 625 
indignant reply to Nicola, 625 
negotiations for peace, 626 
to Kochambeau, advising a junc- 
tion, 626 
at Verplanck's Point, 626 
on the reduction of the army, 626 
discontent of the army, 627 
anonymous paper, 628 
addresses committee of the army, 629 
to Congress on behalf of the 

arrayj 630 

news ot peace, 631 

a plea for the soldier, 632 

general order on peace, 632 

grants furloughs, 632 

interview with Sir Gtiy Carleton, 633 
president of the Society of the 

Cincinnati, 633 

on the dissolution of the army, 633 
mutiny of Pennsylvania troops, 635 
to Congress on the mutiny, 635 

tour tln-ough New York, 635 

to Chasteliux on his tour, 636 

parting address to the army, 636 
at Harlem, 637 

enters New York, 637 

farewell to his officers, 638 

adjustment of his accounts, 63S 

journey to Annapolis, 639 

to Baron Steuben on his resig- 
nation, 639 
resigns his commission, 639 
returns to Mount Vernon, 639 
to Gov. Clinton on his retire- 
ment, 639 
to Knox on his retirement, 640 
to Lafayette ; a soldier's i-epose, 640 
to the Marchioness do Lafayette, 640 
manner of living, 640 
declines the otl'er of the Pennsyl- 

'vania council, 641 

applications fnma authors, 641 

to Dr. Craik on his Memoirs, 641 
reception of visitor.-", 641 

management of his estate, 641 

popular feeling against the Cin- 
cinnati, 642 
presides at a meeting of the Cin- 
cinnati, 642 
to Chasteliux on his regard, 643 
arrival of Lafayette, 643 
tour west of the Motintains, 643 
observations on internal naviga- 
tion, 643 
to Governor Harrison on internal 

improvement, 644 

reception by the Virginia House 

of Assembly, 644 

joined by Lafayette, 644 

parting with Lafayette, 644 

to Richard Henry Leo on inland 

navigation, 644 

at Annapolis, 645 

appropriation of Virginia As- 
sembly, 645 
naval improvements, 645 
to Governor Clinton concerning 

naval matters, 645 

burden of correspondence, 646 



to Francis Hopkinson on sitting 

for likenesses, 646 

ornamental cultivation, 646 

extent of his estate, 647 

life at Mount Vernon, 647 

private character, 647 

fondness for children, 647 

in social life, 648 

unassuming manners, 648 

attention to others, anecdote, 648 
social disposition, 648 

festive gayety, 649 

and Mrs. "Olney, 649 

laughter, anecdote, 649 

anecdote. Judges Marshall and 

Washington, (note,; 649 

anecdote. Colonel Lee, 649 

passion for hunting, 650 

anecdote, fox hunting, 650 

to Geo. Wm. Fairfax about deer, 650 
death of Greene, 650 

to Lafayette on Greene, 651 

to the Marquis de la Rouerie, 651 
to Rochambeau, reveries of 

peace, 651 

doubts the solidityof the confed- 
eration, 652 
to James Warren on the confed- 
eration, 652 
ideas on national policy, 652 
correspondence with John Jay, 653 
to Colonel Lee on the Massachu- 
setts insurrection, 653 
to Knox on the same, 654 
to James Madison on the same, 664 
at the head of the Virginia dele- 
gation, 655 
Massachusetts insurrection quell- 
ed, 655 
attends the convention, 665 
anecdote, 656 
to Lafayette on the new consti- 
tution, 656 
returns to Mount Vernon, 657 
on the ratification of the consti- 
tution, 657 
to Lafayette on the Presidency, 657 
to Colonel Lee on the same, 657 
to Hamilton on the same, 658 
to Lafayette on the same, 658 
elected President, 669 
parting with his mother, 659 
to Knox on his election, 659 
sets out for New York, 669 
public dinner at Alexandria, 659 
progress to New York, 659 
reception at Philadelphia, 660 
reception at Trenton, 660 
reception at New York, 660 
inauguration of, 661 
concluding remarks, ' 662 
the new government, 665 
difficulties of his position, 666 
confidence in Hamilton, 666 
and Madison, 667 
privacy invaded, 607 
Presidential etiquette, 667 
first levee, anecdote, 669 
attends balls, 669 
presidential dinner, 669 
presidential household, 670 
his deportment, 670 
his equipage, 670 
love of horses, 671 
residence in New York, (note), 671 
alarming illness, 671 
exercises of the nominating 

power, 671 

rebukes the Senate, 671 

death of his mother, 672 

nominates Hamilton as secretary 

of the treasury, 672 

and Edmund Randolph, 673 

to .Jay, enclosing his commission, 673 
department of state, 673 

to Rochambeau on the French 

revolution, 676 

to Gouverneixr Morris on the 

same, 676 

offers to appoint Jetferson secre- 
tary of state, 677 
journey through the Eastern 

States, 677 

Hancock's invitation, 677 

reception at Boston, question of 
etiquette, 678 



account of the ceremony, 678 

reply to Governor Hancock, 678 

address of the Cincinnati Society 

of Massachusetts, 679 

return to New York, 679 

message from Lafayette on af- 
fairs in France, 679 
appoints JeflTerson secretary of 

state, 680 

opens the session, (note,) 681 

measures suggested in his ad- 
dress, 681 
public credit, 681 
on sectional jealousies, 682 
assumption of State debts, 684 
forms and ceremonies, 685 
to Dr. Stuart on his levees, 685 
to Lafayette on his cabinet, 686 
to Luzerne on the French revo- 
lution, 687 
receives the key of the Bagtille, 688 
to Lafayette, solicitude for, 688 
visits Rhode Island, 68^ 
return to Mount Vernon, 688 
diflficulties with the Indians, 688 
information of Indian expedition, 689 
residence at Philadelphia, 690 
national bank, 690 
his judgment, 690 
opposite cabinet policy, 691 
addresses Seneca chiefs, 691 
on the first Congress, 691 
cautions General St. Clair, 692 
tour through the Southern States, 692 
return to Philadelphia, 692 
to Da\id Humphrej s on the sta- 
bility of the government, 692 
public credit, 692 
to Lafayette on the state of the 

country, 693 

to Lafayette on his personal dan- 
ger, . 693 
concerning the flight and cap- 
ture of Louis XVL, 694 
to Lafayette on French aftairs, 694 
at Mount Vernon, 694 
speech on the opening of the sec- 
ond Congress, 694 
intelligence of St. Clair's dis- 
aster, 697 
eftect upon him, 698 
vetoes the apportionment bill, 699 
weary of political strife, 690 
intention of retirement, 699 
to St. Clair on a court of inquiry, 701 
retains his confidence in St. 

Clair, 701 

visits Mount Vernon, 701 

to Madison on his intention to 

retire, 701 

asks Madison's advice, 702 

valedictory address, -702 

conversation with Jefl'erson on 

political matters, 703 

to Jeflerson on his dissensions 

with Hamilton, . 706 

to Hamilton on the same, 706 

on taking the oath of office, 709 

takes the oath of office, 709 

state of aSairs in Franco, 709 

Lafayette's downfall, 710 

atrocities of the French revolu- 
tion, 711 
to Madame de Lafayette, 7il 
commencement of second term, 712 
war between France and Eng- 
land, 712 
proclamation of neutrality, 712 
view of French aflfairs, 714 
reception of Genet, 714 
conversation with Jefferson on 

attacks of the press, 715 

restitution of French prizes, 715 
newspaper attacks, 716 

adherence to duty, 716 

called to Mount Vernon, 716 

case of the Little Sarah, , 718 

trial of Gideon Henfleld, 718 

concerning the recall of Genet, 719 
burst of feeling, 719 

threatened dissolution of the cab- 
inet, 719 
interview with Jefl'erson, 719 
ill-advised measures of Great 

Britain, 722 

Indian hostilities, 722 

29 



INDEX. 



opening acidreBS to Congress, 
mes8MiJ0 relative to Genet, 
to Jeti'ersoii on hie retirement, 
characterized by Jeflerson, 
concerniDg Frei.ch expeditions, 
relative to Genet, 
relative to Bntish aggrsBBions, 
■wise nnoderation, 
to Monroe in regard to Hamil- 
ton, 
nominates Jay as envoy to 

Great Britain, 
inimical letter, 
insurrection in Pennsylvania, 
proclamation to the iusurcents, 
to Governor Lee on the Demo- 
cratic Societiep, 
issues second pvoxjlamation, 
leaves for Carlisle, 
correspnnilence Avith Morgan, 
to the Secretary of State, 
arrives at Cumberland, 
4> to Governor Lee concerning the 
army, 
arrived at Philadelphia, 
to Hamilton, his paternal care, 
to Jay on the Pennsylvania in- 
surrection, 
denunciation of self-created so- 
cieties, 
to Kuox on his resignation, 
anxiety about the cegtiation 

with England, 
Jay's treaty, 

ratification of the treaty, 
at Mount Vernon, 
excitement ag:iinst, 
reply to the select men of Bos- 



722 
723 

724 
725 
727 
727 
727 
728 

728 

728 
729 

729 
729 

730 

730 
730 
730 
730 
730 

731 
731 
731 

731 

732 
734 

734 
734 
735 
736 
736 



public clamors, 

to Randolph reqitesting to he 

advised, 
recalled to the seat of govern- 
ment, 
Fauchet's intercepted despatch, 
sisns the ratification, 
conduct toward Randolph, 
permits unlimited dstlosure, 
malignant attacks of the press, 
reply to the Gov. of Maryland, 
arrival of Lafayette's son, 
to Geo. Cabot coucerniug young 

Lafavette, 
speech at the opening of Con- 
gress, 
to Gouverneur Morris on the 

conduct of Great Britain, 
receives the colors of France, 
treaty with Great Britain, 
demand by the House of Repre- 
sentatives, 
reply to the resolution, 
to Col. Humphrey on the state 

of politics, 
noble reply to Jefferson, 
to Monroe on intercepted letters, 
determines to retire, 
farewell address, 
sensation produced by, 
last speech to Congress, 
complains of the French minis- 
ter, 
letter to Mr. Pinckney, 
to Knox on the prospect of re- 
tirement, 
denounces spurious letters, 
farewell dinner, 
at the inauguration of Adams, 
farewell to the people, 
banquet in honor of, 
sets off for Mount Vernon, 
arrives at home, 
letters relating to, 
to Mrs. 8. Fairfax on Belvoir, 
strange faces, 
invites Lawrence Lewis to 

Mount Vernon, 
advice to Nelly Custis, 
anecdote of Miss Custis, 
to Lafayette by his son, 
on the French indignities, 
pamphlet from General Dumas, 
reply to Dumas, 
threatened war with France, 
on accepting the command, 
appointed commander-in-chief, 

80 



761 

761 
762 
762 
762 
763 
763 
763 
764 



740 

741 
742 
742 

742 
742 

743 
744 
745 
745 
745 
746 
746 

747 

748 

748 
748 
748 
749 
749 
749 
749 
749 
749 
750 
750 

750 
751 
751 
752 
753 
753 
754 
754 
755 
755 



accepts the commission, 756 

to Knox on his appointment, 756 
to Adams concennng Knox, 757 
to Knox, explanatory, 757 

to Knox, urgii g his acceptance, 758 
repairs to Philadelphia, 758 

taxed with the cares of ofQce, 758 
return at Mouiit Verion, 768 

correspondence with Lafayette, 759 
Burprir-ed at the appointment of 

minister to France, 760 

the conflict in Europe, 760 

solicitude for the army, 760 

life at Mount Vernon, 761 

plan for the management of his 

estate, 
to Hamilton on military acad- 
emy, 
illness, 
remedies, 
his last hours, 
his death, 
his funeral, 
his will, 

to John F. Mercer on slavery, 
to Lawrence Lewis on the same, 764 
public testimonials of grief, 764 

retrospect, 764 

discharge of his civil functions, 764 
character of, 764 

hisfnne, 765 

Washingtos, Major George A., 694 
Washington, John Augustine, 
raises an independent com- 
pany, 139 
entreats Mrs. Washington to 
leave Mount Vernon, 200 
Washington, Lawrence, return 
from England, 
campaign in the West Indies, 
return home, 
marries Miss Fairfax, 
his attachment to George, 
becoines manager of the Ohio 

Company, 
his views on restraints on con- 
science, 

failini,' health, departs for the 
West Indies, 

arrival at Barbadoes, 

goes to Bermuda, 

letters home, 

return, 

death, 

his character, 

his will, 
Washington, Lund, on the dan- 
ger at Mount Vernon, 200 

compromises with the enemy, 591 
Washington, Martha, death and 

character of, 672 

Washington, Mrs. at Mt. Vernon, 200 

arrival at Cambridge, 201 

equipage, 201 

presides at head-quarters, 201 

celebration of Twelfth Night, 201 

at New York, 

arrival at Valley Forge, 

presides at Mount Vernon, 

journey to New York, 

general reception. 

her deportment, 

death of Washington, 
Washington, Mary, 
Washington, Colonel Wm. A., 
leads the advance at Trenton, 316 



Watts, Major, at Oriskany, 
wounded, 



380 
381 



Waxhaw, Tarleton's butchery at, 515 



228 
450 
641 
669 
670 
670 
763 
12,54 



takes two cannon, 

described, 

brush with the enemy, 

.joins Colonel White, 

"surprised at Laneau's Ferry, 

exploit at Clermont, 

under Morgan, 

at the battle of the Cowpens, 

in charge of the prisoners, 

at Guilford Court House, 

with Marion, 

at Eutaw Springs, 

brings up the reserve, 

taken prisoner, 
Waterbcrt, Co'onel, raises and 
disbands a regiment, 209 

gallant conduct, 293 

taken prisoner, 294 

Watson, Elkanah, picture of 

Washington in retirement, 648 



351 
857 
376 
S95 
397 

397 

397 
397 
397 
397 
418 
418 

430 
463 
464 
466 
479 
488 
488 
489 
489 
490 
666 
665 
666 
696 
697 
598 



722 
732 
733 
733 
733 
741 
253 
84 

64 



Wayne, Anthony, 252 

in command at Ticonderoga, 337 
examines the defences of the 

Highlands, 
Graydon's account of, 
at Chester, 
at Brandywine, 
hovers about the enemy, 
to Washington concerning the 

enemy, 
heai s of premeditated attack, 
attacked by the British, 
demands a court-martial, 
is exonerated, 

in the battle of Germantown, 
drives in the enemy, 
in favor of attacking Philadel 

phia, 
detached to the advance, 
detached to attack the enemy, 
at Monmouth Court House, 
oppo>es Cornwallis, 
to storm Stony Point, 
anecdote, (note,) 
marches Hgainst Stony Point, 
carries the fort, 
on the conduct of his soldiers, 
revolt of troops, 
pur.-ues the mutineers, 
overtakes the troops, 
ordered South, 
joins Lafayette, 

in a rnorass, — 

appoiii ted to Western command, 701 
takes the field against the In 

dians, 
expedition against the Indians, 
builds Fort Defiance, 
overtures of peace, 
defeats the Indians, 
treaty with the Indians, 
Webb, Colonel, 
Webb, Major General, 
marches to the relief of Oswe- 
go, 
Webster, Lieut. -Col., to break 

up American posts, 
Webster, Col, detached to Beat' 
tie's Ford, 
at Guilford Court House, 
Weedon, Col., conducts Hessian 

prisoners to Newtown, 
Weshington, William, of Wesh- 

ii ^ton, 
Wesstngton, De, origin of the 

liame. 
West, Major, 

West Point, decided to be forti- 
fied, 
Westchester County, British in- 
road, 499 
Wetzell's Mill, afi"air at, 681 
Whipple, Commodorej commands 
fleet at Charleston, 506 
changes his position, 606 
retrograde move, 513 
Whipple, Gen. William, 384 
White, Bishop, on Washington's 
unassuming manners, 
WashinL'tou's farewell dinner, 
White, Colonel, with American 
cavalry, 
surprised by Tarlcton, 
White, Philip, captured and 

killed, 
White, Mingo, speech to Wash- 
ington, 
White" Plains, camp at, 

incendiarism at. 
White Thdnder with Washing- 
ton, 
in Brnddock's camp. 
Whiting, Mr., death of, 
Wild Hunter of Juniata, 
Wilkes on the appointment of 

the Earl of Carlisle, 
Wilkinson, Gen., interview with 
Gen. Lee, 
account of Lee's capture, 
hastens to Sullivan, 
secret of Lee's conduct, 
joins Washington, 
Washington's difficulties, 



612 



67C 
683 



319 



356 
453 



648 
748 

513 
613 

623 

120 
286 
289 

SO 

59 

716 

66 

469 

309 
309 
SIO 
310 
312 
312 



INDEX. 



takes a letter from Gates to 

Washington, 
panders to Gates, 
watclies Burgoyne, 
at Burgoyne'8 surrender, 
despatched by Gates to Congress, 
to Gates on the respect of Con- 
gress, 
breveted brigadier general, 
relative to the Conway corre- 
spondence, 
correspondence •with Stirling on 

the Conway letter, 
honor wonnded by Gates, 
arrives at Yorktuwn, 
interview with Capt. Stoddart, 
meets Lieut. Col. Ball, 
reconciliation with Gates, 
6ut)Sfquent reception by Gates, 
sends in his resignation, 
to Stirling on the Conway letter, 
interview with Washington, 
to Washington on the Conway 

letter, 
resigns position as Secretary of 

the Board of War, 
retirement, 

expedition against Indians, 
WiLLARD, Counsellor, 
WiLLET, Lieut. Col. Marinus, de- 
feats British scouting party, 
sallies from Fort Schuyler, 
sacks the enemy's camp, 
volunteers to seek Schuyler, 
expedition against theOnondagas, 
Williams, David, and Andr6, 
Williams, Col., driven in, 

at Brooklyn, 
Williams, Col. James, takes the 
field, 
in the battle of King's Mountain, 
killed, 
Williams, Colonel Otho H., com- 
mands the rear guard, 
crosses the Dan, 
at Guilford Court House, 
at Eutaw Spi'ings, 
attacks the British, 
Williams, Major, with the artil- 
lery, 
captured, 



Williamsburg rejoicings, 112 

Wills' Creek, 27 

Wills, Major, killed in battle, 6S9 
Wilniiiigtoa taken by the British, 576 
Wilson, Jas., member of the Board 

of War and Ordnance, 233 

Wilson, Jas., Judge of Supreme 

Court, 
Winchester, panic at, 
alarm at, 

attack apprehended, 
WiNGATE, Mr., account of presi 

dental dinner, 
Wintormoot's Fort, Colonel J. But- 
ler at, ~«7 
Wirt on the organization of the 

General Congi-ess, 
WiTHEKSPOON, Dr., proposes 
pair of spurs for Wilkinson, 
WoLCOTT, Oliver, Secretary of the 

Treasury, , 
WoLCOTT (the elder) on Washing- 
ton's farewell address, 
Wolfe, military services, 
lands before Louisburg and 

storms the works, 
surprises Light House Point, 
recei)tion in England, 
to besiege Quebec, 
ascends the St. Lawrence, 
debarks on the Isle of Orleans, 
his transports damaged by a 

storm, 
establishes batteries, 
crosses the St. Lawrence and 
encamps below the Mont- 
morency, 
reconnoitres up the river, 
resolves to attack Montcalm in 
his camp, 

crosses the Montmorency, 
is repulsed, 
his mortification, 
illness, 

calls a council of war, 
changes \)la.n of operations, 
reconnoitres the town, 
his health, 
campaigning song, 
Gray's Elegy, anecdote, 
descends the river, 



673 

73 
79 
79 

669 



131 

424 



734 
746 



98 



98 



passes the eentinel, 100 

lands near Cape Diamond, 100 

takes possession of the plains of 

Abraham, 100 

attacked by Montcalm, 100 

wounded, 100 

his last words and death, 101 

Wood Creek, fight at, 365 

Woodford, Brig. Gen., reinforces 
Charleston, 513 

WooLFORD, Col., reinforces Sum- 
ter, 52S 

WoosTEB, David, appointed briga- 
dier general, 148 
noble conduct, 183 
before Quebec, 230 
recalled, 237 
hastens to Danbury, 344 
joins Silliman, and takes com- 
mand, 345 
attacks the British rear-guard, 345 
mortally wounded, 345 
death, »--... 346 

Worcester, iHilitary stores col- 
lected at, 137 

Writs of Assistance, 109 

Wyoming Valley, description of, 477 
expedition aaaiiist, 477 

ravaged by Brant and Butler, 477 
desolation completed, 478 

Wyoming, battle of, 478 

massacre of Americans, 478 



Yankee Doodle, 141 

Yorktown, situation of, 607 

its defences, 611 

invested, 612 

siege of, 616 

description of bombardment, 616 

storming of the redoubts, 617 

capitulates, 619 

terms of capitulation, 619 

number of prisoners, killed, 

wounded, and missing, and 

troops on both sides, (note,) 639 

effect of surrender, 620 

Young's House, expedition against, 499 

taken and burnt, 600 

31 



THB END. 



THE ONLY MVll HISTORY OF THE REBELLIOi 

FARRAGUT 



AND OUR 




By Hon. J. T. HEADLEY. 

Author of " Washington and his Generals," " Sacred Mountaim," dx:, &c. 
fl COMPANION VOLUIHE TO HEADLEYS GRANT AND SHERWAN AND THEIR GENERALS 

WITH 22 SPLENDID STEEL PORTRAITS AND BATTLE SCENES. 
And comprising the Early Life, Public Services, and Naval Career of 



Admiral I>. O. Farragut» 

WUh a StMl Portrait, 
The Naval Hero of New Orleans and Mobile. 
Vice-Adm'l D. I>. Porter, 

WUh a Steel Portrait, 
The Naval Hero of Vicksburg and Fort 

Fisher. 
Rear Adni'l L.. M. Goldsborough, 

With a Steel Portrait, 
The Naval Hero of Roanoke Island. 
Rear Adni'l J. A. Dahlgren, 

With a Steel Portrait, 
Distinguished as commanding the Bombard- 
ment of Charleston. 
Rear Adin'l H. Paulding, 

With a Steel Portrait, 
A Distinguished Naval Officer. 
Com. J. A. Winslow, 

With a Steel Portrait, 
Distinguished for sinking the Pirate Alabama 
Com. W. O. Porter, 

With a Steel Portrait, 
The Lamented Hero of the Mississippi Fleet. 
Capt. P. Drayton, 

With a Steel Portrait, 
Distinguished at Port Royal and Mobile. 
Col. Cliarles Ellet. 

With a Steel Portrait, 
The Projector of the Western Ram Fleet, 



Rear Adm'l A. H. Foote, 

With a Steel Portrait, 
The Naval Hero of Ft. Henry and Ft. Don- 

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Rear Adm'l S. F. Dupont, 

With a Steel Porirait, 
The Naval Hero of Pt. Royal and Ft. Sumpter 
Rear Adm'l S. H. Stringlaam, 

With a Steel Portrait, 
The Naval Hero of Fort Hatteras. 
Rear Adm'l C. H. Davis, 

With a Sl'.el Porirait, 
Commander of the "Western Gun-Boat Fleet 
Com. Charles Wilkes, 

Willi a Steel Portrait, 
The Captor of Mason and SlidelL 
Com. J. L.. Worden, 

With a Steel Portrait, 
The Hero of the Monitor and Merrimac. 
Com. T. Bailey, 

With a Steel Portrait, 
The Hero of the Red River Expedition. 
Capt. C. S. Boggs, 

With a Stf.el Portrait, 
Distinguished for sinking the Rebel Gun-Boata 
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With a Steel Portrait, 
The Hero of many Daring Exploits with the 
Pirate Albermarle and others. 



And many other Prominent Naval "^roes, wrUten m M^^^ 

graphic and inimitable style; with an authentic account of BaUles f..eg^^^^^^ ^^^^ 

ments, including t^e^--^^^^/^™^^^ expl^its^and achievements 



Iron Clad Vessels 
of the Rebellion 



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The Author has been aided in his work by ^---Ji^J^li^fjf \hT^^ ^li™!" A 
direct.y by the officers or their friends, which P'^f ,^f ^^?S ^ ^ to Amenc.a 

doubt, and we oflfer it to the public as a standard ana reii<i 
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WASHINGTON & EIS GENERALS: 

CO.UPRISINO 

POPULAE BIOGEAPHIES 

01" 

Cl]^ (ialfaiit §dnxhxB d mx Rational ITikrtg 

By Hot^. J. T. HEADLEY, 

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Benedict Arnold, " Benjamin Lincoln, 

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Philip Schuyler, " James Clinton, 

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Fredk. Wm. Steuben, " Lafayette, 

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NiPOLEON AND HIS MARSHALS: 

COMPRISING A 

FULL AND AUTHENTIC ACCOUNT 

OF THE 



NAPOLEON BONAPARTE, 

"the hero of a htjndred battles." 



By Hok. J. T. HEADLEY, 

AiTTHOB OF "Washington and his Genebals," "Sacked Mountains," "Histokt of th« 
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" Soult, 
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THE 



SACRED MOUNTAINS, 



AND 



SCENES IN THE HOLT LAND. 



By Hon. J. T. HEADLEY, 

Author of " Washington and his Generals," "Napoleon and his Marshals," 
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The author having actually made the Pilgrimage to the Holy Land, and visited 
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THE LOST CAUSE, 

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